Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty - Softcover

Elton, Ben; Lloyd, John; Curtis, Richard; Atkinson, Rowan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140280359 ISBN 13: 9780140280357

Publisher: Penguin, 1999

Synopsis

The complete Blackadder scripts by Richard Curtis, Ben Elton, Rowan Atkinson and John Lloyd.

Twenty-six years ago, Edmund Blackadder made his first appearance on our screens. Comedy has never been the same since (nor indeed has history).

Gathered here - in this twenty-sixth anniversary commemorative edition - are the complete scripts of Blackadder's adventures and, mostly, misadventures. Blackadder, Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth. Every word, every lie, every cunning plan and cock-up.

From medieval nastiness, through Elizabethan and Regency glory, to the mud and sautéed rats of the First World War, Blackadder and his oafish underling Baldrick can be most definitely blamed for ruining England's reputation as a country with a great history.

This historical record has been set down by Mr Richard Curtis, Mr Ben Elton, Mr Rowan Atkinson and Mr John Lloyd.

Richard Curtis is the writer/director behind Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually and The Boat That Rocked) and Ben Elton is the bestselling author and writer of The Young Ones, The Man From Auntie and The Thin Blue Line. The character of Blackadder was played by Rowan Atkinson, who is the star of the Mr Bean TV series and films, and Johnny English. The four Blackadder series, produced by John Lloyd, won numerous BAFTAs and also an EMMY.

About this title

Review:

For many people under 35, their most vivid glimpses of Britain's illustrious history have been through the Blackadder chronicles which brightened television screens from 1983 to 1989. Their constantly reborn protagonist, Edmund Blackadder, flounced through a bloody Middle Ages, a campy Elizabethan court, even camper Regency revels, and the rat-infested trenches of the Great War, armed with only his repulsive servant Baldrick, and a fine line in complex insults ("you would bore the leggings off a village idiot"; "he's got a brain the size of a weasel's wedding tackle").

Now you can brush up your Blackadder with a fine collection of the complete scripts, interspersed with useful titbits on medieval torture instruments, the menu in Mrs Miggins' coffee house, and the Prince Regent's laundry list. Bereft of their familiar faces and voices, television comedy scripts often fall flat--and Blackadder without the rubber-faced consonant-spitting of its hero Rowan Atkinson is surely unthinkable. But here the Blackadder oeuvre, penned by Richard Curtis and various collaborators, stands up wonderfully.

Curtis's bizarre, surreal take on English history takes up where 1066 and All That left off, wickedly skewering venerable historical personages, and hilariously literalising the classic clichés of textbook history (marvel again at the Puritan Whiteadders sitting on spikes so they won't enjoy their dinner). Classily produced, and with royalties going to the entertainment charity fund, Comic Relief, this is one TV tie-in well worth getting. --Alan Stewart

About the Author:

The Blackadder series - Blackadder, Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth - were written by Richard Curtis (writer/director of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually and The Boat That Rocked) and Ben Elton (the bestelling author and writer of The Young Ones, The Man From Auntie and The Thin Blue Line), and starred Rowan Atkinson (star of the Mr Bean TV series and films, amongst others). The four Blackadder series, produced by John Lloyd, won numerous BAFTAs and also an EMMY.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0140280359
• ISBN 13: 9780140280357
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480