SPOILERS Every few years, "Comic Relief" takes place in the United Kingdom to raise money for people in Africa. Raising millions each event, the night long fund-raiser is responsible for some of the funniest moments on British television for the last twenty years. It gathers together the greatest singers, actors, comedians and even newsreaders from across the country to spend one night entertaining the country in the hope they will pledge money to a worthy cause.
In 1988, this night gave us a chance to see a short fifteen minute sketch by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis. Taking the characters of Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) and Baldrick (Tony Robinson) and placing them at the end of the English Civil War, the short sketch was exactly what you'd expect from it's creators. It was funny, entertaining, and most importantly it lasted just long enough to get all the jokes from the specific time period into it.
King Charles I (Stephen Fry) and his Cavaliers have lost the Civil War. Locked in the Tower of London by Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (Warren Clarke), the King's fate lies in the hands of his two remaining supporters, the noble Sir Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) and a smell being who's name is not important (Tony Robinson).
Shown a year after "Blackadder the Third", this short sketch has all the humour expected from Elton and Curtis. With one liners of humour and wit, the story is led by two funny performances by Atkinson and Robinson. Both have played their characters in different settings for a few years now and as a result their performances have evolved too.
The best thing about this short clip however is that it remains at only fifteen minutes long. Whilst we all always like to see new "Blackadder" episodes, parts of this story just would not last any longer.
Stephen Fry as the King for example is brilliant in his spoof of the modern day Prince Charles, but only because he has limited screen time. The character does grate slightly and whilst this is no doubt intentional, the idea of anything featuring him lasting longer than this would probably agitate a lot of people.
Warren Clarke is another example of this being the right amount of screen time. As Detective Inspector Andy Dalziel in television series "Dalziel and Pascoe" (1996 - present) Clarke is superb and never ceases to entertain. As Oliver Cromwell though, you know he is doing it for a laugh, and he is actually quite good for the time he's on screen, but the idea of him playing the role for longer than fifteen minutes is less than bearable.
It is always a delight to watch some new "Blackadder" and to do a special for Comic Relief was a great idea. The key about "The Cavalier Years" though is that the sketch remains quite short. With irritating characters and lack of real potential, the sketch is worth watching for it's actual length of time, and no longer.
In 1988, this night gave us a chance to see a short fifteen minute sketch by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis. Taking the characters of Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) and Baldrick (Tony Robinson) and placing them at the end of the English Civil War, the short sketch was exactly what you'd expect from it's creators. It was funny, entertaining, and most importantly it lasted just long enough to get all the jokes from the specific time period into it.
King Charles I (Stephen Fry) and his Cavaliers have lost the Civil War. Locked in the Tower of London by Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (Warren Clarke), the King's fate lies in the hands of his two remaining supporters, the noble Sir Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) and a smell being who's name is not important (Tony Robinson).
Shown a year after "Blackadder the Third", this short sketch has all the humour expected from Elton and Curtis. With one liners of humour and wit, the story is led by two funny performances by Atkinson and Robinson. Both have played their characters in different settings for a few years now and as a result their performances have evolved too.
The best thing about this short clip however is that it remains at only fifteen minutes long. Whilst we all always like to see new "Blackadder" episodes, parts of this story just would not last any longer.
Stephen Fry as the King for example is brilliant in his spoof of the modern day Prince Charles, but only because he has limited screen time. The character does grate slightly and whilst this is no doubt intentional, the idea of anything featuring him lasting longer than this would probably agitate a lot of people.
Warren Clarke is another example of this being the right amount of screen time. As Detective Inspector Andy Dalziel in television series "Dalziel and Pascoe" (1996 - present) Clarke is superb and never ceases to entertain. As Oliver Cromwell though, you know he is doing it for a laugh, and he is actually quite good for the time he's on screen, but the idea of him playing the role for longer than fifteen minutes is less than bearable.
It is always a delight to watch some new "Blackadder" and to do a special for Comic Relief was a great idea. The key about "The Cavalier Years" though is that the sketch remains quite short. With irritating characters and lack of real potential, the sketch is worth watching for it's actual length of time, and no longer.