Editing Blackadder (section)

==Episodes==
{{main|List of Blackadder episodes}}

{{:List of Blackadder episodes}}

===Series 1: ''The Black Adder''===
{{Main|The Black Adder}}
''The Black Adder'', the first series of ''Blackadder'', was written by [[Richard Curtis]] and [[Rowan Atkinson]] and produced by [[John Lloyd (producer)|John Lloyd]], who would also produce the subsequent three series. It originally aired on [[BBC1]] from 15 June to 20 July 1983,<ref name="Ba1">{{cite web|title=BBC Programme Index - The Black Adder|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/0b66a62d0b1309d9abc0ca807e422b9d|publisher=BBC|accessdate=10 February 2025}}</ref> and was a joint production with the Australian [[Seven Network]].

Set in 1485 at the end of the [[Britain in the Middle Ages|British Middle Ages]], the series is written as an [[Counterfactual history|alternative history]] in which [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] won the [[Battle of Bosworth Field]] only to be mistaken for someone else and assassinated, and is succeeded by [[Richard IV of England (Blackadder)|Richard IV]] ([[Brian Blessed]]), one of the [[Princes in the Tower]]. The series follows the exploits of Richard IV's unfavoured second son [[Prince Edmund (Blackadder)|Prince Edmund, the Duke of Edinburgh]] (who calls himself "The Black Adder") (played by Atkinson) in his various attempts to increase his standing with his father and his eventual quest to overthrow him. Other regular characters in this series are Edmund's mother [[List of Blackadder characters#Gertrude, Queen of Flanders|Gertrude, Queen of Flanders]] ([[Elspet Gray]]), his brother [[List of Blackadder characters#Harry, Prince of Wales|Harry, Prince of Wales]] ([[Robert East (actor)|Robert East]]), his sidekick [[List of Blackadder characters#Lord Percy Percy|Lord Percy Percy, the Duke of Northumberland]] ([[Tim McInnerny]]), and his [[squire]] [[List of Blackadder characters#Baldrick|Baldrick]] ([[Tony Robinson]]). Guest appearances in this series include [[Peter Cook]] as [[Richard III of England|King Richard III]], [[William Russell (English actor)|Russell Enoch]] as the Duke of [[Winchester]], [[Miriam Margolyes]] as the [[List of minor Blackadder characters#Maria Escalosa, Infanta of Spain|Infanta Maria Escalosa of Spain]] (with [[Jim Broadbent]] as her interpreter), [[Frank Finlay]] as the Witchsmeller Pursuivant, [[Valentine Dyall]] as Lord Angus, [[Stephen Frost]] and [[Mark Arden]] as guards, and [[Rik Mayall]] as Mad Gerald.

Conceived while Atkinson and Curtis were working on ''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'', the series dealt comically with a number of aspects of medieval life in Britain: [[witchcraft]], royal succession, European relations, the [[Crusade]]s, and the conflict between the Church and the Crown. Along with the secret history, many historical events portrayed in the series were [[anachronism|anachronistic]] (for example, [[Fall of Constantinople|Constantinople]] had already fallen to the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1453, predating the events in the episode by 32 years); this dramatic license would continue in the subsequent three ''Blackadder'' series. The filming of the series was highly ambitious, with a large cast and much location shooting. The series also featured [[William Shakespeare|Shakespearean]] dialogue, often adapted for comic effect; the end credits featured the words "Additional Dialogue by William Shakespeare".

===Series 2: ''Blackadder II''===
{{Main|Blackadder II}}

''Blackadder II'', the second series of ''Blackadder'', was written by Richard Curtis and [[Ben Elton]], the team who would also write the subsequent two series, and originally aired on BBC1 from 9 January to 20 February 1986.<ref name="BaII">{{cite web|title=BBC Programme Index - Blackadder II|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?filt=b006xxw7#top|publisher=BBC|accessdate=10 February 2025}}</ref> The series is set in [[Kingdom of England|England]] during the reign of [[List of Blackadder characters#Queenie|Queen Elizabeth I]] (1558–1603), often referred to as "Queenie", who is portrayed by [[Miranda Richardson]]. The principal character is [[Lord Blackadder|Edmund, Lord Blackadder]] (Rowan Atkinson), the great-grandson of the original Black Adder. During the series, he regularly deals with the [[British monarchy|Queen]], her obsequious [[Lord Chamberlain]] [[List of Blackadder characters#Melchett|Lord Melchett]] ([[Stephen Fry]]; his rival for the Queen's affections), his friend [[List of Blackadder characters#Lord Percy Percy|Lord Percy Percy]] (Tim McInnerny) and the Queen's demented former nanny [[List of Blackadder characters#Nursie|Nursie]] ([[Patsy Byrne]]). Tony Robinson returned as Blackadder's servant [[List of Blackadder characters#Baldrick|Baldrick]]. Guest appearances in the series include [[Tom Baker]] as Captain Redbeard Rum, [[Simon Jones (actor)|Simon Jones]] as [[Walter Raleigh|Sir Walter Raleigh]], [[Ronald Lacey]] as the [[Bishop of Bath and Wells]], and [[Miriam Margolyes|Miriam Margoyles]] as Blackadder's aunt, Lady Whiteadder. The series also features two appearances by [[Hugh Laurie]] (as Simon Partridge, a friend of Blackadder's, in the episode "Beer", and as Prince Ludwig the Indestructible in the series' finale "Chains"), a returning [[Rik Mayall]], this time as [[List of Blackadder characters#Flashheart|Lord Flashheart]], and the first appearance of [[Gabrielle Glaister]] as [[List of Blackadder characters#Bob|Kate/"Bob"]] (a young woman who pretends to be a boy in order to achieve a well-paying job).

Following the BBC's request for improvements (and a severe budget reduction), several changes were made. Ben Elton joined Richard Curtis as co-writer - they would remain ''Blackadder'''s writers from this series onwards - and this second series was the first to establish the familiar Blackadder character: cunning, shrewd and witty, in sharp contrast to the first series' bumbling Prince Edmund.<ref name="Hxba" /> To reduce the cost of production, it was shot with virtually no outdoor scenes (the first series was shot largely on location) and several frequently used indoor sets, such as the Queen's [[throne room]] and Blackadder's front room.

A quote from this series ranked number three in a list of the top 25 television "putdowns" of the last 40 years by the ''[[Radio Times]]'' magazine: "The eyes are open, the mouth moves, but Mr. Brain has long since departed, hasn't he, Percy?"<ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-02-26 |title=TV's top 25 put-downs published |language=en-GB |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7264321.stm |access-date=2023-04-09}}</ref>

===Series 3: ''Blackadder the Third''===
{{Main|Blackadder the Third}}

''Blackadder the Third'', the third series of ''Blackadder'', originally aired on BBC1 from 17 September to 22 October 1987.<ref name="BaIII">{{cite web|title=BBC Programme Index - Blackadder the Third|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?filt=b006xxw7#top|publisher=BBC|accessdate=10 February 2025}}</ref> The series is set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period known as the [[English Regency|Regency]]. In the series, [[Mr. E. Blackadder|Mr. Edmund Blackadder Esquire]] (Rowan Atkinson) is a butler to [[List of Blackadder characters#George|George IV]], who at this time is the Prince Regent, played by [[Hugh Laurie]] as a buffoonish [[fop]]. Despite Edmund's respected intelligence and abilities, he has no personal fortune to speak of, apart from his frequently fluctuating wage packet from the Prince (“If I’m running short of cash, all I have to do is go upstairs and ask Prince Fathead for a raise”), and from (it seems) stealing the Prince's socks and selling them off. The episode titles were puns on [[Jane Austen]]’s novels ''[[Sense and Sensibility]]'' and ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]''. As usual, Blackadder also has his own servant [[List of Blackadder characters#Balrick|Baldrick]] (Tony Robinson).

Along with Atkinson, Robinson, and Laurie, this series also starred  [[Helen Atkinson-Wood]] as [[List of Blackadder characters#Mrs. Miggins|Mrs. Miggins]]. The series features [[Samuel Johnson|Dr. Samuel Johnson]] ([[Robbie Coltrane]]); [[William Pitt the Younger]] (Simon Osborne); the [[French Revolution]] (with [[Chris Barrie]], Tim McInnerny as [[the Scarlet Pimpernel]], and [[Nigel Planer]]); hammy [[English Renaissance theatre|theatrical actors]] ([[Kenneth Connor]] and [[Hugh Paddick]]); [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]] ([[Jim Sweeney (comedian)|Jim Sweeney]]); [[Percy Shelley|Shelley]] ([[Lee Cornes]]); [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Lord Byron]] ([[Steve Steen]]); Amy Hardwood (aka "The Shadow") (Miranda Richardson); and the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]] (Stephen Fry).

===Series 4: ''Blackadder Goes Forth''===
{{Main|Blackadder Goes Forth}}

''Blackadder Goes Forth'', the fourth and final series of ''Blackadder'', originally aired on BBC1 from 28 September to 2 November 1989.<ref name="BaIV">{{cite web|title=BBC Programme Index - Blackadder Goes Forth|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?filt=b00hxslf#top|publisher=BBC|accessdate=10 February 2025}}</ref> This series is set in 1917, on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] of the First World War. Another "big push" is planned, and [[Captain Blackadder]] (Rowan Atkinson) has one goal - to avoid being killed - but his schemes always land him back in the trenches. Blackadder is joined by his [[batman (military)|batman]] [[List of Blackadder characters#Baldrick|Private S. Baldrick]] (Tony Robinson) and idealistic [[Edwardian period|Edwardian]] twit [[List of Blackadder characters#George|Lieutenant George]] (Hugh Laurie). [[List of Blackadder characters#Melchet|General Melchett]] (Stephen Fry) rallies his troops from a French [[château]] {{convert|35|mi}} from the front, where he is aided and abetted by his assistant, [[List of Blackadder characters#Kevin Darling|Captain Kevin Darling]] (Tim McInnerny), pencil-pusher supreme and Blackadder's nemesis, whose last name is played on for maximum comedic value. Guest appearances in this series include [[Stephen Frost]] as the leader of a firing squad detail, Miranda Richardson as Nurse Mary Fletcher-Brown, two further appearances of [[Gabrielle Glaister]] as [[List of Blackadder characters#Bob|"Bob"]] (in this series, a young woman who pretends to be a boy in order to join the army), [[Rik Mayall]] as [[Royal Flying Corps]] Squadron Commander The [[Lord Flashheart|Lord Flasheart]], [[Ade Edmondson|Adrian Edmondson]] as [[Baron Manfred von Richthofen]] (aka "The Red Baron"), and [[Geoffrey Palmer (actor)|Geoffrey Palmer]] as [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig|Field Marshal Douglas Haig]].

The series' tone is somewhat darker than the previous three series; it details the privations of trench warfare as well as the incompetence and life-wasting strategies of the top brass. For example, Baldrick is reduced to cooking rats and making coffee from mud, while General Melchett hatches a plan for the troops to walk very slowly toward the German lines, because "it'll be the last thing Fritz will expect."

The final episode, "[[Goodbyeee]]", is known for being extraordinarily poignant for a comedy – especially the final scene, which sees four of the five main characters (Blackadder, Baldrick, George, and Darling) finally going "[[Trench warfare|over the top]]" and charging off into the fog and smoke of [[no man's land]], presumably to die. In a list of the [[100 Greatest British Television Programmes]], drawn up by the [[British Film Institute]] in 2000 and voted for by industry professionals, ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' was placed 16th.

===Specials===

====Pilot episode====
{{Main|The Black Adder (Blackadder)}}
The ''Blackadder'' pilot was shot but never broadcast on TV in the UK (although some scenes were shown in the 25th anniversary special ''Blackadder Rides Again''). One notable difference in the pilot, as in many pilots, is the casting. Baldrick is played not by Tony Robinson, but by [[Philip Fox (actor)|Philip Fox]]. Another significant difference is that the character of Prince Edmund presented in the pilot is much closer to the intelligent, conniving Blackadder of the later series than the snivelling, weak buffoon of the original. Set in the year 1582, the script of the pilot is roughly the same as the episode "[[Born to Be King (Blackadder)|Born to Be King]]", albeit with some different jokes, with some lines appearing in other episodes of the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackadderhall.com/?page_id=276 |title=The Pilot Episode |publisher=Blackadderhall.com |date=20 June 1982 |access-date=8 June 2014}}</ref>

[[UKTV]] [[Gold (British TV channel)|Gold]] broadcast the pilot on 15 June 2023, as part of an 80-minute special hosted by Sir Tony Robinson and featuring interviews with Ben Elton and Richard Curtis.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 April 2023 |title=Blackadder pilot to be broadcast for the first time |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/7301/blackadder-pilot-to-be-broadcast/ |website=[[British Comedy Guide]]}}</ref>

====''Blackadder: The Cavalier Years''====
{{Main|Blackadder: The Cavalier Years}}
This special, set in the [[English Civil War]], was shown as part of [[Comic Relief (charity)|Comic Relief]]'s [[Comic Relief (charity)|Red Nose Day]] on Friday 5 February 1988.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Red Nose Day {{!}} Comic Relief |url=https://www.comicrelief.com/history-of-red-nose-day/ |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=www.comicrelief.com |language=en}}</ref> The 15-minute episode is set in November 1648, during the last days of the Civil War. Sir Edmund Blackadder and his servant, Baldrick, are the last two men loyal to the defeated King [[Charles I of England]] (played by Stephen Fry), portrayed as a soft-spoken, ineffective, naive character, with the voice and mannerisms of Charles I's namesake, the then Prince of Wales (now [[Charles III]]). However, owing to a misunderstanding between [[Oliver Cromwell]] (guest-star [[Warren Clarke]]) and Baldrick, the King is arrested and sent to the [[Tower of London]]. The rest of the episode revolves around Blackadder's attempts to save the King as well as improve his own standing.

====''Blackadder's Christmas Carol''====
{{Main|Blackadder's Christmas Carol}}
The second special was broadcast on Friday 23 December 1988.<ref>{{cite web|title=BBC Programme Index - Blackadder's Christmas Carol|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/5c154fde986f67669bf2a780053dfbd7|publisher=BBC|accessdate=10 February 2025}}</ref> In a twist on [[Charles Dickens]]' ''[[A Christmas Carol]]'', [[Ebenezer Blackadder]] is the "kindest and loveliest" man in England. The Spirit of Christmas shows Blackadder the contrary antics of his ancestors and descendants, and reluctantly informs him that if he turns evil his descendants will enjoy power and fortune, while if he remains the same a future Blackadder will live shamefully subjugated to a future incompetent Baldrick. This remarkable encounter causes him to proclaim, "Bad guys have all the fun", and adopt the personality with which viewers are more familiar.

====''Blackadder: Back & Forth''====
{{Main|Blackadder: Back & Forth}}
''Blackadder: Back & Forth'' was originally shown in the [[Millennium Dome]] in 2000, followed by a screening on [[Sky1|Sky One]] in the same year (and later on BBC1). It is set on the turn of the [[millennium]], and features Lord Blackadder placing a bet with his friends&nbsp;– modern versions of Queenie (Miranda Richardson), Melchett (Stephen Fry), George (Hugh Laurie) and Darling (Tim McInnerny)&nbsp;– that he has built a working [[Time travel in fiction|time machine]]. While this is intended as a clever [[confidence trick|con trick]], the machine surprisingly works, sending Blackadder and Baldrick back to the [[Cretaceous period]], where they manage to cause [[Cretaceous extinction event|the extinction]] of the dinosaurs through the use of Baldrick's best-worst-and-only pair of underpants as a weapon against a hungry [[Tyrannosaurus|T. Rex]]. Finding that Baldrick has forgotten to write dates on the machine's dials, the rest of the film follows their attempts to find their way back to 1999, often creating huge historical anomalies in the process that must be corrected before the end. [[Rik Mayall]] appears as [[Robin Hood]], and the film also includes [[cameo appearance]]s from [[Kate Moss]] and [[Colin Firth]].

====''The Big Night In''====

Broadcast in 2020 as part of [[Children in Need]] and [[Comic Relief]]'s joint special ''[[The Big Night In]]'' during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Fry resumed the role of Lord Melchett (an intellectually-brilliant version), Head of the Royal Household, under lockdown at Melchett Manor, to help [[Prince William]] deal with educating his children via [[Zoom (software)|Zoom]] and discussing ''[[Tiger King]]'', before they both step outside to clap for the [[National Health Service]]. Melchett is said to be isolating with Lord Blackadder, both grandsons to their First World War counterparts.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/bbc-big-night-in-live-stream-channel-best-bits-peter-kay-little-britain-catch-up-watch-a9474766.html |title=BBC Big Night In: All the talking points, from Little Britain's controversial comeback to Prince William's comedy sketch |date=24 April 2020 |work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=24 April 2020}}</ref>

===Live stage performances===

In 1998, as part of [[Prince Charles]]' 50th Birthday Gala televised on ITV, Atkinson appeared as a [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration]] Blackadder reading aloud a letter to the Privy Council of King Charles II. He colourfully refuses their invitation to stage a royal gala, calling such occasions "very, very, very dull" and asserting that there was "more musical talent on display when my servant Baldrick breaks wind."<ref name="Bapc" />

In 2000, on the BBC's annual [[Royal Variety Performance]], Atkinson portrayed Blackadder as a present-day officer in "Her Majesty's Royal Regiment of Shirkers" and delivered a monologue titled "Blackadder: The Army Years", proposing that Britain regain her former greatness by invading (or at least buying) France.<ref name="Baay">{{cite web|url=https://www.blackadderhall.com/?page_id=245|title=The Army Years on Blackadder Hall|accessdate=10 February 2025}}</ref>

In 2012, as part of the [[Prince's Trust]] charity show ''We Are Most Amused'', Atkinson and Robinson reprised their roles as Blackadder and Baldrick in a comedy sketch featuring [[Miranda Hart]] as leader of a government inquiry into the recent banking crisis. Blackadder, chief executive of a fictional British bank, appearing with Baldrick as his gardener, convinces the panel to publicly blame the entire crisis on Baldrick, to the latter's consternation.<ref>{{cite news|last=Deacon|first=Michael|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/9710828/Rowan-Atkinson-stars-in-new-Blackadder-sketch...-on-bankers.html|title=Rowan Atkinson stars in new Blackadder sketch... on bankers|date=29 November 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|accessdate=10 February 2025}}</ref>

===Red Nose Day 2023===
Baldrick (Tony Robinson) returned in 2023 for a [[Red Nose Day]] sketch for the BBC. There was no involvement of Rowan Atkinson or a subsequent reboot, amid speculation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Guide |first=British Comedy |date=2023-02-14 |title=Blackadder revival for Comic Relief |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/7195/comic-relief-blackadder-2023/ |access-date=2023-03-24 |website=British Comedy Guide |language=en}}</ref>

===Chronological order===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Title !! Type !! Production / air date !! Set in century
|-
| ''[[The Black Adder (pilot episode)|The Black Adder (pilot)]]'' || Pilot || 1982 (unaired) || 16th
|-
| ''[[The Black Adder]]'' || Series || 1983 || 15th
|-
| ''[[Blackadder II]]'' || Series || 1986 || 16th
|-
| ''[[Blackadder the Third]]'' || Series || 1987 || 18th–19th
|-
| ''[[Blackadder: The Cavalier Years]]'' || [[Comic Relief]] Special || 1988 || 17th
|-
| ''[[Children in Need]]''<ref>J.F. Roberts, The True History of the Black Adder: The Unadulterated Tale of the Creation of a Comedy Legend (Preface publishing, 2000) 253–254.</ref> || Special || 1988 || Unclear (anachronistic)
|-
| ''[[Blackadder Rides Again|Clown Court]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackadderhall.com/?p=370 |title=Clown Court on Blackadder Hall|date=13 October 2011}}</ref> || Special || 1988 || Unclear (anachronistic)
|-
| ''[[Blackadder's Christmas Carol]]'' || Christmas Special || 1988 || 19th
|-
| ''[[Woman's Hour]] Invasion''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackadderhall.com/?page_id=261 |title=The ''Woman's Hour'' invasion on Blackadder Hall|date=12 October 2011}}</ref> || Radio || 1988 || 20th, Various
|-
| ''[[Blackadder Goes Forth]]'' || Series || 1989 || 20th
|-
| ''[[Blackadder Rides Again|Blackadder and the King's Birthday]]''<ref name="Bapc">{{cite web|url=http://www.blackadderhall.com/?p=252 |title=The King's Birthday on Blackadder Hall|date=12 October 2011}}</ref> || Sketch || 1998 || 17th
|-
| ''[[Blackadder: Back & Forth]]'' || Millennium Special || 1999 || 20th, Various
|-
| ''[[Blackadder Rides Again|Blackadder: The Army Years]]''<ref name="Baay" /> || Theatre || 2000 || 21st
|-
| ''[[Blackadder Rides Again|The Royal Gardener/The Jubilee Girl]]'' (for the [[Party at the Palace]])|| Sketch || 2002 || 21st
|-
| ''[[Blackadder Rides Again|Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga]]'' || Documentary || 2008 || n/a
|-
| ''[[Blackadder Rides Again]]'' || Documentary || 2008 || n/a
|-
| ''[[Blackadder Rides Again|CEO of Melchett, Melchett and Darling Inquiry]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blackadderhall.com/?p=884 |title=The 2012 sketch on Blackadder Hall|date=29 November 2012}}</ref>
 || Theatre || 2012 || 21st
|-
| ''[[The Big Night In]]'' || Sketch || 2020 || 21st
|}