Review of Blackadder: Complete 4 Disc Box Set

Introduction

With one swift purchase, I have managed to reduce 10 inches of shelf space to just one. For just fifty notes, 4 shiny discs have swiftly replaced eight tired and worn tapes of pure Blackadder merriment. I actually paid more for the original VHS collection. Am I pleased with my purchase? You better believe it.

There may be a few people who haven`t heard of Blackadder, fans of Benny Hill, Traffic Wardens, and Mongolians perhaps, Blackadder is the funniest television series that has ever been produced by the BBC. Through 4 series of 6 episodes each, the history of England is explored as seen through the eyes of an incarnation of Edmund Blackadder and his dogsbody Baldrick. All four series are scripted by Richard Curtis, with the aid of Rowan Atkinson in the first one and Ben Elton in the final three.

"The Blackadder" is the first series. Set in the middle ages, it follows the history of England in the interregnum between the death of Richard III and the ascension of Henry Tudor. In these few years, lost to history, Richard`s son, Richard IV, played by the voluble Brian Blessed ascended to the throne. His two heirs were the affable Prince Harry and the snivelling worm Edmund, the Duke of Edinburgh, played respectively by Robert East and the eponymous antihero by Rowan Atkinson.

After an unfortunate mishap with a sword during the Battle of Bosworth field, Edmund finds himself second in line to the throne. Seeing an imminent opportunity for advancement, he schemes to expedite the removal of his two impediments. Aiding him in his machinations are the wily Baldrick (Tony Robinson) and the imbecile Percy (Tim McInnery). Six episodes are included here, The Foretelling, where young Edmund embarks on his destiny, Born to Be King, where a Scottish visitor arrives with evidence regarding the legitimacy of the heir to the throne, The Archbishop, where the Blackadder (a venomous reptile, whose prey is women) gets appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, The Queen of Spain`s Beard, where the young Prince must do the regal thing and marry the Spanish Infanta, Witchsmeller Pursuivant, where Edmund`s horse presents evidence against him in a case of foul witchcraft, and finally The Black Seal, where Edmund gets tired of waiting for destiny and decides to take matters into his own hands, while he still has them.

Next up is my favourite, Blackadder II. The dashing Lord Blackadder makes his appearance in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, played with a delightful insanity by Miranda Richardson, where he vies for the good favour of his sovereign and serves at her capricious whim. His chief rival is the ambitious Lord Melchett, played by Stephen Fry, whose ability to brown-nose is matched only by his machinations against his rivals. Hindering Blackadder in his ascent are his servant, Baldrick and his friend Lord Percy, who if possible is more of a moron than his ancestor.

The six episodes presented here are, Bells, where Lord Blackadder falls in love with his manservant, no I mean, his servant who happens to be a man, and not Baldrick either, Head where Edmund gets a day job as Lord Chief High Executioner and tries to keep his head in a crisis while all others are losing theirs, on a revised rota, Potato, where faced with the rising star of Walter Raleigh, Edmund must go to the ends of the earth to impress his queen and discovers a wine with an interesting bouquet. Money, where Edmund has none, and the baby eating Bishop of Bath and Wells want some. Percy tries to help by discovering pure Green. Beer, where Edmund schedules his drinking contest with a dinner for his puritanical aunt Whiteadder and gets pickled. Baldrick has a turnip shaped like a thingy, which is a coincidence as. Finally, Chains where Blackadder carelessly gets kidnapped just when queenie decides to stop paying ransoms; a great education in Spanish insults is followed by reminiscence about a sheep for Lord Melchett.

A few decades down the line and the Blackadder family fortunes have tumbled somewhat. He is butler to the Prince Regent, Hugh Laurie who shares the family brain cell with his father George III, who thinks he`s a penguin. Blackadder`s ambition is greater than before and with the aid of his faithful servant Baldrick strives endlessly for the top. Catering for an imbecile whilst aided by a moron takes its toll on the best of schemers and Edmund`s only respite is the occasional visit to Mrs Miggin`s Pie Shoppe.

Six more mirthful episodes begin with Dish and Dishonesty, a look into the delicate political manoeuvrings in a bye-election in the constituency of Dunny on the Wolde, where the electorate consists of a cow, a hen and a dachshund called Colin. All this is in the aid of Prince George`s sock drawer. Oh, and Lord Baldrick gets intimate with a £100000 turnip. Ink and Incapability introduces us to Dr Samuel Johnson, who seeks the Prince Regent`s patronage for his dictionary. Edmund at first tries to expand the good Doctor`s vocabulary but when Baldrick finds a new source of fuel for the fire, things get more serious… Nob and Nobility sees the Scarlet Pimpernel tangling with the Blackadder, meanwhile Prince George tries to put his trousers on. Sense and Senility sees the Prince Regent desperate to improve public opinion regarding him, after some anarchists try to blow him up. Unfortunately his oratory leaves much to be desired, even when some thespians are drafted in to aid him. Blackadder mentions the Scottish play and Baldrick gets mistaken for a vicious anarchist. Amy and Amiability, sees the Prince in search of a wealthy bride, which needs the aid of Cyrano de Blackadder, all seems to go well until Edmund is forced into a career as a Highwayman, Baldrick pitches in as his trusty steed. Duel and Duality concludes the series, with the Prince caught in flagrante with the nieces of the Duke of Wellington. The Duke then challenges him to a duel. Desperate to live, the Prince offers everything to Blackadder to take his place. Edmund seizes his big chance and gets his mad cousin MacAdder to fight the duel. MacAdder however falls for the charms of Mrs Miggins and elopes, leaving Edmund in the lurch, however Baldrick has a cunning plan.

Blackadder goes Forth in the year 1917, the place is the Western front and Captain Edmund Blackadder, having joined the army to plunder untold riches and conquer pygmies armed with fruit finds himself in the hell that is the Great War. Who could have guessed? Stuck in a trench trying to avoid the big push, his constant companions are Private S. Baldrick and Lt George (Hugh Laurie). Going over the top armed with a rifle equipped with a bayonet facing the Bosche who are armed with the latest in machine guns is a fate to be avoided. Unfortunately, General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett (Stephen Fry) and his aide de camp Captain Kevin Darling (Tim McInnery) think this is good military sense and insist on ordering Blackadder to his doom.

Six more episodes are provided for your viewing pleasure. Captain Cook, sees the morale of the British Army slipping, so General Melchett commissions an artist to go to Paris and paint a stirring picture to boost morale. Blackadder volunteers, but finds it`s a cunning mission into no mans land instead. However fortune favours the Captain when a vacancy opens for cooks at the Generals mansion and Baldrick gets to demonstrate his culinary skills. Corporal Punishment, sees Blackadder avoiding the push by avoiding orders, in this case by shooting a carrier pigeon. Unfortunately the pigeon is General Melchett`s favourite, and a crime punishable by death has been committed. Only Lt. George and Pte Baldrick can save him now. Oh dear… Major Star, sees Edmund take the chance to leave the front by holding a concert party. Unfortunately, the General falls in love with the star, Georgina. Baldrick does a mean Charlie Chaplin though. Private Plane sees our heroes join the twenty minuters, or the Air Corps are they are more commonly known. A cushy assignment turns cushier when Edmund is captured by the Hun and forced to teach Home Economics in a convent. Unfortunately there`s always someone to mount a rescue. Baldrick feels the wind in his hair… General Hospital, has a spy. Yes it`s true; someone has leaked the British attack plan to the Germans. They know all about the suicidal over the top tactics that the British use. Edmund, chief spy hunter takes a lengthy assignment in the hospital to put his feet up. Finally, Goodbyeee, where our heroes finally lose the battle to avoid the war, Baldrick recites some war poetry, Captain Blackadder puts his pants on his head and says `wibble`. At the last moment Baldrick has another cunning plan…

Video

The DVD? I knew there was something else. Well the Visual transfer is an immaculate, pixel perfect transfer from the original source material. It`s a shame about the videotape then. The BBC originally recorded these series on tape, and the quality isn`t excellent. I suppose there is nothing you can do about that. Oh well. As you see at the end of the first series, it was filmed in Glorious Television.

Audio

You get a stereo soundtrack, which is all you need. You want to hear the dialogue, not some special effects or some DD 5.1 Whizzbangs. It`s perfectly adequate. You do get the Dolby Digital trailer at the start of disc one though.

Features

Extras, on a brilliant presentation like this, The Complete Blackadder?
Blackadder Back and Forth, Blackadder the Cavalier years and the brilliant Blackadder`s Christmas Carol are conspicuous by their absence. Complete, my backside. False advertising is what I call it. Actually, you get nothing whatsoever. Unless you count pretty menus and some subtitles.

Conclusion

The Blackadder, as written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson lacks the biting wit and sarcasm of the later series when Ben Elton lent his quill. Strangely, the more intelligent of the characters is Baldrick, often the instigator of his master`s plans. Whilst Percy is completely an imbecile, the Blackadder is missing a few brain cells himself. Here, the humour comes from Rowan Atkinson`s portrayal of the Prince. Less verbal than the future incarnations, this Blackadder is more physical. His facial expression is just short of gurning. In fact he shows shades of Mr Bean in his demeanour. Fortunately the comedy is sharp and well observed, with the satire always foremost. While not as funny as the following series, this is still a good introduction to the world of Blackadder.

Blackadder II is Blackadder at his finest. Rowan Atkinson is brilliant as the debonair Edmund with a rakish smile and devilish glint in his eye. We set the trend here with centuries of inbreeding having taken their toll on the IQ of the Baldrick clan and Tony Robinson suffers the first of several years of verbal and physical abuse. Hilarious. The comedy is fast sharp and edgy and the satire spot on. Great guest turns also from among others, Tom Baker, Rik Mayall and Hugh Laurie.

The third series is almost as good as the previous one. Rowan Atkinson plays this Edmund with a sense of grace, gentility and culture. The wit is sharper and the dialogue inspired. Baldrick is, if anything more stupid, matched only by the imbecility of the Prince Regent. For me the only thing missing is a suitable foe for Blackadder, as in the Queen and Lord Melchett in the previous series. Still it`s a non-stop laugh riot.

The Forth and Final series in the Blackadder saga is by all accounts the funniest of the lot. The characters are beautifully observed and the satire biting. However, I must admit that for me it lacks a little something. I do agree that as a sitcom it is deliciously funny, slugs not withstanding. The characters are all there, as are the ingredients that make up a Blackadder serial. My problems with this series are these; This series takes extra time for the sarcasm, when Edmund starts a sarcastic comment, get comfortable, you`ll be there for a paragraph, all funny it`s true but not always necessary; there is an over reliance on the "Hello Darling gag", I guess it helps if you don`t watch all six episodes in a row though; most importantly, the previous Blackadders concerned machinations of the highest order to obtain power, the Edmunds always displayed a casual cruelty that really defined the characters. Here Edmund`s schemes amount to escaping the war, nothing more, and the cruelty of the character is non-existent compared to the cruelty of the situation that he finds himself in. Even his normally biting wit is tired and resigned here. As a Blackadder series this is not one of the best, but as a comment on the futility of war and stupidity of `isms` this is priceless and unmissable. It`s no wonder that the end of the series has been officially classed as a `TV Moment`.

All in all, this is a brilliant box set. I`ve got an extra nine inches to play with, fnar! And this is genuinely the funniest thing to come out of the BBC, not counting Fawlty Towers or Red Dwarf etc. But at this price, this is now a must have purchase and I can`t recommend it highly enough. I only mark it down for the lack of extras, especially the ones mentioned above. Go, buy, buy, buy.