- 0 An interview with Richard Curtis
-
Richard Curtis was interviewed for "Laughter in the House", a BBC special celebrating successful sitcoms in British television history. Only 3 minutes of footage were used in the final program. Here are his extensive thoughts on the art of sitcoms, and his recollections of the creation and production of BlackAdder. This is an extra from the Complete BlackAdder DVD set.
- 1 Pilot
-
With his father away at the Crusades, Edmund comes up with a plan to prove his brother is illegitimate, thus making him Prince Regent. The Blackadder pilot was shot but never aired on terrestrial 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. 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 sniveling, weak Edmund of the original series. Set in the year 1582, the script of the pilot is roughly the same as the episode "Born to be King", albeit with some different jokes, with some lines appearing in other episodes of the series.
- 2 The Cavalier Years
-
As the only two loyalists to King Charles (sounding a lot like Prince Charles), it is up to Blackadder and Baldrick to come up with a plan to save the King from Oliver Cromwell's death sentence. This special, set in the English Civil War, was shown as part of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day on Friday 5 February 1988. 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, slightly dim character, with the voice and mannerisms of Charles I's namesake, the current Prince of Wales). However, due 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 standing.
Air Date: 1988-02-05
- 3 Blackadder's Christmas Carol
-
In the late 1800s, a kind and generous Ebeneezer Blackadder is visited the Ghost of Christmas Past, who shows him visions of his ancestors, and the future of the Blackadders if he does not follow the family tradition. The second special was broadcast on Friday 23 December 1988. 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.
Air Date: 1988-12-23
- 4 The Shakespeare Sketch
-
This non-canonical sketch was performed on stage at the Sadlers Wells Theatre on 18 September 1989. It was written for and performed at an AIDS benefit concert directed by Stephen Fry, and features Rowan Atkinson as a Blackadder-esque character chatting with Hugh Laurie as "Bill" Shakespeare, talking about cutting various sections of Hamlet – in particular the "To be or not to be" soliloquy. Ultimately, Blackadder talks Shakespeare down from an over-long speech to the familiar 'snappy' phrase. The sketch was available on video as part of Hysteria 2 – The Second Coming, released by Palace Video on 21 May 1990
Air Date: 1989-09-18
- 5 The King's Birthday
-
Blackadder is commissioned to provide entertainment for the royal gala for King Charles. A short sketch performed at the Prince of Wales' 50th Birthday Gala. It featured Rowan Atkinson as Lord Blackadder and Stephen Fry as King Charles II, and was televised on ITV (in the UK) on 14 November 1998.
Air Date: 1998-11-14
- 6 Blackadder Back & Forth (The Millennium Special)
-
It's New Year's Eve 1999, and Blackadder makes a bold claim to his contemporaries. He claims Baldrick has built a time machine with which Blackadder will get historical evidence. What no one knows is that Baldrick really has invented a time machine, with one slight flaw. That sends Blackadder and Baldrick on a millennium's worth of adventure. Blackadder: Back & Forth was originally shown in the Millennium Dome in 2000, followed by a screening on 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 – modern versions of Queenie (Miranda Richardson), Melchett (Stephen Fry), George (Hugh Laurie) and Darling (Tim McInnerny) – that he has built a working time machine. While this is intended as a clever con trick, the machine, surprisingly, works, sending Blackadder and Baldrick back to the time of the dinosaurs, where they manage to cause the extinction of the dinosaurs, through the use of Baldrick's best, worst and only pair of underpants as a weapon against a hungry 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 which must be corrected before the end. The film includes cameo appearances from Kate Moss and Colin Firth.
Air Date: 1999-12-31
- 7 Blackadder Rides Again
-
Rowan Atkinson and the cast of the legendary comedy series Blackadder are back for a one-off documentary special this Christmas on BBC One. Blackadder Rides Again features the iconic cast in a documentary to mark 25 years since the original BBC transmission of the much-loved sitcom, first broadcast in 1983. Blackadder Rides Again includes the first-ever in-depth interview with Edmund Blackadder himself, Rowan Atkinson, about his personal experience of being involved in the sitcom and its phenomenal success. Set to join Rowan are the core cast and writing team who have gone on to become some of the greatest names in entertainment, both in the UK and US. These include: Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Richard Curtis, Ben Elton, Miranda Richardson, Tim McInnerny and Tony Robinson. A 60 minute documentary produced by the BBC and broadcast on 25 December 2008, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show. It featured interviews with all of the major cast members and other contributors, including Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Richard Curtis, Ben Elton, Miranda Richardson, Tim McInnerny and Tony Robinson. Rather than relying on 'talking head' interviews and clips from the show, the documentary included several pieces of rare, and even unseen material (behind the scenes clips, cut scenes from Series 1 etc.). It also reunited certain cast and crew members with their costumes, visited cast members on their current ventures, or took them to the original filming locations.
Air Date: 2008-12-25
- 8 Blackadder Exclusive - The Whole Rotten Saga
-
To mark the 25th anniversary since the first transmission of Blackadder in 1983, the iconic cast of the much-loved sitcom appear together in a documentary for the first time. The show includes an exclusive in-depth interview with Edmund Blackadder himself, Rowan Atkinson - the first time he has agreed to be interviewed about his experience making the show.
Air Date: 2008-10-09
- 9 Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga
-
A look back at the making of the entire "Blackadder" series to commemorate the 25th anniversary.
Air Date: 2008-10-09
- 10 Baldrick's Video Diary - A BlackAdder in the Making
-
A behind-the-scenes featurette, "Baldrick's Diary."
Air Date: 2003-09-15
- 11 The Making Of Black Adder
- 12 A BlackAdder in the Making
- 13 Blackadder's Most Cunning Moments
-
A countdown of the top 40 "Blackadder" moments chosen by cast and crew members, celebrity fans and 15 genuine Blackadders.
Air Date: 2008-05-12
- 17 BlackAdder Sing-Along
- 18 The Army Years
-
A short monologue performed at the Dominion Theatre for the Royal Variety Performance 2000. It features Rowan Atkinson as the modern-day Lord Edmund Blackadder of Her Royal Highness's regiment of Shirkers. The sketch was written and introduced by Ben Elton, who was the compère of the evening. via Wikipedia
Air Date: 2000-10-19
- 19 Noel Edmund's Clown Court
-
Outtakes from Blackadder The Third In this clip, Shown on Clown Court – a slot on Noel’s Saturday Roadshow a BBC TV show shown from 1988-1990. Baldrick’s first name is revealed as “Drop dead” Baldrick (Mr. D Baldrick).
Air Date: 1988-01-01
- 20 Look East - Title Sequence of Blackadder Goes Forth
-
Air Date: 1989-09-11
- 21 The Royal Gardener
-
Rowan Atkinson has created a new reincarnation of Blackadder for a TV advert promoting the Queen’s jubilee concert. The new character, Sir Osmond Darling-Blackadder, is keeper of Her Majesty’s lawn sprinkler.
Air Date: 2002-06-01
- 99
-
Duplicate, please replace