im more of a blackadder and the millenium time machine fan myself.
Great episode.

The thing is, it was partly a parody of those Shakespeare adaptations the BBC used to put on, which you couldn't get away with nowadays.

Stuart you're not wrong.

For those that don;t already have it and if you don;t mind loads of ads, UK Gold is showing all 6 episodes on Saturday night.

Queen of Spains Beard is my favourite episode - Jim Broadbent is a living god.

The millenium one was pathetic compared to the old classics. The first series was good, the second still classic, the third, not too bad, but blackadder goes forth was by far the best.
Darling, Melchett, and speckled Jim. And baldrink was at his best in this series.

>Queen of Spains Beard is my favourite episode - Jim Broadbent is a living god.

It's been years since I've watched it, but I can still see his face as he translates "What is he like?" between the Enfanta and the Queen. That scene could also be Miriam Margolies' finest performance.

Bob Fortuna.

>Bob Fortuna.


Clearly not the right thread.

Some builders are using a lot of glue and varnish in here at the moment and I'm fairly spazzed.

This series certainly had some great moments

Personal favourites

Where Blackadder realised that the obnoxious Scotsman has valuable information which may secure his right to the throne and so must now save him by joining the play "death of the scotsman" and stabbing him with a fake knife rather than the real one he had planted.......
"sorry I'm late, take that!"

Mad Gerald "shut the bloody door"

Jim Broadbent as translator "This is nice, just us girls together talking about the women's things"

Blackadder (upon finding burnt remains of witch) "Does anyone know what happened here?"
peasant puts up hand and says "no! I don't" (in exactly the same tone as if he'd said yes! I do)

The Thrush revealing himself by large transformation and saying "recognise me?"
Blackadder "no, not really"

Great stuff, wish I had cable or a dvd player ho hum

>Blackadder (upon finding burnt remains of witch) "Does anyone know what happened here?"
>peasant puts up hand and says "no! I don't" (in exactly the same tone as if he'd said yes! I do)

"Neither do I" I was across the other side of town when we burned her."

"Er... Canterbury?" is still a catchphrase round these parts, years after the event.

It's a bit hit and miss, but the best episodes are easily the equal of the received-wisdom classics in later series.

In fact, as far as originality and consistency of tone goes, it pisses on Series Four.

"Queen of Spain's Beard" is probably the one to show any doubters. Equals "Beer" from Series Two and the Dr Johnson one from Three.

For my own part, I still like the Christmas Special, just for the Moustache Shop never getting mentioned beyond the opening camera sweep.

>>Jim Broadbent is a living god.

The sight of him playing a scared bride, and singing 'Like A virgin' in Moules En Rouge is something I'll never forget.

Fresh horses!

I've just bought The Black Adder on DVD for £8 from my local pub landlord this very evening. Result!

Of course it is the best series - it has Peter Cook in it.

Baldrick looking at the severed head of Peter Cook, raising his eyes heavenwards, and saying in tones of mild disgruntlement, "Oh Dear, King Richard The Third....". Nice absurdist moment. Sadly, there's a little too much gurning from Rowan Atkinson, and there's a permeating air of stretched Monty Python sketch about it, but apart from that, good stuff.
Has anybody noticed that Baldrick is actually relatively intelligent in this series?
Oooh. Oooh, I've just thought of another one-
"If he carries on like that, he'll turn into a seethe."

The Baldrick / Blackadder relationship in series one was more conspicuously a Jeeves / Wooster, or even Roman Servant / Master (in classical comedy) set up, with the bright one in the wrong position socially.

It's odd watching it, now the stupid Baldrick is the better known version. It's probably a subtler joke when he's ACTUALLY got cunning plans, but the writing's not quite up to carrying the full potential of this through.

The line "...silly little turd" always made me laugh, just because of the way Peter Cook says it while waving and smiling.

"Run for the hills!"
"But they're coming from the hills."
"Run away from the hills! If you see hills, turn the other way!"

"The Baldrick / Blackadder relationship"

I was rewatching the whole series recently (i know i know too much spare time) and i actually found it quite.. annoying how dumbed down Baldrick becomes by the fourth series - even his voice is the obvioud dumb kind of thing.
It's also easier to see the problems with the fourth series when you watch it not long after the others.

That's why many fans of Blackadder, who'd been with it since the beginning, got really pissed off when series 4 was touted as the best thing since sliced bread. Just because it got the biggest trailers, highest press profile and best viewing figures, that didn't mean it was the best series.

The same thing happened with "Absolutely". By the time the press and public had caught on, and started screaming from the rooftops about how great it was, the show was totally spent.

Series four is very poor. It could be a rule writ in stone.