Blackadder Back & Forth (1999)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Paul Weiland

Writers:

Richard Curtis (television series "The Black Adder", "Blackadder II", "Blackadder the Third" and "Blackadder Goes Forth") &
Rowan Atkinson (television series "The Black Adder") ...
(more)

Genre:

Short | Comedy | History | Sci-Fi

Plot:

At a New Millennium Eve party Blackadder and Baldrick test their new time machine and ping pong through history encountering famous characters and changing events rather alarmingly....

Plot Keywords:

Time Machine | Friend | Millennium | Con | Cunning Plan

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Rowan Atkinson	...	Lord Edmund Blackadder / King Edmund III / Blackaddercus
Tony Robinson	...	Sod-Off Baldrick / Baldrickus
Miranda Richardson	...	Lady Elizabeth / Queen Elizabeth
Tim McInnerny	...	Archdeacon Darling / Duc de Darling / Duke of Darling
Hugh Laurie	...	Viscount George Bufton-Tufton / Georgius
Stephen Fry	...	Bishop Flavius Melchett / Melchett / General Melchecus / Wellington
Rik Mayall	...	Robin Hood
Colin Firth	...	William Shakespeare
Kate Moss	...	Maid Marian / Queen Marian
Patsy Byrne	...	Nursie
Simon Russell Beale	...	Napoleon
Jennie Bond	...	Royal Reporter
Crispin Harris	...	Friar Tuck
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Amanda Jane Manning	...	Lady in waiting
Tyronnosaurus Rex	...	Dinosaur
Sacha Bennett	...	Will Scarlett (uncredited)

Directed by
Paul Weiland

Writing credits
Richard Curtis		television series "The Black Adder", "Blackadder II", "Blackadder the Third" and "Blackadder Goes Forth" &
Rowan Atkinson		television series "The Black Adder" &
Ben Elton		television series "Blackadder II", "Blackadder the Third" and "Blackadder Goes Forth"
Richard Curtis		(writer) &
Ben Elton		(writer)

Produced by
Peter Bennett-Jones	....	executive producer
Sophie Clarke-Jervoise	....	producer
Marigo Kehoe	....	line producer
Geoffrey Perkins	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Howard Goodall

Cinematography by
Tony Pierce-Roberts

Film Editing by
Guy Bensley

Production Design by
Andrew Howe-Davies

Art Direction by
Nic Pallace

Costume Design by
Hazel Pethig

Makeup Department
Jan Sewell	....	makeup designer

Art Department
Kevin Day	....	stand-by prop
Peter Hallam	....	property master

Sound Department
Philip Meehan	....	adr editor

Special Effects by
Colin Shulver	....	art finisher
Colin Shulver	....	creature sculptor

Visual Effects by
Sean Danischevsky	....	digital compositor: Magic Camera Company
Max Dennison	....	digital matte artist
Sarah Lockwood	....	digital compositor
Daniel Pettipher	....	digital supervisor
Andy Stevens	....	visual effects camera assistant: Millfilm

Stunts
Marc Cass	....	stunts (as Mark Cass)
Joss Gower	....	stunt double: Rowan Atkinson
Steve Griffin	....	stunts
Richard Hammatt	....	stunt coordinator
Paul Heasman	....	stunt coordinator
Tony Lucken	....	stunts
Lee Sheward	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Sam Goldie	....	camera trainee
Rawdon Hayne	....	assistant camera
Andrew Shields	....	video playback operator
Philip Sindall	....	camera operator

Other crew
Adam Browne	....	location manager
Sue Calverley	....	production coordinator
Peppy Dickinson	....	stand-in
Simon Giles	....	title designer: closing title sequence
Paul Jackson	....	health and safety
Charles Jiminez	....	stand-in
Paul Kirkby	....	stand-in
Nathaniel McCullagh	....	floor runner
Paul Mortimer	....	unit paramedic

Production Companies

• New Millennium Experience Company
• Tiger Aspect Productions

Distributors

• BBC Enterprises
• British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)
• Sky TV
• VCI Distribution

Other Companies

• Shepperton Studios  movie studio
• Mobile Mouthful  catering
• One8Six  video playback equipment
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services

Also Known As:

Time for Blackadder (UK) (working title)
Untitled Blackadder Millennium Project (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

33 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS 70 mm

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

New Millennium Experience Company

Trivia:

Was shown at SkyScape attraction at London's Millenium Dome eight times a day for the whole of 2000.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Just after Blackadder waves to his dinner guests and enters the time machine for the first time, you can see a blonde crew member wearing a red shirt pushing up the end of the drawbridge-like door to close it as Baldrick is climbing up through the trap door inside.

Quotes:

[Blackadder enters the time machine, and congratulates Baldrick on his work]
Baldrick: I followed Mr Da Vinci's instructions to the letter.
Blackadder: Even though you can't actually read.
Baldrick: No, but I have done a lot of Airfix models in my time.

Movie Connections:

References "Blackadder Goes Forth" (1989)

Not as bad as reputation has it...

I understand why people think this is a dud compared to the rest of the Blackadder legacy. It isn't particularly remarkable. It isn;t as good as any of the series episodes of Blackadder (though it is better than the Christmas Carol special).

However, by the average standard for comedy, this is still enjoyable. It's cute. Admittedly, Blackadder was never good because of being "cute," but it works here. I suppose I liked it for the most part for the nostalgia value - 10 years after the last official episode, we see my favorite British comedians reunited (worth the price alone): Rowan Atkinson, Rik Mayall, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie... and all the rest. I was lucky enough to be in London during this show's run at the Millennium Dome, and now am proud to own it as part of the new DVD Blackadder set.

There are some great gags, and (for fans of British comedy) some great appearances. It's no "Bells" or "Dish or Dishonesty," but it makes me smile. And that's the important thing.