"The Most Gripping Comedy Since 1380"

After years of searching, I've finally been able to do it! I ordered the complete Blackadder series for under $100. Ah, yes. Blackadder, the crowning achievement of Rowan Atkinson's career, though his work as Zazu in The Lion King is perhaps a close second.

Blackadder is a British sitcom written by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis that started its run in 1983. In the first series, called The Black Adder, Rowan Atkinson stars as Lord Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh. In this version of history, King Richard III wins the Battle of Bosworth Field, is accidentally killed by Lord Edmund, and the succeeded by Richard IV. From here, we see cowardly, useless Edmund try all manner of schemes to wrest power from his more qualified father. In the process, he gives himself the name the Black Adder in order to appear more frightening.

The rest of the series follows Lord Edmund's descendants who are similarly dissatisfied with their lives through the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the late 18th century, and World War I. It's during Blackadder II that we meet the Blackadder we love: devastatingly sarcastic and smarter an everyone around him. Watch Hugh Laurie in power, hose, and a ridiculous wig playing Percy, the idiot Prince of Wales. He's just perfect. Look for him too in Blackadder II as the sadistic German Prince Ludwig.

When I started watching Blackadder in the 7th grade, I caught it on PBS at about 11:00 on Friday nights. I immediately fell in love with Rowan Atkinson's deadpan delivery of some of the most biting insults not using inappropriate words. Of course, now that I'm older I love it [and understand it] that much more. He has a unique ability to poke fun at the British, the rest of the Europeans and life in general in just the right ways. His especially dry brand of British humor is hilarious.

In June, Digitalspy reported that Rowan Atkinson turned down an invitation to do special interviews and stuff for the 25th anniversary DVD, with a friend saying only that Rowan is "a private person". How you do a special edition without the main character who's still alive is beyond me, but I imagine BBC knows what it's doing. There's also a rumor that the show may come back for 2010. Everyone cross your fingers!

I'll leave you with a clip for now. Here, Edmund holds two parties in his house at once. One for his Puritan relatives and one for a more lively sort.

I couldn't find a place online to watch the episodes, but if you know of something, please let me and other fans of the show know. It's a shame the show isn't more popular in the States, but then again, look how well people like Adam Sandler do at the box office. Oh, well.

Links
Blackadder on Wikipedia
Episode guides, background, etc. on BBC