Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

chinesexiaomin It is an old show and I watched it so long time ago. I normally don't mark 10 but this one I give it a ten for bringing good memories to me (and other people). It is a great show also because there are a lot of famous actors in different episodes.

grantss A good start to a great show.Set during the War of the Roses, and featuring scenes that may be familiar to readers or watchers of Shakespeare's Richard III, the story of a minor nobleman (and I use the word "noble" very broadly) in Richard III's court. Prince Edmund, aka The Black Adder.Hilariously funny, with some iconic skits. Rowan Atkinson as Black Adder brings his full range of snarky wit to bear. Ably supported by Tony Robinson as Baldrick, Brian Blessed as King Richard IV and Tim McInnerny as Percy. Peter Cook appears as Richard III.Seasons 2-4 were better but this is where it all started.

anthony-rigoni Ah, so this is how the Blackadder series got started(And it's a good start, too!). Rowan Atkinson(Best known as Mr. Bean) stars as Edmund Blackadder, a cunning yet slimy Duke of Edinburgh out to overthrow his father, Richard IV(Brian Blessed) and become King of England. He has two assistants named Baldrick(Tony Robinson) and Percy(Tim McInnerny), who maybe dumber than bricks but are loyal to their master. My favorite episodes are Born to be King and the Queen of Spain's Beard. There's also Princess Leia of Hungary, who is probably the cutest reference to the Star Wars franchise I ever seen. The plot is original, all the characters make me laugh, but the ending is kind of sad. This is part one of the Blackadder series.

gut-6 This is the first series of "Black Adder" and the only truly great one. The scripts are masterpieces of TV comedy writing - one belly laugh after another, and all perfectly structured plotwise, while at the same time being bizarre, original and very intelligent, without resorting to the pointless unfunny absurdity of lower quality Python. There are too many highlights to single out any particular episode or scene. They are the finest thing Richard Curtis or Rowan Atkinson would ever write. For me the first series was right up there in the pantheon just behind the Young Ones (my gold standard of TV comedy) and ahead of Fawlty Towers. It made me understand for the first time why Rowan Atkinson was so admired as a comic actor. I still laugh when I remember his Earl of Doncaster impersonation or the way he said "Hello peasant!" The supporting cast is also outstanding, especially Brian Blessed, Rik Mayall, Frank Finlay and Jim Broadbent as the show-stealing Spanish translator. Their acting considerably enhances the jokes. In fact there is not a dud performance in the whole series, helped no doubt by the absence of Fry and Laurie.The usual and irrelevant complaint about the first series is that the character of Edmund is contemptible, stupid and weedy rather than strong, clever and sarcastic. But the original Edmund is for laughing at, rather than laughing with. The former category of comic characters is invariably much funnier, while the latter is the domain of unfunny standup comedians desperately trying to be loved. Perhaps having a strong, admirable lead character gives the audience somebody to identify with rather than mock and deprecate, but I struggle to understand why that is desirable in a comedy. I never could understand why Ben Elton's sub-Carry On humour in the later series was more highly regarded by some. Perhaps it is because the later series had a louder laugh track?Although the budget may have been considered exorbitant, it allowed for much more variety in the type and setting of the jokes than the later studio bound, cheap-looking and visually tedious series. The large budget wasn't wasted, but used to good comic effect, especially in crowd scenes like the witch trial. The opening theme is perhaps the grandest, funniest and catchiest original theme song ever heard in a TV comedy. We may never see television comedy with such high production standards ever again, so enjoy this one. It is one of the few comedies that bear repeated viewing.