''Blackadder the Third'' is the third series of the BBC sitcom ''

Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four period British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC One from 1983 to 1989. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robins ...

'', written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987. The series is set during the

Georgian Era The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of Willi ...

, and sees the principal character, Mr. E. Blackadder, serve as butler to the Prince Regent and have to contend with, or cash in on, the

fad A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period. Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve short- ...

s of the age embraced by his master. The third series reduced the number of principal characters again compared with the previous series, but instead included a number of significant cameo roles by well-known comic actors.Lewisohn, Mark
''Blackadder the Third''
at the former BBC Guide to Comedy. Retrieved 3 June 2007 The programme won a BAFTA award for Best Comedy Series in 1988 and received three further nominations.Awards at IMDb
Retrieved 4 April 2008

Plot

''Blackadder the Third'' is vaguely set in the late 18th and early 19th century period known as the Regency, although it is not possible to precisely date any episode as the historical events and persons depicted and referenced are (perhaps intentionally) anachronistic. For example, the formal Regency (during which King George III was incapacitated due to poor mental health and his son, George, Prince of Wales, served as regent) was in place between 1811 and 1820, and the series repeatedly refers to George as " Prince Regent." However, the

second episode "Second Episode" is the second episode of the HBO television series ''The New Pope''. The episode was directed by series creator Paolo Sorrentino and was written by Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contrarello, and Stefano Bises. The episode takes place ...

depicts

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

(who died in 1784) working on his groundbreaking dictionary (which was published in 1755). Likewise, the final episode is set just before the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), but refers to George as Prince Regent, depicts George III as suffering from mental illness, and refers to Arthur Wellesley, who wasn't created "Viscount Wellington" until 1809, as "Wellington." In the series, E. Blackadder Esquire (

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

) is the head butler to the Prince of Wales ( Hugh Laurie), a spoiled, foppish idiot. Despite Edmund's respected intelligence and abilities, he has no personal fortune to speak of. On the other hand, given the ease with which he is able to manipulate the Prince, he is generally financially comfortable. According to Edmund he has been serving the Prince Regent all of his life, ever since the Prince was breastfed (when he had to show the Prince which part of

his mother ''His Mother'' is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ire ...

was "serving the drinks"). Baldrick ( Tony Robinson) remains similar to his '' Blackadder II'' predecessor, and although his "cunning plans" cease to be even remotely intelligent (except in the last episode), he is the most aware of political, religious and social events. As Blackadder himself is now a servant, Baldrick is labelled as Blackadder's "

dogsbody A dogsbody, dog's body, or less commonly dog robber is someone who does menial or drudge work.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 3rd edition, 2010''s.v.''/ref> Originally, in the British Royal Navy, a dogsbody was a semi-sarcastic colloquialism for a ...

". In this series, Baldrick often displays a more belligerent attitude towards his master, even referring to him once as a "lazy, big-nosed, rubber-faced bastard" or deliberately comparing his face to his cousin, MacAdder, who Blackadder openly believes to be ugly. Blackadder often affectionately calls him "Balders" (and Baldrick sometimes calls Blackadder "Mr. B."). There are three main sets: the Prince's quarters, which are opulently decorated, the below-stairs kitchen hangout of Blackadder and Baldrick, which is dark and squalid (though, in fairness, very large and with a very high ceiling), and finally Mrs. Miggins'

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

. Mrs. Miggins' pie shop was a never-seen running gag in ''Blackadder II''; a descendant of hers is now finally shown, played by

Helen Atkinson-Wood Helen Atkinson-Wood (born 14 March 1955) is an English actress and comedian born in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire. She studied fine art at the Ruskin School, Oxford University, where she performed with Rowan Atkinson (no relation). She also performe ...

. The plots feature rotten boroughs,

Dr. Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...

(played by Robbie Coltrane), the French Revolution (featuring

Chris Barrie Chris Barrie (born Christopher Jonathan Brown, 28 March 1960) is a British actor, comedian, and impressionist. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show ''Spitting Image'' (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in the ...

) and the Scarlet Pimpernel, over-the-top theatrical actors, squirrel-hating female highwaymen, the practice of settling quarrels with a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

and the discussion of tactics with Duke of Wellington (played by Stephen Fry). The last episode features Rowan Atkinson as Blackadder's

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

cousin MacAdder, supposedly a fierce swordsman. This leads to a dialogue in which Atkinson is acting both parts. After this episode, Blackadder finds fortune and ends up (permanently) posing as the Prince Regent after the real prince, disguised as Blackadder, is shot by the Duke of Wellington.

Episodes

The series aired for six episodes broadcast on Thursdays at 9:30 pm on BBC 1. The titles of the episodes are always a noun paired with another, derived from an adjective beginning with the same letters, in the manner of the

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

novels, '' Sense and Sensibility'' and ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

''. On the first broadcast, fifth episode ''Amy and Amiability'' was billed in the ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' under its working title of ''Cape and Capability''.

Cast

as Edmund Blackadder * Tony Robinson as Baldrick * Hugh Laurie as

George, Prince Regent George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

Mrs Miggins This article lists the characters in the four series and three special episodes of the British sitcom ''Blackadder''. ''Blackadder'' was notable for featuring actors playing many repeating characters across different eras of history, with Rowa ...

Although this series reduced the size of the show's cast, the programme featured guest appearances in each episode. Tim McInnerny decided not to continue playing the character of Lord Percy for fear of being typecast, although he appeared in a guest role in episode three.Trivia
at IMDb.com. Retrieved 3 June 2007 Stephen Fry and

Miranda Richardson Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English actress. She made her film debut playing Ruth Ellis in '' Dance with a Stranger'' (1985) and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for ''Damage'' (1992) and ''Tom & Viv'' (1994). ...

, who had played major parts in '' Blackadder II'', also appeared in guest roles. Fry and McInnerny would return as regular performers for the

fourth series Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

of ''Blackadder''.

Music and titles

The opening theme is this time a minuet played on a

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

, oboe and cello over close-ups of Blackadder searching a

bookcase A bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture with horizontal shelves, often in a cabinet, used to store books or other printed materials. Bookcases are used in private homes, public and university libraries, offices, schools, and bookst ...

. The credits and title appear on the books' spines, and each has a condition and script to match each character, for example Baldrick's is plain and in poor condition. Other amusing interspersed titles include ''From

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

to Blackadder'', ''The Blackobite Rebellion of 1745'', '' The Encyclopædia Blackaddica'' and ''Landscape Gardening'' by Capability Brownadder. Hidden inside a hollow book, he finds a romance novel (complete with

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...

) bearing the title of the particular episode. The closing credits are presented in the style of a

theatre programme A programme or program (see American and British English spelling differences#Different spellings for different meanings, spelling differences) is a booklet available for patrons attending a live event such as theatre performances, concerts, f� ...

from a Regency-era play, and with an

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

closing theme that

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

s the melody of the original theme.

Awards

The programme won a BAFTA award for Best Comedy Series in 1988. It was also nominated for three more awards; Rowan Atkinson for "Best Light Entertainment Performance", Antony Thorpe for "Best Design" and Victoria Pocock for "Best Make Up". The four series of ''

'' were voted second in the BBC's '' Britain's Best Sitcom'' in 2004.

Media releases

''Blackadder The Third'' is available on

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

-distributed DVD and VHS video as an individual series or as part of a box-set with the other series of ''Blackadder''. A BBC Radio Collection audio version created from the TV soundtrack is available on cassette and CD. All four seasons and the Christmas special are available on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. The complete scripts of the four television series were released in 1998 as ''Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty 1485–1917'', and by Penguin Books in 2009.

VHS releases

* In March 1989, BBC Enterprises Ltd released all six episodes of ''Blackadder the Third'' on two videos (the tapes were copyrighted 1988). They were re-released on 7 September 1992 as a double VHS, and on 2 October 1995 as a single video.

DVD releases

References

External links

*
''Blackadder the Third''
at the former BBC Guide to Comedy (archive)
''Blackadder the Third''
at the new BBC Comedy Guide {{Use dmy dates, date=March 2020 1980s British sitcoms 1987 British television series debuts 1987 British television series endings Alternate history television series BBC black comedy television shows BBC television sitcoms Blackadder British parody television series Cultural depictions of George III Cultural depictions of George IV Cultural depictions of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Cultural depictions of William Pitt the Younger English-language television shows Regency era Television shows set in London Television series set in the 18th century Television series set in the 19th century Television series set in the 1810s