Born to Be King (22 Jun. 1983)

When Edmund's Scottish lands are given to the King's Supreme Commander, Douglas McAngus, he plots revenge.

Director:

Martin Shardlow

Writers:

Richard Curtis (by), Rowan Atkinson (by),

Stars:

Rowan Atkinson, Brian Blessed, Alex Norton

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Rowan Atkinson	...	The Laird of Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles
Brian Blessed	...	Richard XII of Scotland
Alex Norton	...	McAngus, Duke of Argyll
Tim McInnerny	...	Percy, Duke of Northumberland
Elspet Gray	...	Gertrude, Queen of Flanders
Robert East	...	Harry, Prince of Wales
Tony Robinson	...	Baldrick, Bachelor of the Parish of Chigwell
Angus Deayton	...	Jumping Jew of Jerusalem
Joolia Cappleman	...	Celia, Countess of Cheltenham
Martin Clarke	...	Sir Dominick Prique of Stratford
Martin Soan	...	2nd Wooferoonie
Malcolm Hardee	...	3rd Wooferoonie
David Nunn	...	Messenger

Storyline

When Edmund's Scottish lands are given to the King's Supreme Commander, Douglas McAngus, he plots revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

standing on table | reference to william shakespeare | chain mail | armor | film starts with text | 

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Genres:

Comedy | History

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Details

Country:

UK Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 1983 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Seven Network

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Black Adder: Born to Be King is a remake of the original unaired pilot, with the following differences: - The King is not at the crusades, but at home. - Edmond's plot to kill McAngus involves a hanging with a fake rope, not a staged stabbing with a real dagger. The plan backfires in much the same way. - The King, Prince Henry and Baldrick are played by different actors, respectively John Savident, Robert Bathurst and Philip Fox. - Edmund's personality is much more like his decadents in the other series, much more sarcastic and intelligent.

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Goofs

In the hunting scene McAngus tries but fails to sheath his dagger after using it to skin an animal but instead holds it in place until his back is turned. With The Black Adder hanging upside-down behind him a reshoot was presumably not thought desirable.

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Quotes

Prince Edmund: You come in here! Fresh from slaughtering a couple of choccos when their backs were turned! And you think you can upset that harmony of a whole kingdom? I challenge you to a duel!
McAngus: TO THE DEATH!
Prince Edmund: [meekly] Uhm... yes, all right.

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Connections

Remake of The Black Adder: Original Pilot (1982)

User Reviews

Another excellent episode.

Episode 2, Born To Be King, was originally shown as episode 4, and is a remake of the un-aired pilot, which featured a slightly different cast; it sees Prince Edmund (Rowan Atkinson) plotting revenge against a wild Scottish warrior, McAngus (Alex Norton), who has been granted ownership of Edmund's lands by Prince Harry (Robert East) as reward for his bravery in battle against the Turks. However, slimy Edmund alters his plan to kill Douglas when he discovers that the man is in possession of letters written by his mother, the Queen, which cast doubt over Harry's lineage.

Baldrick (Tony Robinson) dressed as a bearded woman; a troupe of jumping Jews (including a young Angus Deayton); an entertainer by the name of Jerry Merriweather, whose chickens lay eggs; Edmund offering a collection of wigs, codpieces and a grundlestretcher (whatever that may be) in exchange for his life: just some of the amazingly silly and utterly hilarious moments cooked up by writers Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson for this sidesplitting episode of The Black Adder. No opportunity to mock medieval history is missed, with the terminology used by the Queen in her racy love letters being the highlight of the show, (especially with Edmund relishing every last salacious word).