The first series of Blackadder was televised in 1983. It is vastly different from the wildly popular Blackadder of later years and in fact, the first series was very unpopular. The character of Blackadder was nothing like the witty, acerbic, rogue that audiences came to know and love. Nevertheless, there are some highlights to the first series. It is cleverly written and, for its time, the show was revolutionary.
Blackadder I starred Rowan Atkinson as a very wimpy Blackadder, Tony Robinson, as a street-wise Baldrick, and Tim McInnerny, as the hopelessly pathetic Percy.
Where it All Began
The first series of Blackadder was written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson. The pair met at university in Oxford, and had worked on sketches and other comedy material ever since. It is clear that Curtis and Atkinson brought some of their sketch writing talent in to play while writing Blackadder. Many scenes in the first series could easily work as a stand-alone sketch.
This was not the only thing that set Blackadder apart, though. The programme had a clear fascination with, and love of, history. The like of which had not been seen before and has not been seen since. Re-writing history for a sit-com was a master stroke, which may not have worked as well in the first series, but it certainly paid off for the team as the show developed.
Blackadder also deviated form tradition, in that much of it was filmed on location. The production team did not add a laugh track to these sections, which is fairly common place for a comedy nowadays, but it would have been almost unheard of twenty-five years ago.
A Bit of History Repeating
The Blackadder legend begins in the fifteenth century, in the court of Richard II. The show claims that the historical account of Richard II is inaccurate, and in endeavours to uncover the real story. The ‘real story’ is that Blackadder kills King Richard, played by the fabulously funny Peter Cook, at the battle of Bosworth field. It is Richard II’s nephew that succeeds him to the thrown, because in this version of history Richard II was not a deformed maniac who sent his young nephews to the tower.
So, it is Richard III, played by Brain Blessed, who becomes King, and his snivelling, obsequious, youngest son Edmund (Blackadder) is elevated to the position of the Duke of Edinburgh. Much of the series sees the power hungry Edmund attempting to remove his elder brother from the line of the thrown. Eventually, as with all great tragic heroes, this leads to his demise.
As mentioned above, the first series was not a success, but it certainly has some very funny material in it, and some wonderful performances. The joy that the writers take in history is delightful. They also seem to have a bit of a penchant for Shakespeare. The Bard even gets a nod in the credits for “additional material”.
The first series of Blackadder is intelligent silliness, and is bound to appeal to fans of the latter three series.
