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Absolutely Fabulous - Series 4 - Complete [1992]


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Editorial
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 opularity 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. --N!ikki Disney

Editorial
Video Description

DVD Special Features:
Commentary by Jennifer Saunders and the Producer, Jon Plowman
12 Minutes of Out-Takes
Behind the scenes interviews
Includes the Pilot Episode: Mirrorball (transmitted 22/12/00)
Photo Gallery
Scene Selection

Subtitles: English SDH
Dolby Digital Stereo
Regions 2+4
Running time: 174 mins approx

Editorial
Synopsis

Patsy and Edina make a triumphant (or at least loud) return in this fourth series of AB FAB. As decadent as ever, Patsy (Joanna Lumley) and Eddy (Jennifer Saunders) content with new jobs, rock concerts, the French, and...God
Editorial
From the Back Cover


Parralox: Fame at last, darling! Edina's due to appear on Richard and Judy in the morning and an invitation to Christmas at Trudi and Sting's can't be far behind. She'd better iron out those wrinkles - luckily, Patsy has just the thing
Fish Farm:Surprise, surprise! Eddy has a garden and there's a sexy, aristocratic gardner in it! Time for her to crank up the old va va voom and set about finding his country seat.
Paris:Move over Naomi, Kate and Gisele, Patsy's back in front of the camera, as Eddy, Saffy and Bubble join her for a magazine photoshoot a Paris. A mother and daughter spread beckons - that is, if Saffy manages to survive Edina's idea of sightseeing.
Donkey: "I'd just once like to take my clothes off and not be marked by them" Two weeks into her detox diet and Eddy's found a muscle in her arm for the first time. Meanwhile, Patsy's undergoing a transformation of her own - by losing her trademark '60s fringe
Small Opening: "I know the kind of little play you will have written. It'll make Mommie Dearest look like Winnie the Pooh." The shame of it all! Saffy's written a play about her life and Edina is horrified. Just how fat is the actress playing her going to be?
Menopause:Womb prayers echo all around the house as Eddy and Patsy join Menopausals Anonymous. While Edina rails against the group hugs, a new, altogether fluffier, Patsy is about to emerge


A strong offering, in spite of what the critics thought...
Review date: 2008-02-27 Rating: 8 out of 10

Though it seemed unlikely to return for another series after "The Last Shout" Christmas special from 1996, Jennifer Saunders defied everyone's expectations when she came back to our screens in September 2001 for a fourth series of anarchic and hedonistic misadventures as the notorious PR doyenne Edina Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous.

With some old favourites in tow, like Patsy, Bubble and Mother, as well as some new faces like Edina's latest PR conquest Katy Grin, plus some star studded cameos ranging from 60's icon Twiggy through to fashion model Erin O'Connor, Series 4 of Ab Fab might not have always been as consistent as some of the previous series, but despite the critics rubbishing this and Series 5 within an inch of it's life, there are still numerous belly laughs to be had in this series.

Just as Saunders satirised all the trends and neuroses that affected life in the 90's, here too, she mocks those of the Noughties and the new millenium; everything from nu metal concerts in "Fish Farm" (Patsy dressed as Marilyn Manson is a particular highlight) through to tried and tested by Carol Vorderman diets where you only eat meat and water in "Donkey" (containing the highly amusing line about Edina "wanting to take [her] clothes off and not be marked by them").

In terms of storylines and dialogue, the episodes "Fish Farm" (Edina is painfully funny to watch as she tries to flirt outrageously with the gardner Saffy's brought in) "Paris" and "Small Opening", the latter of which seeing Saffy stage a play about her life titled "Self Raising Flower" (not met, naturally, with a good response by Edina or Patsy), are probably the best. The series closer, "Menopause", however, does feels a little inconsistent and I only found myself laughing at the first 15 minutes - I think it's probably Saffy's hallucinations of Patsy that threw me back a little bit there - it seemed too bizzare, even for a show notoriously bizzare as Ab Fab.

Overall, a strong effort of a series from Jennifer, Joanna and co. For a show to have come back like that in the new millenium is no easy task but they obviously dealt with it very well.

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Reviews


THEY'RE BACK!
Review date: 2006-05-04 Rating: 10 out of 10

Absolutely Fabulous returned in late 2001 with a fourth season, five years after The Last Shout (1996) special had aired which was ultimately intended to conclude the series once and for all. However in 2000 the cast of Absolutely Fabulous were reunited in a one-off comedy special, Mirrorball which had won rave reviews and was not a bit unlike Absolutely Fabulous in its tone. Having each enjoyed working together again, Jennifer Saunders decided it was time to put pen to paper and began writing a fourth series of this unbeatable sitcom that won countless awards during its run in the 1990's.

The fourth season opens a little disappointingly with Paralox. Edina is due to appear on a British morning television show with the pretentious celebrity, Katie who is played fantastically by the astoundingly multi-talented, Jane Horrocks (who also plays Bubble in the series, the blatantly incompetent P.A to Eddy). Feeling as though shes looking old she hesitantly turns to her vile best friend, Pats who comes up with the hideous idea of using paralox to try and make her look younger. Joanna Lumley reprises the role of Patsy with a vengeance and is equally hilarious in her characterisation as she always was. This episode is lacking something though and the punchy and witty one-liners don't roll along quite as thick and fast as they once had. Times had changed and evidently so had the progamme with Jennifer Saunders clearly having adopted a more diverse approach to her writing in an effort to keep up with the ever changing times and trends of the day.

Fish Farm, sees the series enter full swing again and there are even points in this episode which harks back to the good old days of the series. Edina discovers a dishy, aristocratic gardner who she (through a comic misunderstanding) presumes is worth a fortune and so reluctantly sets out to seduce him at the persistent urge of her scavanging, selfish best friend, Pats. There are some hilarious moments here and the dialogue rides along like a roller coster with all the jokes perfectly timed and delivered deliciously from the stars of the series.

Paris is self explanitory as the gang heads off there for a photo shoot Patsy is assigned to work on as an ageing model whilst Eddy and her poor, put upon daughter, Saffy (Juila Sawahala) begin to finally bond as mother and daughter... that is until they reach the top of the eiffel tower and Eddy shrewdly tricks Saffy into exposing her breasts for all to see in an effort to be "more with the times darling" as her mother says. Classic stuff!

Donkey is slow moving and is one of the weaker episodes in the series where Eddy desperately trys to conjure up a new, fit healthy lifestyle of exercise and eating the right food in a bid to boost her self confidence and become slim. Ideas seemed to be wearing thin as this subject had been touched on before numerous times in the origanal three series but in its favour does hold enough laughs to see it through.

Small Opening is of good value where Eddys daughter, Saffy takes the play she'd written about her life, which largely draws on her complex relationship with her mother to the stage and Eddy is not in the least bit happy.... until she goes to see the play herself and ends up striking up a friendship with the actors much to Saffys dismay.

Finally the series ends on a high with the hilarious, Menopause where Patsy and Eddy join the laughably titled, Menopausals anonymous. American comedienne Ruby Wax guest stars in this episode and was involved in the series constantly having been a script editor through each season. The ending which shows Patsy and Eddy as old women is classic stuff and will undoubtedly have you in stitches.

Despite a few patchy moments, series 4 of this masterpiece comedy is another rollercoster ride of fun, games and laughs and makes for essential viewing with all the actors glowing in their parts.




As good as the rest.
Review date: 2006-01-09 Rating: 8 out of 10

I've been reading a lot of negative reviews on these series but I must say I disagree, I believe series 4 is just as good as all the other series!! I'm a huge fan of Absolutely Fabulous and I'm sure whoever is as well would agree with me!

Series 4 - There is No Comparison
Review date: 2005-02-07 Rating: 10 out of 10

Absolutely Fabulous are back again and this time they hit our screens bigger and bolder than ever before. Edina is more grown up but still not as grown up as Patsy (who we still don't know how old she is.) Saffy is still moaning at her mother for not doing any of the housework. Edina gets cross at Saffy when she writes a play about her life and in the end Edina makes friends with the woman playing her. This is without a dought the best series so far and i hope that there are many more years to come. if you saw the christmas special and enjoyed go for this series first and you are bound to enhjoy every minute of it.

"Fabulous darling!"
Review date: 2004-11-22 Rating: 10 out of 10

Having been a fan of the absolutely fabulous series from day one, i can honestly say that series 4 is one of the best so far. Ignore any negative reviews, if you're a fan of ab fab you'll love it. 'Paralox', 'fish farm' and 'Small opening' have to be some of the funniest episodes ever. The earlier series were in no way complete classics as some would have us believe, there are plenty of unfunny episodes in series 1, 2 and 3.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Benjamin Soames

Creators:
Benjamin Soames (Primary Contributor)

Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503111427
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Box set, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2002-04-08
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 180 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1994-07-24
Language: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Original Language)

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