Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary

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

Absolutely Fabulous: 20th Anniversary
Region 2 DVD cover
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes3
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original release25 December 2011 (2011-12-25) –
23 July 2012 (2012-07-23)

Cast and characters
See also: List of Absolutely Fabulous characters

Main

Guest

Special guests

Episodes
Main article: List of Absolutely Fabulous episodes
No.
overall		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
37"Identity"Mandie FletcherJennifer Saunders25 December 2011 (2011-12-25) (UK)
8 January 2012 (2012-01-08) (US)[1]
8 February 2012 (2012-02-08) (AUS)[2]		9.07[3]
Edina collects Saffron from prison, where she served two years for (unknowingly) providing asylum seekers with forged passports. Saffron later invites a former cellmate, Baron, to the house, but it is soon revealed that Baron was once Patsy's drug dealer and Patsy still owes her £50,000; Baron refuses to leave until the debt is repaid. In order to obtain the money, Saffron convinces Patsy to claim her pension, forcing her to own up to her actual age. Realising she has no official documents, Patsy begins to question her own existence—until Mother presents Patsy's old Post Office savings book. After going to the benefits office with Edina, Patsy finally pays off her debt to Baron.
38"Job"Mandie FletcherJennifer Saunders1 January 2012 (2012-01-01) (UK)
6 February 2012 (2012-02-06) (US, Logo)
12 February 2012 (2012-02-12) (US, BBC America)
15 February 2012 (2012-02-15) (AUS)		7.97[4]
When Saffron berates Edina for being lazy and incompetent, Edina and Patsy decide to impress her by booking her favourite French film star, Jeanne Durand, to perform at the Royal Albert Hall. However, they are dismayed when Jeanne refuses to sing aloud and instead merely mouths the lyrics. As a solution, Jeanne lip-syncs to Bubble's vocals on the night of the concert.
39"Olympics"Mandie FletcherJennifer Saunders23 July 2012 (2012-07-23) (UK)[5][6]
25 July 2012 (2012-07-25) (AUS and US)[7][8]		6.38[4]

Edina decides to rent out her house to Michael Douglas during the Summer Olympics, hoping it will lead to prestigious A-list parties, even though Patsy—who now needs incontinence pants—no longer shares Edina's penchant for partying. However, Bo and Marshall arrive instead, after Michael gave the couple his party invitations. Frustrated with her dwindling social life, Edina happens upon one of Michael's invitations, allowing her and Patsy to attend a pre-Olympics party. The pair are eventually escorted out after Edina harasses Stella McCartney.

Note: This episode 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, with the 2016 film concluding the franchise.

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]
 — —

Critical reception

Michael Hogan of The Daily Telegraph gave the specials a negative review; following the "Olympics" episode, he commented, "The special Olympic edition of Absolutely Fabulous [...] 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 stated, "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]

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. "The Ratings Thread (Part 29) - Page 112".
  4. "Weekly top 30 programmes on TV sets (July 1998 – Sept 2018) | BARB".
  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. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. 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. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. 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. 30 July 2012. 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. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  22. "Absolutely Fabulous - The Definitive Edition". Jbhifi.com.au. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
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