He really did have a cunning plan
There are a number of television series from the UK that have ingrained themselves into American geek culture. Shows like Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which practically defines all English-speaking geekdom, or Red Dwarf, regarded as the in-joke amongst Anglophile sci-fi nerds. Dr. Who does well, indeed is much more popular than Red Dwarf although I’ve never gotten into it myself. More recently The IT Crowd has found quite a following amongst anyone who actually does have to ask “Have you tried turning it off and back on again?” as part of their daily routine. And then there’s Black Adder.
Well, technically there’s four short series called Black Adder I, Black Adder II, Black Adder the Third and then, just when you thought you knew where this was all going, there’s Black Adder Goes Forth. Each series is focused on Edmund Blackadder (presumed to be the descendant of the previous Edmund Blackadder), his servant, Baldric (presumed to be descended from the previous Baldric), and the various people who make his life worse. The series are each based around the time of some turning point in the history of England, from the time of King Richard IV (who was never actually king) to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (who was actually queen) to the Regency period (which actually happened) to World War I (otherwise known as the Great War). All of this provides the stars with ample opportunity to delve into the BBC’s extensive costume collection and parade the results around on screen.
Each Blackadder is a scheming, plotting anti-hero of a man, seeking only to increase his own personal wealth and power at any cost, and if he can’t do that than at least he’s going to make some good jokes and insult some people in grandiose ways. Predictably, he fails at all the wealth-increasing stuff, and usually dies at the end of each season, but succeeds gloriously at the jokes and insults.
By the way, have I mentioned who plays Blackadder? Rowan Atkinson. That’s right, a man most Americans know as the barely-capable-of-speech Mr. Bean is the star of a series that runs entirely on wordplay (and fancy costumes). And he does it so well (in every season but the first one). His labyrinthine insults are the sort of thing you wish you had the patience or writing staff to be able to say to that guy who cut you off in traffic this morning, but you’ll never get it right, so seriously, just leave it in the hands of the master. You’ll try to say something like “Am I jumping the gun, Baldric, or are the words ‘I have a cunning plan’ marching with ill-deserved confidence in the direction of this conversation?” but get all confused in the second prepositional phrase and sound stupid. Best leave this sort of thing to the professionals.
The cast lineup (other than Blackadder and Baldric) changes from series to series, but other than Black Adder I it’s always great. Black Adder II has Stephen Fry as an advisor to an absolutely hilarious Queen Elizabeth I, and Black Adder the Third has Hugh Laurie as the Prince of Wales during the Regency. And just in case you were hoping for a bit of Fry and Laurie, they’re both in Black Adder Goes Forth. You just can’t lose (as long as you stay away from the first season. I mean, I like Brian Blessed, but his King Richard leaves something to be desired).
For those of you who like getting things quickly and therefore have an Amazon Prime account, you can watch all three good seasons (and season one, if you must) on Amazon Prime for free right this very minute! I highly recommend you do.
You have a limited amount of time, so why spend it reading about things that suck or are only kind of okay? Favorite thing EVER is not a review site. We're unrepentant fans, and this is the stuff we love. Hope you like gushing, because we're about to embarrass ourselves.
My first exposure to Blackadder was when my friend Steve lend me Blackadder Goes Forth (taped from TV on VHS). I had no idea what to expect at all. I was delighted by it, of course, but it BLEW MY FREAKING MIND when they all went over the trench and died at the end. (Um, spoiler alert.) Seriously, who DOES that at the end of a silly comedy?
Awesome!
My husband’s a big fan.
yeah, the last episode in season 4 is a huge downer. which is why I went back and watched some random episode in season 2, just to feel better. Also, their Queen Elizabeth I is seriously hilarious.
I’ve heard of it, but never given it a shot. This has turned me around!