Blackadder Rides Again

Shown on Christmas Day last year, this 60-minute documentary was made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the sitcom. Rowan Atkinson talks about the development of his character, Edmund Blackadder, plus there are interviews with the core cast (Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Tony Robinson) and writing team (Ben Elton and Richard Curtis).

First shown last Christmas, this tremendous documentary tells the Blackadder story, describing the evolution of the main characters, not least Blackadder's transition from nerdy idiot to suave Elizabethan courtier. Tribute is paid to the vital contribution made by Miranda Richardson in her role as Queenie. Hugh Laurie acknowledges his high levels of stress. Then there are all the tensions that came from having so many creative people fighting their corner. "I remember it like a heart attack," Richard Curtis says.

The 25th anniversary Blackadder Rides Again documentary was fifteen minutes of worthwhile information and footage, separating clips that sometimes didn't even last to the punchlines. G.O.L.D's Blackadder documentary a few months ago covered most of the bases here, so this was a bit tiresome for me. For fans, there wasn't much to get terribly excited about - unless you liked to be reminded how dour and humourless Rowan Atkinson is in real life (he admits it himself), wanted to see a clip from the original pilot episode (is the whole thing available as a DVD extra?), and that terrible last shot of Blackadder Goes Forth (before a bit of slo-mo and piano music transform it into one of British comedy's greatest moments.)

A pleasant enough trot down memory lane to revisit one of the best British sitcoms in TV history. But we didn't learn much that was particularly enlightening.

Daily Mail Article

As Blackadder turns 25, we chart the spectacular rise of the much-loved sitcom.