French & Saunders

Infobox Television
show_name = French & Saunders


caption = French and Saunders
format = Sketch comedy, Parody
camera =
runtime = Various
creator = Dawn French
Jennifer Saunders
starring = Dawn French
Jennifer Saunders
country = Flagicon|UK United Kingdom
network = BBC Two
first_aired = 9 March 1987
last_aired = 24 December 2007
num_episodes = 46
num_seasons = 7
imdb_id = 0092355
tv_com_id = 3050

"French & Saunders" is a British sketch comedy television show written by and staring BAFTA Award-nominee Dawn French and Emmy and BAFTA Award-winner Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act.

Widely popular in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the show was given one of the highest budgets in BBC history to create detailed spoofs and satires of pop culture, movies, celebrities and art. The duo continue to film holiday specials for the BBC, and both have been successful starring in their own shows. Saunders won an BAFTA, an Emmy Award and international acclaim for writing and playing the lead role of Edina Monsoon in "Absolutely Fabulous", which led to roles in the American sitcoms "Roseanne" and "Friends". She won an American People's Choice Award for voicing the wicked Fairy Godmother in DreamWorks' animated "Shrek 2", but more recently she has written and starred in another two sitcoms, "Jam and Jerusalem" and "The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle". Her other work includes being the face of Barclays Bank and BBC America, while French starred in "The Vicar of Dibley" and more recently, "Jam and Jerusalem" and "Lark Rise to Candleford".

The show features an unusual style of humour, where many otherwise normal parody sketches are permeated with an underlying theme (which somewhat breaks the fourth wall) of the jealousy that French has for Saunders, and the superiority complex of Saunders.

In a 2005 poll to find "The Comedian's Comedian", they were voted amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

The last special, 2005's "French and Saunders Christmas Celebrity Special", aired on 27 December 2005 on BBC One. In 2006, Saunders and French announced that the sketch style "French & Saunders" show was now dead, and that they had moved on to more age-appropriate material. Their last ever concert, and last ever performing as a duo act, "Still Alive" Tour is currently running in 2008.

History

Origins

The duo met in 1978 while attending the Central School of Speech and Drama and immediately began to collaborate on projects. They first came to public attention in the early 1980s for performing at the London club "The Comic Strip" - which also gave its name to the TV show and the informal grouping of so-called "alternative comedians". French & Saunders were featured on the 1981 live comedy album of "The Comic Strip" recorded by comedy entrepreneur Martin Lewis for his Springtime! label and released in September 1981. Their first mainstream TV appearance was in 1982 in the British comedy programme "The Comic Strip Presents...", where they were featured in approximately 30 episodes each as well as writing material for the series. They began to establish themselves in what was referred to as the "underground comedy" scene, along with many other prolific actors and comedians like Alan Rickman and Miranda Richardson, people whom they would go on to work with for the next twenty-plus years. From 1984 they appeared as comedy relief on the weekly Channel 4 music programme The Tube in which French had the honour of being the first person to use the word "blowjob" on UK TV.

In 1985, they collaborated on the programme "Girls On Top", which they again wrote and starred in. Co-stars Tracey Ullman and Ruby Wax rounded out a set of four oddball roommates, and the show ran for two years. In 1986 they made their first of many appearances on the UK version of "Comic Relief", and they signed a long-term contract with the BBC.

Although the two have parted somewhat to find great success individually, they frequently reunite for holiday specials on the BBC. A six-DVD boxed set of their work was released internationally.

"French & Saunders"

In early 1987 the duo launched the programme "French & Saunders", which has carried over six series up until late 2007. The show began humbly but immediately established its own niche as a spoof on other types of shows. In the first season it was set up to intentionally look like a low-budget variety show in which the two stars were constantly attempting grandiose stunts and often failing miserably. Often a "famous" guest star (usually someone who was very much a B-list celebrity) would be brought on and then treated badly. Also featured during this season was a set of geriatric dancers and a bongos/keyboard music duo called "Raw Sex", actually long-time collaborators Simon Brint and Rowland Rivron and the vocal talents of Kirsty MacColl.

As the series progressed and ratings skyrocketed the duo received higher and higher budgets with which to create elaborate parodies of mainstream culture. These ranged anywhere from recreations of films ("Thelma & Louise", "Misery", "Titanic," "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?") to spoofs on popular music artists (Madonna, Bananarama and ABBA being favourites). Certain spoken phrases and sight gags that referenced previously-performed sketches (often from years before) were incorporated for loyal fans. In particular there is a running gag suggesting that the duo are unable to accurately affect accents; this first appeared in their spoof of "Gone with the Wind" when they break character in the middle of an elaborate and expensive parody to argue about the authenticity of their Southern accent. Saunders goads French to try the accent by saying "How are you?" and French responds with a mangled interpretation: "Har URR Yer?" Since then they often break character in the middle of elaborate sketches to do an "accent check" and repeat these lines.

Another unique aspect to the show is that it was permeated by a sense of awareness at all times that the viewer was actually watching a parody. Unlike many parodies that are done in a straightforward manner for effect, French & Saunders uses the viewer's awareness of what is going on to further stretch out the joke. In their parody of the "The Lord of the Rings" films, an encounter by Galadriel (Saunders) and Frodo (French) is thrown off when Saunders delivers the line "I have passed the test, and now I will diminish, and go to the West and remain Galadriel", to which French responds "You will what, sorry?" Saunders replies "I will diminish... I don't understand, it's in the book."

Other characters that make a recurring appearance are the bald, fat, perverted old men ("Begging for it she is!"); "Star Test" (most memorable character is Sonia, played by French); and Out and About ("I bet she do's tricks").

List of Series and other appearances

eries 1 - 1987

Other appearances and work
* 1990 Little Pig Robinson (Beatrix Potter)
* 1990 – French & Saunders Live! (1990 Tour) Home video release (non-BBC)
* 1991 - Comic Relief’ 91: F&S and Birds of a Feather – Mistaken Identity
* 1991 - Hysteria III (UK, C4 (Noel Gay Television), Standup/sketch, colour)
* 1991 - Amnesty International's Big 30 (ITV (Working Title Television for Central), Standup/sketch
* 1993 - Comic Relief’ 93: Total Relief

eries 4 - 1993

Series 7 - A Bucket o' French & Saunders 2007

* A Bucket O' French and Saunders was shown from the September 7 till October 5, (The sixth episode not being shown canon). The series was shown as a retrospective, showing 20 years of the "French & Saunders" sketch show. The series also included new prerecorded sketches, which were interspersed between the classic sketches. The new sketches were recorded in June 2007 at the BBC Television Centre. New material included parodies of "America's Next Top Model", "The Apprentice", Gordon Ramsay's "The F-Word", The Academy Awards (featuring a cameo appearance by Dame Helen Mirren), "X Factor", "Big Brother", "Fame Academy" and a parody of disgraced celebrities Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears.

pecial Episodes

* 1988 - Christmas Special - "A French and Saunders Christmas Story"
* 1994 - Christmas Special - "French and Saunders Christmas Carol"
* 1998 - Christmas Special – "The Making of: The Filming of: The Making of: Titanic" (30mins)
* 1999 - Bank Holiday Special – "Witless Silence/F&S TV - Home Shopping Network" (30mins)
* 1999 - Christmas Special – "French & Saunders: The Phantom Millennium" (30mins)
* 2000 - Comic Relief Special (Video Only) - "The Extras On Doctor Who" (unaired extended sketch recorded 13 years previously for series 1 episode 6 and eventually released as a short special as part of the Doctor Who Comic Relief video compilation)
* 2000 - French & Saunders - "Live in 2000 Tour (Home video release – non-BBC)"
* 2002 - Easter Special – "The French & The Saunders (The Lord of the Rings)" (30mins)
* 2002 - Christmas Special – "Celebrity Christmas Puddings"
* 2003 - Comic Relief Special – "Harry Potter and The Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan"
* 2003 - Christmas Special – "French & Saunders: Actually"
* 2005 – Christmas Special - "French & Saunders Celebrity Christmas Special"
*

Live Shows

French & Saunders began a UK tour at Blackpool Opera House on 29 February 2008. The first leg of the show concluded in May 2008. The show will pick up in October 2008, playing in London. Previously they have toured their comedy act / sketch show very rarely, with UK tours in 1990 & 2000. The current tour contains a selection of their favourite sketches, as well as new material written specifically for the tour. The show was directed by Hamish McColl, set design by Lez Brotherstone, lighting, video and visual effects by Willie Williams.

*" Live 1990"
*" Live in 2000"
*" French & Saunders: Still Alive - 2008 Tour
*"French and Saunders";Still Aliver-2008 Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

ide projects and spin-off series

Featuring both Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders

*"The Comic Strip Presents" (1982-2000)
*"Girls On Top" (1985-1986)
*"Happy Families" (1985)
*"Let Them Eat Cake" (1999)
*"Jam & Jerusalem" (2006 - )

Featuring Dawn French

*"The Vicar of Dibley" (1994-2007)
*"Murder Most Horrid" (1991-1999)
*"Wild West" (2002-2004)

Featuring Jennifer Saunders

*"Absolutely Fabulous" (1992-2004)
*"Mirrorball"
*"The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle" (2007)

Video & DVD Releases

UK video

*"French & Saunders The Video" (Best Of Series 1 & 2) (1990)
*"French & Saunders Live" (4 Front Video) (1991)
*"French & Saunders Series 3" (1993)
*"French & Saunders At The Movies" (Best Of Series 4) (1994)

UK DVD

*"French & Saunders Live" (Universal) (2001)
*"The Best Of French & Saunders" (or "Gentlemen Prefer French & Saunders") (2002)
*"French & Saunders At The Movies" (also Includes the 1999 Christmas Special) (2005)
*"French & Saunders: Complete Series 1-6 (2008)
*"French and Saunders: Still Alive (17th November 2008)

USA video

*"French & Saunders At The Movies" (1997)
*"Gentlemen Prefer French & Saunders" (1997)
*"French & Saunders Ingenue Years" (1998)
*"French & Saunders Living In A Material World" (1998)

USA DVD

*"Gentlemen Prefer French & Saunders" (2002)
*"French & Saunders At The Movies" (2002)
*"French & Saunders The Ingenue Years" (2003)
*"French & Saunders Living In A Material World" (2003)
*"French & Saunders On The Rocks" (2005)
*"French & Saunders Back With A Vengeance" (2005)

Australian video

*"French and Saunders: Live" (2002)

Australian DVD

*"French and Saunders: Live" (2003)
*"French and Saunders At The Movies" (with 1999 Christmas Special) (2005)
*"BBC Presents "The Best of: French and Saunders" (2005)
*"French and Saunders: Complete Series 1-6" (2008)

International Broadcasters

External links

* [http://www.frenchandsaunders.com/ French and Saunders Dot Com]
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/500435/index.html British Film Institute Screen Online]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/f/frenchandsaunder_7772750.shtml French & Saunders BBC page with cast, crew, and episode list]