''The Black Adder'' is the first series of the BBC

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four period British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC One from 1983 to 1989. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robins ...

'', written by

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

and

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and '' Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–20 ...

, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC 1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 July 1983, and was a joint production with the Australian

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

. Set in 1485 at the end of the British Middle Ages, the series is written as a

secret history A secret history (or shadow history) is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars. "Secret history" is also used to desc ...

which contends that King Richard III won the

Battle of Bosworth Field The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...

, only to be unintentionally assassinated by his nephew's son Edmund and succeeded by said nephew, Richard IV, one of the Princes in the Tower. The series follows the exploits of Richard IV's unfavoured second son Edmund (who calls himself "The Black Adder") in his various attempts to increase his standing with his father and, in the final episode, his quest to overthrow him.
The Black Adder
' at the BBC Comedy Guide. Retrieved 17 April 2008 Conceived while Atkinson and Curtis were working on '' Not the Nine O'Clock News'', the series presents medieval issues in Britain in a humorous and often anachronistic manner—

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

s and the conflict between

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

and the Church. The filming of the series was ambitious, as it featured a large cast and required extensive

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

. Shakespearean dialogue is sometimes adapted for comic effect.''I Have a Cunning Plan—20th Anniversary of Blackadder'',

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

documentary broadcast, 23 August 2003. Excerpts available a
bbc.co.uk
an
Blackadder
at

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

. Retrieved 30 July 2016 Despite winning an

International Emmy The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sci ...

, ''The Black Adder'' is regarded by its creators and most critics as the weakest ''Blackadder'' series.

Plot

Set in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the series is written as an alternative history. It opens on 21 August 1485, the eve of the

, which in the series is won not by Henry Tudor (as in reality) but by Richard III.

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

, played by Peter Cook, is presented as a good king who doted on his nephews, contrary to the Shakespearean view of him as a hunchbacked, infanticidal monster. After his victory in the battle, Richard III is unintentionally killed by Lord Edmund Plantagenet; Richard attempts to take Edmund's horse, which he thinks is his own. Not recognizing the king, Edmund thinks Richard is stealing it and cuts his head off. The late King's nephew, Richard, Duke of York (played by

Brian Blessed Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer. Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of '' I, Claudius'', King Richard I ...

) who is Lord Edmund

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in b ...

's father, is then crowned as Richard IV. Lord Edmund himself did not take part in the battle after arriving late, but later claims to have killed 450 peasants and several nobles, one of whom had actually been killed by his brother in the battle. King Richard IV of England and XII of Scotland and his Queen Gertrude of Flanders have two sons: Harry, Prince of Wales and his younger brother Prince Edmund. Of the two, Harry is by far his father's favourite, the King barely acknowledging his second son's existence. It is a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

throughout the series that Edmund's father cannot even remember his name. However, despite his mostly dismissive attitude toward his second son, the King actually loves Edmund very dearly, partially due to their father-son relationship; in the third episode, when Edmund becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury and helps his father to secure some land from a dying noble before the church can, the King acknowledges Edmund as his son, embraces him and even mentions to the Queen that he has "turned out well", and in the series' finale, on Edmund's deathbed, the King does his best to console him and has the entire court drink a toast in his honour. Using this premise, the series follows the fictitious reign of Richard IV (1485–1498) through the experiences of Prince Edmund, who styles himself as "The Black Adder", and his two sidekicks: the imbecilic Lord Percy Percy, the Duke of Northumberland ( Tim McInnerny); and Baldrick ( Tony Robinson), a more intelligent servant of no status. By the end of the series, events converge with accepted history, when King Richard IV and his entire family are poisoned, allowing Henry Tudor to take the throne as

King Henry VII Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, ...

. He then rewrites history, presenting Richard III as a monster, and eliminating Richard IV's reign from the history books. In reality, Richard, Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower, was only twelve years old (and perhaps two years dead) when the

took place in 1485, and thus too young to have had two adult sons. Henry Tudor seemingly also falsified the history of Scotland and Ireland, Richard IV is said to be king of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Prince Edmund has the title of

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not prod ...

. Ireland was not a kingdom until 1542 and Scotland continued to have a separate royal house until 1603.

Episodes

The episodes in this series, written by

and

, were originally shown on BBC 1 on Wednesday evenings, 21:25–22:00. Each episode ran for roughly 33 minutes. The series began on 15 June 1983. Each of the episodes was based on a medieval theme – the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...

, the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

and

royal succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

and the Church,

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

s between monarchies, and

the Plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

and

. The final episode follows a planned

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

. The series was broadcast shortly after the BBC Television Shakespeare productions of Shakespeare's four plays about the

: the three-part '' Henry VI'' plays, followed by ''

'', which was first shown on 23 January 1983. Some of the same actors were used to enhance the parody of Shakespearean 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.

Character development

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. "The Black Adder" is the title that Edmund adopts during the first episode (after first considering "The Black Vegetable"). Presumably one of his descendants adopted it as a surname before '' Blackadder II'', in which the title character becomes " Edmund Blackadder". Furthermore, Baldrick is shown in more favourable and intelligent light here than in subsequent series – his 'cunning plans' are typically superior to and more workable than Edmund's own. Starting from the second series, the characters' relative intelligence and naiveté clearly switch.

Production

Development

Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis developed the idea for the sitcom while working on '' Not the Nine O'Clock News''. Eager to avoid comparisons to the critically acclaimed '' Fawlty Towers'', they proposed the idea of a historical sitcom.Interview
at Blackadder Hall. Retrieved 17 April 2008 An unaired pilot episode was made in 1982, and a six-episode series was commissioned. In the unaired pilot episode, covering the basic plot of " Born to Be King", Rowan Atkinson speaks, dresses and generally looks and acts like the later Blackadder descendants of the second series onwards, but no reason is given as to why he was instead changed to a snivelling wretch for the first series. Richard Curtis has stated he cannot remember the exact reason, but has suggested it was because they wanted to have a more complicated character (implying that the change was driven by the writing) instead of a swaggering lead from the pilot. Curtis admitted in a 2004 documentary that just before recording began, producer John Lloyd came up to him with Atkinson and asked what Edmund's character was. Curtis then realised that, despite writing some funny lines, he had no idea how Rowan Atkinson was supposed to play his part. On the 25th anniversary documentary ''Blackadder Rides Again'', Atkinson added that as the cameras were about to roll for the first time, he suddenly realised he wasn't even sure what voice to use for the character.''Blackadder Rides Again'', 2009 BBC Television/Tiger Aspect documentary

Filming

The budget for the series was considerable, with much location shooting particularly at

Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman conquest and renovated and remodelled a number of times. It is a G ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

and the surrounding countryside in February 1983. Brinkburn Priory, an authentic reconstruction of a medieval monastery church, was used for the episode " The Archbishop". The series also used large casts of extras, as well as horses and expensive medieval-style costumes. Filming at the castle was hindered by bad weather – snow is visible in many of the outdoor location shots. For the duration of the production, Atkinson endured having his hair trimmed in an unflattering medieval style and wearing a selection of " priapic

codpiece A codpiece () is a triangular piece that attached to the front of men's hose, covering the fly. It may be held in place by ties or buttons. It was an important fashion item of European clothing during the 15th–16th centuries. In the modern er ...

s". Atkinson has said about the making of the first series:

The first series was odd, it was very extravagant. It cost a million pounds for the six programmes ... hichwas a lot of money to spend ... It looked great, but it wasn't as consistently funny as we would have liked.

Cast

Robinson said in 2003 that he was originally flattered to be offered a part and it was only later he found that other small-part actors had also been offered the role and turned it down. The series guest-starred noted actors including Peter Cook and Peter Benson in " The Foretelling";

Miriam Margolyes Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The ...

and

Jim Broadbent James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role as John Bayley in the feature film '' Iris'' (2001), as well as winning a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe for ...

in " The Queen of Spain's Beard"; Frank Finlay in "

Witchsmeller Pursuivant "Witchsmeller Pursuivant" is the fifth episode of the first series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'' ('' The Black Adder''). It is set in England in the late 15th century and centres on the fictitious Prince Edmund, who finds himself falsely ac ...

"; and

Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...

and Patrick Allen (who also narrated the series) in " The Black Seal".

Title sequence and music

The

title sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vi ...

included stock shots of Edmund riding his horse on location, interspersed with shots of him doing silly things (and, usually, a shot of King Richard IV to go with Brian Blessed's credit). The closing titles were a similar sequence of Edmund riding, eventually falling off his horse, after which the camera continues following the horse as it goes on running. All the credits of the first series featured eccentric orderings of the cast list (such as "

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

", "order of witchiness" and "order of disappearance") and included "with additional dialogue by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

" and "made in glorious television". The series used the first incarnation of the ''Blackadder'' theme by

Howard Goodall Howard Lindsay Goodall (; born 26 May 1958) is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programmes for television and radio, for which he has won many awards. In May 2008, he was na ...

(with the exception of the unaired pilot, which featured a different arrangement). For the opening theme, a trumpet solo accompanied by an orchestra was used. For the end titles, the theme gained mock-heroic lyrics sung by a baritone (

Simon Carrington Simon Carrington (born 1942) is an English conductor, singer and double bass player. He was a founding member and member for 25 years of the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble the King's Singers; he subsequently worked for 15 years in the United ...

, a member of the

King's Singers The King's Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King's College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. In the United Kingdom, their popularity peaked in the 19 ...

). 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 The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks' ...

and percussion.

Awards and criticism

The series won an

award in the popular arts category in 1983.Lewisohn, Mark
''The Black Adder''
at the former

BBC Guide to Comedy BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

. Retrieved 17 April 2008 The four series of ''

'' 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".
Britain's Best Sitcom – Blackadder
'. Retrieved 25 April 2008 Members of the cast and crew, looking back for the documentary ''Blackadder Rides Again'', are also not particularly complimentary of the first series. John Lloyd recalls that a colleague commented at the time that the series "looks a million dollars, but cost a million pounds", although he admits that they were proud of the result at the time. Due to the high cost of the first series, the controller of BBC1 when the second series was commissioned,

Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1 ...

, was reluctant to authorise a second series without major improvements and cost-cutting, leaving a gap of three years before '' Blackadder II'' was broadcast, on the condition that it remained largely studio-bound.

Releases

The complete series of ''The Black Adder'' is available as a Region 2 DVD from

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadca ...

, as well as in a complete

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

with the other series. The series is also available in Region 1 DVD in a box set of the complete series. "The Complete Collected Series 1, 2, 3, 4 and Specials", a 15-disc complete set of audiobooks published by BBC Audiobooks Ltd, was released in 2009. A selection of one-off episodes, documentaries and other appearances by "Blackadder" are featured, with some of this extra material being released on audio for the first time.

VHS releases

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 ''The Blackadder'' were re-released on 'Complete' double VHS releases. All 6 episodes were re-released on a single video release on 2 October 1995.

References

External links

* *
The Black Adder
' at the BBC Comedy Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Adder, The 1980s British sitcoms 1983 British television series debuts 1983 British television series endings Alternate history television series BBC black comedy television shows BBC television sitcoms Blackadder British parody television series English-language television shows Fiction set in the 1480s Henry VII of England House of York Richard III of England Television series set in the 15th century Television series created by Rowan Atkinson Television series created by Richard Curtis Television shows set in England Works set in castles