The Complete & Unadulterated True History of the
Blackadder
by Jem Roberts
The first in-depth overview of a series where even the 'official' complete colletions have tended to leave out actual
proper episodes, Jem traces the entire history of the dastardly Blackadder dynasty literally (from the first
historically identified Adder to the one who made the Royal court miss Twenty Thousand Years Of The Two
Ronoids), figuratively (from Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis' university silliness right up to their big budget
wasting of everyone's time), and historically (from Richard III's reign to the discovery of his car park-covered
remnants literally as the finishing touches were being put to the book). Along the way there are plenty of surprises
such as Rowan's ownership of an HGV license, chances to renew your acquaintance with half-familiar works like
their early Radio 3 effort The Atkinson People, excavations of little-known spinoff appearances, and an evenhanded look at similarly historically-set sitcoms that both preceded and anteceded the adventures of Edmund and
co., some of them clearly more significant historical artefacts than others. Like those audience-amusing roller
caption introductions, this is a story rather than a study, and an excellently told one at that. And now I just have
one thing left to say to you... MACBETH!|Depending upon your knowledge and interest in British comedy of the
1970s and '80s, you will either find this book exhaustive or exhausting. Although the book purports to be about
the Blackadder TV show, it'd be more apt to describe it as a general history of British Alternate Comedy
movement, with the series being the nexus that brought them all together. Along the way we go behind the
scenes on Not the 9 O'Clock News, Saturday Live, Mr. Bean, Jeeves and Wooster, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, The
Young Ones, Spitting Image, The Thin Blue Line and dozens of other shows, along with getting biographical
details about Atkinson, Robinson, Fry, Laurie, Ben Elton, John Lloyd, Miranda Richardson, and a slew of other
players, minor and major. About the only major series that aren't covered are Red Dwarf and AbFab, and even
those get passing reference. You only know the book's about Blackadder because it gets more coverage than the
other shows.
For Brits this is of course like a history of Cheers bringing up M*A*S*H, Taxi, Fraser, The Cosby Show, Seinfeld and
Wings, but for Americans a lot of details are esoteric -- The Young Ones, for instance, never found traction in the
US, so all the references to how groundbreaking Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson were will fly over most people's
heads until they realize Mayall played the various Flashhearts. The long sections talking about how Elton wrote
this series, and Fry guest starred on the other between seasons of Blackadder will come across as long and
tedious, or lead to long hours surfing YouTube in search of clips. If, on the other hand, you're the sort of person
whose idea of a fun Saturday night ever involved watching BritComs on PBS, you'll love the wealth of detail you
get here.|A very well written and considered history that had me captive until the bits that followed 'goes forth'.
While the four series were in frame the sheer brilliance of the writers and actors excused the mutual backslapping,
but once the fractured aftermath begins the narrative loses all its lustre and drifts which is very disappointing. I
skimmed the final quarter of the book after devouring the first three quarters.|A great book for a great series. A
very well researched piece (bordering on obsessive), with a wealth of information that even the most
knowledgable fan of the show should find something new on reading it. If you have an interest in Blackadder then
this book is a must.|Blackadder's a funny old show. After an expensive flop of a first series, its creators were forced
to go back to basics, relying on writing and character driven comedy instead. It paid off- three more series and a
couple of specials later, it's very probably the UK's best loved sitcom, making superstars of its cast. (Who can think
of World War I poetry without recalling Baldrick's modernist effort The German Guns?)
When the focus was on the show itself, it was very good indeed, but at times it descended into something of a
love in, going off on tangents (though I was very pleased to learn more about Maid Marian, as near as you can get
to Blackadder for kids). If it had lost a hundred pages or so, I might have given it four stars.