The Black Adder is the first series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 July 1983,
and was a joint production with the Australian Seven Network. Set in 1485 at the end of the British Middle Ages, the series is written as a secret history which contends that King Richard III won the Battle of Bosworth Field, only to be unintentionally assassinated by his nephew's son Edmund and succeeded by said nephew, Richard IV, one of the Princes in the Tower. The series follows the exploits of Richard IV's unfavoured second son Edmund (who calls himself "The Black Adder") in his various attempts to increase his standing with his father and, in the final episode, his quest to overthrow him.
Conceived while Atkinson and Curtis were working on Not the Nine O'Clock News, the series presents medieval issues in Britain in a humorous and often anachronistic manner—witchcraft, royal succession, European relations, the Crusades and the conflict between the Crown and the Church. The filming of the series was ambitious, as it featured a large cast and required extensive location shooting. Shakespearean dialogue is sometimes adapted for comic effect. Despite winning an International Emmy, The Black Adder is regarded by its creators and most critics as the weakest Blackadder series.
A second series, Blackadder II, aired in 1986.
Plot
Set in the Middle Ages, the series is written as an alternative history. It opens on 21 August 1485, the eve of the Battle of Bosworth Field, which in the series is won not by Henry Tudor (as in reality) but by Richard III. Richard III, played by Peter Cook, is presented as a good king who doted on his nephews, contrary to the Shakespearean view of him as a hunchbacked, infanticidal monster.
After his victory in the battle, Richard III is unintentionally killed by Lord Edmund Plantagenet; Richard attempts to take Edmund's horse, which he was only borrowing for losing his own steed. Not recognizing the king, Edmund thinks Richard is stealing it and cuts his head off. The late King's nephew, Richard, Duke of York (played by Brian Blessed) who is Lord Edmund Plantagenet's father, is then crowned as Richard IV. Lord Edmund himself did not take part in the battle after arriving late, but later claims to have killed 450 peasants and several nobles, one of whom had actually been killed by his brother in the battle.
King Richard IV of England and XII of Scotland and his Queen Gertrude of Flanders have two sons: Harry, Prince of Wales and his younger brother Prince Edmund. Though Harry is by far their father's favourite, the King barely acknowledging his second son's existence, he is often depicted as simple-minded and easy to fool unlike Edmund, though he still treats Edmund with kindness and respect. It is a running gag throughout the series that Edmund's father cannot even remember his name, mostly misremembering it as different names – Edward, Enid, Edgar and so on. However, despite his mostly dismissive attitude toward his second son, the King actually loves Edmund very dearly, partially due to their father-son relationship; in the third episode, when Edmund becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury and helps his father to secure some land from a dying noble before the church can, the King proudly acknowledges Edmund as his son, embraces him and even mentions to the Queen that Edmund has "turned out well", and in the series' finale, on Edmund's deathbed, the King does his best to console him, assuring him that his soul will go to Heaven, and has the entire court drink a toast in his honour.
Using this premise, the series follows the fictitious reign of Richard IV (1485–1498) through the experiences of Prince Edmund, who styles himself as "The Black Adder", and his two sidekicks: the imbecilic Lord Percy Percy, the Duke of Northumberland (Tim McInnerny); and Baldrick (Tony Robinson), a more intelligent servant who Edmund takes on as his squire.
By the end of the series, events converge with accepted history. King Richard IV and his entire family are accidentally killed with wine poisoned by Percy meant for the Black Seal who had actually arrived to overthrow Richard IV. The entire Black Seal are killed with the poison. Percy and Baldrick celebrate then hear Edmund screaming in pain. It cuts to Edmund on his deathbed, where Baldrick learns Percy poisoned the whole vat, they race to save the family as they all drink the poisoned wine killing them. Blackadder recovers enough to claim he is now King of England, then drinks the wine and dies. After the credits Percy and Baldrick shout don't drink the wine, realising they are dead. In reality, Richard, Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower, was only twelve years old (and perhaps two years dead) when the Battle of Bosworth Field took place in 1485, and thus too young to have had two adult sons. Henry Tudor seemingly also falsified the history of Scotland and Ireland: Richard IV is said to be king of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Prince Edmund has the title of Duke of Edinburgh, whereas in reality Ireland was not a kingdom until 1542 and Scotland continued to have a separate royal house until 1603.
Episodes
The episodes in this series, written by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, were originally shown on BBC1 on Wednesday evenings, 21:25–22:00. Some of the same actors were used to enhance the parody of Shakespearean history. Ron Cook, who played Richard III in the Shakespeare productions, is cast as the villainous "Sean the Irish Bastard". Peter Benson, who played Shakespeare's Henry VI, played Henry VII in the first episode.
<onlyinclude>