Black Adder 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 #107 | 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 know 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:

Sausage!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

It was decided not to have Edmund wear make-up nor appear dirty as the writers believed he would be smart enough to bathe daily, unlike the people of Georgian times, who did not.

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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

Prince George: What can I do to a woman that I can't do to you?
Blackadder: I cannot conceive, sir.

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Crazy Credits

Among the books that Blackadder peruses during the opening credits are:

• (Morte D'Edmund?)
• The Blackadder's Progress
• Rise and Fall
• Bath on 5p a Day
• Encyclopaedia Blackaddica Vol XIX FUN to HUG
• Chelsea Arts Club (...)
• Blackadder Unbound
• Landscape Gardening by Capability Brownadder
• From Black Death to Blackadder
• Blackadder's Bedside Cockfighting Companion
• The Blackadder of Calcutta
• (...)
• Blackadder Book of Martyrs
• The Blackobite Rebellion
• Old Blackamore's Almanac Second Edition
• Sir Francis Blackadder (Letters?)

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Connections

Referenced in Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga (2008)

User Reviews

Intelligent sarcastic humour – the best of British!

In England 1790-1815 we follow the continued annals of the Blackadder family. Edmund Blackadder is now butler to Prince George – a man who is as `thick as a whale omelette'. Over 6 episodes his lot goes from the dizzying heights of ruin to disaster to opportunity with little or no help from his dogsbody the `mouse brained' Baldrick.

The third in the Blackadder series is not the best (although it's a very close). The scripts are very sharp and typically British. Every word is hilarious and Blackadder is given plenty of juicy lines to throw at his below-average-intelligence master. The plots are ludicrous but inventive – Baldrick accidentally elevated to the house of lords, Blackadder saving the Scarlet Pimpernel, the destruction of the world's first dictionary etc, but they're all carried off with style and great humour.

Rowan Atkinson is hilarious – Blackadder is one of his finest hours and he fits the character perfectly. Tony Robinson is cursed forever to be remembered for Baldrick (no matter how many Time Teams he does) and he is brilliant in a thankless role. Hugh Laurie is superb as the stupid Prince and brings inbred stupidity to life! But each episode is also underpinned by a wealth of talent including Helen Atkinson Wood, Robbie Coltrane, Kenneth Moore, Chris Barrie, Ben Elton, Stephen Fry etc. The casting is great.

Overall Blackadder is one of the finest British comedy series for decades – it deserves to be up there with Monty Python and the like. Anyone who loves to laugh at intelligent sarcastic humour will love this. One of the best comedy series I've ever seen.