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 #54 | 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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

british comedy | world war one | 20th century | british soldier | sequel | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | War

---

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 characters of Blackadder Goes Forth have in fact the same dynamics as the main characters from Black-Adder II (1986). Blackadder has to deal with a mad, unpredictable superior who could either kill him or give him what he wants (Queen Elisabeth I vs. General Melchett), while constantly being thwarted by a slimy assistant to the superior who loathes Blackadder (Lord Melchett vs. captain Darling). Meanwhile, Blackadder gets "help" from his stupid sidekick Baldrick and an upper-class twit (Lord Percy vs. lieutenant George).

---

Goofs

Throughout the series, Blackadder and George, both front-line officers in the trenches, are show with their rank insignia displayed on their cuffs, whereas Melchett and Darling, staff officers, are shown with their rank insignia on their shoulders. In reality, this would have been reversed: Cuff insignia was the standard, but front-line officers were allowed to wear theirs on their shoulders to make them less conspicuous to snipers. Shoulder insignia eventually became an army-wide personal option in 1917, and made permanent in 1920 when the cuff insignia was abolished completely.

---

Quotes

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

---

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".

---

Connections

Followed by Blackadder Back & Forth (1999)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Definitely the best Blackadder

Th fourth Blackadder series is British Humour at its best. I never liked the first Blackadder, the second one was fairly good, the third one was great (and Hugh Laurie´s Prince of Wales one of the funniest characters ever on TV), but the fourth series tops it all. Apart from the great acting and the hilarious punchlines, it offered the deepest (and often tragic) characters and the most interesting interactions between them. The ´Speckled Jim´ episode is my favorite, followed by the one with George in the hospital (the ´I spy with my little eye´ opening scene is amazing).