AbFab FAQ V1.0
R i d g e
This is just the first version, so rip it to shreds
The Absolutely Fabulous (AbFab) FAQ Version 1.0
Written by Ridge <afn0...@freenet.ufl.edu>
1. What is Absolutely Fabulous?
AbFab is a BBC comedy centered around the life of Edina Monsoon, her
daughter Saffron and her good friend Patsy Stone.
2. Who's in AbFab?
The Main Cast
Jennifer Saunders as Edina Monsoon
Joanna Lumley as Patsy Stone
Julia Sawalha as Saffron Monsoon
Recurring Guests
June Whitfield as June Monsoon (Mother/Gran)
Jane Horrocks as Bubble
3. Who's Edina?
Edina Monsoon(Jennifer Saunders) is the principle character of the show.
Surrounding her are Patsy Stone her best friend, Saffron her daughter,
and June her mother and occasionally her ex-husband Justin.
Edina is divorced and lives off the income generated from her two
businesses, one a PR firm and the other some sort of store, and alimony
from her ex-husband. She and Saffron live at the fictional address 34
Claremont Avenue,
London, W11 4BS.
4. Who's Patsy?
Patsy Stone(Joanna Lumley) is Edina's best friend. Patsy works for a
British Fashion magazine. It is known from the 'Morocco' episode that
Patsy underwent a sex change operation and was a man for 1 year, till
'it fell off'.
5. Who's Saffron?
Saffron Monsoon(Julia Sawalha) is Edina's daughter. Saffron is a
student and is constantly harassed by Patsy and Edina. Saffron is the
antithesis of Edina.
6. Who's Bubbles?
Bubbles(Jane Horrocks) is Edina's assistant at the PR firm, she's not
very bright.
7. Where can I see AbFab?
In England Season 1 was originally shown on BBC2 and then repeated on
BBC1 between 16th Sep 93 and 28th Oct 93 (not 7th Oct). Season 2 was
shown on BBC1. The third season is due to be broadcast in the UK in
Spring 1995.
In the United States AbFab can be seen on Comedy Central. It is
currently aired Monday's at 8:30 EST as part of "London Calling."
Episodes are also shown at 1:00 PM EST and 6:00 PM EST on Saturday's as
well as various times throughout the week.
8. How many episodes are there?
BBC program's seasons are 6 episodes long. There have only been 2
seasons of AbFab aired. The third season is currently in rehearsal and
will air this summer.
9. Is there an episode guide?
Yes the complete episode guide is available at :
http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~dave/guides/AbsolutelyFabulous/
Here's a brief episode guide with the original air dates
1.1 "Fashion" November 12, 1992: Edina hits a bottleneck in her attempt
to give up drinking: she doesn't want to quit.
1.2."Fat" November 19, 1992: Edina weighs the possibility of exercising
to shed pounds.
1.3 "France" - November 26, 1992: A holiday in Province goes awry when
the ladies find themselves suffering through second-class
accommodations.
1.4 "ISO Tank" - December 3, 1992: Edina's new isolation tank seems to
be the perfect thing for life's problems, except for one
thing: she hates being alone.
1.5 "Magazine" - December 10, 1992: Patsy's jealousy over Edina's
boyfriend results in a plan to split them up -- and
an appearance on a TV show.
1.6 "Birthday" - December 17, 1992: Saffron learns that planning a surprise
birthday party is no piece of cake.
2.1 "Hospital" - January 27, 1994: Edina enters the hospital for minor
surgery and Patsy joins her for moral support -- and a facelift.
2.2 "Death" - February 3, 1994: Saffron is devastated by her
grandfather's death, while Edina can only think about
her own mortality.
2.3 "Morocco" - February 10, 1994: Saffron joins a photo shoot in
Morocco -- and winds up being sold to white slavers.
2.4 "New Best Friend" - February 24, 1994: A visit by an old friend of
Edina's triggers a competition between Edina and
Patsy -- to see who can find the better best friend.
2.5 "Poor" - March 3, 1994: Edina's forced to cut expenses, but a jaunt
to the grocery store could cost more than she bargained for.
2.6 "Birth" - March 10, 1994: Edina, Patsy and Saffy are locked in the
living room -- where they all become strangely introspective
10. Why all the drinking and drugs?
Patsy and Edina grew up with recreational drug use and drinking. Thier
outlandishness goes against many ant-drug and drinking movements popular
today. Also drugs have long been synonymous with the fashion industry.
11. Who's Helen Bonham Carter?
Helen Bonham Carter is an Engish actress, most recently in Frankenstein,
who played Saffy in a dream the Edina has in 'Hospital'. Edina and Patsy
have referred to Saffy as Helen Bonham Carter.
12 . What is this "Absolutely Fabulous" song I hear?
The latest Comic Relief single, which is done by the Pet Shop Boys, is
called "Absolutely Fabulous", and heavily samples audio excerpts from the
TV show.
The song was released as a single along with 3 mixes in the UK
(Parlophone CDR 6382), Europe and Australia. The only US release of the
song is the Rollo Our Tribe Tongue-in-Cheek mix on the Pet Shop Boy album
Disco 2 (EMI 7243-8-30852-2-4) as well as a few DJ promo copies.
13. What is the title of the theme song?
"This Wheel's on Fire", and is sung by Julie Driscoll & Adrian Edmondson.
The lyrics are:
Wheels on fire,
Rolling down the road.
Best notify my next of kin,
This wheel shall explode.
"This Wheel's on Fire" is written by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko (from The
Band), and is available on Dylan's "The Basement Tapes" and The Band's
"Music from Big Pink".
NOTE: "This Wheel's on Fire" was originally included in the "Absolutely
Fabulous" single released by the Pet Shop Boys. Due to copyright
violations it was removed from further pressings.
14. Are the shows available on video?
All 12 episodes are available on four videos in the UK. They are released
by BBC Video, half a season per tape, and the catalogue numbers are (in
order of half-seasons) BBCV 5124, BBCV 5125, BBCV 5412 and BBCV 5413.
In the US you can buy the UK-released tapes from Laughinghouse Video
(714-956-9032) for $29.99 each. The price includes a NTSC copy of each
tape, in addition to the PAL original. They cost about 12 pounds ($18)
each in the UK.
15. Any books?
The scripts for the two seasons are available in two books written by
Jennifer Saunders. They are called "Absolutely Fabulous" (BBC Books,
1993, ISBN 0-563-36976-0) and "Absolutely Fabulous 2" (BBC Books, 1994,
ISBN 0-563-37086-6).
16. Where have I seen ( ) before?
Here are some previous roles played by the actors from the Cardiff Movie
Browser:
Jennifer Saunders
Filmography as a(n) Actress...
1. "Absolutely Fabulous" (1993) 1993-1994 [Edina]
2. "French and Saunders" (1987) 1987-????
3. Eat the Rich (1987) 1987 [Lady Caroline]
4. "Girls on Top" (1985) 1985 [Jennifer]
5. Supergrass, The (1985)[Lesley]
Joanna Lumley
Filmography...
1. Funny Bones (1995) 1995
2. "Absolutely Fabulous" (1993) 1993-1994 [Patsy]
3. Ghost in Monte Carlo, A (1990) (TV) 1990
4. Shirley Valentine (1989) 1989 [Marjorie]
5. "Mistral's Daughter" (1984) (mini) 1984 [Lally Longbridge]
6. Glory Boys, The (1984)[Helen]
7. Curse of the Pink Panther (1983) 1983 [Chandra]
8. Weather in the Streets (1983)
9. Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) 1982 [Marie Jouvet]
10. "Sapphire and Steel" (1979) 1979
11. "New Avengers, The" (1978) 1978 [Purdey]
12. Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride (1973) aka Satanic Rites of
Dracula (1973) 1973 [Jessica]
13. Don't Just Lie There, Say Something (1973)
14. Devil's Widow, The (1972) aka Tam Lin (1972) 1972 [Georgia]
15. Breaking of Bumbo, The (1971) 1971
16. Games That Lovers Play (1970) 1970
17. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) 1969
Jane Horrocks
Filmography...
1. Second Best (1994) 1994 [Debbie]
2. "Absolutely Fabulous" (1993) 1993-1994 [Bubble]
3. Deadly Advice (1993) 1993 [Jodie Greenwood]
4. Life Is Sweet (1990) 1990 [Nicola]
5. Memphis Belle (1990)[Faith]
6. Witches, The (1990)[Miss Irvine]
7. Fifteen Streets, The (1989) (TV) 1989 [Christine Bracken]
8. Getting It Right (1989)[Jenny]
9. Dressmaker, The (1988) 1988
10. Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The (1988)
17. What internet sites are available?
In addition to the episode guide previously mentioned AbFab is discussed
in the USENET group 'alt.tv.absolutely_fabulous' and occasionally in
'alt.comedy.british'
The is no mailing list known at this time.
THIS FAQ WAS COMPOSED WITH THE HELP OF INFORMATION FROM:
Dave Chapman (da...@cheers.demon.co.uk)
Wesley Kim (wk...@mstar.com)
I HOPE THEY DON"T SUE ME.
Well that was my first attempt, I hope to get lots of reccomendations and
additional questions. Please send them to:
"Ridge" <afn0...@freenet.ufl.edu>
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