Blair Loveday
I am going to kick this off with a controversial statement.
Blackadder is the greatest comedy series of all time. Seriously, it rarely comes to mind when I think of the top comedy, yet every time I watch an episode of it, I inevitably wind up binging the whole thing again. Well now it is back and available of Bluray with so much awesomeness in there to boot.
If somehow you have not seen this iconic series, let me tell you, this timeless show is brilliant. It has four seasons that are set in different time periods. The Blackadder is set in 1485 at the end of the middle ages. Then there is a slight jump to Blackadder II which is set in the late 1500’s. Blackadder The Third jumps further with a jump to the early 1800’s in the Georgian era, and the Blackadder Goes Forth jumps to World War 1.
So what do the series have in common?
Well, they all have a character called Edmund Blackadder who is the lead character. The first series has him as a sniveling poisonous character born into power who is equal parts pathetic as he is nasty. As the series goes on he takes a step back from being born into wealth, and instead becomes a smarter more manipulating character who can cleverly get himself into positions of power by being really important to people in power. Season four though he is less in a position of power, and being on the front lines of the war is just trying to keep himself out of having to die.
Each series he is accompanied by a character Baldrick. Baldrick is generally not overly smart, he is fiercely loyal, and is kind of gross. The relationship between Blackadder and Baldrick is very abusive with Blackadder treating him like crap. This is sounding really dark right? Trust me it is funny as hell. No matter what bastard like stuff Blackadder does, he tends to wind up getting his campunce, or spends an episode trying to undo something disastrous. The show balances super clever wit and wordplay, with brilliant over the top silliness. It is one of the few shows that can actually make me laugh out loud, even when know the punchline.
Best of all, this release comes with the Specials. These are longer episodes that tell self contained stories.
One has Blackadder and Baldrick inventing a time machine where the go back to multiple periods collecting items to win a bet that the time machine works. It all goes to crap in the funniest possible ways. Another includes A good Blackadder who gets visited by the Christmas spirit who rewards his good deeds by showing him his bad ancestors, but in doing so he realises his life could be way easier if he was selfish and turns into a bad Blackadder. There is more, but that’s a nice slice of what to enjoy here.
This release comes with an Anniversary Special looking back on the show, and a heap of special features. These include interviews where Rowan Atkinson was doing the circuits to publicise the show, and just how how funny a man he really is. Now this is a really minor thing I love, but the show is in a cardboard case that folds out to show all the discs. I say minor, because it’s just what holds the discs, but I love it as the presentation is exceptional, and it reminds me of an old DVD case I used to have that had the original seasons in it until someone pinched it. I love having this on my shelf now.
If you are looking to check the show out, or add it permanently to your shelf, this has to be the best way to get Blackadder. Even if you aren’t interested in the extras, the show has never looked or sounded better. Then when you are done, the Special Features are there waiting for you to enjoy them.
