Stars: Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, June Whitfield, Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks, Jane Horrocks, Jane Horrocks

Director: Bob Spiers

Summary: Features every episode from the first series of the television comedy which follows the fortunes of Eddie and Patsy. 'Fashion', 'Fat', 'France', 'Iso Tank', 'Birthday' and 'Magazine'.

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS, quite possibly the best British comedy series since MONTY PYTHON or, at least, THE YOUNG ONES, centers on the exploits of Edina (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley), two middle-aged women trying to relive the glory of their youth. The catch here is that these two women unabashedly drink (Patsy's had a stomach bypass and consumes only alcohol), take drugs, and generally walk around in a stupor while abusing Edina's earnest daughter, Saffron (Julia Sawalha), and her assistant Bubble (Jane Horrocks). Probably the best sitcom of the 1990s, AB FAB's only fault is that it lasted a mere 18 episodes. This DVD set contains the six episodes that comprised the show's first season: "Fashion," "Fat," "France," "Iso Tank," "Birthday," and "Magazine."

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Absolutely Fabulouswas first broadcast in 1992 and became an instant hit. Originally a sketch on the French and Saunders Show, Jennifer Saunders saw its potential and created one of the most ground-breaking and debauched comedies on British TV. Centred around the hip London fashion scene the series follows Edina (Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley), two women who refuse to grow up and are constantly on a mission to lose weight, gorging themselves with cocaine and/or champagne, endlessly throwing parties (or throwing up at parties), and sporting outrageous outfits which were the height of fashion at the time--honestly sweetie! The superb comic performances offered star status to Julia Sawalha as Edina's straight-laced daughter and Jane Horrocks as the sublimely dippy Bubble, and re-invented the careers of Joanna Lumley and June Whitfield. Saunders meanwhile secured her status as one of the top female comedians Britain has ever produced. Although its consciously chic clothing looks a little dated now, its mad characterisations endure and the jokes remain as hilariously slick and apt as ever.

Ab Fabremains a landmark in TV since it was the first time that female comedians and writers had had the freedom and exposure to satirise problems close to their own heart, from their own perspective. With Feminist writers claiming that the ideals of feminism were dead in the 1990s and that female concerns were moving in the wrong direction--towards the "Laddette Culture"--and reports claiming that careers were taking a central role, forcing motherhood onto the back-burner, the series sought to embody and satirise these new supposedly "female" characteristics. As the show continued to grow in popularity both in Britain and the States, plans were made to transfer the formula to America. However, as with many other great British series, the content was considered too risky for American audiences due to the amount of sex and drug references. Thus domestic audiences breathed a sigh of release that their beloved Ab Fabwould forever stay British to the core. --Nikki Disney

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	15 Minutes Of Outtakes, Scene Selection, Photo Gallery, The Original French And Saunders Sketch
Year:	1992
Release Date:	November 20, 2000
Runtime:	195 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B B C D V D 1013
Keywords:	Comedy, General, Series, Fabulous, Tv, Complete, Absolutely
Genre:	Comedy