Absolutely Fabulous

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Absolutely Fabulous

5 / 5

Series: 5 (plus specials)

Aired: 1992 - 2012

Channel: BBC One

Writer: Jennifer Saunders

Cast: Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield, Jane Horrocks et al

I was very late to Absolutely Fabulous. Very late. I think I was probably binge-watching The Vicar of Dibley and hadn't given Ab Fab the time of day, though thinking back I don't think I would have really gotten it back then, either. Whilst I'm loath to use the term, it is, on the surface, a Girly-Girl comedy which would have repulsed me back then. And it, again on the surface, is fashion-orientated which would have made me run a mile. But way deep down, oh my it is, well, absolutely fabulous.

I think we should give props to the BBC and Jennifer Saunders for, first and foremost, writing a female comedy, starring female characters and talking about female things in the nineties. Feminism was dead in the nineties, pretty much. Yet here were some female characters who were all damaged and strong at the same time. I'm going to keep this post short and sweet, even though I could wax lyrical about how much I think these characters are the most developed, underrated comedy characters I've ever seen. Here's what you need to know...

Edina Monsoon lives with her daughter Saffron in a very well-to-do area of London. You'd think their life, with Eddie being a successful business woman and Saffron a school pupil, would be fairly monotonous and run-of-the-mill. Well, that would be the case if Eddie was not the most self-centered woman trying absolutely everything unfabulous to claw back her fleeting youth, whilst Saffy has become a bitter and cynical person as she deals with her mother's constant tantrums and drug-fuelled lifestyle. Add in to the mix Patsy, who is dependent on Eddie so much, the most idiotic person ever born in Bubble, Edina's PA, and Edina's mother and the whole thing becomes a huge, vicious cycle of unspoken hatred.

Deep down, they all love each other in their very odd and dysfunctional way. I'd like to think Patsy does actually like Saffy and vice versa, though their detestation for each is the catalyst for much of the comedy throughout the series. The fact that none of them talk about their feelings means that anything Eddie thinks is "important" has all of her feelings and emotions superimposed on to it, therefore a magazine shoot becomes much more important than her own daughters birthday.

The first series was not wholly humorous. I've always found that to be the case with some comedies, as if this first series is solely for introductions and the comedy kind of gets left at the wayside a little. It gets sharper, smarter and wittier after the initial couple of episodes, however, and as the series go by it gets darker as the relationships heat up and boil over, mostly surrounding Saffie's increasing intolerance of her mother's behaviour and the enabling of Patsy toward her lifestyle. There have been many specials concerning various events, such as the Olympics, and the fire of the series has never died down and the true heart of it hasn't ever been lost, so I'm very much looking forward to the film.