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 C... more »arlton (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.« less
Spoiledbrat | Southern California, United States | 02/21/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"For anyone who's a fan of French and Saunders (the great minds behind Ab Fab and French and Saunders comedy skits) or Tracy Ullman or Ruby Wax, then this is a great DVD set to add to your collection. Girls on Top is an 80's television sitcom of four women (three British, one American) who share an apartment in England that's owned by an eccentric romance novelist who lives within the same building. The show is full of dated jokes and unless you're familiar with a lot of British personalities, you might miss a few of them. All though there are quite a few similarities to the other British cult classic sitcom, The Young Ones, these ladies do manage to carry their own.
Now, why only three stars in my rating? Sadly, in two of the episodes in this set, the audio is terribly low. I know a few other fans of the show who had to return their copies, and Amazon.com gladly replaced them. However, those DVD's too had the same problems. I kept mine because I knew that it wasn't the fault of Amazon.com, but rather the manufacturer of the DVD's. I'm a fan so I'm content with my set. But if your particular about those kinds of things, perhaps you should wait a while until the manufacturer fixes the problem. Other than that flaw, this DVD set is a great addition to your Britcom collection, and I must also add that after much shopping around, Amazon.com is offering it at a very nice price."
Britcom Fans: Buy This Only If You Own EVERYTHING ELSE!
D. L. Bogart | Joplin, MO | 03/12/2003
(2 out of 5 stars)
"As stated in other reviews, the audio quality on this DVD issue is the pits. The audio tracks of episodes "Cancel Toast" and "Mr. Fluffy..." are mastered out-of-phase, rendering them virtually unlistenable. Determined viewers might be able to follow most of it, but if you try cranking up your home theater system to hear all the details through the fuzz and hiss... I hope your amp and eardrums are insured.As the series itself, I can only recommend it to French & Saunders completists. "Girls On Top" is a far far cry from "Ab Fab" and "The Vicar Of Dibley" (think: an estrogen-fueled "The Young Ones" with only a fraction of the imagination). Dawn French is the funniest star here; Jennifer Saunders is underutilized, Tracy Ullman is more annoying than comedic, and Ruby Wax is just plain abrasive. Severely dated jokes abound, and those unfamilar with Brit pop culture of the 80's will be left FAR behind.There are far better Britcoms on DVD out there. You'd be better off shelling out for all three series of "Father Ted" or the just-released "Red Dwarf" sets from series 1 & 2.If you've seen every episode of "Dad's Army" at least twice and are truly desparate for ANYTHING British, "Girls On Top" may work for you. But just barely."
Great early years of French & Saunders
Andrew J. Yarrows | New York, NY | 11/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Before buying this DVD, bear in mind that these are old shows from the 80's. The quality is good, but by no means perfect. However, rest assured that the quality is of the completely watchable sort. I had no audio issues as some have reported in their reviews. Video and audio were just fine.
As for the show, it's as much a fantastic piece of 1980's nostalgia as it is anything else. But it's also clever, funny, and quirky. The show will only grow on you with repeated viewings.
Ruby Wax, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French and Tracey Ullman make up the excellent cast, not to forget Joan Greenwood, who brings some old-style class to the (admittedly) unpolished production.
Highly recommended for French & Saunders addicts as well as Brit-com fans."
Never buying a BFS dvd again
vl1024 | ny, usa | 04/24/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"After much anxiety over weather or not the Dvd would be defective ( since so many reviewers state that theirs was), I decided to order set 2, seeing as Amazon states in this product description that the sound problems are fixed. Well
I must have really bad luck because I got a defective one. The sound is fine but BFS is by far the worst Dvd company I have ever seen. The episode "Mr Yummy Brownie" gets frozen halfway through and wont' continue playing. I know it's the dvd because the rest of it's fine. The company that' makes this dvd seems like they just threw it together in five minutes. It's got the same trivia on set two as it does on set one..the episodes are all mixed together from season one and two and the one I got is defective.
Amazon was nice enough to replace it for me free of charge.The show it self is great, it's well worth having set 2 if you already have set 1. I love all the characters and it's a great show. If you can get your hands on a non defective copy then it's worth having."
Not for everyne....
R. Corona | San Diego | 07/27/2008
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I bought this dvd set and frankly it isn't very funny. I love Ab FAb, The Vicar of Dibley, Tracey Takes On, the Catherine Tate Show, Clatterford....I appreciate the the slightly darker humor and wit of these shows.
Girls On Top is very 80's in its humor, feeling dated and stale..Jennifer Saunders' character is played with a monotone, flat delivery that threatens to go unnoticed. Tracey Ullman is over the top and annoying. (As a huge Tracey Ullman fan it is hard to watch her clod her way through each scene.) Dawn French carries the weight of the show, but the scripts are pretty bad....I was bored by the predictable plots...i have not been able to watch more than 3 episodes, unfortunately I bought both sets 1 and 2. Maybe if I am able to sit through more episodes, I will find the humor in this series...but somehow I doubt it."