Product Details

• Actors: Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield, Jane Horrocks
• Directors: Bob Spiers
• Writers: Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French
• Producers: Jon Plowman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Unknown)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Warner
• DVD Release Date: March 13, 2001
• Run Time: 180 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000056WK0
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #71,877 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Comedy > British > Absolutely Fabulous

• For more information about "Absolutely Fabulous - Complete Series 1" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 1 in The Absolutely Fabulous Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Few things in life are more deliriously satisfying than an episode of Absolutely Fabulous. The first series of this Britcom burst out of the gate fully formed and viciously funny: Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders, French & Saunders, Shrek 2), a publicist who will drink, snort, or eat anything put in front of her, lives with her daughter Saffron (Julia Sawalha, Chicken Run), who rebels against her compulsively bohemian mother by being as sensible and straight-laced as possible. She might have some influence over the easily swayed Eddy...were it not for Edina's best friend and topnotch enabler, Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley, The New Avengers), a terrifying fashion director who drinks and snorts even more substances than Edina. This comic triangle has chemistry beyond compare. The first season is the purest, mining the most humor from the role-reversal of Saffron trying to parent Edina and from the sheer excess of Patsy and Edina's appetites. Saunders wrote all six episodes; her dialogue sparkles like a gem and cuts like a razor, savaging every trend imaginable, mocking the fashion world, dieting, women's magazines, liposuction, collagen treatments, resisting growing old, France--nothing is sacred and nothing is spared. Absolutely Fabulous is unadulterated perfection, simply one of the funniest sitcoms ever made, British or American. The only extras are a small handful of outtakes and deleted scenes, but when the shows are this good, extras are superfluous. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description
The smashing misadventures of fashion femme fatales Edina and Patsy remains one of the most popular and talked about comedies in BBC history. The New York Post called it "Utterly original, utterly hilariousone of the best television comedies ever made." Episodes 1-6: "Fashion" - Edina and Patsy put on a fashion show. "Fat" - Edina confronts the one trend she never followed: fitness. "France" - The girls conquer France! "Iso Tank" - Edina tries to get involved in Saffie's school project. "Birthday" - Edina turns forty with her usual good humor. "Magazine" - We finally see Patsy at work: "One snap of my fingers and I can raise hemlines so high, the world's your gynecologist!"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE COMPLETE SERIES 1! ARE WE READY, DARLINGS?!!, February 24, 2002

By	Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Get ready, darlings, because the comedy masterwork from Jennifer Saunders is back and better than ever on DVD. This disc features all six episodes of Series One, digitally remastered and with a fair few extras.

FASHION - How should Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) prepare for their latest celebrity fashion show? How about starting with a glass of bolly or two?!

FAT - Edina's worst ememy Penny Caspar (Alexandra Bastedo) is coming to town, and she must lose weight, fast! Emergency lyposuction is needed!

FRANCE - The ideal getaway, but will Edina and Patsy get through customs with, er...their stash?

ISO TANK - Banned from attending Saffy's (Julia Sawalha) college open day, Edina sulks in her brand-new isolation tank. But she's got a few tricks up her Lacroix sleeves yet!

BIRTHDAY - The acursed day has arrvived, the dreaded 40th birthday for Edina! And Saffy has had the nerve to invite her two ex-husbands and their new spouses for a birthday lunch! It's a good thing Patsy will be there for "moral support".

MAGAZINE - Edina's estatic. She's got a new man and she's stayed out until morning. Patsy's pretty bloody jealous and she's got to go to work - if she can remember where her office is.

With June Whitfield (Mother), Jane Horrocks (Bubble), Mo Gaffney (Bo) and Dawn French (TV presenter).

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS - COMPLETE SERIES 1 DVD, September 29, 2001

By	Michael Anthony Brenton (The Other Side of the Known Universe) - See all my reviews

You will LAUGH YOURSELF SILLY at the antics of Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as BRITISH TELEVISION's most beloved looney women, EDINA and PATSY! SEE the zany couple living in a constant state of frazzled excitement, DRUNKEN EXCESS, and fashion creativity! Visit their psychologicall WARPED WORLD in SIX EPISODES from the show's first season! Includes "Fashion," "Fat," "Frances," "ISO Tank," "Magazine" and "Birthday!" ENJOY the OUTTAKES and PHOTO GALLERY of the stars!

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Series Of A Remarkable Comedy, February 8, 2003

By	Busy Body (London, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I have never seen a British comedy that can make me laugh as much as Absolutely Fabulous can. The show was originally a 10 minute sketch on the French And Saunders Show. Jennifer Saunders soon saw its potential and Absolutely Fabulous was born. The show's pilot episode - Fashion - was first broadcast on 12th November 1992. The show became an instant hit and was the most successful British comedy for years. The chemistry between characters such as Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) is magic, and Saffy Monsoon (Julia Sawahla) as Edina's straight-laced daughter is genius. The show's genius lies behind the fact that the mother is always acting like the child, whereas the child acts like the grown up - forced to do so because of the way her mother acts. Patsy's main goal in life seems to make Saffy's life a living hell, and on the rare occasions that Edina shows love for her daughter, Saffy tries to hold onto as much of it as possible. June Whitfield as Edina's insane mother (whom she shows no love or affection to) and Jane Horrocks as Edina's ditzy office assistant Bubble add to the show's class, while making huge stars of the two.

Season 1 begins with the superb episode Fashion. The episode begins with Edina waking up - and all the perils she must endure to get dressed. She makes no cover up of trying to feel sorry for herself and complaining about anything and everything. She promises Saffy she won't get drunk when she goes out (again, another portrayal of how this is a reversal of what should actually be; the teenager promising the mother she won't get drunk). A fashion show is upcoming for Edina, and she must sort everything out. The show is a success, and to celebrate Edina gets drunk with Patsy - much to her daughter's disappointment, though it comes as no surprise. Fat is the second episode and another good one. Edina's worst enemy Penny Caspar is arriving in town and she must lose weight fast! Emergency lyposuction is essential, and the dream scenes are hilarious! In the episode France, Edina and Patsy take a break from the fashion world and take a trip to France. But problems back home with Edina's ditzy assistant Bubble force her to return home, but they are held up in the airport - and is the substance Patsy bought drugs?!

Iso Tank is another one of the highlights of Series 1. Banned from attending Saffy's college open day on DNA, Edina sulks in her brand new isolation tank - for around 30 seconds with Patsy! The operative word being "isolation"! Edina's way of getting through to her daughter and letting her go to this DNA open day is to adopt a Romanian baby! Patsy's comment to Edina when she sees Saffy at home is, "Oh my God! There's something horrible on the stairs!" Magazine is another classic episode of the show, where Edina is ecstatic with her life. She's got a new man and she stayed out until morning. Patsy's jealous and ends up appearing on television with the presenter (Dawn French) talking about fashion make-overs. But first, she has to find two victims to dress up. The final episode Birthday is another excellent one. It's Edina's 40th birthday, and she feels awful. Saffy has the nerve to invite Edina's two ex-husbands and their new love interests for a meal. Edina is so ungrateful in this episode, and is another perfect example of just how self-centered she really is. Saffy slaps her mother around the face for acting this way, yet Edina's only response is, "Did you just hit me, darling? It's illegal, isn't it?!" This scene (where Saffy's cooking dinner with her apron on, while Edina is crying like a little baby) is just hilarious.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

Series 1 of Absolutely Fabulous is absolutely superb, with countless laughs, gags and outrageous situations. The success of the show is well deserved, and spawned a nationwide catchphrase of "Sweetie, darling!" Series 2, 3 and 4 are all superb - but Series 1 is the one you should be watching if you want to be an avid fan of this amazing and ground-breaking British comedy!