British Comedy Guide

Blackadder returning to screens? Page 5

Quote: gon gon @ September 21 2012, 11:49 PM BST

They'll bring it back at some point.
Elton ain't working any more and is apparently less popular than Bin Laden.
Curtis's shite twee eccentric silly British, appeal the Americans at any cost, type films seem to have folded.
The only hold out will be Rowan, who having invested heavily in his old mate's movies is seriously loaded, and won't need to work ever again, or his ancestors.

Somehow it will get made, down the road, and it'll be worse than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull isn't that bad. The skull itself is rubbish but the rest is pretty fun hokum.

It is fun. Plus I like La Beouf.

Maybe LaBeouf could play Blackadder's wayward son...

Quote: zooo @ August 7 2013, 10:03 PM BST

It is fun. Plus I like La Beouf.

Maybe LaBeouf could play Blackadder's wayward son...

I wondered what happened to him after he left Chelsea.

Quote: Chappers @ 7th August 2013, 10:31 PM BST

I wondered what happened to him after he left Chelsea.

He got a new hat, I believe.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/blackadder-reunion-foiled-after-tv-boss-said-comedy-classic-needed-more-baking-9318064.html

A long-awaited Blackadder reunion floundered after a senior broadcasting executive said there should be more "baking" in the show, the comedy's producer has revealed.
John Lloyd, who also brought QI, Not the Nine O'Clock News and Spitting Image to our screens, said discussions over a first new Blackadder series in 25 years stalled when commissioners came up with a cunning plan - the historical comedy should become more like The Great British Bake Off.

Speaking at a Sky Arts launch of a new series of The South Bank Show, in which Melvyn Bragg profiles the veteran producer, Lloyd revealed: "A particular controller/commissioner rang me up and said 'John, you're a genius, we'd like to do the new Blackadder'. I said 'great'.
"Then they said 'what are your ideas?' 'I don't know, you just called me up. Are you going to give me a commission?'
"'No, no, you've got to tell us your ideas and then we'll tell you what we think of it.' 'Hang on, I thought I was a comedy genius, will you trust my ideas?' 'No, you've got to tell us your ideas and we'll tell you what we think of it.'"

Lloyd explained the commissioning logic that subsequently unfurled: "Blackadder, that's a bit dark isn't it? How about Greyadder...no, Whitesnake, that's what we should call it! It shouldn't be about history because people don't like history...it's called Whitesnake and it's about baking. No, baking's been done so...frying.
"It's a panel game about frying called Whitesnake with Stephen Fry in it."

A frustrated Lloyd told the executive: "But I wanted to do a sitcom with people you've never heard of?" He was told: "No, we're the commissioners thank you very much, we'll tell you what we want. If you don't want it, we'll get someone else to do it.' This is honestly the way it works."

A Blackadder feature film has instead been mooted but Lloyd said: "I think to be honest we should leave it there because it's very difficult to top where it was."
Citing the new Dad's Army film starring Bill Nighy, Lloyd said: "For Christ's sake, there's a whole universe out there. Does everything have to be a retread of something else?"
Lloyd, who described the current state of television comedy as a "thoroughgoing disaster" which could "sink" the BBC, attacked Michael Gove, who accused the First World War-set Blackadder Goes Forth of peddling "myths" about the conflict.

"I honestly wonder whether the Secretary of State has seen Blackadder at all," Lloyd said. "The central situation is based on Alan Clark's book Lions Led By Donkeys and Clark was one of the most right-wing historians. I can't think of a more classically British patriotic scene than when the characters finally do their duty and go to what we must assume is their deaths."
Lloyd said he was delighted that Blackadder continues to be used as a teaching aid in schools. "The idea that it is some sort of propaganda weapon is truly sad and pathetic. It's a brilliant teaching tool because it gets kids laughing and paying attention and then teachers ask them 'What do you think? Was it really like that?'"

Shit. Seems like a Black Adder episode in its self.

I can't believe a comissioner would be that stupid. And Lloyd always seems up himself so taking the chance to call himself a genius is typical.

Quote: Tokyo Nambu @ 7th August 2013, 7:00 PM BST

He also managed to completely kill an amiably naive environmental campaign, 10:10, stone-dead with one of the most ill-judged promo films in history. Stone. Dead. To the point that most of the organisation's sponsors withdrew their sponsorship and major environmental organisations that had previously been linked to 10:10 ran a mile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Pressure_(film)

Curtis of course continues to believe that what he did was great, and it's all the fault of people who aren't are clever as him not seeing the satire. When you're reduced to taking down your own video, while your critics and opponents repost it as quickly as they can, you know you're in trouble. Well, most people would.

ha sounds like a right old train wreck
oh the poor deluded bugger

Here we go again?

Quote: Dave @ 22nd August 2014, 11:29 PM BST

I can't believe a comissioner would be that stupid. And Lloyd always seems up himself so taking the chance to call himself a genius is typical.

You're right there. I recall him as a talking head on the various celebrations of 'Spitting Image' which were broadcast a while back. Yes, he's a self-confessed polymath.

Quote: Paul Wimsett @ 23rd August 2015, 4:42 PM BST

Here we go again?

Agreed, the ending was a fitting tribute to the show. Let it go!

I'm always open to a return of any of my favourite sitcoms.

I personally don't let any come-back specials of a series effect my memories of the respective original series.

Any blast from the past is something I embrace.

We'll call the new series, the Black...Vegetable.

It would be a spin on rotten fruit because as an idea it's gone off, like the milk of humankindness, it stinks. :)

It always seems to be Robinson who wants it to come back.

It should be set during WWII. And feature George VI.

I still like the idea of the 60s hippie setting.

I hope it is true. For me, Red Dwarf coming back was a success, and this could be too. Yep it could be terrible, but if it is, I don't care, the originals will still be wonderful; and if it's great - and given the writing talent, and cast, it could be - then yay everybody. They might even have some fun. If they want to play Blackadder and have some fun, they should do.

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