Blackadder Goes Forth 

Stuck in the middle of World War I, Captain Edmund Blackadder does his best to escape the banality of the war.

Stars:

Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry

Top Rated TV #57 | 3 wins.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Rowan Atkinson	...	Captain Edmund Blackadder 6 episodes, 1989
Tony Robinson	...	Private S Baldrick 6 episodes, 1989
Stephen Fry	...	General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett 6 episodes, 1989
Hugh Laurie	...	Lieutenant The Honourable George Colthurst St. Barleigh 6 episodes, 1989
Tim McInnerny	...	Captain Kevin Darling 6 episodes, 1989

Storyline

It is 1917, and lunatic General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett is leading the British troops at the front lines against the Germans, while everyone waits for Field Marshall Haig's big push. There are various emotions throughout the camp about it. For Captain Kevin Darling, Melchett's bull-dog-like right-hand man, it makes no difference, as it appears he will be safe and sound with the general when the big push occurs. For Lieutenant George Colhurst Saint Barleigh, he is overly excited at thrashing the Germans. For Private S. (probably for Sod-Off) Baldrick, it's a terrifying experience he is not looking forward to. For Captain Edmund Blackadder, however, it's something he's too cowardly too face. Self-centered, arrogant, and sarcastic, Blackadder is always constantly searching for a way out of this silly war, and will try various, often crazy, variations on escape, all of which will take a turn he never expected. Sharing a dugout with George and Baldrick, his main obstacle for ...

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Plot Keywords:

world war one | 20th century | british comedy | 1910s | british soldier | 

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Genres:

Comedy | War

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1989 (UK)

Also Known As:

Blackadder

Filming Locations:

Colchester Garrison, Colchester, Essex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

175 min 30 min (6 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The writers researched World War I and thought it made a very apt fitting for a comedy: "All the buildup to the First World War was very funny, all the people coming from communities where they'd never bumped into posh people, and all being so gung-ho and optimistic... the first hundred pages of any book about the World War are hilarious, then of course everybody dies." Rowan Atkinson further explained that the trenches of WWI were perfect: "We wanted a place and time that could reproduce to an extent the claustrophobia and sordidness of medieval England, the best way to do that was to set it in the middle of a war."

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Goofs

Captain Darling is supposed to have the same rank as Blackadder, but wears a uniform with red lapels and a red band on his cap, which would make him at least a major.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Private Baldrick: I have a cunning plan.

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Crazy Credits

The production crew credits at the end are formatted to look like military personnel rolls. Each crew member is listed with a cryptic abbreviation of their job title (as if it were a military rank), a serial number, last name and first initial. For example, production designer Chris Hull is listed as "Dgr. 404371 Hull, C" and makeup designer Caroline Noble is credited as "M/U Dgr. 862641 Noble, C".

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Connections

Referenced in Endeavour: Colours (2018)

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Soundtracks

British Grenadier
(uncredited)
Traditional
(incorporated in the theme)

User Reviews

A True History Lesson

This forth and final series is perhaps the best of all the Black Adder episodes; it is also more of a tragi-comedy than just plain old slapstick perhaps because at the time (1989) the events of WW1 were very much in the minds of a lot of people, whether it be surviving soldiers or relatives.

As such there was some controversy when it was first broadcast by the BBC for its apparent lack of respect to those who fought and lost their lives for the sake of freedom & democracy.

However, in retrospect, this isn't strictly true because even with Episode One there is a tangible shift in tone from previous Black Adder series. Yes some of the slapstick tomfoolery is still there, mainly at the expense of poor gormless Private Baldrick. But in addition a lot of the supposedly funny lines do have quite serious undertones, and bely the real truth of the sheer lunacy & farce that went on during the real war.

For those that know their 20th Century history, WW1 was seen as a complete disaster for all and sundry, especially for the British soldiers in the trenches, primarily because they were being commanded & told how to fight a war by the most repulsive upper-class morons that call themselves Generals that ever wore a uniform.

This was plainly represented by the bumbling fool, General Melchett (a wonderfully bemusing performance from Stephen Fry). Melchett simply has no idea of what life really is like for the troops on the front-line while he prattles on 35 miles behind the front-line in some safe palatial mansion where the most dangerous hazard to his life is whether he can unscrew a cork out of a champagne bottle without it hitting him in the face.

Melchett is a complete buffoon but only Captain Blackadder realises this; everyone else thinks the General knows what he is doing purely because of his rank & social standing. So it is no wonder that Blackadder wants to mutiny because it's a hard choice deciding who the real enemy is - the Germans or his own Generals.

For example:-

General Melchett: Are you looking forward to the big push?

Private Baldrick: No sir, I'm absolutely terrified.

General Melchett: The healthy humour of the honest, Tommy. Don't worry my boy, if you should falter, remember that Captain Darling and I are behind you.

Edmund Blackadder: About thirty-five miles behind you.

This dark humour is wonderfully interwoven with the usual witty lines thanks largely to the writers, Richard Curtis and Ben Elton. It is typically anti-war but with good reason, as Blackadder declares in one episode:-

"with 50,000 men being killed every week who is going to miss one dead pigeon!"

The madness of this war also draws our attention to those very same front-line troops such as Blackadder, Baldrick & Lieutenant George. Their living conditions are disgusting & the fear of being shot or bombed out of their trench a very real possibility.

The humour is just an adjunct to the real horrors that are going on in their lives, and this is beautifully concluded in the very sad finale. No longer did the critics argue this series lacked any respect because come the final few minutes of Episode Six we were treated to the sad demise of all those soldiers fading into time and replaced by the infamous poppy fields that strewn Northern France.

Blackadder Goes Forth is far more intelligent than a lot of sitcoms; the writing and acting is exceptionally good, and also underpins the true human sacrifice the millions of soldiers gave to their King & country while the smug & arrogant Generals went home to more medals, honours and riches than ever before.

School children of today find reading about history boring & not very relevant. But thanks to this series I am sure young & old alike will find this far more interesting, absorbing, damming & shocking than any written word on the subject could ever say.

War Is Hell!

****/*****