Blackadder was the name of four series of a popular historical sitcom that ran on BBC1 in the 1980s. In 2000, the fourth series, Blackadder Goes Forth landed at 16 in the British Film Institute "100 Greatest British Television Programmes" list. It was also voted the second best British sitcom of all time in the BBC’s 2004 Britain’s Best Sitcom poll. Empire Magazine also honored the comedy, ranking it the 20th “Best TV Show of All Time”. Each series took place in a different era of British history and starred Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) in the eponymous role as another man in the Blackadder bloodline. Each character grew increasingly more intelligent than the last but remained cynical and cowardly opportunists preoccupied with building on their financial and social standing. Also in each series was his sidekick, a servant called Baldrick. Baldrick varied from series to series and got less intelligent as each progressed, being portrayed by Tony Robinson in each. Every time, they are accompanied by a dim-witted and annoying aristocrat. The first and second series saw Lord Percy Percy played by Time McInnerny, with the second two seasons featuring Prince George and Prince Regent, both played by Hugh Laurie. (House, Jeeves And Wooster). The first Black Adder (at that time, two words) aired in 1983 and was set in 1485, with Atkinson as Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh, a sniveling wuss who calls himself the Black Adder and plots to inherit the throne with the help of Baldrick and the idiotic Lord Percy. It also featured Brian Blessed as Richard IV, Elspet Gray as the queen, and Robert East as Harry, Prince of Wales. The second series was based in the latter part of the 1500s, with the Blackadder in question being Lord Edmund, an arrogant, egotistical man with a swagger and a beard. Patsy Byrne played Nursie and Miranda Richardson was Queen Elizabeth I. This series also included Stephen Fry (as Melchett), who would go on to star with Hugh Laurie in Jeeves And Wooster. The third series took place around the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when Edmund Blackadder was the butler to Prince Regent. Hellen Atkinson-Wood portrayed coffee shop keeper, Mrs. Miggins. Finally,1917 was the setting for Blackadder IV, in which Edmund was a British army officer alongside Private Baldrick (Tony Robinson), General Melchett (Stephen Fry), Captain Darling (Tim McInnerny), and Lieutenant Barleigh (Hugh Laurie).
Blackadder British TV Show...Blackadder was the name of four series of a popular historical sitcom that ran on BBC1 in the 1980s. In 2000, the fourth series, Blackadder Goes Forth landed at 16 in the British Film Institute "100 G...Jeeves And Wooster...Without Wooster, there might not have been House. And without Jeeves, there very well might not have been a Wooster. Golden Globe-nominated British actor Stephen Fry played dutiful valet Reginald Jeev...See More Articles about Blackadder British TV Show
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