Shark Bytes

This show is incredible! I remember watching it when I was younger and only getting half of it, now I watch and I truely appreciate the great writing & acting. Edina and Patsy are truely one of the most underrated comedy duos in history! IMO the first 3 series were the best but that doesn't mean that the 4th and 5th aren't great, in fact "small opening" of the 4th series has got to be one of the best episodes ever of this absolutely fabulous show! Never jumped.

a note on a question asked earlier:how is patsy 65 when she went to school with eddie, who is 45? the answer is simple: in season 3, in the episode where patsy's estranged sister,jackie/jacks, is intoduced, jacks said to pats "at least our mother loved you." pats:"what do you mean jacks?" jacks:"you lived with her, didn't you? she sent you to SCHOOL, didn't she?" pats:"yeah, but by the time i got to kindergarten, i was bigger than the TEACHER!" so, that's the answer. patsy was probably in her late teens by the time she met eddie in kindergarten!

"The Last Shout" was crap, but then the series went better again with Season 4 and 5 and the "Gay" special. Season 5 was taking place too much in the kitchen, they probably ran out of money, but the episode when Saffy gives birth to her baby is so fab it just justifies all the slack. Whatever happened to Eddie's gay son then? The special was between season 4 and 5, but he is never mentioned again in season 5. Bubbles became more and more retarded, in the earlier season she was kind of smart sometimes. Never really jumped, but it almost did with "The Last Shout". They could not make up their mind whether Saffy's husband was gay or not. And Eddie as Jesus was really not working. Neither was Marianne Faithful as "God". Some continuity problems were also obvious: the story with Bo (once she was a nurse, then separated from that short guy, then back with him again, etc.), Bubbles was sacked then back again, was not in "The Last Shout" at all, Titicaca was smart in the early seasons and psycho in season 4 and 5, etc. And can anyone tell how Patsy can be 65 when she went to school with Eddie who is supposed to be about 45???

Absolutely Fabulous jumped the shark with the 2-part story ending the 3rd season. Up until then Patsy and Edina perfectly embodied the mindless self-absorption of the brain-dead denizens of the fashion world. Then for that story we were suddenly supposed to see them as "real" people and not the perfect caricatures they had been up to that point. The 2-part conclusion to the 3rd season broke with everything I like about British comedy by pretty much being "a very special episode" of Ab Fab.

Huh? How can you jump the shark...

when you ARE the Shark?

LOL

Two glam alcoholic protagonist flower children with a penchant for drugs and young men and glory days amidst their rich and cynical careers? The possibilities are endless. Never jumped was my vote. Not a perfect show, but faithful to the concepts above, audience be damned. High school flashback episode? Eddie seducing Patsy's daughter's boyfriend with liquor? Flying the Concorde to photograph a NYC doorknob?
Priceless.
As an American, Fawlty Towers is my number one tv show of all time. This is top twenty because the humor is sharp and steady, as the writing is, as the characters are. Long live ABFAB.

Absolutely Fabulous NEVER, NEVER, NEVER jumped the shark. It is, without a doubt, the perfect television sitcom. The writing, with its razor sharp wit and melodramatic approach to topical issues, balanced with (what else?) fabulous costumes, incredibly committed performers, and impeccable timing, make each episode a complete joy to watch, a delightful escape from reality that I enjoy with the same intensity and verve again and again. And praise to the BBC for actually letting their half-hour sitcoms actually be a half-hour! The show benefits immensely from the extra time, serving as a cherry-on-top to certain episodes. (For instance, the post-credit bumps are ALWAYS hysterical, my favorites being whenever Eddy and Patsy are show in their eighties, or when John tells Saffy she should tell everyone she encounters, that she's pregnant, lest they think she's fat!)

I will agree that there is a slight awkwardness in the episodes of series 3 where Saffy moves out of her mother's house - Julia Sawalha's flawless performance as the bewildered liberal daughter is the glue that holds everything together - the effect of Eddy and Patsy's comments and adventures on Saffron give Ab Fab the wonderful injection of reality it so desperately needs.

But to all of those people out there who say the show jumped after those first three series, you are wrong. And here are ten reasons why:

1) "Panickin'", which may not be Ab Fab's, but also television's, most perfect half an hour of comedy EVER. It is Jennifer Saunders' best episode, and also Jane Horrocks' best episode ("Is it a dwarf?", "Are you Minnie Driver?") and the only time I've actually liked Minnie Driver in anything.

2) Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley just keep getting better and better, especially with age. Saunders is the most gifted comedienne in the world, and her physical humor and improvisational abilities are simply astounding. Joanna Lumley's Patsy, in turn, becomes suitably more outrageous, as she should, needing to top everything we've seen previously.

3) Gran's Alzheimer's. This speaks for itself, June Whitfield is amazing.

4) Someone in their foolish comments said, "It's not as good when Saffy gets fatter and older." You're wrong. First, she's pregnant, not fat, and second, Saffy's evolution is the throughline of the show. It is so cathartic to see Julia Sawahla fight back in Series 4 and 5, and there are moments when her barbs outdo Eddy and Patsy's. ("It'll take more than collagen to fill your face. How many whales are going to have to die to fill those crevices? I don't know if the whaling fleet can keep up with the demand!") Amazing, Ms. Sawahla. I hope to see you in more shows soon.

5) John Johnson. Brilliant. The episode where Saffy gives birth and John keeps appearing into the ceiling, walls, and floor is comedic genius, and the actor is quite talented. Even though John's a bit of a clueless doofus, despite being an academic, we the audience really like him. He adds another layer of fun to the show that some of the earlier men (Marshall, Justin, Oliver) did not.

6) Saffy's play, "A Self-Growing Flower." I guess the world would be metatelevisionary? Brilliant writing, Jennifer Saunders, brilliant. And Patsy's adoration of the actor playing her is (what else?) fabulous.

7) The culmination of Eddy's sing-song motif, "Walking Down the Road", where she records over the last Beatles record with her nonsensical, out-of-tune little ditty. Perfect.

8) Katy Grin. Now I don't like Katy Grin, and I don't think we as the audience is supposed to, but it just goes to show the range and versatility of Jane Horrocks, and makes us appreciate just how much effort, time, and thought it must take to make Bubble's lines work.

9) The episode where Eddy gets Saffy to flash on top of the Eiffel Tower.

10) The finale. Particularly two moments. One- where Saffy tries to give Eddy a goodnght kiss on Christmas Eve, to Eddy's befuddlement. (I believe, though my friends disagree, that Eddy does have some redeemable qualities, an affection towards her daughter) and the menace but "stalemate" feel to the way Joanna Lumley says "Merry Christmas" to Julia Sawalha in the finale. Watch it. There's a LOT of nuance. A LOT.

Absolutely Fabulous is just that. And I am going to watch one, right now.

I think this show jumped when Saffy got fat and angry. Saffy is such a spoiled brat. Seriously. Yes, Eddie is a self-centered mother, but damn. I would have loved to have a nice house, clothes on my back, and food in my belly, like Saffy. If saffy hated things so much, she could have just moved. You notice she didn't? Exactly. I notice she didn't ever seem to get a job, or become self-sufficient, either. I notice she stayed in the house, in the same environment she hates so damn much, to raise her kid. Also, to the British people on here insulting Americans and American tv, you all need to step off. Before you all get on your high horses, let us not forget that excellent British tv show, "The Bill."

When AbFab was on Comedy Central, I made it a point to remain home to see it every week. Who could help it? It was bolder and funnier than anything ever put on "scared to offend someone in The Bible Belt" American TV, the writing was brilliant, and even the secondary characters were memorable. While Patsy, Edina, and Saffy were wonderfully written and played, Gram steals the show whenever she is on camera. This show never jumped because it never compromised. It was raunchy, drug addled, and never failed to surprise. The episode where they were in the French countryside is burned into my memory like a hilarious brand. No, never jumped. Too much of a classic.

This show never jumped. I love it. Thankfully they play reruns on cable. I love in particular the earlier series. Theres not too many shows make me laugh like Ab Fab. I love the "Isolation tank" episode. I love the way the characters are consistent. They dont try to redeem Patsy or Edina. Thats something I admired about Seinfeld also. They never tried to redeem the characters toward the end. One of the best shows of the 90s and 00's.

I absolutely love the show, have pretty much every episode on VHS or divx, and know some of the dialogues by heart (Patsy: I hate Jane bloody Fonda... I paid for those plastic domes on her chest, I want them when she dies!). That said, the episodes of season 4 and 5 are not nearly as good as the first three seasons. The season 3 finale, with the glimpse of the future, was the perfect ending. The Last Shout was hilarious, if only Jennifer Saunders had stopped there... Still I was thrilled that she decided to do season 4, and it is not like she didn't try something else: did anyone watch Mirrorball (different sitcom, same cast)?- it wasn't nearly as good as AbFab, but after the pilot she was convinced that there was still enough material to do a fourth abfab season. So maybe she was wrong... season 4 and 5 are still better than the average sitcom though.

Never jumped, sweetie dahlings! "Don't question me", "Abort, abort, abort!". Love the isolation tank episode - "Bubble, what do you do? What is your job?" Bubble replied, "I don't know. Get paid." This show rules!

The original series of "Absolutely Fabulous" was just absolutely fabulous, darling. However, things started downhill when the "specials" started airing. I Just witnessed the latest special on the "Oxygen" cable network, April 2nd, 2005. It was all about Eddy wanting to "re-do" her kitchen. Actually, no it wasn't all about that. Unfortunately, precious time was wasted on "guest stars". For some reason Jennifer Saunders (lead actress/head writer/series creator) thought it was necessary to donate an extraordinary amount of time to the characters of Edina's ex-husband (the straight one) and his present wife. The two were on the run from the law after bilking trusting parishoners to their home-made religion. A terribly unfunny segment. Next came Nathan Lane as an interior decorator. This segment was certainly funnier than the afore mentioned, but it was still not up to expectations. A very large chunk of the hour long episode was donated to the actress who played Jackie on the "Roseanne" series, Laurie Metcalf. This was my first siting of this actress since "Roseanne" went off the air. Obviously Jennifer Saunders met her during the "AbFab/Roseanne" crossover episode of "Roseanne" many years ago. While Metcalf is a fine actress, and indeed earned an emmy or two on "Roseanne", her appearance here as a hypnotist who attempts to get Eddy to regress back to a time when she had a very nice kitchen, was simply drawn out and empty. The laugh track loved this scene, but it just didn't cut it. Perhaps the most disappointing part of the episode was Joanne Lumley's portrayal of the usually lovably awful Patsy. While taking Patsy to new heights of wasted delirement, Lumley mumbled and purposely stumbled her way through the episode. The result was that I couldn't understand half the lines her character was uttering. Patsy's "draining" all over the place throughout the episode was brilliantly inspired though. A terribly sad waste was the underused Julia Sawalha as Edina's long suffering daughter, Saffy. A wonderful actress (who is quite beautiful when Saffy's young-bitty make-up is removed) Miss Sawalha simply was not provided with anything to do. A missed oportunity was Saffy's threatening to "re-do" the kitchen herself when Edina continuously dragged her feet to the mission. It would have been very surprising had Saffy gone ahead and redecorated the kitchen and done an absolutely fabulous job of it. That would certainly have shocked (and irritated) her mother! The very final shot of this special episode is surprising in it's concluding moments, and very appropriate to the characters of Edina and Patsy. Overall, an unfortunate "special" reunion to a previously simply wonderful program.

I want to be fair. Certain scenes of Ab Fab made me laugh quite a bit. But overall it was a mish mash of baffling, obscure or irrelvant diatribe. And Jennifer Saunders seems particularly keen on the visual quality of her show rather than the dialogue. For instance, far too many famous people taking part. Fine if they are given witty or "shaping" lines. But just there in order to be there is just cringingly embarrassing as they all seem at a loss as to what their roles are. Another irritating factor is the wealth of pretty/fashionable scenery on display. I know it's a programme about fashion etc but having shots of plush department stores or exclusive London streets is no substitute for being well-written.

Im going to say something that isn't popular, I hate English Comedy. I always did, never got "it." Until AB FAB that is. There are only two shows of comedy that I consider to be masterpieces belonging in a case under lock and key, AB FAB and Larry Sanders. Out of those two AB FAB wins hands down Sweetie Darling. Yes, I did notice slight quality drop during the end, but as far as im concerned those episodes are still the best thing ever produced for TV. ever. Bar none. To this day if I see one on comedy central, and they don't show them much anymore, I will stop drop and watch at a heartbeat ... and I laugh as much as I did the first three times I saw them. I can understand why some people don't like some comedies, but this is one I cant imagine anyone NOT liking. Patsy and Edina are my heroes and saffy, well, I don't know how she managed to do this with such a straight face all the time. She was brilliant. Jennifer, please do something else for us soon. We miss you.