Series cast summary: | |||
Rowan Atkinson | ... | Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh / ... 7 episodes, 1982-1983 | |
Elspet Gray | ... | The Queen / ... 7 episodes, 1982-1983 | |
Tim McInnerny | ... | Percy / ... 7 episodes, 1982-1983 | |
Patrick Allen | ... | Narrator / ... 1 episode, 1982-1983 | |
Brian Blessed | ... | King Richard IV / ... 6 episodes, 1983 | |
Tony Robinson | ... | Baldrick / ... 6 episodes, 1983 | |
Robert East | ... | Harry, Prince of Wales 5 episodes, 1983 | |
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Bert Parnaby | ... | Cain, A Blind Beggar / ... 3 episodes, 1983 |
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Roy Evans | ... | Abel, A Blind Beggar / ... 3 episodes, 1983 |
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David Nunn | ... | Messenger / ... 3 episodes, 1983 |
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Perry Benson | ... | Daft Ned, A Peasant / ... 2 episodes, 1983 |
Alex Norton | ... | McAngus / ... 2 episodes, 1982-1983 | |
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Forbes Collins | ... | Dopey Jack, A Peasant / ... 2 episodes, 1983 |
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Barbara Miller | ... | Jane Firkettle / ... 2 episodes, 1983 |
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Howard Lew Lewis | ... | Mr. Applebottom / ... 2 episodes, 1983 |
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Natasha King | ... | Princess Leia of Hungary 2 episodes, 1983 |
Set in England at the end of the War of the Roses, we soon find out that the history we know is a Tudor fiction. In fact, Henry VII did not actually win the battle of Bosworth Field; he lost and though Richard III died in the battle, his nephew King Richard IV (who certainly was not smothered while still a boy in the Tower of London) reigned on for some years. The story focuses on Richard IV's younger son Prince Edmund, a sniveling coward who calls himself the 'Black Adder'. Assisted by his grungy servant and the moronic Lord Percy, Edmund plots his rise to greatness. Written by Reid Gagle
The first series of Black Adder reminds me a lot of Monty Python films - full of hilarious moments but somehow not quite all there as a whole. I'm not a huge Bean fan and there's too much Bean here for my liking.
On the other hand, the second, third and fourth Blackadder series represent some of the best British comedy around (different script writer) and so the first series is worth watching just to introduce the characters. Watch this, but don't be put off the others if you don't like it!