Product Description

Meet Amanda Ripley (Dawn French), Shelley DuPont (Ruby Wax), Candice Valentine (Tracey Ullman) and Jennifer Marsh (Jennifer Saunders), the unlikely roommates who share an apartment under the watchful eye of landlord Lady Carlton (Joan Greenwood). Whether it is a kidnapping for ransom, a low-budget re-make of Gone With the Wind or a romance with Prince Andrew, these girls find themselves in the most ridiculous situations.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84728 in DVD
• Brand: ULLMAN,TRACEY
• Released on: 2003-02-11
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .35 pounds
• Running time: 175 minutes

Amazon.com
Before The Tracey Ullman Show and Absolutely Fabulous, the short-lived 1985 Britcom Girls on Top helped launch the careers of Ullman and Jennifer Saunders. This two-DVD set contains seven episodes from the show's two seasons. Girls on Top, like the cult fave The Young Ones, charts the sometimes surreal misadventures of four mismatched roommates. Anchoring the series is Dawn French (Saunders's partner in comedy) as Amanda Ripley, a "decent, solid, and frumpy" feminist (if they ever Americanize this series, Rosie O'Donnell would be a natural as her counterpart). Ullman is brazen blonde bimbo Candice. Transplanted American Ruby Wax (an acquired taste) is brash aspiring actress Shelley. Saunders scores with her signature lumpen slapstick as Jennifer, who is described as having "the mental age of four." Venerable Joan Greenwood (The Importance of Being Ernest, Tom Jones) costars as Lady Carlton, the addled romance writer who lets their apartment, and whose cherished companion is her dead, stuffed dog. Look for Alan Rickman in the first episode. Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid in the Harry Potter films) guest stars as a hapless kidnapper in perhaps the set's funniest episode, "C.O.D." It's not absolutely fabulous, but fans will enjoy this nascent glimpse at four--well, three at any rate-of Britain's funniest women. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Not completely lacking
I thought that overall, this series was worth buying. The sound problem is fixed..for those of you wondering. As for the series, Ruby Wax's character is the only complaint I have..she was a bit irritating, the series is not laugh out loud funny like Ab Fab, but if your a hardcore Ab Fab or French and Saunder's Fan, then you'll want to add this to your collection. The episodes and characters grow on you after you watch them a few times.
It's not completely lacking..more of a "collector's item" but worth having..but just so you know the episodes are not in order..the company that made this dvd (BFS), is not the brightest..

The dvd quality is fine, the sound is fine, but the picture flickers a few times here and there..nothing really noticeable except that the same trivia is on set one and two.

A little uneven, but very entertaining
These women were just beginning to hit their stride as writers performing their own material during this series. I think they really had their characters down, although the plots are sometimes frayed or not completely nailed.

The most difficult aspect of both these sets is that they are not presented in chronological order-- both seasons are all mixed together, and the finale of the series is in Set 1. I really wish BFS would do a better job allowing us here in the U.S. to view these series as they were presented originally.

Interesting that in the Filmographies, neither Jennifer Saunders or Dawn French mention their work in the Young Ones. It'd be nice to get ahold of the older Comic Strip Presents series as well (MTV did show several of those performance pieces.)

A must for French and Saunders completists
Since I'd been hoping to find this show on video or (better) DVD, I was delighted finally to be able to buy the complete series. Other reviews that mention poor quality audio should not concern you: I have both sets and the audio is fine for the age of the program.

Video quality is satisfactory.

If you haven't seen this show, you won't find the sophistication of AbFab, but if you like Rude Girl shows in general this should appeal to you. Ruby Wax is brassy and loud (revealing a lot about her real upbringing, too, if you read her autobiography "How Do You Want Me?"). Dawn French is bossy, and Jennifer Saunders catatonic. My favourite is the perenially shallow Candice, played by Tracey Ullman.

If female comedy is your thing, you won't be disappointed.