Black Adder the Third (1987– )

In the 19th century Regency era, Mr E. Blackadder serves as butler to the foppish numskull Prince George amidst the fads and crazes of the time.

Stars:

Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Rowan Atkinson	...	Edmund Blackadder, butler to the Prince (6 episodes, 1987)
Tony Robinson	...	Baldrick, a dogsbody (6 episodes, 1987)
Hugh Laurie	...	The Prince Regent, their master (6 episodes, 1987)
Helen Atkinson-Wood	...	Mrs. Miggins, a coffee shoppekeeper (6 episodes, 1987)

Storyline

During the Regency period, the insane King George III's stark raving mad son, George, is the Prince Regent of Wales. Vulgar and staggeringly slow-and-dim-witted, George exhausts the country's money and would surely be dead by know were it not for his dry, angry, bitter, arrogant and cynical butler, Edmund Blackadder, Esq. Blackadder is an ex-aristocrat who has lost his family fortune and been reduced to servant-hood, and full of loathing knowing he should have a better position then serving a lunatic. Sod-Off Baldrick is his dirty, smelly peasant servant, and Mrs. Miggins is an annoying cheerful coffee-shoppe owner who is too stupid to understand most of Mr. Blackadder's insults.

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Plot Keywords:

servant | 19th century | england | king | cult tv | 

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Taglines:

Sausage!

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Genres:

Comedy | History

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1987 (UK)

Also Known As:

Blackadder III

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (6 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This series of Blackadder marked a change in the traditional line-up of characters. The two previous series, The Black Adder and Black-Adder II included different historical incarnations of Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), Baldrick (Tony Robinson) and Lord Percy (Tim McInnerny). This time round the character of Lord Percy wasn't in at all, his role as the foppish fool of the group being replaced by the character of George, Prince Of Wales/The Prince Regent. McInnerny was actually offered the part of George but turned it down as he feared that he would become typecast. He did appear in one episode, playing Lord Topper, The Comte d'Frufru in Nob And Nobility. Hugh Laurie eventually got the part of George, having played two characters in the previous series Blackadder II (Simon Partridge in "Beer" and Prince Ludwig in "Chains").

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Quotes

Baldrick: Morning, Mr. B.
Blackadder: Leave me alone, Baldrick. If I wanted to talk to a vegetable, I would have bought one at the market.

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Crazy Credits

The episode titles are spoofs of Jane Austen's novel 'Sense and Sensibility'. The covers of the books, painted by Warwickshire artist Stan Kaminski, are meant to spoof the covers of popular bodice-ripper novels, with scantily clad women being grabbed by the hero of the story.

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Connections

Referenced in Blackadder's Most Cunning Moments (2008)

User Reviews

Absolutely Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!

Someone said that they thought the British humour of "Blackadder" might not be appreciated in the United States......WRONG!!!!! One would have to have the brain cell(s) of the Prince Regent not to enjoy this series. It is brilliant......sarcastic, cutting, witty, beautifully written, beautifully acted and generally outstanding. Rowan Atkinson is not the Mr. Bean we are used to......as Edmund Blackadder, he hits his comedy stride as the conniving butler to the Prince Regent. We miss the Percy character in the third series but Hugh Laurie, as Prince George more than makes up for his absence. Baldrick is still with us and still has "cunning plans" but his IQ has taken a definite drop in score.

If you want to laugh until you weep, then catch BA3 on BBCAmerica or better yet, go out and buy the tapes and the book "Blackadder, the Whole Damn Dynasty". It will keep you amused for years to come as this type of humour does not date. Rowan Atkinson, we salute you!!!!