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 #58 | 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

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Blackadder" theme and the series music were performed by the band of the Third Batallion, the Royal Anglian Regiment. At the time they were a full time infantry battalion but now are a part time volunteer T.A. battalion.

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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

Lieutenant George: But this is brave, splendid and noble...
[Blackadder doesn't react - there's a long pause]
Lieutenant George: ...Sir
Captain Blackadder: Yes, Lieutenant.
Lieutenant George: I'm scared, sir
Private Baldrick: I'm scared too, sir
Lieutenant George: I'm the last of the tiddly-winking leapfroggers from the golden summer of 1914. I don't want to die... I'm really not over keen on dying at all, sir.
Captain Blackadder: How are you feeling, Darling?
Captain Darling: Ahm- not all that good, Blackadder. Rather hoped I'd get through the whole show, go back to work at Pratt and Sons, keep wicket for the Croydon Gentlemen, marry Doris. ...
[...]

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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

Featured in You Cannot Be Serious: War (1999)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

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My favorite of the Blackadder series (I love 'em all!). A very funny series about a rather grim subject. Rowan Atkinson, better known in the States for his Mr. Bean character, shows here (as in his other Blackadder incarnations) that he's as good at verbal comedy as he is at physical comedy. This series is funny all the way up to its somewhat surprising ending. Also, very illuminating to me as an American regarding the British slant on the war to end all wars...