I really like Rowan Atkinson and his style of comedy and I really appreciate witty/sarcastic humour in British comediesBut whilst Black Adder seems to be a clever concept for a comedy , it lacks spectacularly in the only department that really matters: humour I tried to watch Black Adder twice and every time I came to the same conclusion ; This kind of humour depicted in Black adder is either for kids or idiots, in essence not funny .It tries to be funny ,but it's notDon't waste your time on this garbage.If you want British Classic , try watch Mr Bean ,Not the Nine O Clock News or Yes Prime Minister. Unless if you fancy mediocre medieval humour in the 80s, just stay away from this

The first and essential element is the set of actors and first of all Rowan Atkinson. That is pure English comedy based on totally anachronistic and crazy situations, on witty puns that nearly or most of the time have to do with what is generally under the belt of most people but that is floating on top of the mind of these comedians. It is supposed to make you laugh and nothing else and it ridicules all historical characters and situations: Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, Georges VI or some other Prince of Wales, the First World War, Robin Hood and I guess they avoided Peter Pan because he might only be marginally historical, though Pitt Junior is a real hit, definitely under the belt at the level of the comforter, if you see what I mean. It even turns upside down the famous Christmas Carol. As for the Time Machine it is completely twisted around in all directions, back and forth for sure, to make a sort of self-centered social climbing, politically opportunistic remake of Back to the Future more than the Time Machine, but the principle is the same. So Sir Edmund Blackadder finishing King Edmund I is at least hilarious. H.G. Wells is betrayed since for him you cannot change the past and Zemeckis is betrayed just the same since you are not supposed to use your time travelling to recuperate some personal advantage from it. I must say though this type of comedy is light maybe slightly too light, but it is good indeed.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID

I absolutely love Black Adder, it is hilarious, and is filled with wit and tongue-in-cheek humour. This first series is not the absolute best, but it is still worth watching, as there are so many good things about it. The production values as always are superb, the costumes are great and the sets are authentic and stay true to the time period. The opening and closing credits are a delight, and the story lines are cleverly structured. What I love most about the Black Adder is the writing, extremely witty, tongue-in-cheek and simply hilarious. And we also have great acting; Patrick Allen's sardonic narration has me in squeals of laughter, and while Tim McInnery and Tony Robinson as Percy and Baldrick are wonderful and Brian Blessed relishes his role as King Richard IV while chewing the scenery at the same time, it is Rowan Atkinson as as slimy and selfish Edmund Black Adder who steals the show. Edmund is not the most likable by all means, but Atkinson's performance is still superb. Overall, this is a great series, not the best(Black Adder Goes Forth especially was outstanding) but a fine start. 9/10 Bethany Cox

The central premise of The Blackadder is that Richard III did not in fact lose the Battle of Bosworth field and that the Plantagenets continued to rule for "thirteen glorious years" before Henry Tudor became King.The first episode deals with the afore said battle and it's immediate aftermath and is presented from the point of view of Prince Edmund who is second in line for the throne and who is also looking to make that "second in line" into "first in line". In this first series Edmund is incredibly slippery, stupid and a bit of a weasel - for the viewer he's not a particularly likable character and the programme overall suffers because of this.Despite the weaknesses in the main character the show is still very good value for money. Every episode has enough jokes to keep you laughing throughout and on the whole the show holds up a lot better than most British comedies from the mid-eighties. That said though this first series of Blackadder is no where near as good as the sequels, for one it is just not as sharp or witty. Meanwhile Prince Harry and Lord Percy are no match for their successors George and Darling in terms of comedy value - the "Hello Darling" line still cracks me up every time.Also the observational humour is not quite as strong here as it is in later series of Blackadder - although this may just be down to my own lack of familiarity with this particular period of British history.Despite it's shortcomings, and although often though it is very easy to see why Michael Grade did not want to re-commission Blackadder for a second series, The Blackadder is still very much worth watching especially for 'The Archbishop' episode which is simply brilliant.