From: Edward_Lee_Whiteside@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv,rec.arts.tv.uk
Subject: The Black Adder Guide
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 92 12:40:11 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)



The Black Adder Guide

Compiled by Lee Whiteside

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".
The show has also aired on Comedy Central (no info on which episodes aired).

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 all four Black Adder series on home video, with three
episodes per tape.  The "Blackadder Christmas Carol" is also about to be 
released.  The unaired in the U.S. episode "Nob and Nobility" is included
in the first "Blackadder III" tape.  

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 aired on
HBO starting in February, 92 along with a HBO Comedy Hour special.  A BBC1
version of the HBO Comedy Hour special also aired in early 1992, with some
differences in sketch selection. 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. with more episodes to air late in 1992.
Hugh Laurie appears in the Annie Lennox video of "Walking on Broken Glass"
looking not unlike his character in Blackadder the Third.

Ben Elton has produced one series of "The Man From Auntie" for the BBC, 
written a novel "Stark", and co-wrote the first "Mr. Bean" episode.

Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Ben Elton have been involved
with a series of AIDS benefits in the U.K. called "Hysteria", some of which
has been released to home video in the U.K. or appeared on TV there.

Tony Robinson has produced two series of "Maid Marion and her Merry Men"
for the BBC with a Christmas special to air in 1992 and a third series to
air in 1993.  Tony also hosts a regular cartoon show on BBC1.

Richard Curtis has written "The Tall Guy" movie with Rowan Atkinson, Jeff 
Goldblum, and Emma Thompson and has co-written the "Mr. Bean" shows with
Rowan Atkinson.

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".


Compiled by Lee Whiteside   P14942@email.mot.com (email)
                            Edward_Lee_Whiteside@email.portal.com
                            Magrathea BBS (602) 833-9216

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This and other Black Adder related files can be gotten via ftp at 
deja-vu.aiss.uiuc.edu (128.174.53.10) in the 
/misc/fun/humor/television/black.adder  directory.

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