The Black Adder. 1983
Episode 1: The Foretelling: Edmund arrives late at a battle and kills Richard III after he thought Richard was stealing his horse. When his father Richard IV becomes King, Edmund calls himself the Black Adder and tries everything to get rid of his older brother to be the next King.
Episode 2: The Queen of Spain's Beard: To dominate Europe Richard IV plans to Marry Edmund and Harry to a selection of Princess's and Duchesses, Edmund is now to be married off to the Spanish Infanta, which he tries to stop.
Episode 3: The Archbishop:Someone is killing off the Archbishop of Canterbury, Edmund hopes Harry will be the next Archbishop so that if Harry dies, Edmund will be heir to the throne but Richard IV chooses Edmund to be Archbishop.
Episode 4: Born To Be King:With Richard IV on a crusade, Harry being in charge and festivities coming up, Scottish commander Douglas McAngus pays a visit and takes land from Edmund forcing him to plot revenge but holts the revenge when certain papers show the Queen was having a affair and that Harry may not be the rightful heir.
Episode 5: Witchsmeller Pursuivant:The kingdom has come under a plague, everyone thinks there is a witch amongst them and bring in a Witch finder, Edmund is tested and fails, which makes him come under suspicion.
Episode 6: The Black Seal: When Edmund looses his Duke of Edinburgh title, he fires his servants and looks for the most cruel men to help take over the royal family.
The whole series centers on Edmund (Rowan Atkinson), the son of the younger of the two princes who in history were murdered in the Tower of London, allegedly by Richard III. In this take on history, where real history is dismissed as being rewritten by Henry Tudor, the princes were not murdered and Richard Duke of York grows up 'to be a strong boy'. The first episode of the series lays the foundation, explaining how Richard III dies, how Edmund's father becomes King and also the important, accidental, foretelling by three Witches to Edmund that one day he will be King. The rest of the series follows Edmund in his attempts to realise this foretelling.
Each plot in the series follows a similar pattern - Black adder getting himself into a situation and having to get himself out of it. The humour presented is more subtle, relying more on the use of visual comedy, language and historical satire than on blind sarcasm. Many of the gags are implied and expect the viewer to work out the meaning as opposed to ramming it down their throats. Additionally, the script contains a number of lines that cleverly misuse Shakespeare for added effect.
Rowan Atkinson plays it brilliantly while Tony Robinson and Tim McInnerny plays the servants Baldrick and Percy, Baldrick coming up with the cunning plans and Percy being simple and dim-witted. Brian Blessed playing the loud mouth Richard IV is well suited for the ruler of the kingdom, Jim Broadbent, Miriam Margolyes, Angus Deayton, Frank Finlay and Alex Norton make a appearance and bring in the laughs.
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