`ABFAB' LADIES' FINAL HURRAH PERFECT HOMAGE TO CLASSIC SERIES.

Byline: Mike Duffy Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

'Tis the season to be jolly all over again.

Forget those post-holiday January blahs. And prepare for an eye-candy bacchanal, sweetie darlings!

Yes, Patsy and Edina, those flamboyantly unhinged European she-hedonists from ``Absolutely Fabulous,'' are back. And they're ready to let the good times roll during ``The Last Shout,'' a final two-hour romp through the funky dysfunctional fields of their fun-seeking excess.

Through 18 rollicking episodes of ``AbFab'' over the past three years, the bodacious British sitcom has developed a madly devoted American cult following, thanks largely to repeated airings on Comedy Central.

Champagne-sipping pals Patsy (Joanna Lumley) and Edina (Jennifer Saunders) became daft pop icons while offering merrily warped profiles in politically incorrect living. Drugs? They happily abused them. Men? They promiscuously pursued them.

These mixed-up, shook-up sisters of the neurotic night hilariously redefined the notion of middle-aged crazy for the 1990s.

If there was a trendy new fashion, they were slaves to it.

It there was shred of wretched excess left to be lived, they would find it.

A pair of chain-smoking, youth-obsessed shopaholics, Patsy and Edina have never apologized for their impudent, frequently rude 'n' lewd behavior. And because these supposed adults often acted like bratty children, Edina's long-suffering daughter Saffy (Julia Sawalha) was around to supply a soupcon of sanity and can-do parenting.

Well, the whole gang is back for ``The Last Shout.''

And the mordantly witty Saunders, who wrote every one of ``AbFab's'' smart, irreverent original episodes, also has concocted this rambunctious caper. It's presumably our farewell to Patsy and Edina, though it doesn't play like a series finale as such.

Patsy and Edina frolic on the ski slopes of the French Alps. And while Patsy seeks sexual kicks with a hunky ski instructor, Edina has a near-death downhill mishap that leads her to envision a conversation with God (played by singer Marianne Faithfull). The close encounter with the Almighty has Edina in a tizzy.

Edina's long-dormant maternal instincts suddenly kick in as well, leading her and Patsy back to London and some misbegotten plans for Saffy's marriage to a snobby rich boy. True, Saunders' sharp-edged sarcasm and rambunctious comic sensibility play best in 30-minute dollops. There is a bit of chucklehead meandering to ``The Last Shout.''

But never fear, sweetie darlings. In a contemporary world filled with postmodern puritans who frequently take themselves way too seriously, Patsy and Edina remain a goofball godsend. Absolutely fabulous, you might say.

Before the premiere of ``Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout'' at 8 tonight, Comedy Central will air an eight-hour marathon of classic ``AbFab'' episodes beginning at noon.

THE FACTS

The show: ``Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout''

Where: Comedy Central

When: 8 tonight

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Jennifer Saunders, left, and Joanna Lumley continue their hilarious adventures in ````Absolutely Fabulous: The Last Shout.''