Absolutely Fabulous

It would be idle to pretend that AbFab is as refreshingly funny as it was. Much of what made it so distinctive has taken on a cosy air, the casual bitcheries resemble terms of endearment.

Absolutely Fabulous' discharged mania bounces off the tiny set, never settling into comedy equilibrium. Just as there's no balance to Patsy and Edina's high-heeled prancing, so the script rocks and judders across a half hour of screen time. An air of pointlessness is horribly pervasive; yet Saunders is even openly contemplating yet another series.

Absolutely Fabulous (BBC1) is a reckless, well-written idea of which Jennifer Saunders is properly solicitous. She is making this the last series and there seems something darkly sparkly running through it like a hint of dissolution. [...] Joanna Lumley's performance seems fed on royal jelly. It has grown into something marvellously monstrous.

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.

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.