Blackadder Goes Forth
Encyclopedia
Blackadder Goes Forth is the fourth and final series of the BBC
situation comedy
Blackadder
, written by Richard Curtis
and Ben Elton
, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC One
.
The series placed the recurring characters of Blackadder
, Baldrick and George in a trench
in Flanders
during World War I, and followed their various doomed attempts to escape from the trenches to avoid certain death under the misguided command of General Melchett
. The series is particularly noted for its criticism of the British Army leadership during the campaign, and also references a number of famous figures of the age. In addition, the series is remembered for the poignant ending of the final episode.
Despite initial concerns that the comedy series might trivialise the events of 1914—1918, the series won widespread acclaim on its release, and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Series in 1989. It has since become regarded as a classic television sitcom, and in 2000 was placed 16th by industry professionals in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes
compiled by the British Film Institute
. However, it has been criticised by historians for presenting an over-simplified view of the war, reinforcing the popular notion of "lions led by donkeys
".
in the trenches of World War I. Captain Blackadder
(Rowan Atkinson
) is a professional soldier in the British Army
who, until the outbreak of the Great War, has enjoyed a relatively action-free existence fighting natives who were usually "two feet tall and armed with dried grass". Finding himself trapped in the trenches with another "big push" planned, his concern is to avoid being sent over the top to certain death. The series thus chronicles Blackadder's attempts to escape the trenches through various schemes, most of which fail due to bad fortune, misunderstandings and the general incompetence of his comrades. The aforementioned comrades are his second-in-command, idealistic upper-class Edwardian
twit Lieutenant George (Hugh Laurie
) and their profoundly stupid but dogged batman Private S. Baldrick (Tony Robinson
).
Rather than the Germans
, who remain generally unseen
, Blackadder's nemeses come in the form of his superior, the eccentric General Melchett
(Stephen Fry
) who rallies his troops from a French château
35 miles (56.3 km) from the front, and Melchett's bureaucratic
assistant, Captain Kevin Darling
(Tim McInnerny
). Despite the two being of equal rank, Blackadder treats Darling with contempt - while the former is on the front line, the latter is "folding the general's pyjamas". Their animosity is mutual, largely as a result of Blackadder exploiting the comic potential of Darling's surname at every opportunity.
message. The dialogue is marked throughout by satirical musings about the nature of the war, its origins and the effects on the soldiers who suffered over its course. In the episode "Corporal Punishment
", Blackadder justifies the shooting for food of a carrier pigeon
(which turns out to be Melchett's pet) by saying, "With 50,000 men killed a week, who's going to miss a pigeon?" This episode sees Blackadder being sentenced to death by firing squad for the said act, reflecting on the harsh punishments dealt to deserters under the laws of war
.
In "Private Plane
", after receiving word that Blackadder and Baldrick may have been killed when shot down over German lines, Melchett tries to cheer George up by showing him a life-size model (measuring seventeen square feet) of land recaptured by the British, a commentary on the high human cost and small physical gains achieved by attacks in the middle years of the war. Later in the same episode, Blackadder describes the Great War as: "a war which would be a damn sight simpler if we just stayed in England and shot fifty thousand of our men a week."
Field Marshal
Sir Douglas Haig
, whose orders are alleged to have resulted in hundreds of thousands of British deaths at Passchendaele and the Somme
is continually referenced. Blackadder himself describes Haig's attempts at an advance as no more than "another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin". In Goodbyeee, a scene parodies Haig's professional abilities by depicting the General playing with toy soldier
s, which he sweeps nonchalantly from trench to trench and then onto the floor while listening to Blackadder's plea to get out of the final push on the telephone.
The series recalls a number of famous historical events of the war, such as the Christmas truce
of 1914. Blackadder recalls the event: "Both sides advanced further during one Christmas piss-up than they did in the next two and a half years of war." References are also made to the popular culture
of the era, as well as the previous series. The episode "Private Plane", sees the return of the characters of Lord Flashheart and Bob from the second series episode "Bells
" and also an appearance of the famous flying ace
Baron von Richthofen
. A plot thread in the third episode "Major Star" involves Blackadder's dislike of the silent film
star Charlie Chaplin
, who he finds "as funny as getting an arrow through the neck, and then finding there's a gas bill tied to it".
The final episode of this series, "Goodbyeee", although true to the series' usual comedy style through most of the preceding scenes is known for featuring a purely dramatic and extraordinarily poignant final scene, where most of the main characters (Blackadder, Baldrick, George, and, on the last-minute orders of General Melchett, who remains behind at his quarters, Captain Darling) are finally sent over the top. To the sound of a slow, minimal and downbeat piano version of the title theme, the four are seen in slow-motion, charging into the fog and smoke of no man's land
, with gunfire and explosions all around, before the scene fades into footage of a sunny poppy field and the sound of birdsong. The fate of the four is left ambiguous. Blackadder's final line before the charge is also underpinned with an unusually reflective and poignant tone, offered after Baldrick claims to have one last cunning plan to save them from the impending doom:
on Thursdays at 9.30pm between 28 September and 2 November 1989, ending nine days before Remembrance Day
. The titles of the first five episodes, "Captain Cook
", "Corporal Punishment
", "Major Star
", "Private Plane
" and "General Hospital
" are pun
s based on the pairing of a military rank
and another word related to the episode's content. The final episode, "Goodbyeee", was the title of a period song.
s and then swapped the disks containing the scripts for each other to add or remove jokes and dialogue. Curtis recalls that they stuck to a policy whereby if one removed a line for not being funny, then it was never put back.
During rehearsals, the script was exhaustively discussed and redrafted by the cast, with Richard Curtis having the final say on the content. Fry, Laurie and Atkinson were comic writers and performers themselves, and having worked together on previous series were not afraid to question the script and make suggestions. For example, Captain Darling's surname was originally intended to be "Captain Cartwright" until Stephen Fry remembered a boy at his school called 'Darling', whose name was a constant embarrassment to him. Curtis recalls that he was initially reluctant to change the name, as he considered it a one-off joke.
Speaking to The Times
about the ending of the show in 1989, Curtis hinted that the collaborative writing process caused tensions amongst the cast: "Everybody on the show thinks they can put in good jokes, despite the fact that Ben Elton and I think there are already quite a few good ones in there to start with. It does usually end up funnier, but it's time to do something over which I have more control." Twenty years on, Curtis recalled in the documentary Blackadder Rides Again that: "They would literally sit around for the entire time discussing the script...sometimes we would just say to them "if you stood up and tried to act this script out, you would find out things about it." Ben Elton stating that by opening it up, they allowed the cast to question every aspect of the script.
During Blackadder Rides Again, Tony Robinson likewise recalls that these script meetings could be uncomfortable, and has been less reserved speaking about the script rehearsals since. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph
he suggests that although relations between the actors were generally cordial "There was bad feeling between the writers and the performers - the writers felt we were unilaterally altering the script and altering it for the worse. At end of the first day of rehearsals the writers would go away and by the time they came back we would have changed an awful lot of it. By the end, they felt we had run away with it. There were quite a lot of emotions flashing around about that."
Producer John Lloyd
, speaking to The Times in 1989 hinted that it was the draining scripting and rehearsal process that led to the writers deciding not to make another series: "Things do get very tense by the end of a series, because everyone involved in the thing is very clever, and very funny, and they all want to push the scripts along. "It's a very exhausting process, and by the end of it we all swear we'll never, ever, do another one. But then you start to think how rare it is to get so many good people in the same room and you talk yourself into doing another series."
Rowan Atkinson
and Tony Robinson
reprised their roles as Captain Edmund Blackadder
and Private S. Baldrick respectively. Hugh Laurie
also returned to play Lieutenant George. The fourth series enlarged the principal cast from the third series
to include Stephen Fry
as General Melchett and Tim McInnerny
as Captain Kevin Darling
, who had both appeared in guest roles in Blackadder the Third
and had appeared regularly in Blackadder II
. This cast appeared together in every episode of the fourth series, although the only episode to feature no guest appearances was Captain Cook. Miranda Richardson
, who had played Elizabeth I
in the second series, appeared in a guest role in one episode
(as she had in the third series). In their guest performances, actors such as Rik Mayall
and Gabrielle Glaister
reprised characters they had played in earlier series. Other performers, such as Bill Wallis and Lee Cornes
, who had played minor roles in prior series, appeared briefly again in the fourth series as well.
and all interior scenes were shot at BBC Television Centre
in front of a live studio audience. Rowan Atkinson recalls that the studio shooting could present him with problems:
Atkinson has said that in the build up to the final episode, he began to psychologically experience something of his character's apprehension. Speaking to Michael Parkinson
in 2003, he recalled "I remember...in the weeks leading up to the one day recording of that final episode when we went over the top, for the first time in my acting career...knowing that even though the rest of the episode was its usual standard funny sitcom self, there was this deep twist in my stomach throughout that week thinking along with your character that you were doomed. It was most peculiar. I'm sure serious character actors feel this all the time... Obviously if you're trying to feel the character and his dilemma then you're going to experience some of the fictional feelings for real. You felt swept along by it."
Other than the title sequence, the series used little external shooting. To achieve the flying sequences in the episode "Private Plane", footage from the 1976 film Aces High
was re-edited and dubbed over with the actors' voices. The most challenging scene to shoot was the final "over the top" sequence, which was recorded in a separate studio set away from the audience which had been rigged with special effects to simulate a battlefield.
On viewing the original studio rushes
for the 20th anniversary documentary Blackadder Rides Again, John Lloyd recalls that originally the final scene was "all very embarrassing", as the actors only had 15 ft (4.6 m) to run before they reached the barbed wire in front of the camera, where they had to pretend to die, an effect described by Atkinson as "somewhat unconvincing". It was only in post-production that the final effect was achieved by running the video and audio in slow motion and fading another video of the empty set over the top to make it appear as if the characters had disappeared. This image of a barren landscape was then faded into a still image of a poppy field found in the BBC Picture Library.
, here played by a military band
(the Band of the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment
) over opening title images of Blackadder and George parading their men past Melchett and Darling, while Baldrick plays the triangle
. The title music starts with the opening bars of "The British Grenadiers
" before segueing into the familiar Blackadder theme. In the closing credits, the full Blackadder theme plays over visuals of armed men marching on a parade ground. The sequences were filmed and recorded with the cast and military band on location at Colchester Cavalry Barracks, with the production using fifty members of Royal Anglian Regiment attired in reproduction First World War uniforms.
The titles are presented as static captions instead of being rolled as in the previous three series. The crew credits are presented in pseudo-military fashion: for example, the designer is credited thus: "Dgr – 404371 Hull, C". The opening sequence is filmed in colour, while the closing sequence was treated in post production to appear grainy, streaky, and sepia toned in imitation of newsreel
s of the era.
"Goodbyeee" has no closing titles, simply fading from the protagonists charging across no man's land under fire, to a field of poppies
in the sunlight, a reference to the poem "In Flanders Fields
". The music was also changed to a slow, echoey solo piano
arrangement, finishing with three strong bass-drum notes, interposed with sound effects of gunshot, and later birdsong.
Certainly, the issue of the series' subject matter was of concern to the producers. Atkinson recalled in an interview with Michael Parkinson
that the poignant ending of the final episode was in part written to counter the possibility of criticism that the subject was inappropriate for a comedy, although noted that the public accepted the series for what it was. Speaking during filming in 1989, he remarked that despite the 20th century setting, the trenches were particularly apt for the Blackadder series:
Co-writer Richard Curtis has said that before writing the series, the writers read a number of books about the war and decided that the First World War was a particularly apt subject for a situation comedy, finding that "actually, all the lead up to the first world war was very funny, all the people coming from communities where they'd never bumped into posh people...and all being so gung ho and optimistic...the first hundred pages of any book about the world war are hilarious, then of course everybody dies.
Michael Brooke, accessing the series for the British Film Institute
suggests that the characterisation and pervading sense of danger prevented the sitcom from trivialising its subject matter: "The prospect of its characters suddenly dying a violent death provided a constant source of tension and gags, though when they really were killed off at the end of the final episode...the result was so unexpectedly moving that the programme was later repeated as part of an otherwise wholly serious BBC2 Armistice Day programme without anyone batting an eyelid."
compiled by the British Film Institute
. In 2004, championed by John Sergeant
, the whole Blackadder series came second in the BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom
with 282,106 votes.
commented in his book The Western Front
: "Blackadder's aphorisms have become fact...A well turned line of script can sometimes carry more weight than all the scholarly footnotes in the world." Stephen Badsey, analysing trends in television programmes about the war remarked that Blackadder Goes Forth, as a popular comedy series was subject to particular criticism from historians, remarking that the series: "consciously traded on every cliche and misremembered piece of history about the Western Front, and was influential enough to draw a surprising degree of angry criticism from professional historians as a result."
Esther MacCallum-Stewart of Sussex University noted in her essay "Television Docu-Drama and The First World War" that "Blackadder Goes Forth is used as a teaching aid in schools; not as a secondary text that should be analysed and discussed for its own reliability, but as a truthful parody of the conditions of the First World War."
-distributed DVD
and VHS video
releases, either as an individual series or as part of a boxset with the other series of Blackadder. In addition, a BBC Radio Collection
audio version created from the TV soundtrack is available on Cassette and CD. All 4 seasons and the Christmas special are also available for download on iTunes
. The complete scripts of the four television series were released in 1998 as Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty 1485–1917, and later reissued by Penguin Books in 2009.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
, written by Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
and Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
.
The series placed the recurring characters of Blackadder
Captain Blackadder
Captain Edmund Blackadder is the main fictional character in the fourth and final series of the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder, Blackadder Goes Forth...
, Baldrick and George in a trench
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
during World War I, and followed their various doomed attempts to escape from the trenches to avoid certain death under the misguided command of General Melchett
Melchett
Melchett is a family line of fictional characters appearing in the British television sitcom series Blackadder, played by Stephen Fry. There were two main Melchetts: Lord Melchett and General Melchett.- Blackadder II :...
. The series is particularly noted for its criticism of the British Army leadership during the campaign, and also references a number of famous figures of the age. In addition, the series is remembered for the poignant ending of the final episode.
Despite initial concerns that the comedy series might trivialise the events of 1914—1918, the series won widespread acclaim on its release, and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Series in 1989. It has since become regarded as a classic television sitcom, and in 2000 was placed 16th by industry professionals in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes
100 Greatest British Television Programmes
The BFI TV 100 is a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute , chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened....
compiled by the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
. However, it has been criticised by historians for presenting an over-simplified view of the war, reinforcing the popular notion of "lions led by donkeys
Lions led by donkeys
"Lions led by donkeys" is a phrase popularly used to describe the British infantry of the First World War and to condemn the generals who commanded them. The contention is that the brave soldiers were sent to their deaths by incompetent and indifferent leaders...
".
Scenario
Blackadder Goes Forth is set in 1917 on the Western FrontWestern Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
in the trenches of World War I. Captain Blackadder
Captain Blackadder
Captain Edmund Blackadder is the main fictional character in the fourth and final series of the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder, Blackadder Goes Forth...
(Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
) is a professional soldier in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
who, until the outbreak of the Great War, has enjoyed a relatively action-free existence fighting natives who were usually "two feet tall and armed with dried grass". Finding himself trapped in the trenches with another "big push" planned, his concern is to avoid being sent over the top to certain death. The series thus chronicles Blackadder's attempts to escape the trenches through various schemes, most of which fail due to bad fortune, misunderstandings and the general incompetence of his comrades. The aforementioned comrades are his second-in-command, idealistic upper-class Edwardian
Edwardian period
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son Edward marked the end of the Victorian era...
twit Lieutenant George (Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
) and their profoundly stupid but dogged batman Private S. Baldrick (Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson is an English actor, comedian, author, broadcaster and political campaigner. He is best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder, and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. Robinson is a member of the Labour Party...
).
Rather than the Germans
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
, who remain generally unseen
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...
, Blackadder's nemeses come in the form of his superior, the eccentric General Melchett
Melchett
Melchett is a family line of fictional characters appearing in the British television sitcom series Blackadder, played by Stephen Fry. There were two main Melchetts: Lord Melchett and General Melchett.- Blackadder II :...
(Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
) who rallies his troops from a French château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
35 miles (56.3 km) from the front, and Melchett's bureaucratic
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
assistant, Captain Kevin Darling
Kevin Darling
Darling is the name of several fictional characters played by Tim McInnerny in the British mock-historical sitcom Blackadder. Introduced in its fourth iteration, Blackadder Goes Forth, Captain Kevin Darling is main character Captain Edmund Blackadder 's intellectual peer and bitter rival; while...
(Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny is an English actor. He is known for his role as Percy in Blackadder and Blackadder II, and as Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth...
). Despite the two being of equal rank, Blackadder treats Darling with contempt - while the former is on the front line, the latter is "folding the general's pyjamas". Their animosity is mutual, largely as a result of Blackadder exploiting the comic potential of Darling's surname at every opportunity.
Themes
Blackadder Goes Forth is more satirical in tone than the previous three Blackadder series, taking the opportunity to present an anti-warAnti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
message. The dialogue is marked throughout by satirical musings about the nature of the war, its origins and the effects on the soldiers who suffered over its course. In the episode "Corporal Punishment
Corporal Punishment (Blackadder)
"Corporal Punishment" is the second episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Summary:Orders for Operation Insanity arrive and Blackadder breaches regulations by eating the messenger...
", Blackadder justifies the shooting for food of a carrier pigeon
Carrier pigeon
A carrier pigeon is a homing pigeon that is used to carry messages. Using pigeons to carry messages is generally called "pigeon post". Most homing or racing type varieties are used to carry messages. There is no specific breed actually called "carrier pigeon"...
(which turns out to be Melchett's pet) by saying, "With 50,000 men killed a week, who's going to miss a pigeon?" This episode sees Blackadder being sentenced to death by firing squad for the said act, reflecting on the harsh punishments dealt to deserters under the laws of war
Laws of war
The law of war is a body of law concerning acceptable justifications to engage in war and the limits to acceptable wartime conduct...
.
In "Private Plane
Private Plane (Blackadder)
"Private Plane" is the fourth episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.- Plot :The episode begins with an ongoing artillery attack that is disturbing Blackadder's rest, and which he says will not help as 'Jerry is safe underground'. Shortly after it stops, an...
", after receiving word that Blackadder and Baldrick may have been killed when shot down over German lines, Melchett tries to cheer George up by showing him a life-size model (measuring seventeen square feet) of land recaptured by the British, a commentary on the high human cost and small physical gains achieved by attacks in the middle years of the war. Later in the same episode, Blackadder describes the Great War as: "a war which would be a damn sight simpler if we just stayed in England and shot fifty thousand of our men a week."
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Sir Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
, whose orders are alleged to have resulted in hundreds of thousands of British deaths at Passchendaele and the Somme
Battle of the Somme (1916)
The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
is continually referenced. Blackadder himself describes Haig's attempts at an advance as no more than "another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin". In Goodbyeee, a scene parodies Haig's professional abilities by depicting the General playing with toy soldier
Toy soldier
A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, pirates, and other subjects that involve combat-related themes. Toy soldiers vary from simple playthings to highly realistic...
s, which he sweeps nonchalantly from trench to trench and then onto the floor while listening to Blackadder's plea to get out of the final push on the telephone.
The series recalls a number of famous historical events of the war, such as the Christmas truce
Christmas truce
Christmas truce was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires that took place along the Western Front around Christmas of 1914, during the First World War...
of 1914. Blackadder recalls the event: "Both sides advanced further during one Christmas piss-up than they did in the next two and a half years of war." References are also made to the popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
of the era, as well as the previous series. The episode "Private Plane", sees the return of the characters of Lord Flashheart and Bob from the second series episode "Bells
Bells (Blackadder)
"Bells" is the first episode of the BBC sitcom Blackadder II, the second series of Blackadder, which was set in Elizabethan England from 1558 to 1603. Although "Bells" was the first to be broadcast on BBC1, it was originally destined to be the second episode...
" and also an appearance of the famous flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
Baron von Richthofen
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...
. A plot thread in the third episode "Major Star" involves Blackadder's dislike of the silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
star Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, who he finds "as funny as getting an arrow through the neck, and then finding there's a gas bill tied to it".
The final episode of this series, "Goodbyeee", although true to the series' usual comedy style through most of the preceding scenes is known for featuring a purely dramatic and extraordinarily poignant final scene, where most of the main characters (Blackadder, Baldrick, George, and, on the last-minute orders of General Melchett, who remains behind at his quarters, Captain Darling) are finally sent over the top. To the sound of a slow, minimal and downbeat piano version of the title theme, the four are seen in slow-motion, charging into the fog and smoke of no man's land
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
, with gunfire and explosions all around, before the scene fades into footage of a sunny poppy field and the sound of birdsong. The fate of the four is left ambiguous. Blackadder's final line before the charge is also underpinned with an unusually reflective and poignant tone, offered after Baldrick claims to have one last cunning plan to save them from the impending doom:
Episodes
The series aired for six episodes broadcast on BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on Thursdays at 9.30pm between 28 September and 2 November 1989, ending nine days before Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...
. The titles of the first five episodes, "Captain Cook
Captain Cook (Blackadder)
"Captain Cook" is the first episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Summary:When Field Marshal Haig unveils his new strategy to advance on the German trenches , Blackadder volunteers to be the Official War Artist.-Plot:The episode starts with...
", "Corporal Punishment
Corporal Punishment (Blackadder)
"Corporal Punishment" is the second episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Summary:Orders for Operation Insanity arrive and Blackadder breaches regulations by eating the messenger...
", "Major Star
Major Star (Blackadder)
"Major Star" is the third episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Summary:The Russian Revolution produces two more appalling results: an offensive by Germany and a really offensive Charlie Chaplin impression by Baldrick.-Plot:Blackadder is feeling bored, so...
", "Private Plane
Private Plane (Blackadder)
"Private Plane" is the fourth episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.- Plot :The episode begins with an ongoing artillery attack that is disturbing Blackadder's rest, and which he says will not help as 'Jerry is safe underground'. Shortly after it stops, an...
" and "General Hospital
General Hospital (Blackadder)
"General Hospital" is the fifth episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Plot:The episode opens with George and Baldrick playing "I spy", to Blackadder's great annoyance and boredom...
" are pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s based on the pairing of a military rank
Military rank
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...
and another word related to the episode's content. The final episode, "Goodbyeee", was the title of a period song.
| No. | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 4-1 | Captain Cook Captain Cook (Blackadder) "Captain Cook" is the first episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Summary:When Field Marshal Haig unveils his new strategy to advance on the German trenches , Blackadder volunteers to be the Official War Artist.-Plot:The episode starts with... |
28 September 1989 |
| When Field Marshal Haig Douglas Haig Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I.Douglas Haig may also refer to:* Club Atlético Douglas Haig, a football club from Argentina* Douglas Haig , American actor... unveils his new strategy to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin, Blackadder volunteers to be an Official War Artist, not realising that a commission to paint a cover for thoroughly absorbent propaganda magazine King and Country is just a ruse for a highly-dangerous secret mission. Can Baldrick's plan to become Melchett's chef save him, and how much custard can one cat produce? |
||
| 4-2 | Corporal Punishment Corporal Punishment (Blackadder) "Corporal Punishment" is the second episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Summary:Orders for Operation Insanity arrive and Blackadder breaches regulations by eating the messenger... |
5 October 1989 |
| Despite problems with communications, orders for another mission arrive and Blackadder breaches regulations by eating the messenger. With George as his lawyer in a court martial, and with only one night to live, can the Flanders pigeon War pigeon Pigeons have long played an important role in war. Due to their homing ability, speed, and altitude, they were often used as military messengers. After World War II, they ceased being used.- Nineteenth century :... murderer avoid death by firing squad using Baldrick's smuggled escape kit? Guest starring Jeremy Hardy Jeremy Hardy Jeremy James Hardy is a British alternative comedian who is also known for his socialist politics.-Career:Hardy was born in Farnborough, Hampshire. He attended Farnham College and studied Modern History and Politics at the University of Southampton... as Corporal Perkins and Stephen Frost Stephen Frost Stephen Frost , also known as Steve Frost, is an English comedian.Frost is known for his work in the 1980s with Mark Arden as part of the double act The Oblivion Boys on Saturday Live... as Corporal Jones. |
||
| 4-3 | Major Star | 12 October 1989 |
| With everyone talking about the famous comedian Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I... , Blackadder volunteers to organise a variety show Variety show A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling... in the hope that it will be shifted to the London Palladium London Palladium The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety... . Unfortunately, Melchett has fallen in love with his leading lady, the fair Georgina (George dressed as a woman). Guest starring Gabrielle Glaister Gabrielle Glaister Gabrielle Glaister is an English actress.-Early life:She was a school friend of Ben Elton at Godalming Grammar School on Tuesley Lane in Godalming, Surrey; Glaister was in the year below Elton... as Private "Bob" Parkhurst. |
||
| 4-4 | Private Plane | 19 October 1989 |
| Despite Blackadder's loathing of the arrogant flying ace Flying ace A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more... Lord Flashheart Lord Flashheart Lord Flashheart is the name of two fictional characters who appeared in two episodes of the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder. They are both played by Rik Mayall.... , Blackadder, Baldrick and George volunteer to join the Royal Flying Corps Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance... unaware that their nickname the "Twenty Minuters" refers to their average life expectancy. After Blackadder and Baldrick crash their plane behind enemy lines, they are captured by the Germans (including a rather camp Baron von Richthofen Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I... ) and must prepare for a fate worse than death. Guest starring Rik Mayall Rik Mayall Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s... as Lord Flashheart Lord Flashheart Lord Flashheart is the name of two fictional characters who appeared in two episodes of the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder. They are both played by Rik Mayall.... and Adrian Edmondson Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was... as Baron von Richthofen Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I... . |
||
| 4-5 | General Hospital General Hospital (Blackadder) "General Hospital" is the fifth episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Plot:The episode opens with George and Baldrick playing "I spy", to Blackadder's great annoyance and boredom... |
26 October 1989 |
| A game of "I Spy" goes terribly wrong when a bomb strikes Blackadder's bunker and injures George, leaving him in the care of the kindly Nurse Mary at the field hospital. After Melchett and Darling inform Blackadder that there is a German spy in the hospital giving away their battle plans, Blackadder and Darling are sent undercover. Guest starring Miranda Richardson Miranda Richardson Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career.... as Nurse Mary Fletcher-Brown and Bill Wallis Bill Wallis Bill Wallis is a British character actor and comedian who has appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre.... as Sir Bernard Proudfoot-Smith. |
||
| 4-6 | Goodbyeee | 2 November 1989 |
| Millions have died but the troops have advanced no further than "an asthma Asthma Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath... tic ant with some heavy shopping". Now, at last, the 'final' big push looms, and Edmund is willing to try anything to avoid it. Will putting a pair of underpants on his head and shoving two pencils up his nose get Edmund invalided back to Blighty? Guest starring Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer (actor) Geoffrey Dyson Palmer, OBE is an English actor, best known for his roles in sitcoms such as Butterflies and As Time Goes By.-Career:... as Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig Douglas Haig Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I.Douglas Haig may also refer to:* Club Atlético Douglas Haig, a football club from Argentina* Douglas Haig , American actor... . |
||
Writing and rehearsals
Writers Ben Elton and Richard Curtis wrote the scripts for Blackadder episodes separately using word processorWord processor
A word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
s and then swapped the disks containing the scripts for each other to add or remove jokes and dialogue. Curtis recalls that they stuck to a policy whereby if one removed a line for not being funny, then it was never put back.
During rehearsals, the script was exhaustively discussed and redrafted by the cast, with Richard Curtis having the final say on the content. Fry, Laurie and Atkinson were comic writers and performers themselves, and having worked together on previous series were not afraid to question the script and make suggestions. For example, Captain Darling's surname was originally intended to be "Captain Cartwright" until Stephen Fry remembered a boy at his school called 'Darling', whose name was a constant embarrassment to him. Curtis recalls that he was initially reluctant to change the name, as he considered it a one-off joke.
Speaking to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
about the ending of the show in 1989, Curtis hinted that the collaborative writing process caused tensions amongst the cast: "Everybody on the show thinks they can put in good jokes, despite the fact that Ben Elton and I think there are already quite a few good ones in there to start with. It does usually end up funnier, but it's time to do something over which I have more control." Twenty years on, Curtis recalled in the documentary Blackadder Rides Again that: "They would literally sit around for the entire time discussing the script...sometimes we would just say to them "if you stood up and tried to act this script out, you would find out things about it." Ben Elton stating that by opening it up, they allowed the cast to question every aspect of the script.
During Blackadder Rides Again, Tony Robinson likewise recalls that these script meetings could be uncomfortable, and has been less reserved speaking about the script rehearsals since. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
he suggests that although relations between the actors were generally cordial "There was bad feeling between the writers and the performers - the writers felt we were unilaterally altering the script and altering it for the worse. At end of the first day of rehearsals the writers would go away and by the time they came back we would have changed an awful lot of it. By the end, they felt we had run away with it. There were quite a lot of emotions flashing around about that."
Producer John Lloyd
John Lloyd (writer)
John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd CBE is a British comedy writer and television producer. He is the great nephew of John Hardress Lloyd.-Early life and career:...
, speaking to The Times in 1989 hinted that it was the draining scripting and rehearsal process that led to the writers deciding not to make another series: "Things do get very tense by the end of a series, because everyone involved in the thing is very clever, and very funny, and they all want to push the scripts along. "It's a very exhausting process, and by the end of it we all swear we'll never, ever, do another one. But then you start to think how rare it is to get so many good people in the same room and you talk yourself into doing another series."
Casting
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
and Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson
Tony Robinson is an English actor, comedian, author, broadcaster and political campaigner. He is best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder, and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. Robinson is a member of the Labour Party...
reprised their roles as Captain Edmund Blackadder
Captain Blackadder
Captain Edmund Blackadder is the main fictional character in the fourth and final series of the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder, Blackadder Goes Forth...
and Private S. Baldrick respectively. Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
also returned to play Lieutenant George. The fourth series enlarged the principal cast from the third series
Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987....
to include Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
as General Melchett and Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny
Tim McInnerny is an English actor. He is known for his role as Percy in Blackadder and Blackadder II, and as Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth...
as Captain Kevin Darling
Kevin Darling
Darling is the name of several fictional characters played by Tim McInnerny in the British mock-historical sitcom Blackadder. Introduced in its fourth iteration, Blackadder Goes Forth, Captain Kevin Darling is main character Captain Edmund Blackadder 's intellectual peer and bitter rival; while...
, who had both appeared in guest roles in Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987....
and had appeared regularly in Blackadder II
Blackadder II
Blackadder II is the second series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986...
. This cast appeared together in every episode of the fourth series, although the only episode to feature no guest appearances was Captain Cook. Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
, who had played Elizabeth I
Queenie
"Queenie" is a caricature of the historical figure Queen Elizabeth I of England, played by Miranda Richardson in Blackadder II, the second series of the BBC historical sitcom Blackadder, which was set in Elizabethan England...
in the second series, appeared in a guest role in one episode
General Hospital (Blackadder)
"General Hospital" is the fifth episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Plot:The episode opens with George and Baldrick playing "I spy", to Blackadder's great annoyance and boredom...
(as she had in the third series). In their guest performances, actors such as Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
and Gabrielle Glaister
Gabrielle Glaister
Gabrielle Glaister is an English actress.-Early life:She was a school friend of Ben Elton at Godalming Grammar School on Tuesley Lane in Godalming, Surrey; Glaister was in the year below Elton...
reprised characters they had played in earlier series. Other performers, such as Bill Wallis and Lee Cornes
Lee Cornes
Lee Cornes is a British actor.He appeared in three series of Blackadder, as a talking extra, in two episodes of The Young Ones and in the TV show Bottom, as barman, 'Dick Head'. He made an appearance in the first episode of Filthy, Rich & Catflap as a binman. He also starred in children's drama...
, who had played minor roles in prior series, appeared briefly again in the fourth series as well.
Taping
The series was directed by Richard BodenRichard Boden
Richard Boden is a British television director and producer best known for his work on situation comedies including Allo 'Allo, Blackadder Goes Forth, Life of Riley and The IT Crowd, the latter two of which he is also the producer...
and all interior scenes were shot at BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre at White City in West London is the headquarters of BBC Television. Officially opened on 29 June 1960, it remains one of the largest to this day; having featured over the years as backdrop to many BBC programmes, it is one of the most readily recognisable such facilities...
in front of a live studio audience. Rowan Atkinson recalls that the studio shooting could present him with problems:
That sitcom tradition is very strange when you're performing to both a camera and an audience at the same time...The thing that sometimes held us up is my stammer. Some words and some phrases did catch me out..."B"s in particular. I remember one episode in which Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie were going "woof" a lot, and my line was "it's like Battersea Dogs Home in here". The B of Battersea was a problem for me. The floor manager suggested that I say "Crufts" instead.
Atkinson has said that in the build up to the final episode, he began to psychologically experience something of his character's apprehension. Speaking to Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
in 2003, he recalled "I remember...in the weeks leading up to the one day recording of that final episode when we went over the top, for the first time in my acting career...knowing that even though the rest of the episode was its usual standard funny sitcom self, there was this deep twist in my stomach throughout that week thinking along with your character that you were doomed. It was most peculiar. I'm sure serious character actors feel this all the time... Obviously if you're trying to feel the character and his dilemma then you're going to experience some of the fictional feelings for real. You felt swept along by it."
Other than the title sequence, the series used little external shooting. To achieve the flying sequences in the episode "Private Plane", footage from the 1976 film Aces High
Aces High (film)
Aces High is a 1976 British war film directed by Jack Gold and starring Malcolm McDowell, Christopher Plummer and Simon Ward. The screenplay was written by Howard Barker. As acknowledged in the opening credits, the film is based on the 1930s play Journey's End by R. C. Sherriff and the memoir...
was re-edited and dubbed over with the actors' voices. The most challenging scene to shoot was the final "over the top" sequence, which was recorded in a separate studio set away from the audience which had been rigged with special effects to simulate a battlefield.
On viewing the original studio rushes
Dailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
for the 20th anniversary documentary Blackadder Rides Again, John Lloyd recalls that originally the final scene was "all very embarrassing", as the actors only had 15 ft (4.6 m) to run before they reached the barbed wire in front of the camera, where they had to pretend to die, an effect described by Atkinson as "somewhat unconvincing". It was only in post-production that the final effect was achieved by running the video and audio in slow motion and fading another video of the empty set over the top to make it appear as if the characters had disappeared. This image of a barren landscape was then faded into a still image of a poppy field found in the BBC Picture Library.
Titles and music
The theme melody was a variation on the Blackadder theme by Howard GoodallHoward Goodall
210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
, here played by a military band
Military band
A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...
(the Band of the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
) over opening title images of Blackadder and George parading their men past Melchett and Darling, while Baldrick plays the triangle
Triangle (instrument)
The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
. The title music starts with the opening bars of "The British Grenadiers
The British Grenadiers
The British Grenadiers is a marching song for the grenadier units of the British and Commonwealth militaries, the tune of which dates from the 17th century. It is the Regimental Quick March of the Grenadier Guards, Corps of Royal Engineers, the Honourable Artillery Company and the Royal Regiment of...
" before segueing into the familiar Blackadder theme. In the closing credits, the full Blackadder theme plays over visuals of armed men marching on a parade ground. The sequences were filmed and recorded with the cast and military band on location at Colchester Cavalry Barracks, with the production using fifty members of Royal Anglian Regiment attired in reproduction First World War uniforms.
The titles are presented as static captions instead of being rolled as in the previous three series. The crew credits are presented in pseudo-military fashion: for example, the designer is credited thus: "Dgr – 404371 Hull, C". The opening sequence is filmed in colour, while the closing sequence was treated in post production to appear grainy, streaky, and sepia toned in imitation of newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
s of the era.
"Goodbyeee" has no closing titles, simply fading from the protagonists charging across no man's land under fire, to a field of poppies
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
in the sunlight, a reference to the poem "In Flanders Fields
In Flanders Fields
"In Flanders Fields" is one of the most notable poems written during World War I, created in the form of a French rondeau. It has been called "the most popular poem" produced during that period...
". The music was also changed to a slow, echoey solo piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
arrangement, finishing with three strong bass-drum notes, interposed with sound effects of gunshot, and later birdsong.
Subject
Emma Hanna, in her book The Great War on the Small Screen has noted that some contemporary reviewers felt the topic of the First World War to be inappropriate for a comedy series, with one newspaper critic uncertain of the writers' motives: "is [the series] justified in using tragic situations as a springboard for comedy merely for entertainment value?" Ben Elton's uncle, the historian Geoffrey Elton, had likewise initially expressed a concern to his nephew that the series might be considered disrespectful.Certainly, the issue of the series' subject matter was of concern to the producers. Atkinson recalled in an interview with Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
that the poignant ending of the final episode was in part written to counter the possibility of criticism that the subject was inappropriate for a comedy, although noted that the public accepted the series for what it was. Speaking during filming in 1989, he remarked that despite the 20th century setting, the trenches were particularly apt for the Blackadder series:
We wanted a place and a time that could reproduce to a certain extent the claustrophobia and the sordidness of medieval England, and the best way to do that is to set it in the middle of a war.
Co-writer Richard Curtis has said that before writing the series, the writers read a number of books about the war and decided that the First World War was a particularly apt subject for a situation comedy, finding that "actually, all the lead up to the first world war was very funny, all the people coming from communities where they'd never bumped into posh people...and all being so gung ho and optimistic...the first hundred pages of any book about the world war are hilarious, then of course everybody dies.
Michael Brooke, accessing the series for the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
suggests that the characterisation and pervading sense of danger prevented the sitcom from trivialising its subject matter: "The prospect of its characters suddenly dying a violent death provided a constant source of tension and gags, though when they really were killed off at the end of the final episode...the result was so unexpectedly moving that the programme was later repeated as part of an otherwise wholly serious BBC2 Armistice Day programme without anyone batting an eyelid."
Awards
The series won the British Academy Television Award for Best Comedy Series in 1989. In addition, for his performance as Captain Blackadder, Rowan Atkinson won Best Light Entertainment Performance. In 2000, the series was placed 16th by industry professionals in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes100 Greatest British Television Programmes
The BFI TV 100 is a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute , chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened....
compiled by the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
. In 2004, championed by John Sergeant
John Sergeant (journalist)
John Sergeant is a British television and radio journalist and broadcaster.-Biography:The son of a missionary who was also a distinguished linguist, Sergeant is of Russian Jewish origin on his mother's side. Sergeant's early life meant that he followed his father's work, and was raised in...
, the whole Blackadder series came second in the BBC poll to find Britain's Best Sitcom
Britain's Best Sitcom
Britain's Best Sitcom was a poll conducted in 2004 by the BBC, to identify the United Kingdom's best situation comedy. Viewers were asked to vote for their favourite by phone, text message and on the web. The top ten went forward to a final round of voting...
with 282,106 votes.
Legacy
Academics have noted that the television series has become a pervasive view of the war in the public's perception of World War I. Military historian Richard HolmesRichard Holmes (military historian)
Brigadier Edward Richard Holmes, CBE, TD, JP , known as Richard Holmes, was a British soldier and noted military historian, particularly well-known through his many television appearances...
commented in his book The Western Front
The Western Front (book)
The Western Front is a 1999 book by Richard Holmes which explains peoples views, decisions and facts about the western front of the first world war....
: "Blackadder's aphorisms have become fact...A well turned line of script can sometimes carry more weight than all the scholarly footnotes in the world." Stephen Badsey, analysing trends in television programmes about the war remarked that Blackadder Goes Forth, as a popular comedy series was subject to particular criticism from historians, remarking that the series: "consciously traded on every cliche and misremembered piece of history about the Western Front, and was influential enough to draw a surprising degree of angry criticism from professional historians as a result."
Esther MacCallum-Stewart of Sussex University noted in her essay "Television Docu-Drama and The First World War" that "Blackadder Goes Forth is used as a teaching aid in schools; not as a secondary text that should be analysed and discussed for its own reliability, but as a truthful parody of the conditions of the First World War."
Media releases
Blackadder Goes Forth is available on a variety of BBC WorldwideBBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
-distributed DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and VHS video
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
releases, either as an individual series or as part of a boxset with the other series of Blackadder. In addition, a BBC Radio Collection
BBC Radio Collection
The BBC Radio Collection was an imprint or record label used for audio books from the British Broadcasting Corporation, mainly of previously broadcast material...
audio version created from the TV soundtrack is available on Cassette and CD. All 4 seasons and the Christmas special are also available for download on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. The complete scripts of the four television series were released in 1998 as Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty 1485–1917, and later reissued by Penguin Books in 2009.
DVD releases
| DVD Title | DVD Content | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackadder Goes Forth |
Complete fourth series, no extras. | |
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| The Complete Blackadder | All four series, no extras. |
|
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| Blackadder - The Complete Collection | All four series and specials, no extras. |
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| Blackadder Remastered - The Ultimate Edition | All four series and specials remastered, plus Blackadder Rides Again documentary, audio commentaries on selected episodes and interviews with cast. | |
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External links
- Blackadder Goes Forth at the former BBC Guide to Comedy (archive)
- Blackadder Goes Forth at the new BBC "Comedy Guide"