"ambitious, with a large cast and much location shooting. Shakespearean dialogue is sometimes adapted for comic effect. Despite winning an International Emmy, ""The Black Adder"" is generally regarded as the weakest series of ""Blackadder"", even by its creators. Set in the Middle Ages, the series is written as an alternative history. It opens on 21 August 1485, the eve of the Battle of Bosworth Field, which in the series is won not by Henry Tudor (as in reality) but by Richard III. Richard III, played by Peter Cook, is presented as a good king who doted on his nephews, contrary"
"first series of ""Blackadder"", was written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson and produced by John Lloyd. It originally aired on BBC1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 July 1983, and was a joint production with the Australian Seven Network. Set in 1485 at the end of the British Middle Ages, the series is written as an alternative history in which King Richard III won the Battle of Bosworth Field only to be mistaken for someone else and murdered, and is succeeded by Richard IV (Brian Blessed), one of the Princes in the Tower. The series follows the exploits of"
"The Black Adder The Black Adder is the first series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"", written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC One from 15 June 1983 to 20 July 1983, and was a joint production with the Australian Seven Network. Set in 1485 at the end of the British Middle Ages, the series is written as a secret history which contends that King Richard III won the Battle of Bosworth Field, only to be unintentionally assassinated by his nephew Edmund and succeeded by"
"Blackadder Blackadder is a series of four BBC1 pseudohistorical British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired in the 1980s. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the anti-hero Edmund Blackadder, and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick. Each series was set in a different historical period, with the two protagonists accompanied by different characters, though several reappear in one series or another, for example Melchett (Stephen Fry) and Lord Flashheart (Rik Mayall). The first series, ""The Black Adder"", was written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, while subsequent episodes were written by Curtis and Ben Elton. The shows"
"history. Ron Cook, who played Richard III in the Shakespeare productions, is cast as the villainous ""Sean the Irish Bastard"". Peter Benson, who played Shakespeare's Henry VI, played Henry VII in the first episode. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> In this series, the character of the Black Adder is somewhat different from later incarnations, being largely unintelligent, naive, and snivelling. The character does evolve through the series, however, and he begins showing signs of what his descendants will be like by the final episode, where he begins insulting everyone around him and making his own plans. This evolution follows naturally from the character's situation."
"He has performed in a large number of television productions, including guest roles in episodes of series such as ""The Black Adder"" where he played ""Sean the Irish bastard"" (1983) and ""Bergerac"" (1988), ""Sharpe"" (1994) and ""Doctor Who"": ""The Idiot's Lantern"" (2006). He has also had major roles in more highbrow one-off productions and serials, including several instalments of the BBC's ""The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare"" (1982–83), most notably as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III of England in Jane Howell's repertory treatment of the Henry VI plays and Richard III. He appeared as one of the"
"Blackadder the Third Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"", written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987. The series was set during the Georgian Era, and saw the principal character, Mr. E. Blackadder serve as butler to the Prince Regent and have to contend with, or cash in on, the fads of the age embraced by his master. The third series reduced the number of principal characters again compared with the previous series, but instead included a number of significant cameo roles by well-known comic actors."
"second writer, filming in studio sets, rather than on location, the introduction of the more familiar Machiavellian ""Blackadder"" character and a less intelligent Baldrick. The series is set during the Elizabethan era (1558–1603). The principal character, Edmund, Lord Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), is the great-grandson of the original Black Adder, and is now a member of the London aristocracy. Unlike his forefather, he is both dashing and intelligent, although he is still scheming and cynical in his outlook. The series follows his attempts to win the favour of the childish Queen Elizabeth I (Miranda Richardson). As before he is aided, and"
"England with his Queen, the fictional Gertrude of Flanders, during a rewritten period of history. The character of Queen Elizabeth I was later revisited in ""Blackadder II"", when Miranda Richardson played the role of Queenie, a skittish caricature of the Virgin Queen. Another major difference to the first series is the cast – most notably, comic actor Philip Fox plays the character Baldrick, rather than Tony Robinson, who was to play the role in all subsequent series. John Savident plays the role of the King, who was replaced by Brian Blessed for the first series. Prince Harry is played by"
"five episodes of the first two series were released on a 15 rated compiled video by BBC Worldwide Ltd. On 4 November 1991, ""Blackadder's Christmas Carol"" was released on a single video release rated PG (Cat. No. BBCV 4646) Blackadder Blackadder is a series of four BBC1 pseudohistorical British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired in the 1980s. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the anti-hero Edmund Blackadder, and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick. Each series was set in a different historical period, with the two protagonists accompanied by different characters, though several reappear in one"
"Richard III (1995 film) Richard III is a 1995 British drama film adapted from William Shakespeare's play of the same name, starring Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr., Nigel Hawthorne, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, John Wood, and Dominic West. The film sets the play in 1930s Britain with Richard as a fascist sympathiser plotting to usurp the throne. In late 1930s England, a chaotic and bloody civil war ends with Lancastrian King Henry and his son Prince Edward murdered by Field Marshal Richard Gloucester of the rival faction supported by the House of York. Richard's elder"
"Blackadder II Blackadder II is the second series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"", written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986. The series is set in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and sees the principal character, Edmund, Lord Blackadder, as a Tudor courtier attempting to win the favour of the Queen while avoiding execution by decapitation, a fate that befell many of her suitors. The series saw a number of significant changes from the format of ""The Black Adder"", notably Ben Elton replacing Rowan Atkinson as the"
"Empire in 1453, predating the events in the episode by 33 years); this dramatic licence would continue in the subsequent ""Blackadders"". The filming of the series was highly ambitious, with a large cast and much location shooting. The series also featured Shakespearean dialogue, often adapted for comic effect; the end credits featured the words ""Additional Dialogue by William Shakespeare"". ""Blackadder II"" is set in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), who is portrayed by Miranda Richardson. The principal character is Edmund, Lord Blackadder, the great-grandson of the original Black Adder. During the series, he regularly deals with"
"George, respectively. Each series was set in a different period of British history, beginning in 1485 and ending in 1917, and comprised six half-hour episodes. The first series, made in 1983, was called ""The Black Adder"" and was set in the fictional reign of ""Richard IV"". The second series, ""Blackadder II"" (1986), was set during the reign of Elizabeth I. ""Blackadder the Third"" (1987) was set during the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the reign of George III, and ""Blackadder Goes Forth"" (1989) was set in 1917 in the trenches of the Great War. ""The Black Adder"", the"
"and the Christmas special are also available for download on iTunes. The complete scripts of the four television series were released in 1998 as ""Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty 1485–1917"", and later reissued by Penguin Books in 2009. Blackadder the Third Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"", written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987. The series was set during the Georgian Era, and saw the principal character, Mr. E. Blackadder serve as butler to the Prince Regent and have to contend with, or cash in"
"and was one of the main sketch writers. The success of ""Not the Nine O'Clock News"" led to him taking the lead role in the medieval sitcom ""The Black Adder"" (1983), which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis. After a three-year gap, in part due to budgetary concerns, a second series was broadcast, this time written by Curtis and Ben Elton. ""Blackadder II"" (1986) followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinson's original character, this time in the Elizabethan era. The same pattern was repeated in the two more sequels ""Blackadder the Third"" (1987) (set in the Regency"
"is the first man in the dynasty to refer to himself as 'the Black Adder'. The first Blackadder is named after the treacherous Edmond from Shakespeare's ""King Lear"". He appears in the first series, ""The Black Adder"", set shortly after The Wars of the Roses. He is the second son of the fictional King Richard IV of England, who, we are told at the beginning, was cast from all historical references by his successor, Henry Tudor. Prince Edmund is a very different character from his descendants: he is slow-witted, cowardly, and the butt of the other characters' jokes. While he"
"The first modern performance of the play was on 6 March 1911, when the Elizabethan Stage Society performed Act 2 at the Little Theatre in London. Following this, the BBC broadcast an abridged version of the play in 1963, with complete performances taking place in Los Angeles in 1986 (as part of a season of Shakespeare Apocrypha) and Mold in 1987. In 1977, the play was incorporated into the marathon BBC Radio dramatic series ""Vivat Rex"" as Episodes Three: ""Obsession"" and Four: ""The Black Prince"" with Keith Michell as ""Edward III"", Christopher Neame as ""Edward the Black Prince"" and Richard"
"the cast members ""in order of reverence"". ""Important characters are in bold."" The Archbishop ""The Archbishop"" is the third episode of the first series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"" (""The Black Adder""). It is set in England in the late 15th century, and follows the exploits of the fictitious Prince Edmund as he is invested as Archbishop of Canterbury amid a Machiavellian plot by the King to acquire lands from the Catholic Church. Most of the humour in the episode relies on religious satire. The script pays tribute to the real-life 12th century Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. Edmund, faced"
"The programme won a BAFTA award for Best Comedy Series in 1988 and received three further nominations. ""Blackadder the Third"" is set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period known as the Regency. For much of this time, King George III was incapacitated due to poor mental health, and his son George, the Prince of Wales, acted as regent. During this period, he was known as ""the Prince Regent"". Although the Regency was in place between 1811 and 1820, the historical events and persons depicted and referenced appear to date the series before this time; anywhere in"
"and photographs of historical scenes, edited to contain a Blackadder, accompanied by a full orchestral version of the Howard Goodall's ""Blackadder"" theme. The closing theme is a reprisal of the heroic version of the first series, with new lyrics sung by Giles Underwood; the lyrics appear onscreen with Blackadder's head as a bouncing ball. At Blackadder Hall in 1999 Lord Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) is entertaining three guests on New Year's Eve. He informs them he has invented a time machine and wagers £10,000 each that he can bring back any item from history they ask for. Archbishop Melchett (Stephen Fry),"
"tradition, Aneurin Barnard played Richard in the 2013 BBC-Starz joint production TV series ""The White Queen"" based on Philippa Gregory’s novels, and in September 2014 BBC started filming a new TV version of the Shakespearean play for the second part of ""The Hollow Crown"" with Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. Richard's career is the subject of the 1939 film ""Tower of London"", in which he is played by Basil Rathbone. The film was later remade by Roger Corman in 1962, starring Vincent Price as Richard (Price had played Clarence in the earlier version). Richard is a thorough-paced villain in"
"1983 for his role in the British historical sitcom ""Blackadder"", as Edmund Blackadder's dogsbody Baldrick. In the first series, broadcast as ""The Black Adder"", he was quite astute, while his master was an idiot. Later series (""Blackadder II"", ""Blackadder the Third"", ""Blackadder Goes Forth"") moved the duo through history and switched the relationship: the Edmund Blackadder of ""Blackadder II"" was a brilliant schemer, whereas Baldrick had devolved into a buffoon whose catchphrase was ""I have a cunning plan"" (which he rarely had). In addition to his acting on ""Blackadder"", Robinson also wrote and narrated several ""Jackanory""-style children's programmes, encouraged by"
"first episode of ""The Black Adder"" contains many references to the works of Shakespeare and, as with subsequent episodes in this series, the end credits include an acknowledgement of ""additional dialogue by William Shakespeare"". Most obviously, the script of ""The Foretelling"" draws on material from ""Richard III"" but a number of other aspects of the episode also parody Shakespeare's other works: The Foretelling ""The Foretelling"" is the first episode of the BBC sitcom ""The Black Adder"", the first series of the long-running comedy programme ""Blackadder"". It marks Rowan Atkinson's début as the character Edmund Blackadder, and is the first appearance"
"release of the series was also produced in 1996. The series is also available in Region 1 DVD in a box-set of the complete series. In addition, an audio recording taken from the television episodes is available on cassette and compact disc. Blackadder II Blackadder II is the second series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"", written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986. The series is set in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and sees the principal character, Edmund, Lord Blackadder, as a Tudor courtier attempting to"
"Richard III (2016 film) Richard III is a 2016 British television film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare. It is the seventh and final film in the series of television adaptations of William Shakespeare's history plays produced by Sam Mendes for BBC Two under the title ""The Hollow Crown"". It was directed by Dominic Cooke, who also adapted the screenplay with Ben Power. It starred Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III, Sophie Okonedo as Queen Margaret and Judi Dench as Cecily. ""Richard III"" aired in 2016 as part of the concluding cycle ""The Hollow Crown: The"
"the third Baldrick had no other goal in life but the acquisition of turnips. Baldrick proves more intelligent than Blackadder's other companions—such as Lord Percy Percy or George—although only slightly. He is, however, often accorded more cruelty and mistreatment than he deserves. In 1982, prior to the first ""Black Adder"" series, a pilot episode was filmed which featured a number of characters who were later included in the first series. The episode, which was never televised, included an early version of the Baldrick character, played by Philip Fox, who is portrayed as slightly stupid in contrast to the intelligent, scheming"
"were produced by John Lloyd. In 2000, the fourth series, ""Blackadder Goes Forth"", ranked at 16 in the ""100 Greatest British Television Programmes"", a list created by the British Film Institute. In the 2004 TV poll to find ""Britain's Best Sitcom"", ""Blackadder"" was voted the second-best British sitcom of all time, topped by ""Only Fools and Horses"". It was also ranked as the 9th-best TV show of all time by ""Empire"" magazine. Although each series is set in a different era, all follow the misfortunes of Edmund Blackadder (played by Atkinson), who in each is a member of a British"
"Blackadder: The Cavalier Years Blackadder: The Cavalier Years is a 15-minute one-off edition of ""Blackadder"" set during the English Civil War, shown as part of the first Comic Relief Red Nose Day on BBC1, broadcast on Friday 5 February 1988. The show featured all series regulars except Tim McInnerny and Hugh Laurie with Warren Clarke as a guest star. The episode begins in November 1648. King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland has already lost the Civil War. Only two men remain loyal to him: Sir Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), the sole descendant of the Blackadder dynasty at the"
"appearances by ""Blackadder"" are featured, with some of this extra material being released on audio for the first time. On 5 February 1990, BBC Enterprises Ltd released all 6 episodes of ""The Black Adder"" on two single videos and on 7 September 1992 all 6 episodes of ""Blackadder II"" were re-released on 'Complete' double VHS releases. All 6 episodes were re-released on a single video release on 2 October 1995. The Black Adder The Black Adder is the first series of the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"", written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John"
"by a baritone (Simon Carrington, a member of the King's Singers). In the final episode, the theme was sung with altered lyrics by a treble, in a more reflective style. The series' incidental music was unusually performed by pipe organ and percussion. The series won an International Emmy award in the popular arts category in 1983. The four series of ""Blackadder"" were voted into second place in the BBC's ""Britain's Best Sitcom"" in 2004 with 282,106 votes, although the series' advocate, John Sergeant, was not complimentary of the first series, suggesting it was ""grandiose, confused and expensive"". Members of the"
"Robert Bathurst filmography The filmography of English actor Robert Bathurst comprises both film and television roles spanning almost 30 years. Bathurst made his acting debut for television in 1982 in the never-broadcast pilot episode for the BBC sitcom ""Blackadder"", though his character Prince Henry was recast when the ""Black Adder"" series was commissioned. Throughout the rest of the 1980s, Bathurst appeared in episodes of ""The Lenny Henry Show"", ""Who Dares Wins"", ""The District Nurse"", ""Red Dwarf"", and ""Chelmsford 123"", before starring alongside his Cambridge Footlights colleague Stephen Fry in the short-run series ""Anything More Would Be Greedy"". He also appeared"
"was provided by cast members. Its final sequence, which shows the main characters going ""over the top"", uses slow motion, as the programme's creators were unhappy with the result of the scripted ending. The enhanced scene has been described as bold and highly poignant. Each series of ""Blackadder"" depicts its protagonist, always a scheming and (except in the first series) witty man named Edmund Blackadder, in different periods throughout history. In ""Blackadder Goes Forth"", he is Captain Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), an officer in the British Army on the Western Front during the First World War. Joined by his colleagues—the poor,"