Customer Reviews

Absolutely Fabulous - Absolutely Special (The Last Shout/In New York)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This DVD comprises the 2 ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS 'specials', "The Last Shout" and "Gay".

"The Last Shout" - In the AB-FAB timeline, this special takes place after Series 3, when Jennifer Saunders was adamant that this was to be be last-ever AB-FAB story. Eddy and Patsy take a trip to the snowfields of Val de Ser, leaving Saffy at home with her stuffy new boyfriend Paolo Carlo.

During their event-filled holiday, Eddy becomes convinced that she is Christ returned after having a near-death experience on a mountaintop where she visited God (Marianne Faithful). Patsy is evicted from her flat above the Oddbins in the Kings Road, and Mother has shacked up with some old friends in a grotty caravan.

Saffy and Paolo decide to get married, leaving Eddy to plan the wedding of the century...

"Gay" - In the AB-FAB timeline this story takes place after Series 4. Eddy discovers that her absent son Serge is gay and living in New York. Since she and Patsy are in town during Fashion Week anyway, she decides to seek him out. With the help of Goldie (Whoopi Goldberg), a lesbian marriage celebrant, Eddy and Serge are reunited...but for how long?

AB-FAB fans will relish adding these stories to their collections. Always a fantastic show!

For those of us that pre-ordered the DVD, you were probably unpleasantly suprised to find that Jennifer Saunder's commentary is NOT on this Disc. I know it's always a chance actually expecting what they say will be among the special features will acutally be present but this time they've gone cheap. Figuring if you like AbFab you'll buy anything no matter how slap dash it is.

The commentary was the big selling point to me and now I feel cheated a bit.

I'm even a bit ticked about the vaguely homophobic description of the Gay episode on the box.

As other reviews have said, they went with a poor scan and pan instead of showing the *slightly* letterbox version. If Comedy Central could get it right, why not BBC video? Isn't that why we buy DVDs?

The outtakes from both shows are on the disc and that's it for extra's. Also disappointing is the lack of subtitles (though I guess it's closed captioned if you have a TV that can display those).

Comedically, definitely 5 stars and one of my favorites comedians. The DVD techinical quality? I give it 1 star.

The season 4 2-disc set was excellent and filled with extra's, commentary, and no annoying 'pre main menu' commecials. Guess I got my hopes up after that.

Frankly, this is an "Absolutely Miserable" release!

I love Absolutely Fabulous. I had never seen the NY special, so I've really been looking forward to this dvd. BBC screwed up by letting WB anywhere near it, I guess. The production quality is so sloppy and cheaply done, it almost spoils the entire special.

Don't expect commentary, or more than a couple of minutes of NY outtakes. Bad conversion as well. Basically "Gay" was quickly tacked onto the "Last Shout" special dvd with little else added and little effort taken. AbFab fans deserve much more than this.

I love this series and it hurts to say this, but I was even disappointed with the NY special itself. Parts are funny, but I was expecting more. I couldn't believe it ended so quickly; it seemed like it was just gaining momentum and getting interesting (after wading through some lesser, filler stuff), then it was over. Great, but not AbFab great. I'm hoping it's setting up the new series and we'll see more. Mo Gaffney is at her best here, though - some of the funniest bits are Mo's. Note: I watched again and realized that the West Hollywood spotlight review is right. I think a lot of the comedy is lost because of the botched transfer and close cropping. Really a shame. If you can somehow get ahold of a better version, Gay may actually be funnier than it shows on this DVD.

Also an observation: If you're using the averaged number of stars given as a guideline, keep in mind that the vast majority of 4 and 5 star reviews here aren't reviews of this actual DVD. They were AbFab fans writing about the DVD before they even saw it; before it was even released. So, they may be reviewing Last Shout and Gay as they saw it on TV, but they are NOT reviewing this particular DVD. It's really different. Look at the reviews written after the actual DVD release date, 9/23, by people who actually have seen the DVD, as a better guide.

I hope all future BBC/Warners dvd productions aren't botched in this way. I'm a die-hard AbFab fan, but if I'd known the quality of this dvd, not sure I would have bought it.

I suppose if you do not like Whoopi Goldberg, you may not find her funny in this DVD. I suppose if what you REALLY want to see is the commentary and if it's missing, you may be disappointed. However, if you pay attention to the episodes, which is why I purchased the DVD, they are hilarious! My Ab Fab collection wouldn't be near complete without this one. In fact, "Gay" is one of my favorites. Jennifer Saunders & Dawn French are brilliant writers...always the best.

Overall, this is still sublime comedy, but compared with other AbFab packages, this is at the bottom of the barrel.

Although I miss the commentary and letterboxing of Series 4, my biggest complaint is the lack of theme song. One of the best things about "The Last Shout" is the theme-song version of "This Wheel's on Fire" sung by guest star Marianne Faithful. Apparently, Warner is too cheap to pony up for the song rights for the DVD, so that version (along with the regular version on "In New York" a.k.a. "Gay") has been excised. If you want to hear it, you can try to get ahold of a copy of the out-of-print VHS version of "The Last Shout."

Let's face it - in relation to the regular "series" episodes, these "specials" are not quite up to par. "The Last Shout" was intended to be the series finale and/or a botched AbFab movie. While Part 1 of "Last Shout" rivals the early-series travel episodes for its French skiing adventures, "Part 2" is predictable melodrama - did anyone really believe Saffy would tie the knot with a character we'd never seen before?

As for "In New York," this is perhaps the weakest of any AbFab production, down there with the awkward guest episode in "Roseanne"'s disastrous final season. This episode is actually titled "Gay," but for whatever marketing reason, is called "In New York," on this DVD. It is a shameless shout-out to AbFab's gay fans, but also a completely clumsy and dishonest stunt. First of all, Serge wasn't meant to be gay - in an early episode, Eddie, Pats, and Saffy discovered a stack of heterosexual adult magazines in Serge's American-Football-themed old bedroom (one issue featuring a young Patsy baring all). Secondly, once Eddie and Patsy arrive in New York, this episode dissovles into comedic purgatory, with Whoopi Goldberg (!) poorly playing a PFLAG-like counselor and the ladies engaging in an unwitting gay wedding. It's not funny or genuine to the characters or to the audience. I doubt the gay community was hollering for an awknowledgement as unfunny and forced as this.

That being said, we are still talking about one of the best, most original comedies created in the last quarter century. Here's to hoping Series 5 will get the show back on track (although the idea of Saffy giving birth isn't sounding so promising, either).

This DVD comprises the 2 ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS 'specials', "The Last Shout" and "Gay".

"The Last Shout" - In the AB-FAB timeline, this special takes place after Series 3, when Jennifer Saunders was adamant that this was to be be last-ever AB-FAB story. Eddy and Patsy take a trip to the snowfields of Val de Ser, leaving Saffy at home with her stuffy new boyfriend Paolo Carlo.

During their event-filled holiday, Eddy (Jennifer Saunders) becomes convinced that she is Christ returned after having a near-death experience on a mountaintop where she visited God (Marianne Faithful). Patsy (Joanna Lumley) is evicted from her flat above the Oddbins in the Kings Road, and Mother (June Whitfield) has shacked up with some old friends in a grotty caravan.

Saffy (Julia Sawalha) and Paolo decide to get married, leaving Eddy to plan the wedding of the century...

"Gay" - In the AB-FAB timeline this story takes place after Series 4. Eddy discovers that her absent son Serge is gay and living in New York. Since she and Patsy are in town during Fashion Week anyway, she decides to seek him out. With the help of Goldie (Whoopi Goldberg), a lesbian marriage celebrant, Eddy and Serge are reunited...but for how long?

AB-FAB fans will relish adding these stories to their collections.

No other television show, save Sex and the City has come even close to being as good. This special is a must have for the AB FAB fan, it is excellent.

Of course I would have bought it even if it had a white cover and no "extras" but when I opened the dvd case and there was not even an inner sleeve I was so disappointed. I love the inner sleeves and I thought that for 20 bucks a pop they could have at least given us an inner sleeve detailing what we would find on the disc. Other than that the episodes are great and Im so glad to finally have them on DVD. Hopefully they'll do a better job when releasing the forthcoming season in the future. We can keep our fingers crossed, can't we?

Okay, first: the people who have complained about the actual DVD transfer have every right to be disappointed. "Gay" should be widescreen, but is not on this disc. The theme songs for both specials are removed. And, worst of all, the box takes the special name "Gay" and redubs it "In New York." Insulting. So there's that out of the way.

As everyone else has said, "The Last Shout" is great. It's nice to actually have this available in Region 1. Pretty much everything works in "The Last Shout," even if the ending falls a bit flat.

I'd also like to say, though, that "Gay" is good as well. A lot of people (using phrases like "recycled vomit") have said otherwise. They say it's just jumping on the gay-TV bandwagon for easy laughs and "fabulous" atmosphere. And this is how it appears... until Eddy actually meets her son (spoiler alert). The real gag is that Serge, despite the gay stereotype, is possibly more boring than "dull-as-dishwater" Saffy. So Eddy's larger-than-life world view once again seems completely silly when compared with the pragmatism of her child... it's just the other one, this time.

No, "Gay" isn't as good as "The Last Shout," but it's not bad. I'd say it's better than most of Series 4, which, in my opinion, was the most inconsistent. Then again, it's not up to the superb quality of Series 5, either.

Six years span the two 'special' episodes that are included on this Fab disc and they're finally here and almost worth the wait.
The material is hilarious, as usual, and the out-takes...most of which are from 'The Last Shout' are not only just out-takes but extended/alternate and deleted scenes. The out-takes from 'Gay' are relegated to a mere few minutes....Damn!!!
Doesn't matter though...what is here is great. And a welcome completion to anyones AFBAB dvd collection. The aspect ratio isn't all that disturbing....as a matter of fact.....coming from someone who has been pro-widescreen since the early days of special VHS letterbox editions of films.....it didn't matter to me at all....but if you need something to be disappointed in....that would be it.
'The Last Shout' is broken down into its proper televised 2 parts...with part 1 running 42:56 and part 2....42:24. 'New York' or 'Gay' clock's in at 54:10. Both 'special' episodes include footage that for some reason failed to make air when BBC America ran them at their debut times. And, of course, the bleeped language is intact. You have the option of selecting which episode to view OR running the whole thing. The out-takes run 13:43. That's about it...No commentary...No optional language selection. Bare bones....but anything ABFAB is hardly that!!!
The guests that appear on the 'Gay' episode range from the cute as hell Rufus Wainwright to Whoopi Goldberg. Graham Norton gives a nod to Patsy's past and Debbie Harry/Blondie does most of the soundtrack culminating with an appearance at a New York club singing "...if your memory serves you well..." Hardly singing 'Wheels On Fire' as you may have read in previous reviews. Josh Hamilton, who if you haven't seen in 'Urbania'...DO!!!, is perfect as 'not-at-all-fabulous' Serge. The collection is complete...that is until Series 5, YAY!!!!, takes its bow later in the Fall. If you love ABFAB....you need this disc. So....go get it......load up your multi-disc player....pour some Boli....and have an Absolutely Fabulous Weekend chock full of laughs!! Cheers, Sweeties!!!!