Absolutely Fabulous Guests

This show is a British sitcom. I've seen it before, it's okay, but I like My Family alot, that show cracks me up because it can relate to my real life waaaaaaaaaaaay too much! Except, unlike Susan, my mom CAN cook, and I'm the older sibling, lol.

IDK why or how this suddenly came in my mind, I guess it's because this was one of few British shows my dad actually did watch, other than Primeval.

Episodes

Guest Stars
-Many of them were actors or actresses, musicians and many of them were British or American. Let me rephrase this, almost all of them are British/English, either one is probably good.

-Anita Pallenberg
  (Played the Devil on the episode "Donkey")

-Robert Lindsay
  (Ben Harper on My Family) (Played Pete on the episode "Schmoozin'")

-Laurie Metcalf
  (Played therapist on the episode "White Box")

-Naomi Campbell
  (Played herself on the episode "Jealous")

-Helen Bonham Carter
  (Played Saffy on the episode "Hospital")

-Idris Elba
  (Played Hilton on the episode "Sex")

-Minnie Driver
  (Played herself on the episode "Panickin'")

-Daniela Denby-Ashe
  (Jannie Harper on My Family) (Played Saffy's daughter on the episode "The End")

-Marianne Faithfull
  (Played God on the episodes "The Last Shout I" and "Donkey")

-Nathan Lane
  (Played Kunz in the episode "White Box")

-Elton John
  (Played himself on the episode "Schmoozin'")

-Graham Norton
  (Played himself on the episodes "Gay" and "Comic Sketch Relief")

-Twiggy
  (Plays herself on the episodse "Parralox" and "Menopause")On this episode, the character Patsy wants a baby very badly, to the point of buying Mick Jagger's sperm from an auction to have it. Which I think is the most disgusting thing imaginable!! EWWWWWW!

If this is Twiggy now, wow, she's really beautiful. At least I think that, not too sure about what everyone else thinks or feels :D

Patsy

-Miranda Richardson
  (Played Bettina on the episodes "New Best Friend" and "White Box")

-Richard Curtis
  (Played himself on the episode "Comic Relief Sketch")

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Idris Elba

Idris Elba

Name: Idrissa Akuna Elba
DOB: Sept. 6, 1972
Where: Hackney, London, England
Years Active: Actor, hip hop artist
Occupation:1995-present
Website: http://www.dris.com

-English actor of TV, film, theatre
-Grew up in Canning Town, East London
-DJ under the moniker DJ Big Driis/Big Driis the Londoner.
-In 2009, he appeared on an episode of the American sitcom The Office, playing Charles Miner, Michael Scott's new boss.
-Recently, he took the role of Det. John Luther in the BBC show Luther.

Early Life
-Shortened his first name at school in Canning Town, where he first got into acting. His father is Sierra Leonean and his mother is Ghanian.
-Grew up in East Ham, and began helping his uncle with a wedding DJ business in 1986. Left school in 1988 and won a place in the National Youth Music Theatre- thanks to a grant.
-After this, he began working the night shift at a Ford factory in Dagenham from 1989-1990

Career
-In 1995, landed his first role on a series called Bramwell, a medical drama set in 1890s England. In 1995, had a supporting role as a gigolo on an episode of Absolutely Fabulous, entitled "Sex". Alot of the roles he got were on British TV shows.

-Moved to New York City in 1999. Returned to England occasionally for a job, such as one in the Inspector Lynley Mysteries, a crime series. In 2001, he landed a starring role on an episode of Law and Order.
-He appeared as the role of Charlie Gotso in The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency opposite Jill Scott and Anika Noni Rose.

-In the Tyler Perry movie Daddy's Little Girls, he played Monty, a working class mechanic who falls in love with an attorney(Gabrielle Union), who is helping him to gain custody of his kids, and finds this relationship threatened by the arrival of his ex-wife.

-He later starred in Obsessed(2009), opposite Beyonce Knowles. He played an asset manager with a beautiful wife(Beyonce) and booming career until a seductive temp worker(Ali Larter) begins stalking him.

Personal Life
-Currently single
-He and ex-wife Kim Elba have one daughter
-Spends much of his time in London, but owns a house in Atlanta, so he can be close to his daughter
-Fan of Arsenal F.C. while his dad supports Manchester United
-In the April 2004 issue of Essence Magazine, he was voted one of the "Ten Hottest Men on the Planet".
-In the May 2007 issue of People Magazine, he was voted as one of the 100 Most Beautiful People in the World

Filmography

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From Hell

From Hell

-2001 American crime drama horror mystery film directed by the Hughes Brothers
-Adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell about the Jack the Ripper murders.

Did You Know?
-To play the lead role of Fred Abberline, Jude Law, Brad Pitt, Daniel Day-Lewis auditioned before the role eventually went to Johnny Depp
-Great care was taken to accurately reproduce the Whitechapel neighborhood, the sites of the actual "Ripper" murders and the wounds upon the victims. Pictures from 1888 were used as references
-Pictures from the real Jack the Ripper murders are on the wall in the police station. This was done to give the cast an edgier feel after seeing the real life victims.
-According to John Douglas, who invented criminal profiling, the real life murders were done by someone with a disorganized, paranoid personality, not a calculating one like in the movie
-Johnny Depp's character was based on a real person. Inspector Frederick Abberline of Scotland Yard headed the investigation in the East End. The real Fred Abberline was not a dope addict or psychic, and did not die following the investigation. He died in 1929 at age 86. Robbie Coltrane's character is based loosely on Essex born George Godley, who at the time of the Ripper murders, was a sergeant at Bethnal Green

Plot
-In 1888, Mary Kelly(Heather Graham) and her small group of London prostitutes, who all are friends, go through the daily drama of trying to earn money, their only consolation being that things can't get worse. Unfortunately, the situation does get worse. Their friend Ann Crook(Joanna Page) is kidnapped and they are drawn into a conspiracy with links high up, links they could not imagine. The kidnapping is soon followed by the gruesome murder of another woman, Martha Tabram(Samantha Spiro), and it becomes obvious that they are being hunted down, one by one, as various prostitutes are killed and mutilated post mortem.

-By Whitechapel standards, these murders attract the attention of Police Inspector Frederick Abberline(Johnny Depp), a brilliant, troubled man who has the uncanny ability to see and do his police work through "visions". His investigations reveal that the murders, while gruesome, imply that someone highly educated is behind it due to the almost surgical perfection of the cuts. Ann is discovered a few days later in an asylum, after being lobotomized after officials and doctors found her to be insane. It's said that this was done to silence her. Abberline consults a physician to the Royal Family named Sir William Gull(Ian Holm), drawing on his experience and knowledge of medicine. These discoveries, paired with his bosses holding back the investigation, point to something far darker and possibly an organized conspiracy. Abberline becomes deeply involved, possibly too deeply, and it takes a toll on him when he and Mary begin to fall in love.

-Abberline deduces that the Masonic influence is present in the crimes, since they are highly educated and might be able to make surgical cuts and have the knowledge of medicine. His superior, a high ranking Freemason, then makes a direct intervention and suspends Abberline. It's then revealed that Gull is the killer. He has been killing the witnesses to hide Albert Sickert(Max Dexter)'s forbidden Catholic marriage to Crook, who had a baby girl, Alice, with him. Sickert is actually Prince Edward, the grandson of the reigning Queen Victoria(Liz Moscrop), and therefore Alice is the heir to the British throne. Gull himself is a Freemason and his sinister behavior lends a clue into his murderous mind. Rather than risk the embarrassment and charge Gull, The Freemasons lobotomize Gull to protect the Royal Family from the scandal that might arise. Gull states that he has no equal among men and is rendered an invalid just as Ann had become. Mary Kelly doesn't die; Gull mistook another woman with similar hair color named Ada, who was from France, who happened to be the lover of another prostitute named Liz Stride(Susan Lynch). Ada was actually from Belgium and he murdered her instead of Mary Kelly. Now Mary lives with Alice in a cottage on a cliff by the sea, Abberline is found dead of an opium overdose, knowing he can't ever see Mary again without putting her in danger.

Cast

• Johnny Depp as Inspector Frederick Abberline, the visionary and sympathetic police officer who has to investigate the murder series. The consumption of drugs makes him dream scenes from the murders, but he conducts the investigation on a conclusive line of thought.
• Heather Graham as Mary Kelly, a young prostitute or "bangtail" who builds up a relationship to Abberline and eventually falls in love with him.
• Ian Holm as Sir William Gull, a fine gentleman, retired surgeon and physician ordinary to Queen Victoria, now teaching at the Royal London Hospital. Because of his expertise in anatomy and the soul, he becomes the scientific adviser of Abberline.
• Robbie Coltrane as Sergeant Peter Godley, the humorous and literary-minded subordinate assistant and friend of Abberline. The character is based on Sgt. George Godley.
• Ian Richardson as Sir Charles Warren, a stiff bureaucrat and Abberline's superior.
• Jason Flemyng as Netley, the coachman and stooge of the murderer.
• Katrin Cartlidge as Annie Chapman, aka Dark Annie, prostitute and gullible 3rd victim of the murderer.
• Terence Harvey as Ben Kidney, the head of the Special Branch of the Metropolitan Police.
• Susan Lynch as Liz Stride, the spirited prostitute and 4th victim that "wasn't finished".
• Paul Rhys as Dr. Ferral, an ambitious young doctor and specialist in treatment of dementia.
• Lesley Sharp as Kate Eddowes, the mothering prostitute and 5th victim.
• Estelle Skornik as Ada, the old friend of Liz from Bruxelles, 6th victim of the murderer.
• Nicholas McGaughey as Officer Bolt
• Annabelle Apsion as Polly Nichols, the 2nd victim of the murderer.
• Joanna Page as Ann Crook, an ex-prostitute and now wife to Albert and young mother of a daughter.
• Mark Dexter as Albert Sickert/Prince Edward, husband to Ann Crook and grandson of Queen Victoria. A composite character based on Walter Sickert and Prince Albert Victor.
• Danny Midwinter as Constable Withers, a cheeky member of the task force led by Abberline.
• Samantha Spiro as Martha Tabram, the 1st victim of the murderer.
• David Schofield as McQueen, a crook who extorts the prostitutes.
• Bryon Fear as Robert Best, a reporter.
• Peter Eyre as Lord Hallsham, a confidential servant of Queen Victoria and judge of...
• Cliff Parisi as Mac Bartender
• Sophia Myles as Victoria Abberline, dead wife of Fred Abberline who appears in one of his dreams.
• Ralph Ineson as Gordie, a stooge of McQueen.
• Liz Moscrop as Queen Victoria
• Ian McNeice as the coroner Robert Drudge.
• Vincent Franklin as George Lusk
• Anthony Parker as Joseph Merrick then known as John the Elephant Man.
• Simon Harrison as Thomas Bond.

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Eric Idle

Eric Idle

DOB: March 29, 1943
Where: South Shields, County Durham, England
Education: Pembroke College, Cambridge
Occupation: Actor, author, comedian, singer, writer
Years Active: 1969-present
Noted Work: Monty Python, The Rutles, Spamalot
Website: http://pythononline.com

-English comedian, actor and composer.
-Was a member of the British comedy group Monty Python

Early Life/Education
-Born to Nora Barron, a health visitor, and Ernest Idle. His father served in the Royal Air Force and survived World War II, only to be killed in a hitch hiking accident on Christmas Eve 1945. His mother had problems coping with a full time job and raising a child, so when Idle was 7, he was enrolled in the Royal Wolverhampton School as a boarder.
-According to him, "It was a physically abusive, bullying harsh environment for a kid to grow up in. I got used to dealing with groups of boys and getting on with life in unpleasant circumstances and being smart and funny and subversive at the expense of authority. Perfect training for Python."
-Idle said that 2 things made his life enjoyable. Those were listening to Radio Luxembourg under the bedclothes and watching the local football team, the Wolverhampton Wanderers. Radio Luxembourg was famous then, because now famous British celebrities remember listening to when they grew up during WWII
-He also attended Cambridge University, meaning he is very highly educated

Career
-Idle started at Cambridge a year after future Pythons Graham Chapman and John Cleese. He started the children's TV comedy show Do Not Adjust Your Set, costarring his future Python members Terry Jones and Michael Palin(both of whom are Oxford graduates).

Monty Python's The Life of Brian

Monty Python

Monty Python

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

-Idle wrote Monty Python by himself. The characters end up having verbal strangeness, such as the man who speaks in anagrams, the man who says words in the wrong order, the butcher who goes back and forth between rudeness and politeness every time he speaks.

Monty Python. Playing an upper class "twit"

-He is one of the youngest members of the team- year behind Cleese and Chapman at Cambridge. Idle was closest to the spirit of the students and teens who made up much of Python's fanbase. The sketches on the show dealt with then obsessions, like pop music, sexual permissiveness, recreational drugs. Idle's characters often include double entendre, sexual references, and other things considered bad.

-On Saturday Night Live, he and a bunch of guys created a parody of The Beatles called The Rutles. They even made a movie of it, called All You Need is Cash, a parody of the song All You Need is Love. It was a collaboration of Python members and Saturday Night Live hosts and crew. Actors appearing in the film included John Belushi, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner, and also musicians like George Harrison and Mick Jagger.

-When it came to movies, he appeared in various movies over the years. Like Terry Gilliams 1989 movie The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the 1990 movie Nuns on the Run alongside Robbie Coltrane, Casper(1995).
-He also appeared on 3 episodes of The Simpsons, as a famous documentarian named Declan Desmond.
-In the 2007 movie Shrek the Third, he provided the voice for hippie-like Merlin the Magician, alongside former Python John Cleese, who did the voice of King Harold.

Nuns on the Run

The Simpsons

Merlin the Magician

Personal Life
-Married an Australian woman named Lyn Ashley in 1969. She appeared in Monty Python occasionally. They divorced in 1975. They have one son named Carey, born in 1973.
-He married his current wife, Tania Kosevich, an American, in 1981. They have one daughter, Lily, born in 1990. He has lived in Los Angeles since the early 1990s

Filmography

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Monty Python's Flying Circus

Monty Python's Flying Circus

-BBC comedy show broadcast from 1969-1974
-Comprised or surreality, risque, innuendo humor, sight gags, observational sketches without punchlines
-First episode debuted on Sept. 7, 1969
-The show targeted various topics, like British culture, especially those of high ranking people. The crew members of the show were very highly educated; Terry Jones and Michael Palin were Oxford graduates; Eric Idle, John Cleese and Graham Chapman attended Cambridge; and American born Terry Gilliam is an Occidenal College grad.
-Their humor is often intellectual, while making jokes about literary figures.

Did You Know?
-Terry Gilliam was the only American in the group

Characters

Arthur Pewtey(Palin)
-socially inept, very dull guy who appears in the skit "Argument Clinic" "Marriage Guidance Counselor" "Ministry of Silly Walks"
-His skits take the form of an office appointment with an authority figure, usually John Cleese, or occasionally Chapman. They end up parodying the British establishment by having the professional employed in bizarre fields of work

The Reverend Arthur Belling(Chapman and Palin)
-Vicar of St. Loony-Up-The-Cream-Bun-And-Jam
-Known for bizarre behavior

The "It's" man(Palin)
-Robinson Crusoe-like castaway, with torn clothing, long, unkept beard, who appears at the beginning of the show
-He is seen performing some long or dangerous task, such as falling off a tall, jagged cliff, or running large distance towards the camera and saying "It's"

Mr. Badger(Idle)
-Scotsman whose specialty is interrupting sketches
-Has been seen as an airplane hijacker, whose demands are odd

The "Pepperpots"
-Screeching, middle aged, lower-middle class housewives played by the Pythons in dresses.
-The Pythons played most of the female roles themselves, unless the part called for younger, more glamorous actresses
-"Pepperpot" refers to what the Pythons believed was a typical image of a middle class British housewife
-Their real life targets have included then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the British police, being shown in drag, Queen Victoria

Character Traits

Chapman
-Played straight faced guys, of any age/class, authority figures, such as military officers, police, doctors
-Also was called upon to play cross dressing and gay stereotypes, in fact he was gay, but it was not publicly known

Cleese
-Played ridiculous authority figures
-Chapman claims he is the funniest one in drag
-Also played foreigners with odd accents, such as Frenchmen

Gilliam
-Many of the animations were done by him
-Some of his on screen work included: A man with a stoat through his head, Cardinal Fang in The Spanish Inquisition sketch, A dandy wearing a mask, bikini underwear, and a cape, a hotel clerk in The Cycling Tour episode

Idle
-Best known for his roles as a cheeky, suggestive playboy, "Nudge, Nudge" as a crafty salesman, in Monty Python's Life of Brian, a merchant who loves to haggle
-Known as the master of the one liner
-Unlike Jones, Idle usually ended up playing the female roles, only altering his voice slightly.
-Several times he appeared as upper-class, middle aged females, such as Rita Fairbanks, sexually repressed Protestant wife

Jones
-He was said to have pulled most of the strings on the show

Palin
-Considered by all the Pythons as the one with the widest range, adept as a straight man, or wildly over the top
-Played working class northerners, weak willed, put upon men, boring accountant in the "Vocational Guidance Counselor"
-Also plays heavily accented characters, mostly French

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