HOME

TheInfoList

Click Here for Items Related To - Duel and Duality

OR:

Duel and Duality on: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Amazon]

"Duel and Duality" is the sixth and final episode of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

sitcom ''

Blackadder the Third ''Blackadder the Third'' is the third series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987. The series is set during the Georgian Era, and sees the principal character, ...

'', the third series of ''

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 ...

''.

Plot

Prince George has finally had a sexual encounter, but to

's astonishment, it emerges that it was with the two nieces of the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

(

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

). Blackadder warns the Prince that Wellington has always threatened to kill any man who takes sexual advantage of his relatives. The Prince believes that "Big Nose" Wellington will not find out because he is still fighting in Spain against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. Blackadder informs George that Wellington triumphed six months previously, and the Prince soon receives a message informing him of the Duke's intention to challenge him to 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 ...

. Horrified, the Prince enlists Blackadder's help, and

Baldrick Baldrick is the name of several fictional characters featured in the long-running BBC historic comedy television series '' Blackadder''. Each one serves as Edmund Blackadder's servant and sidekick and acts as a foil to the lead character. Each ...

suggests that the Prince finds someone else to take his place, as Wellington does not know what the Prince looks like. Blackadder prompts Baldrick to answer the Prince's objection that his face is known, due to portraits hanging on every wall. Baldrick replies that his cousin (who serves as

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

's butler's dogsbody) told him that all portraits looked the same these days, because they were "painted to a romantic ideal rather than the true depiction of the idiosyncratic facial qualities of the person in question". In a second reply, Baldrick suggests that Blackadder fight the duel. Edmund is not keen on the idea, threatening to cut Baldrick into long strips and claim that he "walked over a very sharp cattle grid wearing an extremely heavy hat", but realises that his mad Scottish cousin MacAdder (also played by

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 ...

), who has come down to London, could take his place. Later, Wellington decides to visit the Prince, and Blackadder and the Prince are forced to impersonate one another so that Wellington will not become suspicious during the actual duel. During Wellington's brief visit, Blackadder proves a far more competent regent than the actual Prince Regent, and helps Wellington to mastermind the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...

, by suggesting that the Duke moves

Lord Nelson Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British people, British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strate ...

from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

to Trafalgar. The Prince proves less competent a butler than Blackadder does a regent, and finds himself on the receiving end of multiple assaults (both verbal and physical) from Wellington and Blackadder, who takes a certain amount of glee in helping maintain the illusion that he is the Regent, and the Prince a mere servant. After Wellington departs, Blackadder goes to see MacAdder, explaining his plan and offering MacAdder "enough cash to buy the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...

" (14

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s and sixpence) as a reward for aiding him; unfortunately, MacAdder is busy with his

kipper A kipper is a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split in a butterfly fashion from tail to head along the dorsal ridge, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold-smoked over smouldering wood chips (typically oak). In the United Ki ...

salesman job on the day the duel is meant to take place, and goes back to Scotland with Mrs. Miggins. Blackadder tries to pull out of the duel, but the desperate Prince persuades him to continue with the plan in exchange for all of the Prince's possessions (such as large amounts of cash, a lewd

cuckoo clock A cuckoo clock is, typically, a pendulum clock that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo call and has an automated cuckoo bird that moves with each note. Some move their wings and open and close their beaks while leaning forwards ...

and a set of

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of Human sexual activity, sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

s). Blackadder agrees, summing up his character by saying: "A man may fight for many things: his country, his principles, his friends, the glistening tear on the cheek of a golden child. But personally, I'd mud wrestle my own mother for a ton of cash, an amusing clock and a sack of French porn!" The duel does not run along the traditional lines of swords or pistols; Wellington is a proponent of modern weapons, and so the duel is fought with Armstrong Whitworth four-pounder

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

ettes. Blackadder survives the duel, as the cannonball Wellington fired at him merely bounces off a

cigarillo A cigarillo (from Spanish ''cigarrillo'', meaning "cigarette", in turn from ''cigarro'' ("cigar") + ''-illo'' (diminutive suffix), pronounced in parts of Latin America or in Spain) is a short, narrow cigar. Unlike cigarettes, cigarillos are wra ...

case which was given to him by the Duke himself. The Duke, having grown to admire the "Prince", happily declares a draw as "God clearly preserves you for greatness!" At that point, Prince George enters and reveals that he is the real prince. However, Wellington is outraged at what he believes to be insolence and, unable to contain himself, shoots George. King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

(

Gertan Klauber George Gertan Klauber (5 March 1932 – 1 August 2008) was a British bit part character actor. Klauber was born in Czechoslovakia, and after training at the Birmingham Theatre School, his stage appearances included with the RSC and the Nati ...

), who has become increasingly eccentric and now believes himself to be "a small village in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, commanding spectacular views of the Nene valley", arrives on the scene and does not notice that Blackadder is masquerading as the Prince Regent. Having been ordered to marry a rose bush, Blackadder takes on the role of the Prince Regent, knowing the King will never be any the wiser and that Wellington already believes him to be Regent. He tells Baldrick to "clear away that dead butler" and leaves wearing an evil grin, presumably becoming

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

himself a few years later. While Baldrick is lamenting the real Prince's apparent death, the Prince awakes, apparently unharmed, in Baldrick's arms. He sits up and mentions that he too had a case in his inside pocket, which shielded him from Wellington's bullet. However, after failing to locate it, he declares that he "must have left it on his dresser", and promptly dies.

Anachronisms

* Prince George compares Blackadder's plan to impersonate him to American author

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's novel, ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, ...

''. The novel was first published in 1881, 51 years after George IV's death. *The Duke of Wellington points out that Lord Nelson is stationed in Alaska to anticipate a move by Napoleon at the North Pole. When the episode is set, the region was not called Alaska. It was a possession of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

called

Russian America Russian America (russian: Русская Америка, Russkaya Amerika) was the name for the Russian Empire's colonial possessions in North America from 1799 to 1867. It consisted mostly of present-day Alaska in the United States, but a ...

. The

Department of Alaska Department of Alaska was the designation for the government of Alaska from its purchase by the United States of America in 1867 until its organization as the District of Alaska in 1884. During the department era, Alaska was variously under ...

would not be named as such until 1867. Furthermore, Wellington would not become a Duke until 1814, almost a decade after Nelson's death at Trafalgar. The two men did meet in 1805, but Wellington was still Sir Arthur and not well known in Britain.

External links

* * {{George III, state=collapsed Blackadder episodes 1987 British television episodes Television shows written by Ben Elton Cultural depictions of George III Cultural depictions of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Television shows written by Richard Curtis

Plot

Anachronisms

See also

External links