Honestly, by 1996, everyone thought the party was over. Jennifer Saunders had written three seasons of pure, unadulterated chaos, and the British public was convinced that Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone had nowhere left to go but the bottom of a very expensive bottle of Bollinger. Then came Absolutely Fabulous The Last Shout. It wasn't just another episode; it was a two-part special intended to kill off the show for good. Of course, we know now that Ab Fab has the staying power of a cockroach in a Chanel suit, but at the time, this felt like the genuine, messy, champagne-soaked finish line.
It's weird looking back at it now.
The mid-90s were a specific kind of fever dream in London. "Cool Britannia" was peaking, and Edina was the perfect, bloated avatar for a culture obsessed with PR, "spiritualism," and desperately trying to stay relevant while your daughter judges every breath you take. Absolutely Fabulous The Last Shout captured that desperation perfectly. It took the characters out of their London townhouse comfort zone and shoved them into the damp, terrifying reality of the French Alps. If you haven't seen it in a while, you've forgotten how dark it actually gets.
The Plot That Almost Ended It All
The special is split into two halves. The first part is classic Ab Fab—Eddie is obsessing over her new "celebrity" life, trying to manage a schedule that involves far too much yoga and not enough actual work. But the core of the story is Saffy’s impending marriage to Paolo, a man who is essentially a blank slate for Eddie to project her own fashion fantasies onto.
Then everything shifts.
The move to the French Alps for the pre-wedding getaway is where the "The Last Shout" earns its title. It’s cold. It’s miserable. Patsy and Eddie are trapped in a literal and metaphorical frozen wasteland. There’s a specific scene—the one where they get lost in the snow—that feels less like a sitcom and more like a fever dream. When Eddie starts hallucinating about her own insignificance, it’s actually a bit heartbreaking. Saunders has this gift for making you laugh at a woman’s total nervous breakdown while also making you feel the vacuum of her soul.
Why the French Alps Sequence is Peak Comedy
Most people remember the skiing. Or the lack thereof.
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Watching Joanna Lumley, draped in fur and high-fashion absurdity, trying to navigate a ski lift is some of the best physical comedy ever aired on the BBC. But the real meat of Absolutely Fabulous The Last Shout is the dialogue between Eddie and Patsy when they think they’re going to die. They don't have a moment of profound realization. They don't apologize for being terrible parents or friends. They just bicker about who gets the last drop of booze and how they look in the light of the moon.
It's honest.
Most TV specials try to give characters "growth." Saunders famously hates growth for Eddie and Patsy. They are static objects of vanity. By the time they are rescued (in a truly ridiculous fashion involving a very small dog and a lot of shouting), they haven't learned a single thing. That’s the genius of it. You don't want them to change; you want them to survive so they can continue being awful to everyone in their orbit.
Saffy’s Wedding and the Heart of the Show
The second half of Absolutely Fabulous The Last Shout brings us back to London for the wedding. This is where Julia Sawalha really shines. Saffy is the anchor, the "straight man" who has to endure the hurricane. The wedding is a disaster, obviously. Eddie manages to make the entire event about her own outfit and her own "journey," nearly ruining the one moment of happiness her daughter has clawed out for herself.
There is a moment, though.
Just a tiny one. Eddie looks at Saffy and you see a flicker of genuine motherly love before it’s immediately smothered by a need for more wine. It’s those tiny cracks in the vanity that made the 1996 special feel like a finale. It felt like we had finally reached the limit of how much damage Eddie could do.
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The Supporting Cast Stole the Damn Show
We have to talk about June Whitfield. As "Mother," she was always the secret weapon of the series, but in Absolutely Fabulous The Last Shout, her kleptomania and general detachment reach new heights. She is the only person Eddie is actually afraid of, mostly because Mother sees through every single lie without even trying.
And then there's Bubble.
Jane Horrocks played Bubble with a level of vocal gymnastics that shouldn't be possible. In the special, her incompetence as an assistant reaches a breaking point, yet she remains the only person who actually keeps Eddie’s "empire" (if you can call it that) from completely folding. The dynamic between the four women—Eddie, Patsy, Saffy, and Mother—is a masterclass in ensemble acting. They aren't just playing roles; they are a dysfunctional ecosystem.
Why "The Last Shout" Wasn't Actually the End
The title was a lie. Or at least, a temporary truth.
After 1996, the show went dark for five years. Saunders has said in various interviews that she really thought she was done. But the characters were too loud to stay quiet. We got Season 4 in 2001, Season 5 in 2003, and eventually a movie in 2016. But there is something about the "The Last Shout" era that feels more "pure" than the later revivals.
In the mid-90s, the satire was biting because the world Eddie lived in—the world of PR, spin, and shallow celebrity—was still relatively new to the public eye. By the time the movie came out, that world had become our entire reality. The joke was no longer "look at this crazy woman"; the joke was "we are all this crazy woman now." Absolutely Fabulous The Last Shout stands as the peak of that original, sharp-edged satire.
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Production Details You Probably Forgot
- Broadcast Date: It originally aired in two parts on November 6 and November 7, 1996.
- The Soundtrack: The use of Pet Shop Boys and the general "swinging London" vibe was at its absolute peak here.
- The Fashion: This special featured some of the most iconic (and expensive) costume design in the show's history. Christian Lacroix was a frequent name-drop, but the actual pieces were curated to look just "too much" for every occasion.
- Guest Stars: As always, the cameos were thick and fast, though this special leaned more on the core cast than later episodes did.
Real Talk: Does It Hold Up?
Yes. But it’s uncomfortable.
Watching Absolutely Fabulous The Last Shout in the 2020s is a different experience. Some of the jokes are dated. The way they talk about weight, aging, and "political correctness" is very much of its time. However, the core theme—the fear of becoming irrelevant—is more poignant than ever. Eddie’s terror of being "old" and "un-hip" is basically the driving force of every social media platform today.
She was an influencer before the word existed.
The special is a reminder that being fabulous is exhausting. It’s a full-time job that pays in hangovers and debt. When the final credits roll on Part 2, and you see the characters essentially right back where they started, it’s both a relief and a tragedy. They are trapped in their own cycle of narcissism, and we are trapped right there with them, laughing the whole time.
How to Revisit the Magic
If you’re looking to dive back into the world of Lacroix and "Stoli," don’t just jump into the movie. Go back to this special. It’s available on most major streaming platforms (like BritBox or Hulu depending on your region) and it serves as the perfect bridge between the gritty early 90s episodes and the more polished, glossy revivals of the 2000s.
Actionable Steps for the Ultimate Rewatch:
- Watch the "Original Trilogy" first: You need the context of seasons 1-3 to understand why Saffy’s wedding feels so monumental in the special.
- Look for the small details: Pay attention to the background of Eddie’s house. The "art" and the "decor" are character studies in themselves—expensive, trendy, and completely soul-less.
- Note the pacing: Notice how the first part is a frantic comedy of errors, while the second part is a slower, more character-driven piece. It’s a deliberate choice by Saunders to wind the audience down.
- Observe the fashion evolution: Compare Patsy’s look here to the first episode. She barely changes. It’s her armor. Edina, conversely, changes every five minutes. It’s her desperation.
The legacy of Absolutely Fabulous The Last Shout isn't just that it was a "good" TV special. It's that it proved these characters were immortal. You can't kill Edina and Patsy. You can only give them a fresh coat of lipstick and a new bottle of champagne. They represent the part of us that refuses to grow up, refuses to be sensible, and refuses to stop being, well, absolutely fabulous.
For anyone trying to understand the DNA of British comedy, this is required reading—or rather, required viewing. It’s loud, it’s offensive, it’s bloated, and it’s brilliant. Just like Eddie herself.