BlacKAddeR

Edmund Blackadder and Baldrick's weird and wonderful adventures through history

The comic genius that is Rowan Atkinson is utilized to the full as the sneering, smart-bottomed Edmund Blackadder. Tony Robinson is forever chirpy as Blackadder's sidekick Baldrick, and is loyal to a fault - or just plain stupid!

A superb cast in all four series, including the likes of Peter Cook, Robbie Coltrane, Miranda Richardson, Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondson, Miriam Margoyles, Jim Broadbent, Gabrielle Glaister, Tom Baker, Kenneth Connor, Ronald Lacey, Brian Blessed, Elspet Gray, Frank Finlay, Patrick Malahide, and Patsy Byrne. Regulars Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Tim McInnerny are all very good, with Fry's General Melchett in 'Blackadder Goes Forth' becoming one of TV's great monsters - an incredibly mature and convincing performance by a young man.

Blackadder bestrides (em) four dramatic periods of English history - the Richard III era of the Wars of the Roses, Elizabethan and Georgian England, and World War One. Plus, there have been two spin-offs - 'Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)', and 'Blackadder Back & Forth (1999)'.

The ending of the final series is one of the most poignant TV moments ever, as our unlikely heroes go over the top, knowing they face certain death. Just beautifully conveyed, and an unlikely masterstroke, with a comedy conveying the futility of war, particularly the First World War, as effectively as any serious documentary. Just a shame so many of those involved in this unique '80s series are now so firmly in bed with the establishment.

- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.

Blackadder DVDs available from booksmusicfilmstv.com - in association with Amazon.co.uk

Blackadder: Complete Collection - BBC Series 1-4 & The Specials ~ Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson

Blackadder's Christmas Carol ~ Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson

Blackadder: Back and Forth ~ Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson