by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 7, The Film: 4.5/5, The Extras: 4.5/5, Overall: 9/10
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Cast:
Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Rik Mayall, Brian Blessed, Gabrielle Glaister
Intro:
… a must own for viewers of good taste and distinction.
The Films:
If you were a school kid in the 1980s, there was a pretty huge chance that three British TV programs had a stranglehold on your heart and imagination. Those shows were The Young Ones, Fawlty Towers and – today’s offering – Blackadder. You could not stroll more than three metres across a school playground without some greasy pre-teen (usually a boy, let’s be honest) bellowing out a mangled quote from one of those iconic comedy greats. Their influence was particularly felt by the long-suffering teachers who had to endure the endless renditions of iconic zingers prolifically delivered during lesson time. But what was it about Blackadder in particular that so captured the youthful imaginations? And how does the revered series stack up some 43 (!) years later? Those questions can now be answered, definitively, thanks to the release of Blackadder: The Complete Collection on Blu-ray.
Blackadder is an anthology historical comedy that takes place over four different eras and focuses on the machinations of a bloke named Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson). However, despite the rather narrow-sounding premise, each season of the show has a very different vibe.
The Black Adder (season one): The first season of Blackadder always felt like a more traditional sitcom than later entries. Set at the end of the Middle Ages, Atkinson stars as a bumbling doofus who accidentally decapitates Richard III (Peter Cook) and sets in motion all manner of shenanigans. The dynamic in this first outing is that Blackadder is a moron and his servant, Baldrick (Tony Robinson) is the smart one. Written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis, it’s a fun collection of episodes for sure, but lacks the savage wit and devilish plotting of the program’s best moments. Speaking of which, that brings us to…
Blackadder II (season two): Considered by many to be the best of the lot, Blackadder season two is set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (Miranda Richardson) with Edmund now a cold and calculating social climber and Baldrick a muddle-headed wombat. Ben Elton came on board to write with Curtis, and the result is a fast-paced, subversive, clever and genuinely hilarious season that remains highly quotable to this day. The addition of the brilliant and much-missed Rik Mayall as Lord Flasheart also instantly puts the show on the level of must-watch telly. “Am I pleased to see you or did I just put a canoe in my pocket?” WOOF.
Blackadder the Third (season three): Probably the most underrated of the bunch, Blackadder season three takes the story to the Regency period of the late 18th Century, with Edmund as a butler for the Prince Regent (Hugh Laurie) who is, perhaps, even dumber than Baldrick! The back and forth between Atkinson and Laurie honestly makes this an all-timer. Plenty of historical figures lob up for a chuckle and the whole caper ends on a genuinely subversive, oddly upbeat note. Speaking of endings that have an impact…
Blackadder Goes Forth (season four): And here it is. The final season of Blackadder already. Set during WWI, Blackadder Goes Forth proceeds as you mostly expect. Edmund is terribly smart but surrounded by idiots with more power. Baldrick is incalculably dumb and also quite smelly. Stephen Fry is hilariously pompous and clueless and once again Flashheart steals the show along with Gabrielle Glaister as “Bob”. However, the MVP might honestly be Tim McInnerny as Captain Darling, who is just a perfectly realised foil for Edmund. Still and all, the thing everyone (and we mean everyone) remembers about this season is its bleak, beautiful and genuinely emotional ending. No spoilers, but this thing hits hard all these years later and remains the perfect conclusion to this fantastic historical jaunt.
Except, you know, it wasn’t quite the end. There are also a number of Blackadder specials. Of those, Blackadder’s Christmas Carol is a fun retelling of A Christmas Carol, The Cavalier Years is a slight but jolly extended 15-minute sketch and Blackadder: Back and Forth is lavish but not quite as sharp as the earlier works, and exists to be enjoyed more as a curiosity by completionists rather than a grand return to form. There’s also an additional version of the season one pilot, for those who want to see how the story and style evolved over time.
It’s a generous, wonderfully curated selection of some of TV’s greatest comedy and while some aspects, like the laugh track, feel a tad dated, there is genuine genius here and belly laughs aplenty.
The Extras:
A fulsome collection of quality extras here as befits such a grand program. There are multiple audio commentaries for specific episodes from the likes of Brian Blessed, John Lloyd, Miranda Richardson, Mandie Fletcher, Richard Boden and Chris Wadsworth.
There are studio audience/raw recordings for episodes like “Potato”, “Dual and Duality”, “Corporal Punishment” and others. There are deleted and extended scenes, behind the scenes footage, photo galleries and the Ye Olde Cunning Clip Compendium, plus other bits and bobs.
Best in show, however, is undoubtedly Blackadder Rides Again, a wonderfully detailed and rich feature length documentary that gathers the cast and crew from various locations and goes into insane levels of detail about each season and how it all came together. Some really interesting revelations like the fact that the writers would often crack the shits at one another, Miranda Richardson was the secret sauce that made season two work and the brilliant ending of season four succeeded only because of a huge mistake and was essentially fixed in post!
The Verdict:
Blackadder remains one of the best television comedies of all time, witty, sharp and genuinely hilarious at times with an all-star cast of folks who went on to become comedy royalty. Bundled together with all the specials, and numerous extras, for the first time on blu-ray, this is a must own for viewers of good taste and distinction.
Your cunning plan should be to own this wonderful show.
