"The Foretelling" is the first episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom ''

The Black Adder ''The Black Adder'' is the first series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 Ju ...

'', the first series of the long-running comedy programme ''

Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four Period piece, period British sitcoms - ''The Black Adder'', ''Blackadder II'', ''Blackadder the Third'' and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' - plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC1 from 19 ...

''. It marks

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

's debut as the character

Edmund Blackadder Edmund Blackadder is the single name given to a collection of fictional characters who appear in the BBC mock-historical comedy series ''Blackadder'', each played by Rowan Atkinson. Although each series is set within a different period of Britis ...

, and is the first appearance of the recurring characters Baldrick (

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television sitcom ''Blackadder'' and has presented many historical documentaries, including the Channel ...

) and Percy (

Tim McInnerny Timothy L. McInnerny ( ; born 18 September 1956) is a British actor. He is known for his many roles on stage and television, including as Lord Percy Percy and Captain Kevin Darling in the 1980s British sitcom ''Blackadder''. Early life McInner ...

). The comedy actor

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishmen ...

guest stars as

King Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

. ''The Black Adder'' is a historical comedy set in late Medieval England on the cusp of the

Tudor Period In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

, and centres on the

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ous "Black Adder", the pseudonym adopted from this episode onwards by Edmund Plantagenet, Duke of Edinburgh. The premise is that Henry Tudor did not become king in 1485, but instead rewrote history to portray himself as the man who killed Richard III. The show sets out to rectify the situation by telling the "real story" and presents the

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

of King Richard IV. The script of this episode contains many lines and situations which borrow from or parody

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 ...

's plays ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' and ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''.

Plot

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

introduces the episode with a narrative describing the Tudor King Henry VII as one of history's greatest liars - along with

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

, instigator of the

heliocentrism Heliocentrism (also known as the heliocentric model) is a superseded astronomical model in which the Earth and planets orbit around the Sun at the center of the universe. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed t ...

cosmology theory - and establishes the show's premise that he rewrote history to suit his own ends. The narrator dispels the popular depiction of King Richard III of England as a scheming murderer; he appears as a villainous

hunchback Kyphosis () is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can ...

, hobbling towards his young nephews with a dagger, but the dagger is revealed to be a toy and the hunchback is a sack of presents. A

close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...

of one of the children fades to a shot of the bearded Richard, Duke of York (

Brian Blessed Brian Blessed ( ; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars''; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television ...

) roaring with laughter, as the narrator declares that he grew up to be "a big, strong boy", and that it was he who was crowned king after winning 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 House of Lancaster, Lancaster and House of York, York that extended across England in the latter half ...

, not Henry. The story opens in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the year 1485 on the eve of the Battle of Bosworth. A feast is held at the castle of King Richard III of England as his court prepares for the next day's battle with the forces led by Henry Tudor. The King (

) gives a speech parodying the opening of Shakespeare's play. A young lord's overzealous cheering raises the King's attention, who asks Richard, Duke of York, about the cheerer's identity. Richard doesn't recognise him but his eldest son, Harry, informs him that it is his second son,

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

– though Richard never calls him that. instand he calls Edmund other names such as "Edna", starting a running gag lasting throughout the series. He asks Edmund if he will be participating in the battle; Edmund's buffoonish answer makes the King uneasy, but Richard promises that he will place Edmund far away from the King. Edmund and his friend, Lord Percy Percy, Duke of Northumberland, are joined by a servant Baldrick, who with a bit of flattery manages to win enough favour with Edmund to be chosen as his

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Boys served a knight as an attendant, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight's weapons and armour. Terminology ''Squire'' ...

for the morning battle. The next day, both Edmund and Baldrick oversleep. Once woken by Edmund's mother, Gertrude of Flanders, they rush to the battlefield, Edmund by horse and Baldrick by mule. Edmund is initially eager to fight but, observing the combatants from afar, he comes to the realisation that ''fighting'' could lead to ''death''. He decides at that moment to remain a spectator and then hides behind a bush to relieve himself. Meanwhile, the King has won the battle but lost his horse. Telling the Duke of York that he will meet him back at the castle, he wanders off to search for another horse, stumbling across Edmund's steed. Noticing an attempt to steal his horse, Edmund draws his sword and decapitates the apparent thief, only recognising him as King Richard III afterwards. With Baldrick's help, Edmund hides the body in a cottage but forgets the head, which Percy brings, claiming it to be his triumph until realising whose head it is. Before they can escape, a wounded knight begs to be sheltered in exchange for his land and money, but Edmund and Baldrick shake him off. Returning to the castle, Edmund reveals that King Richard is dead, startling his mother and also his father, who has freshly returned from battle. Any doubts are dispelled by Harry, who brings the King's corpse back to the castle from the cottage. Edmund fears retribution for his crime but as everyone assumes Henry Tudor to be the murderer, Edmund escapes punishment, while his father is hailed as the new king, Richard IV. Edmund, now a royal prince, resolves to become more assertive, hoping to gain his father's respect and approval, and gives himself the title ''"The Black Adder"'' (at Baldrick's suggestion who dissuaded him from his first idea, ''"The Black Vegetable"''). To his dismay, Edmund finds out that Percy brought the wounded knight from the cottage back to the castle, but after hearing of his wealth, Edmund lets him stay without asking any further questions. Later, Edmund finds himself haunted by the headless ghost of his great-uncle, who openly accuses him of beheading him and even calling him "Edna" in order to taunt him. During the celebratory banquet in honour of the new king, a portrait of Henry Tudor is presented for ridicule, and Edmund is horrified to learn that the wounded man he is sheltering is actually the enemy. Edmund rushes back to his room only to find Henry Tudor gone. Edmund pursues him but the ghost of Richard III chases Edmund into a foggy meadow, where he meets three witches who address the Black Adder as "Ruler of men, Ravisher of women, Slayer of kings" and predict that he shall one day become king. Edmund thus proclaims "History, here I come!" When he leaves the meadow, the witches remark among themselves that they had expected Henry Tudor to look different, before realising that they had prophesied to the wrong person again.

Cast

The closing credits of this episode list the cast members "in order of precedence". *

as Richard IV * Peter Benson as Henry VII * Robert East as Harry, Prince of Wales *

as Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh *

as Percy, heir to the Duchy of Northumberland * Elspet Gray as The Queen * Philip Kendall as the Painter * Kathleen St John as

Goneril Goneril is a character in William Shakespeare's tragic play ''King Lear'' (1605). She is the eldest of Leir of Britain, King Lear's three daughters. Along with her sister Regan (King Lear), Regan, Goneril is considered a villain, obsessed with p ...

* Barbara Miller as Regan *

Gretchen Franklin Gretchen Franklin (7 July 1911 – 11 July 2005) was an English actress and dancer with a career in show business spanning over 70 years. She played Ethel Skinner in the long-running BBC 1 soap opera ''EastEnders'' on a regular basis from 198 ...

as Cordelia *

as Baldrick

Production

"The Foretelling" featured a guest star appearance by veteran comedian Peter Cook as Richard III. Cook had previously worked with Rowan Atkinson, having appeared together in '' The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979) '' and ''Peter Cook & Co'' (1980). Cook's appearance in this episode as Richard III caused him some alarm; both producer John Lloyd and co-star Brian Blessed have recalled that Cook was very nervous about playing the part. Cook was also not fond of adhering to a script and his lines contained many improvisations.Roberts, p.114 In the end, parts of Cook's performance took the form of a mock-heroic parody of

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

's portrayal of the king in the 1955 film version of Shakespeare's play.Marshall, p.118

References to Shakespeare

This first episode of ''The Black Adder'' contains many references to the works of Shakespeare and, as with subsequent episodes in this series, the end credits include an acknowledgement of "additional dialogue by

". Most obviously, the script of "The Foretelling" draws on material from ''

'' but a number of other aspects of the episode also

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

Shakespeare's other works: *The prologue introduces King Richard III at first as a deformed Shakespearean

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

before revealing him to be a kindly and avuncular man who teases his young nephews with a pretend hump, humorously demolishing traditional portrayals of the character. The villainous role is instead taken on by Prince Edmund. Richard's

queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

and Edmund's mother is Gertrude of Flanders; in ''Hamlet'', the protagonist's mother is Gertrude, Queen of Denmark. *In the opening banquet scene, King Richard gives a speech which is a

pastiche A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...

of Richard's opening

soliloquy A soliloquy (, from Latin 'alone' and 'to speak', ) is a speech in drama in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud, typically while alone on stage. It serves to reveal the character's inner feelings, motivations, or plans directly to ...

, ''"Now is the winter of our discontent ..."'' (''Richard III'', Act I, Scene I). *Before the Battle of Bosworth, King Richard rouses his troops with a speech, "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more..." – words taken directly from King Henry V's speech at the

Siege of Harfleur The siege of Harfleur (18 August – 22 September 1415) was conducted by the English army of King Henry V in Normandy, France, during the Hundred Years' War. The defenders of Harfleur surrendered to the English on terms and were treated as pri ...

(''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

'', Act 3, Scene I). *After the battle, Peter Cook's King Richard is heard cheerfully calling ''"A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!"'' (''Richard III'', Act V, Scene IV) in a bathetic style, as if he is whistling for a pet dog. *Upon discovering the decapitated body of King Richard, Prince Harry makes a sorrowful,

mock-heroic Mock-heroic, mock-epic or heroi-comic works are typically satires or parodies that mock common Classical stereotypes of heroes and heroic literature. Typically, mock-heroic works either put a fool in the role of the hero or exaggerate the heroic ...

speech which comprises one of

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

's lines from ''Julius Caesar'', ''"O! pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,"'' (''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'', Act III, Scene I), and Horatio's line from ''Hamlet'', ''"And flights of angels sing thee to their rest"'' (''Hamlet'', Act 5, Scene 2). *The appearance of Richard III's ghost to haunt Prince Edmund during the victory banquet is based closely on the haunting of Macbeth by Banquo's ghost (''

'', Act III Scene IV). *In the final scene, Prince Edmund confronts three witches who foretell that he will become king, in a parody of the

Three Witches The Three Witches, also known as the Weird Sisters, Weyward Sisters or Wayward Sisters, are characters in William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' (c. 1603–1607). The witches eventually lead Macbeth (Macbeth), Macbeth to his demise, and they ...

from ''Macbeth'' (''Macbeth'', Act III Scene IV). In the episode credits, the ''Black Adder'' witches are given the names of

, Regan and Cordelia, the names of

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

's three daughters.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foretelling, The 1980s British television series premieres 1983 British television episodes Blackadder episodes Cultural depictions of Edward V Cultural depictions of Henry VII of England Cultural depictions of Nicolaus Copernicus Fiction set in the 1480s Television shows based on Macbeth Television shows written by Richard Curtis Television shows written by Rowan Atkinson Works based on Richard III (play) Cultural depictions of Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York