Blackadder the Third 

In the 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

Top Rated TV #140 | 3 wins & 6 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 now 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:

period | british humour | georgian era | regency era | king george iv | 

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Taglines:

Macbeth!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

This series of Blackadder marked a change in the traditional line-up of characters. The two previous series, Blackadder (1982) and Blackadder II (1986) 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 Blackadder the Third: Nob and Nobility (1987), playing Lord Topper the Fop. Hugh Laurie eventually got the part of George, having played two characters in the previous series (Simon Partridge in Blackadder II: Beer (1986) and Prince Ludwig in Blackadder II: Chains (1986).

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Goofs

Although purportedly set during the British Regency (1811-1820), there are appearances by, and contemporary references to, historical figures who were dead before that time, such as Samuel Johnson and Admiral Nelson. Characters use expressions not developed until later, such as "prince and the pauper" or "roller coaster."

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Quotes

Baldrick: [Blackadder slams the door] Something wrong, Mr. B?
Blackadder: Oh, something's *always* wrong, Balders... the fact that I'm not a millionaire aristocrat, with the sexual capacity of a rutting rhino, is a constant niggle.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, Blackadder roams amongst bookcases. He pulls out books from time to time, upon the spines of which the opening credits are written. Finally, he pulls out a book (upon which the series title is inscribed)... then with a sly wink, he reveals the book is hollow and contains a dirty romance novel.

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Connections

Follows Blackadder (1982)

User Reviews

Macbeth!

I love this series. No, scratch that, I ADORE this series! Rowan Atkinson is fantastic as Blackadder (Macbeth!), Tony Robinson is perfect as Baldrick (I'd buy a little turnip of my own), and Hugh Laurie is wonderful as the Prince Regent (Why is it, that however many socks I buy, I never seem to have enough)! It was a shame that Tim McInnery and Stephen Fry could only be in it for one episode - but hey, they made the most of that one episode! Dr. Johnson is a brilliant character (EVERY word), like Pitt the Younger (What kind of jelly?) and those actors! Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1987 (UK)

Also Known As:

Blackadder III

Filming Locations:

BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min 30 min (6 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1