Grumpy
"Baldrick, why do dislike the first, original series of The Black Adder?""I dunno. I suppose it's because the Baldrick character is smart and Black Adder character is stupid.""Why does that bother you so much?""Well I suppose that it's more funny to see a stupid guy being made to look stupid who isn't in charge of anything.""Go on.""In the first series the Prince looks stupid, but he's in charge of things so they go wrong. In the other series, Blackadder looks smart because he has all these cunning plans, and so things go wrong.""Brilliant. A brilliant analysis considering that your body contains absolutely no brain tissue!"
Steve McLaughlin
Season one will always be my favorite as it started an excellent series of Blackadders. The episodes improved throughout season one culminating with the Black Seal. The episodes look very dated as they didn't use sets and filmed in various locations, subsequently changed after the first season in an effort to save money. The scripts are absolutely perfect though, you can read the Black Seal and find it hilarious as it is so well written. This is also the last season as well where Baldric is the intelligent one increasingly becoming more thick as the series continues. 10/10 overall. Some of the best writing ever. Very British and clever along the lines of top comedies out of the UK. Glad the BBC kept up the series and allowed this wonderful show to continue.
sean_lewis99
The reason for this being the weakest is the title character. The Edmund Blackadder in the other series' is an intelligent and sophisticated man. Blackadder in this, however, is a blundering fool. Not a funny one, either. Whilst I didn't HATE him, his character showed no real depth. Baldrick was the most intelligent in the series. However, he wasn't so intelligent that he was interesting, yet too clever to be funny. He was just a one-dimensional character. Percy was the same as ever and he was one of the better parts. Brian Blessed's portrayal as the King was very well acted, but just the same old Brian Blessed character used in everything else he does.The story lines in each episode were very well done, but it needed the depth of the characters to pull through.
calvinnme
Rowan Atkinson was funny as Mr. Bean, but he was downright hilarious as the Black Adder. He had such a talent for playing the sharp-tongued rogue I'll never figure out why he decided to start doing comedy in which he hardly spoke. The premise of this British comedy series is that the central character, "The Black Adder", shows up at different points in history in various incarnations distorting historical events and poking fun at various British historical figures and situations along the way.Lots of people don't like Black Adder I, in which the title character, Edmund, is the younger son of a brutish man consumed with thoughts of war who actually becomes king of England through Edmund's own bungling - he arrives late for the Battle of Bosworth Field and winds up chopping off the head of Richard III, thus saving the life of Henry Tudor. Throughout this first season he plays the buffoon, often having the expression of a deer caught in the headlights. This is the only season in which the Black Adder takes on the persona of a weak effeminate person. Especially funny is Edmund's mother who is a proper noble woman sitting around doing embroidery and indifferently waiting for the next marauding army to pass through.The second season takes place early during the reign of Elizabeth I, with the Black Adder confident, handsome, and even a favorite at court. A young Amanda Richardson plays the role of Elizabeth I, who comes across as Betty Boop, just not as intelligent. Although more cunning in this season, Black Adder still comes up the loser in just about every episode. My favorite is "Bells", in which Blackadder finds his new servant, Bob, curiously pleasant company. Afraid for his reputation at court, Blackadder searches for a "cure" - which of course involves leeches, until Bob conveniently reveals that she is in fact a girl called Kate. Their wedding is disrupted by the profane Lord Flashheart, who, although he is the best man, winds up stealing the bride.The third season takes place in the eighteenth century during the reign of George III, and will be a favorite of all fans of "House, M.D." due to the presence of a young Hugh Laurie. Here, Black Adder plays the manservant of the Prince Regent, George, played by Hugh Laurie. George is the dim-witted target of Black Adder's many schemes to enrich himself by taking advantage of his cushy position in George's household, and this often means having to save the Prince Regent's pension and position in the kingdom, which is largely controlled by Parliament.The fourth season takes place during World War I, with Edmund Blackadder as a captain in the British army whose company is trapped in one of the trenches that gave everyone in Europe such a distaste for warfare between the two world wars. Blackadder's aim in this season is to stay alive by staying in that trench until the war ends. His stunts include shooting a carrier pigeon when it arrives with orders to advance, and joining the Royal Flying Corp - "the twenty minuters". Unfortunately, the name comes from how long they are expected to live once in the air, not how much time they work each day, as Blackadder had originally thought.This show has several interesting plot devices. First, most of the main characters show up in different periods of time with the same name but different roles. Hugh Laurie is always "George", Tony Robinson is always "Baldrick", Stephen Fry is always "Melchett", and Tim McInnerny is always "Percy". Since each season was shot in alternate years - (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989) - the cast must have been having a terrific time in order for them to be regathered after such long intervals in order to make filming this series possible. Secondly, everyone in the cast, including the Black Adder, always dies in the final episode of each season. It is somewhat like the South Park stunt of Kenny being killed at the end of every show only to reappear in the next episode as though nothing had happened.Do note that there are only six episodes per season. If you liked "Red Dwarf" or "Fawlty Towers", you'll probably like this series too.
