So to start off this isn't the first time I've seen a blackadder episode, I have seen 2 from blackadder goes forth and also the unaired pilot. So I do know how the formula worksThe episode is rather weird with characters like blackadder are the opposite personality like the ones portrayed in other seasons and is acted in a goofy geeky type of way instead of sarcastic, more payed out versions. The season is based in around the Tudor times: the battle of bosworth to be precise. There a lot of gags and jokes but not many rememberable ones. But to make this review short I'll finish by saying that it was an odd way too start the series with some character who are not the greatest yet but there are a lot of gags with a good storyline to support it and also due to the fact it's the first ever blackadder episode 7/10

The reason for this being the weakest is the title character. The Edmund Blackadder in the other series' is an intelligent and sophisticated man. Blackadder in this, however, is a blundering fool. Not a funny one, either. Whilst I didn't HATE him, his character showed no real depth. Baldrick was the most intelligent in the series. However, he wasn't so intelligent that he was interesting, yet too clever to be funny. He was just a one-dimensional character. Percy was the same as ever and he was one of the better parts. Brian Blessed's portrayal as the King was very well acted, but just the same old Brian Blessed character used in everything else he does.The story lines in each episode were very well done, but it needed the depth of the characters to pull through.

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

Rowan Atkinson was funny as Mr. Bean, but he was downright hilarious as the Black Adder. He had such a talent for playing the sharp-tongued rogue I'll never figure out why he decided to start doing comedy in which he hardly spoke. The premise of this British comedy series is that the central character, "The Black Adder", shows up at different points in history in various incarnations distorting historical events and poking fun at various British historical figures and situations along the way.Lots of people don't like Black Adder I, in which the title character, Edmund, is the younger son of a brutish man consumed with thoughts of war who actually becomes king of England through Edmund's own bungling - he arrives late for the Battle of Bosworth Field and winds up chopping off the head of Richard III, thus saving the life of Henry Tudor. Throughout this first season he plays the buffoon, often having the expression of a deer caught in the headlights. This is the only season in which the Black Adder takes on the persona of a weak effeminate person. Especially funny is Edmund's mother who is a proper noble woman sitting around doing embroidery and indifferently waiting for the next marauding army to pass through.The second season takes place early during the reign of Elizabeth I, with the Black Adder confident, handsome, and even a favorite at court. A young Amanda Richardson plays the role of Elizabeth I, who comes across as Betty Boop, just not as intelligent. Although more cunning in this season, Black Adder still comes up the loser in just about every episode. My favorite is "Bells", in which Blackadder finds his new servant, Bob, curiously pleasant company. Afraid for his reputation at court, Blackadder searches for a "cure" - which of course involves leeches, until Bob conveniently reveals that she is in fact a girl called Kate. Their wedding is disrupted by the profane Lord Flashheart, who, although he is the best man, winds up stealing the bride.The third season takes place in the eighteenth century during the reign of George III, and will be a favorite of all fans of "House, M.D." due to the presence of a young Hugh Laurie. Here, Black Adder plays the manservant of the Prince Regent, George, played by Hugh Laurie. George is the dim-witted target of Black Adder's many schemes to enrich himself by taking advantage of his cushy position in George's household, and this often means having to save the Prince Regent's pension and position in the kingdom, which is largely controlled by Parliament.The fourth season takes place during World War I, with Edmund Blackadder as a captain in the British army whose company is trapped in one of the trenches that gave everyone in Europe such a distaste for warfare between the two world wars. Blackadder's aim in this season is to stay alive by staying in that trench until the war ends. His stunts include shooting a carrier pigeon when it arrives with orders to advance, and joining the Royal Flying Corp - "the twenty minuters". Unfortunately, the name comes from how long they are expected to live once in the air, not how much time they work each day, as Blackadder had originally thought.This show has several interesting plot devices. First, most of the main characters show up in different periods of time with the same name but different roles. Hugh Laurie is always "George", Tony Robinson is always "Baldrick", Stephen Fry is always "Melchett", and Tim McInnerny is always "Percy". Since each season was shot in alternate years - (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989) - the cast must have been having a terrific time in order for them to be regathered after such long intervals in order to make filming this series possible. Secondly, everyone in the cast, including the Black Adder, always dies in the final episode of each season. It is somewhat like the South Park stunt of Kenny being killed at the end of every show only to reappear in the next episode as though nothing had happened.Do note that there are only six episodes per season. If you liked "Red Dwarf" or "Fawlty Towers", you'll probably like this series too.