Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary

Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary (also known as Ab Fab at 20) is a three-part television special of the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. It was broadcast on BBC One between 25 December 2011 and July 23, 2012 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the series which first screened in 1992.

Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary
Region 2 DVD cover
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes3
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original releaseDecember 25, 2011 (2011-12-25) –
July 23, 2012 (2012-07-23)

Cast

Main cast

Guest cast

Special guests

Episodes
Main article: List of Absolutely Fabulous episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
37"Identity"Mandie FletcherJennifer Saunders25 December 2011 (2011-12-25) (UK) • 8 January 2012 (2012-01-08) (USA)[1]
8 February 2012 (2012-02-08) (AUS)[2]		9.07[3]
Edina picks up Saffy from prison where she has been held for two years after providing fake passports for asylum seekers. After welcoming Saffy home, Saffy has her cellmate Baron visit, but it is soon revealed that Baron is Patsy's drug dealer and Patsy owes her £50,000. Saffy's friend Sarah then turns up and it is revealed that she has been sectioned and she is better now she is on pills. However, she reads too much into the relationship between Saffy and Baron so that Saffy has to slap her out of a hysterical outburst, this brings Sarah back into her disturbed state. Later, Edina and Patsy must figure out a way to come up with the money, which means Patsy must fess up to her real age to collect her wages and pension.
38"Job"Mandie FletcherJennifer Saunders1 January 2012 (2012-01-01) (UK) • 6 February 2012 (2012-02-06) (USA, Logo)
12 February 2012 (2012-02-12) (USA, BBC America) • 15 February 2012 (2012-02-15) (AUS)		7.97[4]
When Saffy accuses Edina of not doing an honest day's work in years, she and Patsy decide to try to impress her by having her favourite French singer Jeanne Durand sing at the Royal Albert Hall. However, they soon discover that Durand cannot sing at all, and even with Lulu and Emma Bunton all hope is lost so Bubble sings for Durand instead.
39"Olympics"Mandie FletcherJennifer Saunders23 July 2012 (2012-07-23) (UK)[5][6] • 25 July 2012 (2012-07-25) (AUS)[7]
25 July 2012 (2012-07-25) (USA)[8]		6.38[4]

With the 2012 Summer Olympics approaching, Edina decides to rent her house to a Hollywood A-Lister, while she is still living there along with Saffy, Mother, and Bubble. Patsy helps Eddy into her body suit to look suitable for her guests. With age catching up with Eddy she feels the doors are closing on her, Eddy is annoyed to discover that Stella McCartney's shop is closed to her. To add to her misery Bo and Marshall arrive to stay for the Games.

Note: This episode currently stands as the final episode of Absolutely Fabulous, as it was announced by Jennifer Saunders in 2016 that no more series or specials will be produced.

Reception

Ratings
Episode UK viewers AUS viewers
Rating Rank Rating Rank
1
9.070,000[9]
8[9]
654,000[10]
13[10]
2
7.970,000[11]
10[11]
584,000[12]
17[12]
3
6.380,000[13]
8[13]
 N/A N/A

Critical reception

In 2012, Michael Hogan, of The Daily Telegraph gave the specials a negative review; following the 'Olympics' episode, comment that "The special Olympic edition of Absolutely Fabulous (BBC One) would have won no medals for comedy." He added, "This was the last of three 20th anniversary specials, the first pair of which were shown over Christmas. Every single one of those 20 years showed on-screen during this torturous half-hour."[14]

In a more favourable review, Meredith Blake of The A.V. Club was more positive, stating that, "While longtime AbFab fans will enjoy this latest incarnation of the series, which has been reprised multiple times since its official end in 1995, “Identity” most definitely isn’t for AbFab neophytes, who will most likely be confused by the broad performances, the outré costumes, and the disembodied canned laughter."[15]

Accolades

In 2012, Jennifer Saunders received the BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance[16] for her portrayal as Edina Monsoon following the first two specials.

Home media

The 20th Anniversary specials have been released on DVD, first in the United Kingdom on 30 July 2012,[17] and then in Australia on 16 August 2012,[18] and in the United States on 11 September 2012.[19]

Additionally, the specials are available as part of complete collection sets including "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely All of It!", released 5 November 2013 in the United States,[20] and "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely Everything − The Definitive Edition", released in both the United Kingdom, on 17 March 2014,[21] and in Australia on 30 April 2014.[22]

gollark: No ir doesn't.
gollark: This is definitely still a meme.
gollark: You can't say it's not a meme because memes are loosely defined! MWAHAHAHA!
gollark: It's actually a death hack.
gollark: https://www.theonion.com/damning-report-finds-white-house-ignored-skeletal-horse-1842754580

References
  1. Eng, Joyce. "Exclusive: Absolutely Fabulous Special Gets Premiere Date". TV Guide. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  2. Knox, David. "Airdate: Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary Specials". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  3. http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1601396&page=112
  4. http://www.barb.co.uk/whats-new/weekly-top-30?_s=3
  5. "Absolutely Fabulous: Olympics". BBC Media Center. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  6. "'Absolutely Fabulous' Joanna Lumley teases Olympic special - video". Digital Spy. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  7. "ABC Television - ABC1 - Absolutely Fabulous - Olympics - 8:00pm Wednesday, July 25, 2012". ABC Television. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  8. "Olympics 20th Anniversary Sneak Peek". BBC America. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  9. "Weekly top 30 programmes (w/e 25 December 2011)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  10. Knox, David (9 February 2012). "Wednesday 8 February 2012". TV Tonight. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  11. "Weekly top 30 programmes (w/e 1 January 2012)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  12. Knox, David (16 February 2012). "Wednesday 15 February 2012". TV Tonight. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  13. "Weekly top 30 programmes (w/e 29 July 2012)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  14. Hogan, Michael (23 July 2012). "Absolutely Fabulous, BBC One, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  15. Black, Meredith (8 January 2012). "Absolutely Fabulous 20th Anniversary Special". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  16. "Television Awards Winners in 2012". Bafta.org. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  17. "Absolutely Fabulous: Ab Fab at 20 - The 2012 Specials". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  18. "Absolutely Fabulous - Ab Fab At 20". Jbhifi.com.au. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  19. "Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary Specials DVD". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  20. "Absolutely Fabulous: Absolutely All of It DVD". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  21. "Absolutely Fabulous - Absolutely Everything". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  22. "Absolutely Fabulous - The Definitive Edition". Jbhifi.com.au. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
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