Jennifer Saunders

Old whines in new bottles

A series called Bubble might succeed, but Absolutely Fabulous is now a precocious, overtired child who, for everyone's good, needs to be sent off to bed. In addition to talent and hard work, success in any field requires a large dose of luck, and the first series had that in abundance. But there's another quality that's just as important, which John Cleese had with Fawlty Towers, but which this team doesn't possess. Knowing when to stop.

The first series of Absolutely Fabulous (BBC1) was one of the great comic events of the decade. [...] Although I found myself laughing at the first of the latest series too, my facial muscles never lie and told me that my laughter wasn't genuine, but emanated from a sense of duty, or out of fear of losing something wonderful. So, I went away, had a cold shower, and returned to it last night. Something was still wrong; it was what we doctors call Performers Trying Too Hard.

What sets French And Saunders apart from the rest is their quirky and original choice of targets and unscrupulous attention to detail. Any idiot can attempt pastiche, but few would think of spoofing The House of Eliott, and even fewer could produce such an acutely observed parody as The House of Idiot, in which the problems of filming period drama on a limited budget were cruelly, but hilariously, exposed.

Absolutely Fabulous (BBC2) has not merely turned to drink, but is fuelled by it. Everyone and everything is constantly tight - characters, script, acting, directing - and it works magnificently. The original premise is brilliant and shows no signs of flagging, the relationships between the protagonists are constantly developing and everybody shines, even June without Terry.