tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post7823014175800722203..comments2024-03-29T07:22:38.372+00:00Comments on Pop Classics: Blackadder: Back and ForthJuliettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00203399623895589924noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-31550400762599849502009-07-23T13:49:35.591+01:002009-07-23T13:49:35.591+01:00Oh yes, a Blackadder set in Rome would have been w...Oh yes, a Blackadder set in Rome would have been wonderful. Still, difficult to top series 2, I think!respondebat illahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08587159954423513616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-19531843457073479972009-07-22T09:51:19.227+01:002009-07-22T09:51:19.227+01:00Well I gave the box-set to a friend of mine as a b...Well I gave the box-set to a friend of mine as a birthday present last year, I guess I'll have to ask him to lend them to me! ;o)CrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-57503018638029706292009-07-21T22:39:06.359+01:002009-07-21T22:39:06.359+01:00Silly me, of course it was - I even asked them for...Silly me, of course it was - I even asked them for a copy of the pilot for my proposed CA paper a couple of months ago! (They refused - they couldn't seem to understand that I can't get 4oD to work on my computer). This is what happens when I try to write blog posts quickly...Juliettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00203399623895589924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-65118563591536127492009-07-21T22:33:30.609+01:002009-07-21T22:33:30.609+01:00Atkinson seems to prefer playing idiots over anyth...Atkinson seems to prefer playing idiots over anything else, and the characters he's been involved in creating (Mr Bean, Johnny English) are often like that. But I agree that he's actually much more effective playing the smart man frustrated by the idiots that surround him, and that is the crucial difference between <i>Blackadder</i> 1 and 2.<br /><br />However, I'd agree that 1 has a worse reputation than it deserves. This has a lot to do with the fact that the weakest episodes are the first and last. Ideally for a comedy show, you should be able to shift around the episodes so that the strongest are at the beginning and the end, but because of the way the first and last episodes of <i>Blackadder</i> 1 have been constructed, they can't be moved from those positions. There are stronger episodes, and I broadly agree with you which they are, but they get a bit lost in the middle. It's notable that 2, 3 and 4 are rather more flexible, and could in theory start with any episode except the final one.<br /><br />Factual correction: <i>Chelmsford 123</i> was C4 (and yes, I know I agreed to get hold of it for you ...).Tony Keenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07125792825206480340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-47036155222960394662009-07-21T22:06:53.348+01:002009-07-21T22:06:53.348+01:00Definitely. Blackadder is Rowan Atkinson at his be...Definitely. Blackadder is Rowan Atkinson at his best: dry, acerbic, sarcastic, cutting. Most of the humor is verbal rather than physical. I personally prefer series 2, though if you want Hugh Laurie, then you need 3 or 4. But they're all good, even the Christmas show (which is actually very good) and the Cavalier sketch for Comic Relief.DemetriosXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-12872836652605225872009-07-21T20:24:05.640+01:002009-07-21T20:24:05.640+01:00Oh you HAVE to see Blackadder! Rowan Atkinson is t...Oh you HAVE to see Blackadder! Rowan Atkinson is totally different here - I don't like Mr Bean either, but Blackadder series 2 3 and 4 are really different (series 1 is a bit more Mr Bean like, which is why it's the weakest series). I showed Blackadder to an American friend who'd only seen Hugh Laurie in House once, so she could see him with his posh English accent, and she suddenly screamed 'Mr Bean is talking!'<br /><br />I like series 4 the best, which is set in the First World War, but series 2 (Queen Elizabeth I) and 3 (Regency) are also very good.Juliettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00203399623895589924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-33904472797144048762009-07-21T17:33:35.480+01:002009-07-21T17:33:35.480+01:00I don't think I've ever seen any Blackadde...I don't think I've ever seen any Blackadder! Hugh Laurie should be a big draw... but I can't forgive Rowan Atkinson for Mr Bean... :sCrazyCrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17512240982215608638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-46745053658488773742009-07-21T16:40:07.977+01:002009-07-21T16:40:07.977+01:00I didn't see that - I'll have to wait for ...I didn't see that - I'll have to wait for the DVD to have a proper look!Juliettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00203399623895589924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730513615909994019.post-13752778488035333942009-07-21T14:58:42.515+01:002009-07-21T14:58:42.515+01:00Great, now I'm going to be stuck with the oyst...Great, now I'm going to be stuck with the oyster/moister rhyme from the closing song for the rest of the day. Not that it's a bad song, but bringing the concepts Baldrick and moist together is unsettling.<br /><br />I think there are parts of the wall which, if not at their full height, are at least considerably more than three feet high. Of course, those are rather remote, since the bits near to settlements were used as a quarry. There are also some restored bits, I believe. (Reminds me of a short I saw shown with <i>Life of Brian</i> with John Cleese about Roman soldiers on the wall.) The real problem with going back to the Romans for Blackadder is that it mucks about with the origin story, but it would be fun. As for Baldrick in a short skirt, by the time this scene rolls around, we've already seen his bare backside. But anything's better than his posing pouch in <i>Blackadder's Christmas Carol</i>.<br /><br />Speaking of Jim Broadbent, I saw <i>Harry Potter</i> last night and it took me forever to stop thinking "I am from Glasgooow" whenever I saw him. Another classics bit from the film: there is something written in what appears to be Latin on the cage with the birds outside the room of requirement. I think I saw the word DIVUS the first time it was shown, but I'm not sure.DemetriosXnoreply@blogger.com