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Absolutely Tragulous

Remake Hell/ Seth Freilich

Trade News | October 8, 2008 | Comments (37)

I love many British shows. Especially comedy series, from “Blackadder” and “Fawlty Towers” to “Gavin & Stacey” and, of course, “The Office.” But I’ve never been a fan of “Absolutely Fabulous.” When I was in college, my girlfriend made me watch countless episodes of “AbFab,” and while I could appreciate it, I didn’t particularly like it. But I know I’m in the minority on that, and I accept your scorn.

That being said, I have no doubt that Fox’s decision to remake the show is absolutely fucking terrible. I don’t care that Mitch Hurwitz is going to be an exec producer. I don’t care that a former “SNL” writer is writing the show and exec producing with Ian Moffitt and Jenifer Saunders. This was a bad idea when Roseanne tried to do it a week ago, it’s a bad idea now, and it’ll be a bad idea when I’m in my 40’s, boozing at 10:30 in the morning and yelling at my nerdy teenage daughter.


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Comments

I SAID ABORT! ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!

Posted by: Devo at October 8, 2008 4:19 PM

Let's start with your basic problem (without even going for the easy: this IDIOCY argument)

WHO in the hell can they even POSSIBLY consider for this?

The closest I can imagine is WHO? WHOM? Kirstie Alley? Cybill Shepherd? By the very concept they have to look mmmmm..."less than glamorous" and more than "slightly distressed." Are they gonna add a sassy black friend? A fucking annoying kid? All the other tired stupid shit they do in Two and a Half Men?

Maaaan I wanna PUKE!

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at October 8, 2008 4:23 PM

I loved the original Ab Fab (although not the first episode). I also loved the fact that the "seasons" were very short, as this is a show that can only be taken in short doses because everyone on the show is annoying.

I think remaking this show is a mistake, especially since Paris and Nikole's show (I don't even remember what IT was called) has already covered this territory, and badly.

Posted by: BWeaves at October 8, 2008 4:23 PM

Finally! A shout out for Gavin and Stacey on this site.
AbFab is hilarious but simply won't translate to US comedy or 2008. It was very much a show of London in the 1990s.

Posted by: PaddyDog at October 8, 2008 4:25 PM

I SAID ABORT! ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!

Posted by: Bristol Palin

(Too soon?)

Posted by: branded at October 8, 2008 4:27 PM

I'm with BSlim on this one - there is no goddamed way the original actresses could be replaced. And why bother? When this show was aired on Comedy Central, people friggin' watched it, loved it, bought the box set, and dressed up as them for Halloween. If Fox thinks they're gonna pull in people who enjoyed the original WHICH ALREADY AIRED HERE, they're sorely mistaken. And I get a feeling that people who dig Kirstie Alley and Cybill Shephard aren't going to watch a show about har-de-har substance abuse. Can't they just moosh this up with the Lethal Weapon script, replace the two leads, and have it released directly to a VHS (no DVD) that'll set your VCR on fire? Can't they just do that? That'd be goddam Maverickal!

Posted by: Skittimus Maximus at October 8, 2008 4:32 PM

No that's not a mistake. I plan on typing in bold for the rest of my days...

Posted by: Skittimus Maximus at October 8, 2008 4:34 PM

PBS and BBC, british comedy for the win.

I hope to fuck they don't remake BlackAdder or Are You Being Served?.

Posted by: Devo at October 8, 2008 4:36 PM

WHO in the hell can they even POSSIBLY consider for this?

If Fox is gonna piss right on our faces by remaking AbFab, then go for the gusto and cast Dixie Carter and Delta Burke.

Posted by: branded at October 8, 2008 4:37 PM

No that's not a mistake. I plan on typing in bold for the rest of my days...

Posted by: Skittimus Maximus at October 8, 2008 4:34 PM

------------------------------------------------
I find that bold type adds a level of nuance and a certain ...Je ne sais quoi to your posts.

I commend your choice sir.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at October 8, 2008 5:01 PM

this will be about as successful as the current US attempt to remake the british empire.

Posted by: celery at October 8, 2008 5:01 PM

On second thoughts, Cindy McCain would be perfect for the Joanna Lumley role. Washed up rich chick hanging on to the deluded idea of youth through plastic surgery and bleached hair. Remember the ep where she can't move her face because of too much botox? When's the last time, Cindy McCain cracked an expression?

Posted by: PaddyDog at October 8, 2008 5:04 PM

I can't forget the episode in which Patsy burns most of the kitchen cause she fell asleep with a cig in her mouth. My mom has AbFab on DVD I need to do a marathon with her soon.

Posted by: Devo at October 8, 2008 5:06 PM

My favorite is the one where they go on that drug vacation to Morocco and they Patsy sells Saphie into slavery and shit.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at October 8, 2008 5:12 PM

*then

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at October 8, 2008 5:13 PM

I second the Cindy McCain as Patsy suggestion, and Palin could play the part of their idiot assistant - Bubbles. She was born for that role

Posted by: marija at October 8, 2008 5:23 PM

Devo, the best part of that ep is Patsy waking up, half her face burned off, and she just mutters "I must have nodded off..." while she's still smoking her cigarette.
And the birth episode; seeing Patsy's mother deliver her in a room full of stoned out hippies, and then she yelled "Take it away! And bring me another lover!" That was classic.

And they want to remake it? Why mess with it?

Posted by: Brie at October 8, 2008 5:28 PM

Didn't they try this around 1995 with a sitcom? Mary McDonald was in it as the Patsy character. It was god awful and just did NOT translate well. Stop it. Leave Ab Fab alone. It doesn't work with Americans.
BSlim, the Morocco episode was one of my favorites as well.

Posted by: Sharon at October 8, 2008 5:36 PM

Boooooooooooo.

Posted by: twig at October 8, 2008 6:32 PM

Tickets, money, passport! loved the Morocco episode.

If it ain't broke.......

stupid Fox.

Posted by: nancy at October 8, 2008 6:49 PM

While I think remaking old TV shows displays a lack of originality, I never liked "Absolutely Fabulous" and I'm not outraged by the notion of remaking it.. It was a one joke show. Yeah, I get it. Those women are drunk and slutty. Ha ha, ya got anything else?

Posted by: Dano at October 8, 2008 7:01 PM

First thing, no American studio has the balls to pull off AbFab. Its whole premise goes against everything that Hollywood wants to sell us.

Second, IT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE:

"Cybill" - Cybill Shepard, Christine Baranski, and Alicia Witt.

Let it rest.

Posted by: Meander at October 8, 2008 7:04 PM

I'm not very familiar with the ins and outs of the american networks but I thought FOX was fairly conservative? What is AbFab without the myriad sex and drug references?

Posted by: soraya at October 8, 2008 7:23 PM

They already remade this with Cybil Shepherd and Christine Baranski and just changed enough details so they wouldn't get sued. The major problem with an American remake is that no actresses would ever consent to be portrayed as complete and utter slags like the originals were. It will have to light and chirpy and totally castrated to appeal to an American viewing audience.

Posted by: OscarTamerz at October 8, 2008 7:26 PM

I think you're right - I'm pretty sure Ab Fab has already been bastardised for Mrs. Joey Sixpack in the form of that abortion-of-a-show "Cybill".

If the networks ever get hold of "Coupling" I'm pretty sure the US remake will bring on the apocalypse, so let's not tell them, m'kay?

I'm chanting as we speak! Bye-bye, dahling!

Posted by: YeahButNoBut at October 8, 2008 7:53 PM

I hope to fuck they don't remake BlackAdder or Are You Being Served?.

Posted by: Devo at October 8, 2008 4:36 PM
--------------------------------------------

You just raped my mind.
If they remake Blackadder I...I...I don't even know what I will do because I can't endure the trauma of merely considering what I would do if such a travesty were to come to a fore.

Posted by: lux at October 8, 2008 7:56 PM

I'm so upset about this I can hardly face the words here. This cannot be done! This must not be done! We need to recall our troops from Iraq or Afghanistan so they can storm the Fox offices. This is a crime against humanity. Patsy and Edina cannot be personified by any other actresses, and no one should be allowed to even think of attempting such a thing. It should be against the law for anyone to even discuss it.

I'm sick!

Posted by: Cindy at October 8, 2008 9:09 PM

I think you're right - I'm pretty sure Ab Fab has already been bastardised for Mrs. Joey Sixpack in the form of that abortion-of-a-show "Cybill". If the networks ever get hold of "Coupling" I'm pretty sure the US remake will bring on the apocalypse, so let's not tell them, m'kay?

I'm chanting as we speak! Bye-bye, dahling!

Posted by: YeahButNoBut at October 8, 2008 7:53 PM

------------------------

Sadly, NBC remade Coupling in 2003...

Happy Nonpocalypse!

Posted by: ana at October 8, 2008 9:23 PM

I'm not very familiar with the ins and outs of the american networks but I thought FOX was fairly conservative?

Ah yes. The Dichotomy of the Murdoch Empire. A conservative media conglomerate built on the back of a channel that couldn't have been more outrageous and "liberal" (well, at least back when it started). The House that Homer, Al, and The World (blank)iest (blank)s Built is now full of the same people who tried to get them taken off the air a couple of decades ago.

In other words, like many things related to Fox, the actual network is fairly hypocritical.

Posted by: Vermillion at October 8, 2008 9:54 PM

What is people's fascination with Gavin & Stacey?! I'm British, and I just cannot see any redeeming qualities in the show.

The two guys are just terrible comedians.

Posted by: Geraint at October 9, 2008 6:00 AM

They already did remake Coupling and it was fucking terrible. I used to laugh to tears while watching the original and then the americanized version appeared and it was watched in stony dead silence. The horror! The horror!

see for yourself:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338592/

Posted by: marija at October 9, 2008 7:03 AM

Can anyone explain this disease? A show driven by character, chemistry or social comment doesn't translate simply by replicating the premise. Yet, they keep trying. AbFab's faults and virtues are tied to that particular company. It won't translate.

What works, sometimes, is doing something new with the premise, like Battlestar Galactaca. Otherwise, it's like remaking Prime Suspect or Cracker with generic "talent."

Tennison / Fitz '08

Posted by: BierceAmbrose at October 9, 2008 8:18 AM

On a related note; I haven't seen the US Kath & Kim, but please don't disregard the Australian original by proxy. It's a pretty good show, and while it's not my favourite Australian sitcom/tv comedy (The Hollowmen probably gets that award [psst free podcast on iTunes, check it out], recently at least) it's good quality stuff.

Posted by: ben (thpbt) at October 9, 2008 9:06 AM

Let's also not forget the hot mess that was the American version of Red Dwarf.

Posted by: Babypants at October 9, 2008 9:35 AM

Great idea: Let's do an American remake of a shitty Brit show.

Posted by: sosumi at October 9, 2008 9:58 AM

They already did this and it wasn't Cybill. (or I should say, it was in addition to Cybill.) It was called High Society. It had Mary McDonnell and Jean Smart. It ran for a season, or less. I was one of 5 people who watched it.

Posted by: Rowen at October 12, 2008 12:39 PM

ABORT ABORT ABORT ABORT! CHUCK IT DOWN THE PAN AND FETCH ME A KNITTING NEEDLE!

Posted by: Kara at October 17, 2008 10:30 AM