Not many can claim to be just as debauched and hysterical as they were almost twenty years ago, but if the brand new episodes of ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ are anything to go by, the show won’t need a stint in the Priory anytime soon. As of writing, the third episode in the trilogy is yet to be aired, but after rabid repeated viewings of the first two, things are looking rather marvellous darling. The fact that Jennifer Saunders’ original concept is still as thoroughly enjoyable as ever is a testament to its immense quality.
Out of the two episodes, the second one shines the brightest, but that’s not to downplay the first by any means. Saffy, of all people, has been in prison for the past two years, allowing for the ever desperate to be hip Eddie to take aim at the Kardashians and Twitter with her classic purposefully overbearing klaxon voice. For any other character in any other show, this barrage of pop culture jokes would have been cringe worthy, but they work just as well as ever due to Eddie’s eternal failing to be ‘with it’.
The second episode is where this new batch of episodes truly hits its stride. Eddie and Patsy somehow end up wrangling a French film star to do a night at the Royal Albert Hall, but quickly find out that she’s incapable of singing a single note. Cue the panicked boozing, swearing and smoking, while sticking up two fingers at the usually insipid BBC sitcoms such as the dire ‘Miranda’ just through being naughty and loving every moment of it. The return of celebrity cameos through Emma Bunton and Lulu add further dazzle to an episode already shining incredibly brightly.
It’s these recurring cameos and jokes along with a timeless cast that ensures these new episodes smoothly continue the grand tradition of the show with any accusations of treading old ground could be easily sniped with one of Patsy’s classically vitriolic and acerbic insults. It may be a bit of a cliché for Ab Fab to be coming back every Christmas, but with writing this strong, I honestly couldn’t care less.
