Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Mirrorball (TV pilot)

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5.3/10
TV

Created by
  
Jennifer Saunders

Directed by
  
Adrian Edmondson

Number of episodes
  
1

Director
  
Ade Edmondson

Executive producer
  
Jon Plowman

7.4/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Sitcom; TV pilot

Written by
  
Jennifer Saunders

First episode date
  
22 December 2000

Program creator
  
Jennifer Saunders

Networks
  
BBC One, Channel 4

Starring
  
Jennifer Saunders Joanna Lumley Julia Sawalha June Whitfield Jane Horrocks

Opening theme
  
No More Heroes performed by Hugh Cornwell

Similar
  
Absolutely Fabulous, The Life and Times of Vivienn, Pongwiffy, Happy Families, The Magician's House

Abfab s04ex1 mirrorball pilot episode


Mirrorball was a sitcom pilot in the United Kingdom directed by Adrian Edmondson and written by Jennifer Saunders. It originally aired on 22 December 2000.

Contents

All of the main cast members (and several supporting cast members) from the popular series Absolutely Fabulous written and produced by Jennifer Saunders were also cast in this show, although the plot and characters were completely different. It was produced as a pilot episode for what Saunders intended to be a new show. Mirrorball ended up inspiring Saunders to revive Absolutely Fabulous in 2001, and a full series was never produced.

Plot synopsis

The show centers around Vivienne Keill (Saunders) and Jackie Riviera (Joanna Lumley), two aging stage actresses who live in vertically adjacent flats. The two are of questionable talent, and their careers seem to be at a standstill. During the course of the pilot, Vivienne has the opportunity to be cast in a new show but delivers a horrifying rendition of the standard "Send in the Clowns", thanks in part to Jackie's off-kilter advice.

Julia Sawalha plays Freda Keill, Vivienne's younger sister and a more serious (and successful) actress. Jane Horrocks plays Yitta Hilberstam, a vicious Icelandic actress/waitress. June Whitfield appears as Dora Vermouth, a former vaudeville actress who spends most of her time intoxicated at the local pub and is showing slight signs of dementia. Harriet Thorpe plays Cat Rogers, an actress who is busy understudying multiple roles.

Cast

Main

  • Jennifer Saunders as Vivinne Keill
  • Joanna Lumley as Jackie Riviera
  • Julia Sawalha as Freda Keill
  • Jane Horrocks as Yitta Hilberstam
  • Harriet Thorpe as Cat Rogers
  • Tim Wylton as Brice Michaels
  • June Whitfield as Dora Vermouth

    • Guest

  • Matthew Francis as Theatre Producer
  • Sean Chapman as Mark
  • Alan Corser as Johnny
  • Andy Clarkson as Postman
  • Rupert Bates as Gordon
  • Nigel Ellacott as Jackie's Fan 1
  • Peter Robbins as Jackie's Fan 2
  • George Hall as Pianist
  • Bonnie Langford as Herself

    • Reception

    The episode received a viewing figure of 6,690,000 and ranked 20th place during the week it was broadcast on BBC One.

    Availability

    Mirrorball is available as an "extra" on the DVD edition of Absolutely Fabulous series 4.

    References

    Mirrorball (TV pilot) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA