STARS: Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Swahala, June Whitfield, Jane Horrocks

Having watched this edgy little masterpiece when it aired on ABC, I knew it was only a matter of time before it lurched drunkenly onto DVD. Saunders and Lumley really are comic talents, and the tour-de-force performances of the regular cast are certainly due in part to a great writing team. Both Dawn French and Ruby Wax contribute to the series, which is packed with wit, cynicism, dysfunction and yuppie snobbery.

It’s a genuinely funny, endearing series - the characters mesh so well. Rather than rattle off a synopsis of each of the six episodes in this series which you can get off the back of the DVD, I want to outline the main characters which I hope will EXPLAIN why I like this whole series so much. Given that I’m reviewing the 4th series, I’m probably only preaching to the converted anyway!

Enter Edina, 40-something, twice divorced owner of a PR company that seems to run itself, and who lives in a leafy London suburb in her million dollar home. Jennifer Saunders fully sinks her teeth into this role, and manages to create a character that actually relies on overacting and dramatics to pull it off. This is Jennifer’s triumph.

Edina spends most of her working day in endless lunches with Patsy and meaningless business ‘meetings’. Still the money rolls in. She only discovers she actually has a back garden in this series - priceless! Nature was never her strong point.

Edina is a brash, neurotic, selfish, but fun-loving arse kisser to the stars. Not to mention fashion victim - her designer getups are always a size too small, bless her!. She falls for every fad and distraction on offer. Nothing is too demeaning if it gets her ahead in the incestuous London ‘it’ scene. An invitation to Sting and Trudie Styler’s Christmas bash is always just around the corner.

Always on a diet, her vulnerability shows through her obsession with her physical appearance, and drives much of her behaviour. She has two children, live-in daughter Saffron and son Sacha who we never see.

Patsy Stone’s a scream, probably my favorite character in the series, played wonderfully by Joanna Lumley. She’s a tough, sex mad, foul mouthed, drug addicted, power dressed fashion magazine editor who virtually raised herself, being the product of an absent father and an abusive hippie mother (or so she recounts in an earlier series). Her age is anyone’s guess, and she’s as prone to bouts of arse kissing as Eddie, but usually hides it behind a veneer of schoolgirl crudeness.

She’s a bit of a ‘bloke’ when it comes down to it, and could almost be seen as Saf’s wicked step-father, she virtually lives at Edina’s. Interesting that we never see or hear of Patsy’s home.

The rivalry between daughter and best friend is the breeding ground for frequent explosions of resentment, and they really let loose. I love her brand of deadpan pessimism, the perfect milennium accessory.

Julia Swahala plays Edina’s daughter, Saffron, and has made the role her own with some intense, poker faced acting. Sulking around in her own mismatched Ralph Lauren wannabe outfits, she is everything that Edina and Patsy aren’t, and they use it against her at every opportunity: virginal, politically aware, college educated, uber-nerdy and capable.

Saffy has twigged to her mum and Patsy’s addiction fuelled co-dependant friendship, but who cares - they’re so entertaining to watch! She occasionally brings a study buddy home, but the rowdy Eddie and Pats deliberately rock the boat and are a constant source of embarrassment for her. At the end of the day, though, she gives as good as she gets. There are moments when you sense that both Edina and Patsy are actually scared of her!

The mother-daughter dynamic is definitely skewed across the whole series. Edina is hopelessly impractical and can’t open a can without Saf - unless there’s alcohol in it. Their few bonding moments are always amusing - fraught with discomfort for both. They seem much more comfortable in their usual rut - nagging each other.

Speaking of mothers, there’s also Edina’s mother, known simply as Mrs M to Patsy and Gran to Saffy, played with great understatement by screen veteran June Whitfield. Mrs M calls everyone ‘dear’ including Edina, who barely tolerates her frequent unannounced visits.

Not your typical oldie, she always manages to get in a jibe or two about Edina?s lifelong struggle with her weight. Now we know where Edina’s neuroses stem from! I’m never sure if she?s really as dotty as she appears, her character is a more subtle manipulator of events. Perhaps the only emotion Patsy and Saffy have in common is their affection for her, much to Edina?s disgust.

Wacky personal assistant to Edina is Bubble (Jane Horrocks) who is almost a fashion accessory herself, and makes frequent appearances throughout the series. No-one ever seems to know what she is doing, but her scenes are always little gems, especially with her kooky Manchester accent. Just when I write her off as the token idiot of the series, she manages to come up with a well chosen line or two that makes me reserve judgement. Bizarre, but irreplaceable in the series.

Look out for the beyond yuppie bottle-shop style grog fridge in Edina’s kitchen which - reloads? from the rear in the same way that a bowling alley sets up the pins.

Note Edina’s hairstyle change between series 3 and 4 - apparently it is a wig in this one. Also a new character appears - Katy Grin. We’ve all seen the type before. Apart from the fact that she is also played by the versatile Jane Horrocks, she is the cheesy, mediocre TV personality working mum with kids that I love to hate. CHECK out the TV ad she does. Says it all.

Also a thumbs up for the great d?cor and high fashion that only (lots of) yuppie money can buy. There are plenty of guest appearances in this series too - many I didn’t know - but the notables are Twiggy, Marianne Faithfull and Ruby Wax.

A big ‘cheers darling’ to Eddy and Pats; the dynamic duo of the 90’s still recovering from the idealised 60’s.

THE EXTRAS

As with the other series DVD’s, this one offers scene and episode selection, a photo gallery, English subtitles for the hearing impaired and 12 minutes of outtakes entitled Absolutely Not.

This DVD also includes an audio commentary by Jennifer Saunders and John Plowman, the producer. I listened to quite a bit - there is some interesting trivia. Worth a listen once you’ve seen the series.

Also featured are some brief interviews with Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, June Whitfield and John Plowman. You won’t miss much if you don’t see them - the interviewer was a complete git who really sucked at the task. They must’ve had a ‘lets-punish-anyone-whose-name-begins-with-J’ day on the set. I could’ve walked on with no preparation and done better. Actually, watch it for a laugh.

Lastly, the 30 minute pilot episode for Mirrorball is featured. I remember hearing something about the old crew getting together again for a new series post Ab Fab. This must be it. I dunno - I could get used to it I guess, but?.. This pilot reunites Joanna, Jennifer, June and Julia. Sorry about the alliteration! It’s spooky, don’t you think, and I don’t just mean all the J’s.

CONCLUSION

This 2 disc DVD package is worth owning - or buying as a gift! Thing is, I think you’ve gotta have all 4 series. In fact, they’ve just released one called ‘The whole lot, sweetie’ from memory. Still - each series can certainly stand on it’s own.

Sound is in Dolby Digital stereo - more than adequate for a SHOW based more on babble than bangs.

Interestingly, this series is in 16:9 widescreen unlike the others which are standard 4:3. Who knows why?

There’s something about the quality of British sitcoms that stands the test of time. This should be another of those series. All I know is, I’d love to spend a weekend with Patsy and Edina, and this is the only way I know how!