Absolutely Fabulous

Absolutely Fabulous (popularly referred to as "Ab Fab") is a British sitcom written by Jennifer Saunders and starring Saunders and Joanna Lumley. The show, broadcast by the BBC in the United Kingdom, grew from a sketch originally written and performed for the comedy show French and Saunders, which co-starred Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French, and has aired off and on since it first debuted on November 12, 1992. The sketch itself was developed from the earlier Eddie Monsoon: A Life?, a comedy play written for The Comic Strip Presents... TV series.

Premise

Edina Monsoon (Saunders) and Patsy Stone (Lumley) are two out-of-place, stuck-in-the-1960s, substance-abusing fashion and fad-obsessed Londoners who value style (and substances) over substance. Saffron (Julia Sawalha), Edina's daughter by a previous marriage, provides the voice of Monsoon and Stone's superego.

Related Topics:
Julia Sawalha - Superego

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Edina owns a public relations firm whose only steady client is fading pop singer Lulu, who is barely hanging on by a thread. (In later years, this switched to former Spice Girl Emma Bunton.) Amidst her struggling business Edina is desperate to give off the aura of success, wealth and fabulousness.

Related Topics:
Lulu - Spice Girl - Emma Bunton

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Meanwhile, cohort Patsy portrays an outrageous past-her-prime model who shares a co-dependent parasitic existence with Edina. This relationship usually results in hilarious, albeit dysfunctional behaviours, and over-the-top conflicts with all characters who happen to interact with Patsy.

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Edina's daughter Saffron is depicted as the long suffering milquetoast intellectual who endures bombastic abuse from both main characters. But in this series, being the voice of reason only adds to the hilarity of the outrageous relationships of the characters.

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The show circles around Edina's constant struggle to achieve fame and success amidst the disapproval of her daughter and the constant presence of her doddering, senile elderly mother. Throughout Patsy is at her side encouraging the behaviours that are constantly causing her conflict. Also in and out of her life are her ex-husband Justin (and his lover Oliver) and her other ex-husband Marshall, with his scheming New-Age California wife Bo.

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Much of the comedy of the show is physical, usually derived from Edina and Patsy's drunken states and over the top substance abuse.

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A recurring gag found new ways for Edina to fall headfirst out of automobiles, windows, or down her kitchen stairs at least once every season. Episodes also found the pair travelling to locations like New York, Paris and Morocco, usually with complaining daughter in tow.

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