From: jason@cray.com (Jason Parker)
Subject: Black Adder series I summary
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 8 Oct 92 09:00:59 CDT

      B L A C K   A D D E R    P R O G R A M M E    G U I D E
      -------------------------------------------------------

Series 1: The Black Adder  (1983)
-------------------------

Written by:.....Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson
Director:.......Martin Shardlow
Producer:.......John Lloyd

Edmund is the son of King Richard IV (1485-1498)

Main Cast:
    Edmund Blackadder:......Rowan Atkinson
    Baldrick:...............Tony Robinson
    Percy:..................Tim McInnerny
    King Richard IV:........Brian Blessed
    The Queen:..............Elspet Gray
    Prince Harry:...........Robert East

1. The Foretelling  (1485)

Edmund accidentally kills King Richard III (Peter Cook) , making his
father King while he hides Henry Tudor in his room.

2. The Queen of Spain's Beard (1492)

In order to prevent a war with Spain, Edmund must marry a Spanish
Princess.

3. The Archbishop (1487)

Edmund is made the Archbishop, which has not been a very safe office to
hold, especially when the King doesn't agree with the church.

4. Born To Be King (1486)

With King Richard off to the crusades,Edmund comes across evidence that
casts doubt on Prince Harry's stature as next in line to the throne.

5. Witchsmeller Pursuivant (1495)

Edmund gets accused of being a witch by a witchsmeller (Frank Finlay).

6. The Black Seal (1498)

With the help of the "six most dangerous men in England", Edmund
attempts to take over the throne.


Series 2: Black Adder II
------------------------

Written by:.....Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
Director:.......Mandie Fletcher
Producer:.......John Lloyd

E. Blackadder is a Lord in Queen Elizabeth's court.

Main Cast:
    Lord Edmund Blackadder: Rowan Atkinson
    Baldrick:...............Tony Robinson
    Lord Percy:.............Tim McInnerny
    Lord Melchett:..........Stephen Fry
    Queen Elizabeth I:......Miranda Richardson
    Nursie:.................Patsy Byrne

1. Bells        ( Jan  9, 1986)

Edmund falls in love with his new man-servant (Gabrielle Glaister), who
is really a girl in disguise.  Lord Flashheart (Rik Mayall) turns up to
spoil the wedding.

2. Head     ( Jan 16, 1986)

Edmund is appointed Head Executioner and accidently executes the
wrong man, which causes a slight problem when his wife is given
permission by the Queen to see  him.

3. Potato       ( Jan 23, 1986)

Sir Walter Raleigh (Simon Jones) returns from exploring the New World.
Edmund decides to do some exploring to impress the Queen with the aid
of Captain Rum (Tom Baker).

4. Money        ( Feb  6, 1986)

The Bishop of Bath & Wells (Ronald Lacey) arrives to collect on a debt
that Edmund owes.

5. Beer     ( Feb 13, 1986)

Edmund has his Aunt and Uncle Whiteadder over for dinner, as well as
hosting a drinking party at the same time.

6. Chains       ( Feb 20, 1986)

Edmund and Melchett are kidnapped by a German (Hugh Laurie) who plans
to overthrow England's Queen.

Blackadder: The Cavalier Years
------------------------------

(part of a BBC Comic Relief Telethon)

Edmund Blackadder is a friend of King Charles (1648).

Main Cast:
    Sir Edmund Blackadder: Rowan Atkinson
    Baldrick:..............Tony Robinson
    King Charles:..........Stephen Fry
    Oliver Cromwell:.......Robbie Coltrane

Edmund attempts to rescue King Charles from being executed by the
round-heads.


Series 3: Black Adder the Third (1760 - 1815)
---------------------------------------------

Written by:.....Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
Director:.......Mandie Fletcher
Producer:.......John Lloyd

Edmund Blackadder is a butler to the Prince Regent.

Main Cast:
    Edmund Blackadder:.....Rowan Atkinson
    Baldrick:..............Tony Robinson
    Prince George:.........Hugh Laurie
    Mrs. Miggins:..........Helen Atkinson-Wood

1. Dish and Dishonesty  ( Sep 17, 1987)

Parliment is about to cut off the Prince Regent's support and Edmund
takes action to save him.

2. Ink and Incapability ( Sep 24, 1987)

Dr. Samual Johnson (Robbie Coltrane) asks the Prince for support of his
dictionary. which accidentally gets used for firewood. Edmund must re-
write it before Dr. Johnson finds out.

3. Nob and Nobility ( Oct  1, 1987)

The Scarlet Pimpernel is the talk of London, much to Edmunds chagrin.
He is captured by French revolutionaries and held captive. Tim
McInnerny and Nigel Planer guest as Lord Topper and Lord Smedley.

4. Sense and Senility       ( Oct  8, 1987)

The Prince Regent enlists the aid of two actors to help him write a
speech. But are the actors really anarchists?

5. Amy and Amiability       ( Oct 15, 1987)

The Prince is low on cash and Edmund sets out to find
a suitable dowry for the Prince Regent to marry. Amy Hardwood (Miranda
Richardson) looks to be the answer.

6. Duel and Duality     ( Oct 22, 1987)

The Prince Regent "soils" two of the Duke of Wellington's (Stephen Fry)
nieces and is challenged to a duel.  Edmund volunteers to fight for the
Prince and attempts to get his cousin, McAdder to fill in for him.


Blackadder's Christmas Carol (Dec 23, 1988)
----------------------------

Written by:.....Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
Director:.......Richard Boden
Producer:.......John Lloyd

Ebenezer Blackadder is the proprietor of a moustache shop in Victorian
London.

Main Cast:
    Ebenezer Blackadder:........Rowan Atkinson
    Baldricks:..................Tony Robinson
    Lords Melchett/Frondo:......Stephen Fry
    Queens Elizabeth I/ASphyxia XIX:
    ............................Miranda Richardson
    Nursie/Bernard:.............Patsy Byrne
    Princes Regent/Pigmot:......Hugh Laurie
    Spirit of Christmas:........Robbie Coltrane
    Mellicent:..................Nicola Bryant
    Queen Victoria:.............Miriam Margolyes
    Prince Albert:..............Jim Broadbent

Ebenezer Adder is the kindest man in England. A visit from the Spirit
of Christmas helps him to see the error of his ways.

Includes Christmas scenes of "Black Adder II" and "Black Adder the
Third", plus a "Star Adder" scene.


Series 4: Blackadder Goes Forth
-------------------------------

Written by:.....Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
Director:.......Richard Boden
Producer:.......John Lloyd

Edmund Blackadder is a Captain in the trenches along the Western Front
in 1917.

Main Cast:
    Captain Blackadder:.........Rowan Atkinson
    Private Baldrick:...........Tony Robinson
    Lt. George Barleigh:........Hugh Laurie
    General Melchett:...........Stephen Fry
    Captain Darling:............Tim McInnerny

1. Captain Cook         ( 28-Sep-89 )

General Melchett is looking for an artist for a special assignment.

2. Corporal Punishment      (  5-Oct-89 )

In avoiding orders from Geneepisdes ral Melchett, Edmund eats a
messenger pigeon, which turns out to be a court-martial offense.

3. Major Star           ( 12-Oct-89 )

In order to boost the troop's morale, Edmund organizes a show with
hopes of taking the revue to London.

4. Private Plane        ( 19-Oct-89 )

Edmund joins the Air Corp and crashes behind the  enemy lines with
Baldrick. Lord Flashheart (Rik Mayall) battles Baron von Richthoven
(Adrian Edmondson) to rescue him.

5. General Hospital         ( 26-Oct-89 )

Edmund is assigned to find a spy in a hospital, which has a beautiful
nurse (Miranda Richardson) and a man with a strong German accent called
"Smith".

6. Goodbyeee        (  2-Nov-89 )

The big push is coming, so Edmund goes mad.  Will a last minute call to
Field Marshal Haig (Geoffrey Palmer) save him?

Misc Notes on The Black Adder

The four series and the Christmas special aired on cable's Arts and
Entertainment network (A&E).  The Black Adder II episode "Beer" did not
air on A&E as well as the Black Adder The Third episode "Nob and
Nobility".

Each episode in the first series varied in length (30 to 34 minutes),
while the episodes in the other three series ran 29 minutes each. The
Christmas special ran 45 minutes. A&E edits the episodes to 22.5 minutes
to make room for commercials with 45 seconds edited out of the Christmas
special for some unknown reason.

The syndicated order of the episodes in the first series is based on
the date given in the episode, not on the episode number which appears
onscreen with the title. Thus, the second and fourth episodes ("The
Queen of Spain's Beard" and "Born to be King") are switched, running
fourth and second.

Black Adder II and Black Adder the Third each won the cable ACE award
for best comedy series. The third series also won an ACE award for
costume design.

All four series and the Christmas special are available to PBS stations.
Some stations have not aired "The Archbishop" while other stations have
skipped  over "Beer". "Nob and Nobility" is not available due to some
legal problems concerning the copyright of the name "The Scarlet
Pimpernel", the episode is available on home video, though.

CBS/Fox has released two "Blackadder III" tapes in the US with the first
tape containing the first three "Black Adder the Third" epsiodes ("Dish
and Dishonesty", "Ink and  Incapability", and "Nob and Nobility") and
the second tape containing the other three episodes ("Sense and
Senility", "Amy and Amiability", and "Duel and Duality"). List price
is $14.95. The first series has been released by CBS/Fox on two tapes
at a price of $19.98 each with three episodes per tape in the
syndicated order.

All four series have been released in the UK by BBC Video with
"Black Adder: The Cavalier Years" appearing on a UK Comic Relief tape
"Exclusive Relief" and "Blackadder's Christmas Carol" being released
seperately.


"Blackadder Goes Forth" is the last series according to Richard Curtis
and John Lloyd in an article in The Times in Nov '89. Rumours of a
"Blackadder Five" with Edmund the manager of a Britsh rock group with
drummer "Bald Rick" is nothing more than a joke mentioned in that
article.

Since the end of Black Adder (additions welcomed):

Rowan has been producing a series of "Mr. Bean" shows, which will air
on HBO starting in February along with an in concert comedy special.
Two "Mr. Bean" segments have been re-filmed for distribution as short
films, the first of which, "Mr. Bean Goes to a Premiere", has been
distributed by 20th Century Fox.

Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie have been making their own TV series
"A Bit of Fry and Laurie" for the BBC plus several series of "Jeeves
and Wooster" for Independent Televison in the U.K., the first series of
which has aired on Masterpiece Theatre in the U.S.

Ben Elton has produced one series of "The Man From Auntie" for the BBC.

Tony Robinson has produced two series of "Maid Marion and her Merry Men"
for the BBC.

Richard Curtis has written "The Tall Guy".

Tim McInnerny has been in "Erik The Viking", several productions of "The
Comic Strip Presents" on the BBC, the Kate Bush Video for "This Woman's
Work", and played Dr. Frankenfurter in a British Stage revival of "The
Rocky Horror Show".

-end-



 Unfortunately, I've lost the name of the author of this guide. If
anyone knows it, please post it. I'd like to give him/her the proper
credit.

Regards,
Dale Clayton
------------------------
dale.clayton@canrem.com
--
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario/Detroit, MI
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044




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