With his father away at the Crusades, Edmund comes up with a plan to prove his brother is illegitimate, thus making him Prince Regent. The Blackadder pilot was shot but never aired on terrestrial TV in the UK (although some scenes were shown in the 25th anniversary special Blackadder Rides Again). One notable difference in the pilot, as in many pilots, is the casting. Baldrick is played not by Tony Robinson, but by Philip Fox. Another significant difference is that the character of Prince Edmund presented in the pilot is much closer to the intelligent, conniving Blackadder of the later series than the sniveling, weak Edmund of the original series. Set in the year 1582, the script of the pilot is roughly the same as the episode "Born to be King", albeit with some different jokes, with some lines appearing in other episodes of the series.
Sir Edmund Blackadder zeichnet sich im Jahre 1648 als einzig loyale Person zu König Charles I. (gespielt von Stephen Fry als Karikatur des aktuellen britischen Thronfolgers Prince Charles) aus und versteckt ihn vor Oliver Cromwell und seinen Schergen. Durch Baldricks Schuld wird Charles dennoch gefasst, und durch die bevorstehende Enthauptung des Königs sieht der Adlige Sir Blackadder sein eigenes Leben in Gefahr. Er folgt dennoch am Ende dem Ruf des Geldes und stellt sich selbst als bezahlter Henker des Königs zur Verfügung.
Dies ist eine Persiflage auf Charles Dickens klassische Weihnachtsgeschichte A Christmas Carol. Die Hauptrolle nimmt „Ebenezer Blackadder“ ein. Dieser ist ein herzensguter Mensch, der von seiner Umwelt ständig ausgebeutet wird, bis ihm der Geist der Weihnacht zeigt, wie bösartig seine Vorfahren im Vergleich zu ihm waren. Ebenezer zieht seine eigenen Schlüsse daraus und wandelt sich in einen typischen Vertreter der Familie Blackadder, das heißt: gefühlskalt, habgierig und zynisch.
This non-canonical sketch was performed on stage at the Sadlers Wells Theatre on 18 September 1989. It was written for and performed at an AIDS benefit concert directed by Stephen Fry, and features Rowan Atkinson as a Blackadder-esque character chatting with Hugh Laurie as "Bill" Shakespeare, talking about cutting various sections of Hamlet – in particular the "To be or not to be" soliloquy. Ultimately, Blackadder talks Shakespeare down from an over-long speech to the familiar 'snappy' phrase. The sketch was available on video as part of Hysteria 2 – The Second Coming, released by Palace Video on 21 May 1990
1680: Blackadder hat nicht die geringste Lust, den 50.Geburtstag von König Charles II zu organisieren. Er ändert aber seine Meinung 'spontan', als er vom König erfährt, welches unerfreuliche Schicksal einem anderen Nörgler widerfahren ist...
Back and Forth (Originaltitel: Time for Blackadder) spielt am Silvesterabend 1999. Edmund Blackadder gibt für einige alte Freunde eine Feier, in deren Mittelpunkt eine Zeitmaschine steht. Blackadder wettet, dass es ihm möglich ist, mit Hilfe der Zeitmaschine verschiedene Dinge aus der Vergangenheit zu holen. Natürlich hat Blackadder nicht vor, durch die Zeit zu reisen, sondern die Sachen aus einem durch eine Falltür versteckten Keller voller Ramsch zu holen. Allerdings hat er die Rechnung ohne Baldrick gemacht, welcher die Zeitmaschine mittels eines Buches von Leonardo Da Vinci gebaut hat. Wider Willen treten beide nun eine Reise in die Vergangenheit an, während der sie auf Persönlichkeiten wie Robin Hood oder William Shakespeare treffen und in den Lauf der Geschichte eingreifen.
A short monologue performed at the Dominion Theatre for the Royal Variety Performance 2000. It features Rowan Atkinson as the modern-day Lord Edmund Blackadder of Her Royal Highness's regiment of Shirkers. The sketch was written and introduced by Ben Elton, who was the compère of the evening.
A behind-the-scenes featurette, "Baldrick's Diary."
A countdown of the top 40 "Blackadder" moments chosen by cast and crew members, celebrity fans and 15 genuine Blackadders.
To mark the 25th anniversary since the first transmission of Blackadder in 1983, the iconic cast of the much-loved sitcom appear together in a documentary for the first time. The show includes an exclusive in-depth interview with Edmund Blackadder himself, Rowan Atkinson - the first time he has agreed to be interviewed about his experience making the show.
Rowan Atkinson and the cast of the legendary comedy series Blackadder are back for a one-off documentary special this Christmas on BBC One. Blackadder Rides Again features the iconic cast in a documentary to mark 25 years since the original BBC transmission of the much-loved sitcom, first broadcast in 1983. Blackadder Rides Again includes the first-ever in-depth interview with Edmund Blackadder himself, Rowan Atkinson, about his personal experience of being involved in the sitcom and its phenomenal success. Set to join Rowan are the core cast and writing team who have gone on to become some of the greatest names in entertainment, both in the UK and US. These include: Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Richard Curtis, Ben Elton, Miranda Richardson, Tim McInnerny and Tony Robinson. A 60 minute documentary produced by the BBC and broadcast on 25 December 2008, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show. It featured interviews with all of the major cast members and other contributors, including Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Richard Curtis, Ben Elton, Miranda Richardson, Tim McInnerny and Tony Robinson. Rather than relying on 'talking head' interviews and clips from the show, the documentary included several pieces of rare, and even unseen material (behind the scenes clips, cut scenes from Series 1 etc.). It also reunited certain cast and crew members with their costumes, visited cast members on their current ventures, or took them to the original filming locations.
An Interview with Rowan Atkinson about his time as Blackadder
Stephen Fry talks about his time on the show, and his characters.
The writers chat about how the show was created.
Tony Robinson talks about his time on Black Adder and his Baldrick character.
Miranda Richardson is interviewed at the BBC about her time as the Queen on Blackadder as well as the other characters she played.
Hilary Bevan Jones is interviewed.
Hugh Laurie chats about Blackadder and the varios roles he played in the series.
The legendary Rik Mayall chats about himself and how he took over the show as Lord Flashheart, in his own unique style.
Edited from Laughter in the House: The Story of British Sitcom (1999)
Rowan Atkinson has created a new reincarnation of Blackadder for a TV advert promoting the Queen’s jubilee concert. The new character, Sir Osmond Darling-Blackadder, is keeper of Her Majesty’s lawn sprinkler.
This programme was broadcast early in 2004 and was part of a series of programmes where viewers were asked to vote for their favourite sitcom. Each programme featured a particular comedy sitcom and was championed by separate celebrities. This programme featuring "Blackadder" has John Sergeant Iannucci saying why he feels it was the best Comedy Sitcom. A number of excepts are shown including some behind the scenes rehearsals, Various guests and actors from the show give an insight into the programme including Richard Curtis, Ben Elton, Stephen Fry, John Lloyd, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, Hugh Laurie, Brian Blessed, Michael Grade, Dr Gary Sheffield, Lucy Moore, Miranda Richardson, Howard Goodall, Tony Aitken, Gabrielle Claister, Mandie Fletcher, Chris Wadsworth and Richard Boden.
Rowan Atkinson continues to go over his time on Black Adder
Miranda, Tony, Patsy and Tim go back to the BBC to look at their old costumes. Do any of them still fit?