I guess Blackadder needed to find its sea legs before it became a good show. The first series was pretty bad overall, but series 2, 3 and 4 are some of the best television you'll ever find.
This episode is overlong, with too few laughs and too many drawn out sequences. I get the feeling that had it been around 20 minutes instead of 32 that it would have been forced to be more compacted and would be far better, but alas it feels like something that is sat through rather than enjoyed.
But I'm being harsh, I have to thank this episode for starting the beautiful sitcom that was Blackadder. It's just not a laudable start...moreless
Episode Summary
EDIT
After arriving late for the Battle of Bosworth Field, Edmund kills King Richard III (whom he thinks is stealing his horse) and secures the crown for his father.
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GUEST STAR
Peter CookRichard III
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GUEST STAR
Peter BensonHenry VII
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GUEST STAR
Philip KendallPainter
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Rowan Atkinson
Prince Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh
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Elspet Gray
the Queen [ 1 ]
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Brian Blessed
Richard IV [ 1 ]
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Tony Robinson
Baldrick
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Patrick Allen
Narrator [ 1 ]
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Tim McInnerny
Percy [ 1 & 2 ] /Captain Kevin Darling [ 4 ]
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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TRIVIA (2)
ADD TRIVIA-
Goof: After Blackadder has his haircut, the camera zooms in on his foot. He lifts his foot revealing a red tape marker on the floor.
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Goof: When Blackadder beheads King Richard, Richard's head and helmet change position while lying on the ground.
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QUOTES (14)
ADD QUOTES-
Edmund: Well, some people aren't fighting, they're just lying down! Baldrick: They're dead, my lord.
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Prince Edmund: History, here I come!
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(About Edmund) King Richard III: What a little turd.
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Prince Edmund: They're coming! Run for the hills! Baldrick: No, my lord! They're coming from the hills! Prince Edmund: Run away from the hills! Run away from the hills! If you see the hills, go the other way!
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Prince Edmund: Let all men who go to don armour tomorrow remember to go before they don armour tomorrow.
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Prince Edmund: Well, frankly, everyone thought you were dead. Richard III: Well, frankly, I am. (His head floats away)
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Prince Edmund: Tomorrow I shall prove that I am a man. Percy: Well, you are a man. Prince Edmund: But how shall it be proved, Percy? Percy: Well, they could always look up that tree in Rutland.
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(Baldrick holds up a head, separated from its body) Baldrick: Oh dear...Richard III.
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Percy: It will be a great day tomorrow for us nobles. Prince Edmund: Well, not if we lose, Percy. If we lose, I'll be chopped to pieces. My arms will end up at Essex, my torso in Norfolk, and my genitalia stuck up in a tree somewhere in Rutland.
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Prince Edmund: And what is your name? Baldrick: Baldrick, my Lord. Prince Edmund: Then I will call you... Baldrick, Baldrick. Baldrick: And I will call you my Lord, my Lord.
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Edmund: Or, as I shall be known from now on: The Black... Vegetable! Baldrick: My Lord, wouldn't something like 'The Black Adder' sound better? Edmund: No, wait. I think I have a better idea... What about…The Black…Adder!
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THEME FROM THE BLACK ADDER: The sound of hoofbeats cross the glade Good folk, lock up you son and daughter Beware the deadly flashing blade Unless you want to end up shorter Black Adder! Black Adder! He rides a pitch black steed Black Adder! Black Adder! He's very bad indeed Black, his gloves of finest mole Black, his codpiece made of metal His horse is blacker than a vole His pot is blacker than his kettle Black Adder! Black Adder! With many a cunning plan Black Adder! Black Adder! You horrid little man!
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Baldrick: (as he finds King Richard's head on Bosworth Field, and in a tone of voice that suggests just a minor inconvenience) Oh, dear Richard the Third.
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Edmund: I shall be known………as the black…..vegetable.
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NOTES (3)
ADD NOTES-
The cast was listed "In Order of Precedence" for this episode.
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The first series was produced by the BBC in association with The Seven Network in Australia.
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Additional dialogue in the 1st Series by William Shakespeare.
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ALLUSIONS (2)
ADD ALLUSIONS-
King Richard III: What a little turd. Richard the Third is Cockney rhyming slang for turd in the UK.
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Richard/Witch: It was him!/You shall be king!!
There are not one but TWO Macbeths (Ooops! I mean "The Scottish play"!!) references here. The first is when Black Adder sees Richard III's ghost at the table, but no one else does, and goes a bit mad. The same thing happened in Macbeth as one of his victims came as a ghost during a party, and the witches at the end are of course the same witches that Macbeth saw at the start of the play.
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Blackadder Video Tapes
02/07/122
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which is the best series
06/05/1139
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OFFICIAL Blackadder Soundboard...
12/14/101
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New series
11/28/109
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Back and forth
06/05/102
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Goode Bye
S 4 : Ep 6
Aired 11/2/89 (29:26)
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Plan E: General Hospital
S 4 : Ep 5
Aired 10/26/89 (28:05)
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Plan D: Private Plane
S 4 : Ep 4
Aired 10/19/89 (28:58)
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Plan C: Major Star
S 4 : Ep 3
Aired 10/12/89 (29:07)
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