spotlight
by joel martens
If you were conscious during the ‘90s—rather unlike our two misanthropic heroines—you had to be aware of the British phenome Absolutely Fabulous, the long-running series featuring PR mavin Edina Monsoon and fashion tastemaker Patsy Stone. Oozing glitz and glamour and living the high life as they drink (Bollinger of course, or as they call it “Bolly), clubbing and drinking (and God knows what else) some more, as they flit merrily around London’s trendiest hotspots. Jennifer Saunders (Patsy) and Joanna Lumley (Edina) seemingly never tire of
their two boozy, yet amazingly resilient characters and have been at it since the early ‘90s. Though the plot origins began earlier, sans Lumley, who was at the time, busy with a successful modeling career. Saunders and her then comedy partner, Dawn French, successfully wrote and performed in their hit TV show, French and Saunders, during which they came up with a sketch about a mad, “modern” mother, an ex-hippy called Adriana—as played by Saunders—and
34 RAGE monthly | JULY 2016 | JULY 2016
WE’RE BACK SWEETIE, DARLING!
her sad, straight-laced daughter, as played by French. Just as they were about to film the fourth season, French and her then husband, Lenny Henry, got a long-awaited call announcing that a baby girl was ready for adoption. A new life began, another chapter at an end, with another hilarious story just on its way. Saunder’s agent Maureen Vincent approached her and asked her to consider
other options for their timeslot... It was at that point she returned to the idea of the mother Adriana, renaming her Edina “Eddy” Monsoon. “I had enjoyed writing and playing the character,” she said. “I could speak her easily, which made the writing easier, indeed possible.” The pilot began with the soon-to- become-typical Eddy waking with another hangover and another crisis, on the day of her big fashion show... And another guilt trip from her ever-burdened daughter, Saffy. Miraculously, she, along with her misanthropic, ever-present and freakishly, well-preserved, sidekick, Patsy, manage to turn the show into a rousing success.
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