THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 16, 1995 TAG: 9505160055
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
``AbFab'' ALERT! Tonight is the night when David Letterman, broad-casting from London, is scheduled to have as his guests Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley.
If those two names - Saunders and Lumley - or their TV alter egos, Edina and Patsy, mean nothing to you, then you are not one of us, not one of the slavishly devoted followers of ``Absolutely Fabulous.'' Imported from Britain, it is the ultimate politically incorrect sitcom.
Comedy Central carries it in the United States.
This is a giddy time for us ``AbFab'' devotees. Not only will Saunders and Lumley appear with Letterman at 11:35 tonight on CBS, but Comedy Central has announced that new episodes of the sitcom will begin running June 12.
I've seen four of the new shows in advance, and let me say here and now that they are as irreverent, tasteless, outrageous and as wildly funny as the 12 episodes Comedy Central has been running and re-running since the series premiered in the United States last July. It made my day to hear Saunders, as Edina, snap off the line: ``Menopause is dragging me into its gaping jaws. Before long, my hormonal oil well will dribble to a halt.''
Saunders, the show's creator and co-star, told TV writers in Los Angeles not long ago that she will do 18, and only 18, episodes of ``Absolutely Fabulous.''
Speaking to the TV writers by way of a satellite hook-up from London, Saunders said, ``Eighteen of these shows is enough, I think, because I am the only one writing the scripts. Over here, the shows tend to be individual creations. We don't have a lot of people who come in and write them.''
Judging by the heavy volume of calls I've received about ``Absolutely Fabulous'' on my Infoline number (640-5555, press 2486), the bawdy adventures of Edina and Patsy have a huge following even here in ultra-conservative Virginia. Edina and Patsy, who both work in London's fashion industry, are forever guzzling champagne or vodka straight from the bottle. Patsy is always smoking, and once in a while, she snorts substances.
Patsy is sex-crazed. Her friend describes her as ``a sexual vessel waiting to be filled, an exploitable object of no value.''
The women are absolutely anti-establishment, with Edina having been heard to say more than once, ``Only the stupid people should pay taxes.''
While ``Absolutely Fabulous,'' with its worn moral fiber, frank language and flashes of nudity, would never see the light of day on U.S. network television, an Americanized version of the series is on the way. Roseanne recently purchased the rights from Saunders.
Before last July, Saunders was almost totally unknown to American audiences except for those who may have seen her in ``Saunders and French'' on cable. Lumley, however, made an early impression on U.S. viewers when she played the high-kicking, karate-chopping Purdey on ``The New Avengers'' on ABC in 1976.
Saunders, the clever writer and producer that she is, has built in a counterpoint to the fortysomething, chain-smoking, forever-on-a-buzz, man-hungry Edina and Patsy duo. Saunders wrote in the part of Edina's daughter - the ultra-conservative, deadpan, studious Saffron, played by Julia Sawalha.
Mom's the wild one in this sitcom. Daughter is the one with her head on right. ``Edina is never going to get any older, and her daughter is never going to get any younger. It's an over-the-top relationship,'' said Saunders.
In one of the new episodes, Saffron shows her science class what she thinks is a video about genetic engineering. She's mistakenly brought one of Patsy's porn tapes to class. The tape was to be part of a wild night for Patsy and Edina who had hired two ``boy toys.''
Outrageous?
You bet?
Fabulous?
Absolutely. by CNB