Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #794 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-10-01
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 176 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Absolutely Fabulous was 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 Fab remains 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 Fab would forever stay British to the core. --Nikki Disney

Special Features
4:3 Full Frame
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo
15 Minutes Of Outtakes
Scene Selection
Photo Gallery
Dutch\English

Synopsis
This collection presents the second smashing season of the uproarious BBC comedy series about two women--Patsy (Joanna Lumley) and Edina (Jennifer Saunders)--living high on life, amongst other more potent uplifts. ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS: SERIES 2 includes six episodes: "Hospital" (An upcoming photo shoot of Patsy stimulates facelift ideas); "Death" (Edina's father dies); "Morocco" (Patsy and Edina take a trip to Morocco); "New Best Friend" (Edina's artist friends bring over their new baby); "Poor" (Edina suddenly finds herself needing to save her money); and "Birth" (The house nearly burns down). Kiss, kiss, sweetie darling!

Customer Reviews

something missing
i adore ab fab. series 2 is my favourite series, 'death' is my favourite episode and my favourite 'moment' is when Saffy thinks her mother is getting all deep and meaningful but all she's doing is quoting lyrics from the Madonna song 'Like A Prayer', so you can imagine my horror when i discovered this scene had been cut from the dvd.why????. what other classic scenes are we being deprived of ?

Absolutely One Of The Best Sitcoms Of The 1990s
Absolutely Fabulous had been launched from a sketch Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders had written in their third series of French And Saunders in 1990. It saw Jennifer Saunders playing Edina Monsoon, a neurotic fashion designer who does very little work and constantly puts upon her poor, frustated daughter, Saffron which in that sketch was played by Dawn French.

In 1992, that initial sketch was further developed into a series of its own with this time, Julia Shawala playing Edina's daughter, Saffron. Also in the casting was Joanna Lumley as Edina's scavanging best "friend", Patsy Stone, who also is in the fashion industry but does very little work, as the case with Edina. It was interesting to see Joanna Lumley escape her usual aristocratic image in favour of the foul-mouthed, drug-taking, chain-smoking, promiscuous alcoholic, Patsy and she plays the role superbly, really injecting life into the series. TV veteran, June Whitfield played Edina's completely batty mother which she plays to perfection whilst the multi-talented Jane Horrocks plays the blatantly incompetent Bubble, P.A to Edina. A perfect piece of casting here in what would emerge as the smash hit comedy series of the 1990's and an absolute masterpiece.

In 1994, a second season was filmed and was better than ever and fully in its swing (and prime). The rollercoaster dialogue is astoundingly razor sharp throughout each six episodes in the series.

Hospital opens the series where Patsy decides to brave all and go under the knife for cosmetic surgery, following her unhealthy obsession for wanting to look young. Funeral is played out almost like pure black comedy where Edina's father dies but unable to face her emotions refuses to go the funeral.....that is until she drinks several bottles of champaigne.

Morrocco is an absolute gem in the series and one of my own personal favourites. Pats, Edina and Saffron all fly off to Morrocco following Edina's promotional prospects for her new sunglasses design, laughably entitled, Pop Specs. After arranging an interview with Vogue magazine in the heart of a quiet, seemingly deserted town, they end up getting lost and also sell Saffy off as a slave. The comic timing and witty one-liners are delivered impeccably throughout this episode and indeed as the case with every other episode of season 2.


New Best Friend sees the special guest apperance of the British singer, Lulu whilst Poor is one of the ultimate classics of the entire four seasons to date. Edina is forced to cut-back on her extravagent lifestyle she and Patsy had been lapping up and during a shopping trick they get arrested for drunk-driving. Hilarious stuff!

The second series winds up with another comic gem, Fire, in which Patsy burns down Edinas kitchen and whilst all sitting down watching television in the upstairs lounge, they get locked in accidentally by Eddy's batty mother. Eddy, Pats and Saffy soon reveal some of their inner-most secrets. There are some hilarious comic moments in this episode and the dialogue completely sparkles all the way making you just want more at the end of the episode.

Absolutely Fabulous was the smash hit of the 1990's!

Great eps, poor DVD
Ab Fab is one of the best sit coms ever made and the DVDs are the poorest ever made. Quirks in both sound and vision are present, sometimes the DVD pauses and skips over whole lines at times. The audio sometimes hops from one speaker to the other. But the eps are as good as ever. Only get this if you have an infinite patience.