Absolutely Fabulous (series 4)

Absolutely Fabulous (series 4)
Original UK DVD
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes 6
Release
Original network BBC One
Original release August 31 (2001-08-31) – October 5, 2001 (2001-10-05)
Series chronology

The fourth series of British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous premiered on BBC One on 31 August 2001. The series consisted of six episodes and concluded on 5 October 2001. Initially, Absolutely Fabulous was to end with the third series, then the final episodes, titled 'The Last Shout', consisting of two specials were created to serve as an official finale to the series. However, in 2000, Jennifer Saunders had created and written a television pilot for a proposed upcoming new series, Mirrorball in which she intended to reunite the cast of Ab Fab in new character roles and a different plot. Saunders, along with Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks and June Whitfield returned for the pilot. A series was never produced. However, having the cast reunited for Mirrorball inspired Saunders to revive Ab Fab and a fourth series was produced. A Christmas special, 'Gay' (titled 'Absolutely Fabulous in New York' in the United States) was produced following the fourth series and was broadcast in 2002.

Cast

Main

Cast Character
Jennifer SaundersEdina Monsoon
Joanna LumleyPatsy Stone
Julia SawalhaSaffron Monsoon
Jane HorrocksBubble & Katy Grin
June WhitfieldMother

Guest cast

Returning guest cast

Christmas Special guest cast

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
Series
211"Parralox"Bob SpiersJennifer Saunders31 August 2001 (2001-08-31)8.28[1]
Edina's due to appear on This Morning with Richard & Judy while Patsy has had Parralox,[2] a dangerous chemical used in Iraq, injected into her face to make herself look more beautiful and get rid of wrinkles. Edina decides to have Parralox as well but it all turns out horribly wrong.
222"Fish Farm"Christine GernonJennifer Saunders7 September 2001 (2001-09-07)7.59[1]
After attending a Marilyn Manson concert, Edina and Patsy feel their past rock idols have gone soft, especially with Roger Daltrey running a "fish farm". Edina wakes up the next day to discover that Saffy has hired a gardener to landscape their garden. Patsy recognises the gardener, Jago Balfour (Crispin Bonham-Carter), as the brother of one of her old drug buddies, Doggy Balfour who died of an overdose. She also recalls that they are both from an aristocratic family with an estate in the country. Edina then sets off to seduce the young gardener. After a wild night, Jago tells Edina that his brother wiped out the family fortune on drugs, forcing him to sell the estate to Roger Daltrey as a fish farm, much to the dismay of Edina and Patsy.
233"Paris"Bob SpiersJennifer Saunders14 September 2001 (2001-09-14)7.47[1]

Edina is set to appear in a mother/daughter fashion spread to be shot in Paris for a glam magazine; after she fails to secure Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, or Liv Tyler to portray her daughter, she decides that she'll have to settle for Saffy. Patsy is also invited for a shoot with the "face of the moment" Erin O'Connor as her fashion "daughter." After arguing on the Eurostar, the group arrives in Paris, where it turns out that fashion photographer Rimmer plans a generation-spanning neo-punk group fashion spread, including former model Annegret, to Patsy's dismay. After a quarrel between Edina and Saffy about using guidebooks in Paris, Saffy agrees to explore Paris Edina's way. The pair shop, dine at fancy restaurants – where Edina is surprised to learn that Saffy speaks French – and they head to the Eiffel Tower to complete a tradition Edina and Patsy do every year in Paris: flash their breasts at the world. However, Edina uses this occasion to trick Saffy into appearing topless on a magazine, where she later becomes popular.

  • This episode of Absolutely Fabulous caused interest in the United Kingdom, due to a comment about the Taliban 3 days after the 11 September terrorist attacks in New York. It was hastily deleted from the BBC broadcast version but the original version was included on the DVD release.
244"Donkey"Bob SpiersJennifer Saunders21 September 2001 (2001-09-21)7.34[1]
Edina becomes inspired by "Sex and the City" but she is prompted to battle the bulge when she realises she is not the Sarah Jessica Parker of the group, but rather the "donkey." Edina decides to lose weight and enrolls in a boot camp-style exercise course. Saffy disapproves of her methods but also tries to spur her on. Edina later has a dream about God and the Devil arguing about her. Later, an argument with Saffy reveals that the exercise and diet is working. A happier, healthier Edina meets up with her friends again, but is shocked to learn from Katy that despite her weight loss, she's "still too fat" to be the Sarah Jessica Parker of the group. Throughout the story Edina records her confessions on video.
255"Small Opening"Christine GernonJennifer Saunders28 September 2001 (2001-09-28)7.44[1]
At home, Edina and Patsy are setting up drugs. Suddenly, They hear a buzzing sound, which Patsy mistakes for a bee. It turns out to be Edina's mobile phone, and when she answers, she thinks that it's Serge calling out for help. She calls the police, and Saffron comes home to find Edina in a state of shock. It is then revealed that the phone accidentally picked up rehearsals for Saffron's play, "Self Raising Flower", which details her life and portrays Edina and Patsy in a negative way. On the day of the premiere, Justin, Bo, Gran, and Marshall drop by to wish good luck to Saffron, at the expense of Edina. Saffron extends an olive branch of sorts by leaving a ticket for her mother; Edina is wary about attending, but eventually her and Patsy do go. The play goes well, however the cast and audience believe it to be a comedy instead of the pitiful domestic tragedy Saffy intended. Amazingly, both Edina and Patsy end up loving it (with Patsy in particular enjoying her portrayal regardless of the fact she is played by a man). At the end, the cast welcome the real Edina on stage with them, leaving Saffron in the audience embarrassed. The next day, the girl who plays Saffron is so smitten with the real one that she offers her flowers, making Saffy distinctly nervous.
266"Menopause"Christine GernonJennifer Saunders5 October 2001 (2001-10-05)6.64[1]
Edina's career is over. Bubble accidentally forwarded all the private information of Edina's upcoming gigs to everyone in her address book including arch-rival Claudia Bing, who has taken a substantial amount of her jobs, including getting work for Twiggy. Meanwhile, Patsy breaks her arm just above her wrist. Saffron reluctantly takes her to her doctor, and comes back with shocking news: Patsy has both osteoporosis and the lowest bone density on record. Saffron concludes that it's symptomatic of menopause, the very mention of it sends Edina and Patsy into a state of panic. Saffron organises a meeting of a local menopause support group in the living room and Edina provides bin liners to prevent the guests from accidentally urinating on the furniture. Later, Saffron bakes a pie and has a nightmare where Patsy is a happy homemaker, which annoys Saffron. Patsy drops the bombshell that she plans to have a baby! She bought Mick Jagger's sperm at an auction and plans to implant it inside herself unless Saffron allows Patsy to use the spare room.
Special
27—"Gay"Tristram ShapeeroJennifer Saunders27 December 2002 (2002-12-27)8.68[1]
Upon returning home from London Fashion Week, Edina feels miserable because her son is not in her life. During a visit from Bo and Marshall, it is accidentally revealed that Serge is gay and living in New York, and that Marshall has "gay feelings", which unnerves Bo. Against Saffron's wishes, Edina uses her upcoming trip to New York for their fashion week as a chance to reunite with her son. With Patsy in tow, they hunt down information on Serge at an LGBT community center. A counselor, Goldie spots them and in exchange for the information, Patsy and Edina get "married". Edina finally hunts down Serge, and is shocked to learn that her son is virtually a male equivalent of Saffron who works in a bookstore. While Serge is dismayed that she views gays as nothing more than fashionable accessories, his partner, Martin, takes a shine to Edina. The reunited mother and son, along with Patsy and Martin, hit New York's Fashion Week with a vengeance. Edina and Patsy conclude their wild party by accidentally setting a bar on fire and getting arrested. When they arrive home, Saffron tries to make up with Edina, however it is revealed that Edina has disowned Serge in favour of Martin, whom she has "adopted".

Release

Reception

EpisodeBARB ratings
(viewers in millions)		IMDb ratingsTV.com ratingsTheTVDB ratings
4.18.288.4/108.1/108/10
4.27.598.2/108.5/108/10
4.37.478.4/108.7/108/10
4.47.348.1/108.6/109/10
4.57.448.9/109.1/108/10
4.66.648.6/108.8/109/10

Christmas Special

EpisodeBARB ratings
(viewers in millions)		IMDb ratingsTV.com ratingsTheTVDB ratings
18.688.4/108.5/108/10

Home media

VHS (United States)

  • "Series 4: Part 1" – 5 February 2002[3]
  • "Series 4: Part 2" – 5 February 2002[4]

VHS (United Kingdom)

  • "Series 4" – 19 November 2001
  • As part of the "Series 1-4" (8-VHS set) – 25 November 2002[5]

DVD (Region 1)

  • "Series 4" (2-disc set) – 5 February 2002[6]
    • "Complete Series 4" re-release (2-disc set) – 13 September 2005[7]
  • As part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything" (9-disc set) – 27 May 2008[8]
  • As Part of the "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely All of It!" (10-disc set) - 5 November 2013[9]

DVD (Region 2)

  • "Series 4" (2-disc set) – 8 April 2002
  • As part of "Series 1–4" (5-disc set) – 25 November 2002[10]
  • As part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything" (10-disc set) – 15 November 2010[11]
  • As part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything - The Definitive Edition" (11-disc set) – 17 March 2014[12]

DVD (Region 4)

  • "Series 4" (2-disc set) – 8 August 2002[13]
  • As part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything" (9-disc set) – 20 April 2006[14]
  • As part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Complete Collection" (10-disc set) – 5 April 2011[15]
  • As Part of the "Absolutely Everything: Definitive Edition" (11-disc set) – 30 April 2014[16]

'Gay' special

  • United States
    • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Special" – 30 September 2003 (includes 'The Last Shout')
    • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Special" re-release – 13 September 2005 (includes 'The Last Shout')
    • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything – 27 May 2008
    • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely All of It! – 5 November 2013
  • United Kingdom
    • DVD - 29 September 2003
    • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything" – 15 November 2010
    • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything - The Definitive Edition" – 17 March 2014
  • Australia
    • DVD as part of "Series 5" – 8 April 2004
    • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything" – 20 April 2006
    • DVD as part of "Absolutely Fabulous: Complete Collection" – 5 April 2011
    • DVD as part of "Absolutely Everything: Definitive Edition" – 30 April 2014

Further reading

Absolutely Fabulous: Continuity (4 October 2001) by Jennifer Saunders (Headline, ISBN 978-0755310487)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Weekly top 30 programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  2. ↑ AbFab A-Z Guide: P
  3. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous - Series 4, Part 1 [VHS]". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous - Series 4, Part 2 [VHS]". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous Series 1-4 Box Set". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous - Complete Series 4". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous: Series 4". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely All of It DVD". blu-ray.com. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything". blu-ray.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous: Series 1-4 Box Set DVD". blu-ray.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything DVD". Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything DVD". blu-ray.com. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous Series 4 on DVD". dvdorchard.com.au. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous Complete Collection on DVD". dvdorchard.com.au. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous Series 1 5 Plus Specials Complete Collection on DVD". dvdorchard.com.au. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Absolutely Fabulous Absolutely Everything The Definitive Edition on DVD". dvdorchard.com.au. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
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