Top Gear is meer dan een televisieprogramma, het is ook een papieren magazine en een way of life. De drie hoofdpresentatoren Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond en James May voeren de zotste opdrachten uit en gaan de meest bizarre uitdagingen aan.  Zo waren Clarkson en May de eerste mensen om met een wagen naar de Noordpool te rijden. Top Gear ís controversieel, maar de producers gaan de polemiek ook niet uit de weg.

Surf maar eens op de site en geniet. Of kijk naar onderstaande aflevering. Special guest was toen Jennifer Saunders, Edina van AbFab.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=4358083225213130587]

Zondag heb je een extra reden om te kijken, dan komt Sabine Schmitz met het TG-team racen op het circuit van Zolder.

I could hardly keep up with the news in the world this week. Our summer schedules have suddenly taken on a whole new dimension. The laundry now lies on the folding table, a forgotten pile of tumble dried entwined cotton and linen. The empty picture frames waiting for their fill of memories and family pics, lying abandoned on the dining room table; I think my kids think the generic family picture that comes with the frame when you buy it, IS actually our family back in South Africa.

The reason for all this newly found independence from household chores? The kids have started swimming lessons down by the lake. The younger one is at 10-ish and the older one is at 11:30 so I end up spending three hours down on the 'beach' at the water's edge, pretending that I have no work to be done at home. I read a few pages of my book, eat a delicious slush, take a quick swim and then return home at around 1:30 just when the heat is getting to its peak and the beach starts becoming crowded. The timing is perfect. I am cultivating a very careful tan...it is amazing that you still burn (face it, when your skin changes color, it BURNS not tans) even when you are using sun protection factor 75!!!! The kids are as fair and unburnt as ever...three layers of SPF 75 works really well!

Last weekend was July 4th, and we spent the weekend quietly celebrating the independence of our new home. We had the obligatory BBQ. South African hubby, South African wife and a guest born in England and raised in Australia. We sat around watching all our American neighbors celebrating how they defeated the British and established their own country. We quietly observed these celebrations fearing some one shouting "The British are coming" and then proceeding to lynch the closest thing to the British which they can find (please read previous posts about how British/Australian etc I really am - anything but American). Fireworks are not permitted in our state but people travel down to other neighboring states to make purchases and then come home to light up their corner of a dark July 4th sky. They celebrate their American independence lighting their fireworks made in China, wearing their clothes made in Vietnam or Malaysia and at the end of the evening they get in to their Japanese cars and drive home to sleep on their beds made in Indonesia. Ah, independence is such a wonderful thing!

The rest of the weekend passed with much gardening being done, swims, baking, eating and the last of our little family of four suffering from a tummy bug Hubby brought home from his visit to China two weeks ago. I advocate sharing in my house - as wise Barney says, "Sharing is a special way of caring!". But I hate it when Hubby takes it all so literally and feels that he has to share everything with us. He had it first (we put it down to jet lag), I got it a day later (we put it down to being exhausted), little one got it the worst on Thursday night (I could not put it down to anything) and then the older daughter came down with it on the Sunday. Thanks Mr Travelling Pants! We all got a little more of a taste of China than what we wanted.

So this week has been all about spending hours at the beach in hot humid weather, eating cool and delicious dinners and thanking the powers that be everyday that some bright spark had the brains to invent air conditioning! We had a huge thunderstorm tonight that was supposed to cool things down but that little plan did not really work out like it was supposed to. But another storm is brewing, getting ready for tomorrow night...after 18 years, I am putting my ballet shoes back on and attempting to at least look like a dancer. Whether I can actually do it, well that is another story for another blog...provided that my muscles do not completely seize up and totally incapacitate me!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, sweetie darling, you have given me years of comic genius and for that, this one's on me.

Some choice words from Edina Monsoon played by Jennifer Saunders who is 51 today, and  looks bloody fabulous:

-'Just remember one thing. Cancel my aromatherapy, my psychotherapy and reflexology, my osteopath, my homeopath and my naturopath, my crystal reading, my shiatsu, my organic hairdresser... and see if I can be re-birthed next Tuesday afternoon.'

-'No! No drugs, give the drugs to Patsy.'

-' I feel like I had slipped on a oil patch at 35 and now I'm skiing towards the grave!'

And here is my favorite parody that she and the divine Dawn French did on Tyra Banks and America's Next Top Model (both of which I also love):

I've heard all sorts of rumours about who might play the 11th Doctor: James Nesbitt, Simon Pegg (I started that one), Robert Carlisle, Jennifer Saunders*.

My guess? David Tennant. Something to do with his own severed hand, still sitting in a jar inside the Tardis, will allow him to regenerate into himself. Or something like that. Whatever happens, it's nothing that a good old reversal of the polarity of the neutron flow won't be able to sort out.

BBC1 at 6.40pm. Miss it not.

* In the '70s, a regular wheeze of the media was to speculate that the next Doctor Who actor would be a woman. "They can't do that," I would say with misogynist, pre-enlightened indignation. "They'd have to change the title to Nurse Who..."

By the way, he's not really dead, so don't worry. Not yet anyway.

Who can replace him? I don't know. I fell in love with him in Casanova, but despite what I thought at the time, he wasn't quite as completely brillianter than Christopher Ecclestone as I thought he would be. And series four has been quite a disappointment.

However, I really want to know who's going to be the next doctor. It could be a case of long live David Tennant. Maybe he'll just wear prosthetics or something. But I've search the infinite truth of the internet, and come up with a shortlist of possible Doctors:

• Eddie Izzard - this would be quite amazing, especially because he's done nothing in years
• Jennifer Saunders - she'd be good, but the Ab Fab line sparked the thought of how good Joanna Lumley would be (I think she may have made a spoof appearance once)
• James Nesbitt - one of the best actors in the world, and this is quite a strong rumour particularly because he was in Steven Moffat's Jekyll last year, who is the new showrunner
• Julian Walsh - some guy I've never heard of, and I think rumours were completely unfounded

I'd love Eddie Izzard, thankyou. James Nesbitt is a great actor, but for some reason I don't think he'll fit. I'll give anyone a chance, as long as it's not Daniel Radcliffe.

Maybe Richard Dawkins could take the part after his wonderful cameo appearance: the best acting I've ever seen.

Muppar, Tim Currry, Jennifer Saunders och en Lapin Kulta är en, om möjligt, ännu bättre kombination.

Muppet Treasure Island borde definitivt införskaffas på DVD. Speciellt eftersom VHS-versionen antagligen inte ens tillhör mig. Månne den vara brorsans, kanske?

"I was Flinty's first mate, we all were!"

A Inglaterra é pródiga em bons comediantes. Que o digam Monty Python e seus inúmeros sucessos na tevê e no cinema, os quais formaram um legião de seguidores - inclusive no Brasil.

A série Absolutely Fabulous surgiu bem depois (no início da década de 90) e, se não conquistou a tela grande como seus antecessores, deixou sua marca e virou referência cult em boa parte do planeta.

Ab Fab, para os íntimos, girava em torno de duas personagens deliciosas, de tão surreais: Edwina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders), uma decoradora de interiores atrapalhada e consumista e Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley), uma editora de moda alcoólatra e pedante.

Melhores amigas? Desde sempre. Traços em comum? Todos: o humor ácido, os venenos contra o mundo da moda, os vícios, o desprezo por todos (inclusive pela própria filha de Edwina!!), as orgias sexuais do passado, as drogas, as compras, as manias, os inimigos, as gafes com as celebridades, os barracos, enfim!

Poucas séries de tevê puderam se dar ao luxo de irem tão fundo no sentido denotativo da expressão "politicamente incorreto".

Lá se vão onze anos desde que a conheci pelo canal Eurochannel nas noites de terça-feira, mas Patsy continua a mesma: com uma garrafa de vodca na mão e um cigarro na outra, com seus figurinos da Harrod's e seu penteado a la Ivana Trump. E hoje a loira faz aniversário. A idade? Bom, Patsy Stone conhece os segredos de todos e como eu não tenho um passado tão imaculado quanto o de uma Grazi Massafera da vida, é melhor não mexer com ela, não é?

So - in my day and time (sorry Morecambe and Wise) - there's been Fry and Laurie with Jeeves and Wooster (gosh, was that good,) A Bit of Fry and Laurie and their respective roles in Blackadder - oh the blatant subtext. So now Hugh Laurie's off in America doing his House, MD stint and thinking that the UK doesn't like him anymore. Meanwhile, Stephen Fry's been in films (Hitchhiker's Guide, St. Trinian's, V for Vendetta and so many other memorable works,) hosting QI and writing his blog about shiny new technology and other things of interest - wittily, of course.

Fry and Laurie: Australian Soap (check out the bogan names, the Hawaiian shirt and the fact that this pretty much sums up all those seasons of Home and Away and Neighbours into 4.5 minutes):

And then there's French and Saunders, the duo known for spoofing box office films, e.g. The Titanic:

And Harry Potter:

I haven't seen Dawn French around for a while since The Vicar of Dibley - ignoring the brief Harry Potter stint but these days, Jennifer Saunders voiced the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2 and is going to be voicing in Neil Gaiman's Coraline with Dawn French as Miss Forcible and Miss Spink, respectively. I'm very excited.

And lastly, we come to David Mitchell and Robert Webb, the UK version of Mac and PC:

It, in my opinion, is less obnoxious than Justin Long as Mac in the American version (the original) featuring John Hodgman as PC. But both have their charms and I love all well-made advertisements regardless.

They perform their witty little antics in That Webb and Mitchell Look (which is still airing as it is new,) after The Webb and Mitchell Situation.

Mitchell and Webb - The Identity Killer:

Mitchell and Webb - Working From Home:

...This Wheels on Fire.

Remember the opening song for AbFab?

I never knew it but that song "This Wheels of Fire" is one of those songs that was covered by dozens of people including Bob Dylan and Siouxsie and the Banshees. This version's my favorite, and it even has a tripped out video. I can totally picture Eddie and Patsy dancing along.

Set in the village of Clatterford St. Mary,  the show features a well known cast list, with appearances from Sue Johnston, Joanna Lumley, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.  Jam & Jerusalem also has Saunders' own children, Freya Edmondson and Beattie Edmondson as part of the cast list.

Jam & Jerusalem centers around Sal Vine (Sue Johnston) who joins the Clatterford Women's Guild after her husband's death.  The show focuses on the community aspect of the Women's Guild, and displays a number of interesting and diverse characters, as though portraying real life.

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have once again teamed up in this show.  Dawn French plays Rosie Bales, a woman with a crazy alter ego called Margaret.  Saunders portrays Caroline Martin, a woman who despite being a bit separate from the Guild itself, is an important part of the community.

First airing in 2006, Jam & Jerusalem broadcast it's second season in 2008. This show has also been shown in the US under the name of Clatterford.

Julia Sawalha (Saffron in Ab Fab) played a character called Freda Keill who was also an actress, albeit much more successful than Vivienne and Jackie.

Mirrorball only ever aired as a pilot episode, and was criticised as being too similar to the original.  The question was raised as to why Saunders didn't just work on another series of the original Absolutely Fabulous, rather than this new show which shared a few too many similarities only under a different name.

The similarity between Mirrorball and Absolutely Fabulous ultimately led to confusion amongst the viewers.

The failure of Mirrorball is what lead to the creation of the 5th season of Absolutely Fabulous, where Saunders and Lumley once again filled the roles they did best.

To see the entire pilot episode of Mirrorball, follow these links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkMnbcLiy-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5Oxdki0Y-Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YRibSzKoSw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM6I6Ij4g2w

Girls On Top was a sitcom, conceived  by comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, and was written by Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders and Ruby Wax.

Girls On Top aired in 1985, and despite being such low budget, it received high ratings from the viewers.

Girls On Top focused on 4 very different flat mates and their landlady, and storylines revolved around their conflicting personalities.

Dawn French (Amanda Ripley), Jennifer Saunders (Jennifer Marsh), Ruby Wax (Shelley DuPont), Tracey Ullman (Candice Valentine) and Joan Greenwood (Lady Chloe Carlton) all starred in the show.

Girls On Top seems to be quite typical of the comedy produced by French and Saunders, and the two on screen are fabulous to watch.  The jokes are the kind of thing we have come to expect from Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French, making their work a winning formula for several decades.

 Girls On Top only ran for 2 seasons, ending in 1986.

Their show, French and Saunders features hilarious comedy sketches and skits based on other TV shows, movies, music videos, or sketches from their own imagination.

As well as comedy sketches based on TV shows, the episodes also feature satires of British life.

French and Saunders has been going since 1987 and has had 6 seasons shown on TV.  The last known season was aired in 2005, after which Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders moved on to write and star in other TV shows.

I think the reason that French and Saunders was so successful is because it was always current with everything else going on in the media.  They had hit on a winning formula, and stuck with it.

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are always incredibly funny to watch on screen, especially together.  The pair know what it means to make true comedy.

Absolutely Fabulous is a comedy about two best friends in their 40s.  Despite their age, Edina and Patsy are about as immature as one can get.  Eddy and Patsy spend the majority of their time either drunk or hungover, while driving Eddy's sensible teenage daughter, Saffron, round the bend.

The show stars Jennifer Saunders as Eddy, Joanna Lumley as Patsy, Julia Sawahla as Saffron, and Jane Horrocks as Bubble.

The show which was written by Jennifer Saunders herself (who plays Eddy), aired for 5 seasons between 1992 and 2005.

Ab Fab focuses on Eddy and Patsy and their obvious inability to cope with the world, and act their age.

The show also features Bubble (Jane Horrocks) who takes on the role of Eddy's ditzy PA, who is just as clueless as Eddy and Patsy are portrayed to be.
This video sums up Bubble perfectly:

It's time the world knew about Edina of Absolutely Fabulous fame. Here, despite her assistant Bubble's fumblings, Eddie exhibits her skill in crisis communications and convinces singer Lulu to stay on as her client.

[PMT = premenstrual tension = PMS]

Eddie, played by Jennifer Saunders, owns her own PR agency in London, UK. She specializes in celebrity and fashion publicity. She has a love for modern art, is obsessed with getting old and despises her daughter, Saffie, who is the complete opposite of her and is the real mother in this relationship. Eddie is the epitome of what not to do in this business. But you love her anyway!

Her BFF Patsy Stone, played by the beautiful Joanna Lumley, is in the fashion business, editor or something like that and was a model in the 60s. You hardly ever see her working. Mostly she sponges off Eddie. No one knows for sure how old Patsy is -- she could be as young as 45 or as old as 60. She's a sot, a drug user, an insomniac, a nymphomaniac, and once was a guy.

The series profiles Eddie and Patsy's adventures under the influence of Bolle champagne, Stolli vodka and designer drugs. The show is a slanted and contraversial perspective of the PR world; however, Eddie's profession takes backstage to her flamboyant and unpredictable nature. In one way, she's a stereotype of a PR agent, but in another way she's a parody of human nature, an absurd example of the modern, affluent, working middle-aged woman.

If you've never caught an episode, you must! Absolutely Fabulous is a tablet in the world of Britcoms and a model that young comedians aspire to -- It's absolutely brilliant!

Of course to many, the whole idea of the highest official accolades in the UK continuing to honour the idea of the 'British Empire' is problematic to say the least.   Hence you have outspoken figures such as Benjamin Zephaniah and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown who rejected their awards, (well in Yasmin's case she gave her's back after being inspired by Benjamin).  But of course I must stress and we all know this isn't just an "ethnic issue".  David Bowie, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, JGBallard, LS Lowry, Nigella Lawson, Roald Dahl, Kenneth Branagh and John Lennon, amongst many others are reported to have refused or returned their honours, all for different reasons, some for republican reasons, and others for more topical political events at the time.

But the fact remains for many so called "ethinic minorities" who were born in this country and love this country, the fact that the highest national honour continues to revere the Empire which enslaved, colonised, exploited and under-developed the majority of the countries which made up the British Empire aka the British Commonwealth, (or actually the Commonwealth of Nations as it is now called.)

I know what some of you may be thinking when you read this.  If you don't like it here, or don't like the system here, then why not leave?  Well that is where it gets tricky.  For starters most of them love living here and don't want to live elsewhere because this is where they were born and they have the right to live here and not like 100% of the system, just the same as an indignous white British person has the right to not like everything about the place they live.  Also, gob back where?  Again, this is their home and for many the only home they have ever known. I would ask people who would ask the "why don't they just leave...." question, - aside from race/immigration issues, can you hand on heart say you like 100% everything about the systems in this country?  (Any country where you might live for that matter as this tension isn't only relevant for Britain.)

But now coming back to Britain, when you consider that England is the 'Mother Country' for 53 independent sovereign states, many of which were enslaved, colonised, exploited and under-developed by the 'Mother Country', to a poverty level legacy that can still be witnessed today, then the issue of Britain highest honour continuing to revere the 'Empire project' is, to say the very least, distasteful and insensitive to a large amount of loyal British citizens.  Actually, correction, that should be 'subjects' not citizens!  (*cough*)

In my more lofty ego moments I daydream and think, if I every got awarded in the new years honours list, would I accept it?  (N.B. Not that I am expecting this call in any of my lifetimes soon you understand!!!!) In my more political and frankly principled moments I think, of course I wouldn't accept it, how dare they think I need to validate my existence and experience by bowing down to the Queen of the British Empire, etc, etc, etc, for all the reasons mentioned above, etc etc.  But when I am really honest with myself, I know I would be chuffed to be on the list and, well, my mum would be so proud!  (Sorry Benjamin, sorry Yasmin).

I guess I'll keep waiting by the phone each December, and hope it never rings.

The star in a reasonably priced car segment was fun. Jennifer Saunders of French & Saunders show and Absolutely Fabulous fame comes by to take out the Chevy whatever around the track and she is surprisingly fierce. She is really competitive and apparently fearless. I guess you can get that way when you do comedy, you can't really be scared of anything in order to do that for a living. Anyway she ends up 2nd on the board. Way to go Jennifer! It is great to see that since I am a fan of her work.

Other than that they do some mucking around in the news about Korea and forget that Holden (vauxall minaro) is from Australia. they also insist on pronouncing Hyundai as Hiaundai instead of Hunday and Jeremy forgets how to use the TV and prints out all his pix on paper.  Jeremy also burns mucho rubber in a new Aston Martin DBS. He concludes that it is really a juiced up DB9 replacement. Ok, but there are many of us that are completely ambivalent about that. It's gorgeous but unattainable.

Coincidentally there is also an article in TIME magazine about the 15 million BBC channels all with the same name in the UK and the issues they have had keeping viewers and trying to not rig the unscripted shows they run. They make no mention of TG of course, because it's a pretty successful franchise. I do thing that the BBC is doing ok really and not nearly as badly as they might say because in addition to all the fees they extract for ads on BBC America and the TG site, according to TIME they get $275 bucks from every TV receiving household each year in the UK. Whether it's paid through taxes or directly I don't know, but no one else gets that here. ( except PBS? but not that much) Sounds pretty good to me.

Anyway enjoy the full version online at YouTube here:

 Feel privileged! Here's a special morning links roundup for you lovely people...

Valentino unveiled his final gorgeous ready-to-wear collection yesterday. Style.com has the details of his Spring/Summer '08 look...

Holla! The Big Dog Tim Westwood turns 50 years old today...  Guardian Unlimited are here to help him blow out the candles.

Jason Donovan would be hurt if you walked away, so read an interview with him here... Too many broken hearts in the world...

The Daily Mail show complete thought and care describing Milla Jovovich's pregnant look. Lovely. 

Oooh, and ladies - here's some tips for us to be Queens of Clean - Hang on, is The Mail trying to sex up cleaning?!. (Shakes head and buries head in hands... what is the world coming to?!)

Invest in more UK kids TV shows damnit, or they'll all start talking with American accents... (love TMi though...) 

Take a closer, comedic look at the long partnership of French & Saunders at The Times.

Slate dissects a new TV show based on an advertisment, Cavemen.

American History X director Tony Kaye has attempted to make a neutral documentary on abortion; Lake Of Fire, he's talking about it with The AV Club.

Anna Pickard sorts through the new Jennifer Lopez video for Do It Well and attempts to find a storyline.

Following on from last week's Recharge post, here's our picks of the best shows on TV this week starting with the Bethmeister...

The Life & Times of Vivienne Vyle, Thursday 9pm, BBC2

Jennifer Saunders (who I generally enjoy) stars as a talkshow host planning to retire after a series of mishaps but lured back by superb viewer ratings. Vivienne Vyle... Jeremy Kyle... hmm. Should be fun, especially with talkshow titles like; 'I want a vagina, but can't kick the crack...'.

Hidden Palms, Thursday 9pm, Sky One

Gah, it's The OC's crazy Oliver. And he's had highlights! A dark teen series that lasted 8 episodes in the US. Which could mean its good! Or could mean it really, really isnt'!

And Sam, what does he think about this television for the week?

The Riches, Monday 10pm, Virgin 1

He of the monkeys on tables and trees Eddie Izzard joins Minnie Driver for Virgin One's launch night in a comedy drama from US network FX. Izzard and Driver are a couple of grifters who decide to give up their travelling ways and live a normal life.

Heroes, Wednesday 9pm, BBC2

The entertaining if never truly great Heroes continues over here and Christopher Eccleston brings some need gravitas to proceedings as an invisible, surly gent who like pigeons.

But the question is, with both sterling heads put together, what do we insist you all watch this week?

Answer: Stephen Fry: HIV & Me, Tuesday 9pm, BBC2

If you saw Fry's documentary on manic depression not so long ago, you'll know why we're making this a must see. His approachability and charisma push these programmes into the social conscious, and that can only be a good thing when he's bringing attention to such important subjects. Stephen Fry is the gentle God of our times. All hail the Fry!!

If you'd also like a guilty weekend pleasure, then check out TMi on BBC2 at 9am on Saturday. Grab a cup of tea, a bagel or piece of toast, and check out the new Ant and Dec, Sam & Mark, being deeply silly. Even if you hate it, you'll feel better about the day.

Vooral voor uw lachspieren. (via)