Editing Blackadder (section)

===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".