Absolutely Fabulous - White Box (1994)

AbFab Continues To Be Absolutely Fabulous

What's not to love? The old gang reunites for more endless hilarity. May AbFab never die! July 12, 2008

ABSOLUTELY ABYSMAL!

Please read & re-read all of the reviews for this item. Fans are clearly divided & you may have a hard time deciding for yourself. I have been a fan of this show since it began (as well as "French & Saunders" before AbFab even existed) & can still watch every episode as if it were new. Funny, funny, funny. It never gets old.

I have been waiting for this on DVD forever as I never got to see it on TV. The so-called "lost" episode of a favourite TV series I'd hoped for. "White Box", however, does *NOT* make for a "graceful bow" as a series finale & loses its appeal instantly after the first scene (with the goat & the unexpected Leo Sayer reference!), only when Bo & Marshall show up do we get a temporary reprieve. The remainder of the episode is watered-down, unfunny rehash of plots we've seen before in this show. Patsy is barely used in this episode, more or less just a "prop" of sorts the way it plays out & Saffy (rather, the actress portraying Saffy!) just looks like she's ready for the misery to end. Even guest star Nathan Lane failed to make me laugh, which is rare. AbFab guest stars are normally icing on the cake. And Laurie Metcalf...it's too sad for words. It's that same obnoxious, scatterbrained character she played on "Roseanne" for NO apparant reason. Cross-series rehash!!! By the time she showed up, I was ready to press "stop" on the DVD player...but watched the train wreck all the way to the end, praying it wouldn't end with such a whimper. Couldn't help but think how clever & charming "Cold Turkey" was & how it should have been where the series ended, if it had to end at all.

Have you ever heard of an artist fufilling a contractual obligation, like a book or an album they "have" to release to avoid breach of contract? That's what "White Box" feels like. No new ideas, no new spins and, as I said, no apparant reason for being on the TV screen. For the first time ever, I could see why it grated on some people's nerves for being so obnoxious. No new extras, even...just recycled bits from other DVD releases. It's just downright insulting to me, overall.

Jennifer Saunders has stated she in no way, shape or form wants to write these characters again & successfully killed my interest in future AbFab projects with this one episode. Perhaps that was her intention...we may never know. I am always willing to hope Jennifer Saunders changes her mind, but I am not going to hold my breath & will bury this DVD far away from anyone who loves "Absolutely Fabulous". I will continue to enjoy the remainder of the show as I always have. April 18, 2008

Funny as Usual

I love Absolutely Fabulous and this was the last DVD I needed to complete my collection, so of course I bought it. It wasn't as funny as say series 2 or 3, but it definitely had it's moments and if you're a hardcore AbFab fan like me, you can't not have this in your collection. April 11, 2008

Minimalism skewered

No comedy television show has ever been so perfectly dead-on in its satire of a particular time and observations of a society obsessed with fashion trend and celebrity. This episode with its demented take on designers will rank as one of the series best. Miranda Richardson's character Batina is cruelly hysterical. March 27, 2008

Awesome, but unfinished.

Wow! I laughed out loud so many times watching this episode! While picking up where the Christmas episode ended, Saffie is heading to Africa to get married to Jon and Eddie isn't going. Eddie gets her itch to change things as she always does and Patsie is just there.... SO, while I thought it was very funny there seemed to be some rushed and under developed areas of the plot. I felt the episode didn't address Saffie's problem with suddenly being in a harem or what she plans to do with Jon. Also after Eddie slaps Lola, what is resolved between the relationship of Grandma to Grandaughter that season five was all about? The use of Max and Betina was nice, but when we last saw them they were not minimalists any longer. They were clutter central, so I had a hard time with that? And when Patsy is holding on to her the door to the living room so desperately, one feels that she almost thinks of Saffie as family and the house being her home as well. The episode felt unfinished, like we should be expecting another series or at least another special really soon. I know that it sounds like I had a problem with the episode, but I think that I love Patsie and Eddie so much I have OVER INVESTED in their fictional lives and want to see more of them! March 16, 2008

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