Reviews (2)

Hilarious, very black comedy
Jane Horrocks (Bubble, from Ab Fab) stars as the most unlikely killer. She is the daughter of a very domineering mother, who gets very expert advice in removing undesireables from some of history's greatest murderers and serial killers, including Jack the Ripper, a very bland little man who "was the only one who never got caught". Her mother is the first to go, followed quickly by her sister and the erotic dancer boyfriend. Jonathan Price also stars, as Horrock's devoted fiancee.

black humor
This is a funny, quirky, black little movie. Jane H. is wonderful. She is sweet, innocent and evil at the same time. If you like dark humor this is a real find. ... Read more

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The key to the Black Adder saga is the lineage of the title character's family, and this second series jumps ahead to the Elizabethan period and the life and times of Lord Edmund. Perpetually courting favor from England's mad Queen Bess (Miranda Richardson), Edmund is constantly walking a tightrope upon which he can either gain the world or lose his head. Also onboard are Tony Robinson as another generation of the dim-witted Baldrick, Tim McInnnerny as the luckless Percy, Patsy Byrne as Bess's companion, Nursie, and Stephen Fry as the imposing (in every sense) Lord Melchett. Part two of Black Adder II includes the episodes "Money," featuring a nasty bishop with a hot poker; "Beer," in which Baldrick falls for a large turnip; and "Chains," in which Blackadder is tortured by a Spanish interrogator. Hugh Laurie guests in the latter tale. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Best Half Hour of Comedy Ever
The episode called Money, with the Bishop of Bath and Wells and Black Adder's bitter wit, is the best half hour of comedy I've ever seen! It is so funny and well constructed, very creative and at times even cruel. There are many other brilliant Black Adder episodes, but this one is the best. I have never enjoyed a comedy as much as this one.

Plenty of wit to go with the toilet jokes
More episodes of the Elizabethan incarnation of the Blackadder clan. Part one of the Black Adder II series features three much stronger scripts, but these are plenty witty and played with flair by a brilliant ensemble. These three also rely more on fart jokes and toilet humor.

Of course, the latter fits in to one of these episodes - "Beer" - in which Lord Blackadder desparately attempts to hold a drinking party in his house at the same time as an intimate dinner with his VERY puritan aunt and uncle. The situation, however, loses a lot of its comic power when the aunt and uncle are played as grotesques (each of them sporting four or five large crosses apiece and slapping their nephew at any suggestion of sin). There would be more tension in the situation if they, and the risk to Edmund's inheritance, were real. Then the drunken bozos in the other wing of the castle would be a real threat.

It takes little away from the delightful lunacy of these characters, however.

Great!
This tape actually features Money, Beer, and Chains. Part I is the tape that features Bells, Head, and Potato. They are both excellent, especially the second part of the "II" series (I love the thingie-shaped turnip!). ... Read more

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Part one of Black Adder II features the very funny story "Bells," in which Lord Edmund is distressed to find himself developing feelings for a fellow named Bob (without realizing "Bob" is an attractive woman in disguise). "Head" concerns Edmund's appointment by mad Queen Bess (Miranda Richardson) as Lord High Executioner, following which he cuts off the head of an important man. Finally, "Potato" finds the cynical Edmund stuck with walking in the footsteps of Sir Walter Raleigh by reluctantly going on a quest for potatoes. Brilliant, now-classic material by one of the best casts in television history. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (10)

BlackAdder - the best comedy series in history
Blackadder is the best comedy series to have come from the shores of the UK since Fawlty Towers. Writer Richard Curtis, he of Four Weddings and Notting Hill shows us his true comedic routes. Linked with the excellent writing of Ben Elton (The Young ONes), and the outstanding performances of all the cast, most notably Mr Rowan Atkinson himself, makes this 'side splitting', (unless you have worn your corset). The humour is clever, dry, sarcastic and full of wit. I would recommend anybody who has never experienced the world of BlackAdder to purchase this tape, and also tape 2 of series 2. For me, series 2 is the high point of the 4 series comedy so is an excellent start to a collection. So, again, if you haven't witnessed BlackAdder, buy this. It is the best.

Very, VERY funny
Here's a British TV comedy series that puts American sit-coms to shame with its biting wit and comic sensibilities. Black Adder surpasses Mr. Bean (which I also enjoy) and is up there with Fawlty Towers. It helps to know some English history and some Shakespeare, but not necessary. (My 11-year-old son loves the series.) I just discovered the Black Adder tapes at the video rental and am working my way through them. Saw II - Part 1 last night, and this is some VERY funny stuff. Some of the humor is rather daring for the period this was made (a LOT of sexual humor generally and the gender-bending of "Bells" specifically), but I guess British TV was more relaxed than the American networks back in the early 80s. Every time Black Adder encounters witches, it's a hilarious take on those Shakespeare plays you read in high school.

Loony Elizabethan sitcom
In this series, the peculiar "Black Adder" family once again find karma together in the Elizabethan period, with Rowan Atkinson incarnated as Lord Edmund, thwarted and blocked at every turn by circumstance as well as his dimwitted servant, the unctuous Lord Percy, and the impossible Queen Bess (Miranda Richardson) and her attendant, Lord Melchet (Stephen Fry).

These episodes pass the "feet up in the air while laughing test," especially Edmund's coversation with Captain Redbeard in "Potato," in which he seeks to outdo Sir Walter Raleigh and explore uncharted territory. If Raleigh's voice sounds familiar, you may be recognizing actor Simon Jones from HITCH-HIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, in which he played Arthur Dent. Captain Redbeard, meanwhile, is none other than Tom Baker, who played Doctor Who for six years.

Along with the episodes "Bells" (in which Edmund falls for a manservant who is a woman in disguise) and "Head" (in which Edmund is appointed executioner, executes the wrong man at the wrong time, and hatches no less than two hilariously desperate plots to cover up the mistakes and save his own head) demonstrate some brilliant comic writing and an excellent ensemble. (And an irritating laugh track - ignore it as best you can.)

A MUCH better haircut
I adore British Comedy. I have seen every episode of Red Dwarf, Being Served, and Black Adder ever written. Black Adder II, Parte the Firste is by far my favorite Black Adder tape. Miranda Richardson Plays a wonderful Queenie, Tony Robinson returns from Black Adder one as the faithful Baldrick, Tim McInnery is the "pea-brained" Percy, and Rowan Atkinson... Well, who else could play a role like the Black Adder? Thankfully he has a much better haircut than in the last episodes. We also see the character Lord Flasheart (Rik Mayall), and "Bob" in Bells; two characters which we see in later episodes.

Exceedingly fine
Those who were considering Benny Hill, you have found two of the true geniuses of British comedy--Rowan Atkinson and Ben Elton.

This is the best of the Black Adders. Stunningly good. Superbly fine. You must own this, whoever you are. ... Read more

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The Black Adder saga makes a leap to the late 18th century and Regency England. A little less fortunate this time out, the new incarnation of Edmund Blackadder is now a mere butler to the idiotic Prince Regent (Hugh Laurie in a brilliantly farcical performance). Of course, there's another Baldrick (Tony Robinson) around, and of course, he's far below Edmund on the food chain of life. This collection includes "Dish and Dishonesty," in which Edmund helps the prince out of bankruptcy in order to retain his own cushy job; "Ink and Incapability," in which Samuel Johnson seeks patronage from the prince for his dictionary only to meet (temporary) resistance from Edmund; and "Nob and Nobility," in which Edmund's weariness with things French runs contrary to the spirit of "Scarlet Pimpernalia" running through England. Now at its creative peak with this third series, Black Adder deserves to be considered a television classic. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (8)

THE "STUPID PRINCE" EPISODES ARE THE BEST
The four funniest things I can think of are: Tom Lehrer's CD, AN EVENING WASTED WITH TOM LEHRER; Woody Allen's book GETTING EVEN; Jackie Mason's album THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ME (and its cognate video); and the blonde-haired "stupid prince" episodes -- both tapes, six episodes, three hours -- of BLACK ADDER.

That would be a Sunday afternoon's worth of laugh therapy good enough for anyone, short of, say, ten or twenty Wodehouse/Jeeves Bertie Wooster novels.

Get and OWN these Black Adder tapes. Get the whole set. One way and another, they are all good. But I haven't seen three hours of filmed comedy in my ENTIRE 46-YEAR LIFE as good as BLACK ADDER III, parts 1 & 2.

Simple fun with history
The usual cast of character go through another round of historical hysterics. Some fine comedy moments for the regular crowd of Black Adder adhearents.

For people who have never seen the series, it isn't the best choice to start with. I'd go right back to the begining with Black Adder #1 and work my way forward.

Two notes concerning the episode Nob & Nobility. Tim McKinnery of Lord Percy fame in series #1 & 2 and of Capt Darling fame in #4 plays the French nobleman. If im not mistaken we also see Chris Barie of Reddwarf as the French rep.

This episode was not shown in the rotation in NE due to its poking fun at the french and the proximity of Quebec.

Wonderful
This is NOT humor for the faint of heart!

It is in your face humor - not silly stuff or slap stick.

If you enjoy a quick wit - Black Adder is your man!

Hillarious
I tell ya, old Baldrick is so "cute" you just want to take him home, let him live in the basement and throw him down a turnip every once in a while!

This was MUCH better than the first series. I took the advice of those who've posted here and was NOT disappointed!

By far the best Black Adder Series!
Black Adder third is without a doubt, the best Black Adder series there is. Not only is Edmund great in this one, I think what makes this great is Prince "Mini-Brain". And of course, there is little Baldrick. This has one of my favorite Black Adder episodes ever, "Nob and Nobility". All of these episodes are gaurenteed to make you laugh! ... Read more

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Part two of this third Black Adder series features the great "Sense and Senility," in which the idiotic Prince Regent (Hugh Laurie), for whom Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) is butler, takes in a pair of actors as a show of cultural strength--and Edmund sets a trap to get them removed. Also in this collection are "Amy and Amiability," in which the prince is broke and can't marry (meaning that Edmund can't get on with his life, either), and "Duel and Duality," in which a duel between the Duke of Wellington and the prince has far-reaching consequences. Costarring Tony Robinson as Baldrick. This is a particularly strong collection, a must for Black Adder fans. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Some of the best from perhaps the best series ever
Unlike the Mr. Bean character, who is both loved and hated (by distinct populations of viewers separated by an unbridgeable chasm), it is virtually impossible not to recognize the genius of this series, which is probably my favorite television series of all time. BA III has some of the strongest scripts and performances of the series. If you have only seen Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean, the transformation into the razor-sharp, plotting, snide, absolutely *wickedly* funny butler is astounding, and even the most intolerant Bean-hater will relish every sneer. The Atkinson-Laurie combination is unbeatable, and their characters play off each other brilliantly. Buy this! Buy the entire series! It is one of the high points in the history of comedy.

Equally good as the other Part 3 tape!
This is a serious keeper! Just like the other III tape!

Both are great!

Black Adder III - part 2
I am such a fan of the whole Black Adder series, I honestly feel Rowan Atkinsons amazing comic ability is wasted on the painfully overdone, over-rated Mr Bean bandwagon. Here you see him at his very dry best, with Hugh Laurie being so fantastically stupid as the Prince Regent. The reason I decided to review this video is because it contains probably my favourite episode, sense and senility, with the Prince absorbed with his new thesbian friends, Edmund is at his razor sharp best, watch out for the great sarcastic scene in Mrs Miggins pie shop. The remaining two episodes on the tape are just as entertaining, with there being a familiar face from Black Adder II appearing in Amy and Amiability, for those amongest you who apprieciate a bit of violence Dual and Duality is up your ally with a suprising but hilairious ending. As with any video from the entire Black Adder series, you can't go wrong and you won't be dissapointed, ENJOY!

The Toss-up of Pure Genius
This video, along with the first video of series III, the second video of series II, and the first two episodes of the second video of series IV, contain the best of Blackadder. But of all the Blackadder videos, this one is consistently the best. Each episode reminds the viewer of the quality of acting and the brilliant scripts that made them a Blackadder fan.

The first episode has Edmund contending with some stupid actors for the blessings of the dim-witted Prince Regent--in the course of events, Baldrick is mistaken for an anarchist, the Prince is almost murdered, and Edmund moves to Sardinia.

In the next episode, Miranda Richardson portrays Amy Hardwood, an industrialist's daughter whom the Prince wishes to marry when he finds out that he is broke. Contains such great lines as "The Prince wants your daughter Amy for his wife." "Well, his wife can't have her!" and "Baldrick, have you no idea what irony is?" "Yeah, it's just like goldy, and bronzey, but it's irony."

The last episode is perhaps the apex of the Blackadders III, where the Mad King "Penguin" George and the mad, mad, madder than Mad-Jack-McMad, winner of last year's Mr. Madman Competition cousin of Blackadder arrives from Scotland. Also starring Stephen Fry as Arthur Wellsley, Duke of Wellington spouting off such quotes as "What in the name of Bonaparte's balls is going on here?" ... Read more