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French and Saunders

  • TV Series
  • 1987–20171987–2017
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in French and Saunders (1987)
Comedy
This BBC comedy skit show is the brainchild of longtime comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Each episode featured satire on British life, television, and parodies on big box-office... Read allThis BBC comedy skit show is the brainchild of longtime comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Each episode featured satire on British life, television, and parodies on big box-office movies such as Batman Forever (1995) and Pulp Fiction (1994). The duo also invited notabl... Read allThis BBC comedy skit show is the brainchild of longtime comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Each episode featured satire on British life, television, and parodies on big box-office movies such as Batman Forever (1995) and Pulp Fiction (1994). The duo also invited notable Brits such as Patsy Kensit, Lulu, and Kate Moss.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
3.5K
YOUR RATING
  • Stars
    • Dawn French
    • Jennifer Saunders
    • Simon Brint
  • Stars
    • Dawn French
    • Jennifer Saunders
    • Simon Brint
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 8User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 BAFTA Award

    Episodes52

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    Photos244

    Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in French and Saunders (1987)
    Dawn French in French and Saunders (1987)
    Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in French and Saunders (1987)
    Jennifer Saunders in French and Saunders (1987)
    Dawn French, Maggie Steed, and Liza Tarbuck in French and Saunders (1987)
    Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in French and Saunders (1987)
    French and Saunders (1987)
    French and Saunders (1987)
    French and Saunders (1987)
    French and Saunders (1987)
    French and Saunders (1987)
    French and Saunders (1987)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Dawn French
    Dawn French
    • Various Characters…
    Jennifer Saunders
    Jennifer Saunders
    • Various Characters…
    Simon Brint
    • Ken Bishop…
    Rowland Rivron
    • Duane Bishop…
    Patrick Barlow
    • Alfred…
    Harriet Thorpe
    Harriet Thorpe
    • Countess of Hertzegovina…
    Kirsty MacColl
    Kirsty MacColl
    • Self…
    Lorna Brown
    Lorna Brown
    • PA…
    Kevin Allen
    Kevin Allen
    • Anthony Newley…
    Kathy Burke
    Kathy Burke
    • Angela's agent…
    Liza Tarbuck
    Liza Tarbuck
    • The Producer…
    Betty Marsden
    • Madame…
    Peter Johnston
    • The Hot Hoofers
    Olwyn Atkinson
    • The Hot Hoofers
    Ina Clare
    • The Hot Hoofers
    Brenda Cowling
    Brenda Cowling
    June Easther
    • The Hot Hoofers
    Janette Tough
    • Anadin Skywalker…
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The first series follows something of a 'fly on the wall' format, where various sketches are linked to the making of the show itself (for example, scenes featuring the wardrobe and make-up departments). This format was abandoned after one series in favour of a standard sketch show structure.
    • Quotes

      Dawn: Listen, I really don't want you to take this personally or think that I'm being cruel or unkind, but you're really just a hideous, talentless bitch with a foul attitude, aren't you?

      Jennifer: Well, thanks to you AND your mother.

    • Connections
      Edited into Auntie's Bloomers: Auntie's New Bloomers 3 (1995)

    User reviews8

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Not Absolutely Fabulous
    Having loved several 80's British comedy TV shows that made it to the U.S.A. (including Young Ones and Black Adder Goes Forth), I decided to give the F&S: Material World DVD a try. The DVD is a collection of short skits from the series, which includes many parodies. Jennifer Saunders (with some help from Dawn French) later made her mark with the show Absolutely Fabulous, a show I didn't care for.

    Unfortunately, I didn't recognize some of the parodies, rendering them ineffective. A music video by 'The Raspberries' (Cranberries) was strange, not initially recognizing the group or the significance of the song, with the laugh track painfully reminding me of the jokes I was missing.

    In general, the comedy is a mixed bag of over-the-top skits. In the Batman parody, the evil villains (the 'Krankies') used jokes as a weapon to someone else's uproarious laughter ("What do you call a man with a car on top of his head - Jack!" ). In more inspired moments, Batman (Saunders) forgets the voice he used to open the Batmobile, and so tries a Dalek voice (Dr. Who), and eventually fails. Later, when a woman offers to be Batman's love interest, Batman confesses he doesn't know what to do, not even being able to 'get the car started'.

    One comic tool F&S use is to portray actresses in a production, sometimes slipping out of character to complain when something goes wrong. In the opening sequence of the Loveheart (Braveheart) skit, Saunders is credited for Liam Neeson, and French is credited for Mel Gibson. Other comic targets include attempting accents, Ireland and Scotland, special effects gone wrong, and playing male characters (using overtly masculine or feminine personifications).

    One sketch was Lord Of The Rings, where F&S made extensive fun of the special effects (such as making hobbits appear small). While it was one of the funniest sketches on the DVD, there was a lingering awkwardness in that they were making fun of movie effects that were superb - not exactly cannon fodder for parody.

    Thick British accents (especially when comically exaggerated or muted) complicated viewing by making some dialog difficult to understand. Unfortunately, there were often no subtitles to come to the rescue.

    Highlights included parodies of Batman, Madonna, Lord Of The Rings, and Baywatch, all of which were worth seeing despite some comic unevenness. Others that didn't work as well included "The Gulf" and "Tripping", both of which were dated. Cute references to other British shows can be found (including 'The Prisoner' in the Batman skit).

    Watch it someday if you can, but don't expect any mind-blowing revelations. Just make sure to have the remote handy to skip over dull moments.
    helpful•5
    52
    • suffer-smart-magnet
    • Sep 12, 2005

    FAQ2

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 9, 1987 (United Kingdom)
      • United Kingdom
      • English
    • Also known as
      • England, UK
    • Production company
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 30 minutes
      • Color
      • Mono
      • Stereo

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