Absolutely Fabulous
Cold Turkey
TV Flash files “Cold Turkey” as a desk essential hour — Absolutely Fabulous (1992–2012) on BBC One, season 5, episode 8, aired 2003-12-24, 35 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E08: listed hour 33 of 33 in the Absolutely Fabulous guide, last listed hour of season 5. It aired 2003-12-24 (35 min). The listed hour before it is “Exploitin'” (S05E07). No later hour is listed in this guide.
Essential hour: “Cold Turkey”. Cold Turkey: closer as a last champagne toast — respectability still refused, sweetie darling included.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Edina plans her first family Christmas. Meanwhile, Patsy is traumatised by the arrival of her sister Jackie.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Cold Turkey sit in the Absolutely Fabulous guide?
S05E08 is listed hour 33 of 33 — last listed hour of season 5, season 5 episode 8.
When did Absolutely Fabulous S05E08 air?
Cold Turkey aired 2003-12-24 and is listed at 35 minutes.
Is it a U.S. sitcom?
BBC One from 1992, with a U.S. cult via comedy imports. Saunders and Lumley as fashion-PR degenerates, not a Must-See clone.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Sweetie darling: fashion PR as self-destruction, champagne as plot, two women who refuse respectability. Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley treat aging, money, and taste as contact sports. British import comedy that dared U.S. living rooms — female excess without apology, ancestor of every later show that let women be disasters on purpose.
In medias res in a fashion-PR hangover: champagne as plot, two women who refuse respectability, a sensible daughter already judging the lighting. Jennifer Saunders created the BBC sitcom (premiere 1992) and starred opposite Joanna Lumley's Patsy; Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield, and Jane Horrocks completed a household that treats aging, money, and taste as contact sports. Max can keep his drop-day degenerates; this is British import comedy that dared U.S. living rooms via PBS and cable — female excess without…
Filed against
- Jennifer Saunders as Edina Monsoon
Jennifer Saunders’s Edina Monsoon made Absolutely Fabulous a champagne crime scene — fashion PR as self-destruction, two women who refuse respectability, aging and money and taste as contact sports. Sweetie darling as a 1990s import dare.…
- Joanna Lumley as Patsy Stone
Joanna Lumley made Patsy Stone a contact sport on Absolutely Fabulous — champagne as plot, fashion PR as self-destruction, two women who refuse respectability. Jennifer Saunders’s partner in female excess without apology. TV Flash files…
- Julia Sawalha as Saffron Monsoon
Julia Sawalha’s Saffron Monsoon was Absolutely Fabulous’s designated adult — fashion PR as self-destruction, champagne as plot, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley treating aging, money, and taste as contact sports. British import that…
- June Whitfield as Mother
June Whitfield’s Mother sat through Absolutely Fabulous as the original problem — fashion PR as self-destruction, champagne as plot, Saunders and Lumley treating aging, money, and taste as contact sports. British import excess without…
- Jane Horrocks as Bubble
Jane Horrocks’s Bubble made Absolutely Fabulous sound like a PA with no filter — sweetie darling adjacent, fashion PR as self-destruction, champagne as plot, two women who refuse respectability. 1990s British import excess. TV Flash files…