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"Major Star", or "Plan C: Major Star", is the third episode of ''
Blackadder Goes Forth
''Blackadder Goes Forth'' is the fourth series of the BBC sitcom '' Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC1. The series placed the recurring characters of Blackadder, Bald ...
'', the fourth series 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
''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 ...
''. It originally aired on 12 October 1989.
Plot
Blackadder is feeling bored, so George suggests a
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
film to cheer him up, but Blackadder declines, citing his hatred of Chaplin. Baldrick gets a newspaper reporting that the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
has started and the Russians have pulled out of
the war as a result. George is initially delighted, until Blackadder reminds him that the Russians were their allies, and Blackadder is dismayed, since it will mean "
three-quarters of a million Germans leaving the Russian Front and coming over here with the express purpose of using my nipples for target practice!" Blackadder decides to desert but is stopped when
General Melchett
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 Ro ...
arrives in the trench as he ironically needs Blackadder to help him shoot some deserters. Melchett, reminding Blackadder of the
French army mutinies
The 1917 French Army mutinies took place amongst French Army troops on the Western Front in Northern France during World War I. They started just after the unsuccessful and costly Second Battle of the Aisne, the main action in the Nivelle Offensi ...
the previous year, and the recent Russian uprising, is determined to prevent the same thing happening in the British Army. To prevent an uprising, he asks Captain Blackadder to organise a
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
to boost the men's
morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps (), is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value ...
, something that Blackadder eagerly accepts when a possible tour is mentioned (which would allow him to leave the trenches). Melchett also asks his driver, Corporal "
Bob
Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to:
Places
* Mount Bob, New York, United States
*Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica
People, fictional characters, and named animals
*Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*Bob (surname ...
" Parkhurst, to aid Blackadder. Blackadder immediately notices that "Bob" is a woman in disguise, something of which Melchett remains entirely unaware; however, Bob persuades Blackadder not to reveal the truth.
The show, which features Baldrick's Charlie Chaplin impression (featuring a dead
slug
Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a smal ...
called Graham as Baldrick's "moustache"), which Melchett thinks is a slug-balancing act, and Lieutenant George's
drag act, "Gorgeous Georgina", is a success on its first night, but unfortunately Melchett falls in love with "Georgina", takes her to the Regimental Ball, and proposes to her. Worst of all, George accepts because he feared he may have been
court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
led for disobeying a superior officer.
Blackadder is called to Melchett's office, and it is revealed the marriage is to take place that Saturday and that Melchett wants him to be his best man. Consequently, Blackadder informs Melchett that there is something wrong with Georgina. At first Melchett is worried she may be
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
, but Blackadder then informs him of Georgina's "death" from stepping on a cluster of
landmine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s. At first, Melchett mourns deeply for his "perfect woman", but seconds later, he recovers by saying "Oh well. Can't be helped. Can't be helped". He then refuses to continue the show, citing that Georgina was "the only good thing about it", but Blackadder says he has already found a new leading lady. These words place Blackadder in "the stickiest situation since Sticky the
stick insect
The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida, Phasmatoptera or Spectra) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as ...
got stuck on a
sticky bun".
George's suggestions as to who to replace him as leading lady are rejected by Blackadder as being "too short", "too old" or "too dead". Baldrick offers to take up the role, but Blackadder quickly dismisses the idea (in truth, Baldrick's plan was to marry Melchett and be a
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...
– or "frozen horse" as he refers to it as – to bring down the aristocracy). He then realises he has had a leading lady in his presence all the time and replaces George with Bob. In spite of Bob's more convincing and better received "drag" act, and Baldrick's now seemingly "feeble impression of
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
", Melchett proclaims the second night's show a "disaster", recognising Bob and still not realising she is a woman, and immediately stops any possibility of a tour (and Blackadder leaving). He instead declares that with the arrival of the Americans into the war, morale will be boosted by "endless showings of Charlie Chaplin films" (with Blackadder as
projectionist
A projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector, particularly as an employee of a movie theater. Projectionists are also known as "operators".
Historical background
N.B. The dates given in the subject headings are approximate.
Early ...
at a personal request from Chaplin himself, much to his annoyance).
Captain Darling revels in Melchett's displeasure with Blackadder, causing Blackadder to offer him a "
liquorice allsort" (Baldrick's slug), which he accepts.
External links
*
*
{{Blackadder
Blackadder episodes
1989 British television episodes
Television shows written by Ben Elton
Television shows written by Richard Curtis