| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
News Bot
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 5854
Location: Rack 3, U40
|
 Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:45 pm Post subject: Blackadder II: The perfect TV comedy? |
 |
|
Chris Hallam celebrates its 25th anniversary
| Quote: | Twenty five years ago this month, British television comedy came as close to achieving perfection as it has ever done before or since. Blackadder II (otherwise known as ‘the Elizabethan one’) first appeared on our screens.
Of course, Blackadder itself started in 1983, so we’ve already marked its quarter-century. What need is there to mark the anniversary of its second series?
In my view, Blackadder II is worth celebrating simply because it is a breed apart from either its predecessor or sequels. The first series, set during the Wars of the Roses, was, for the most part, as overblown as it was overbudget. While it undeniably had its moments, the end result, written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, was close to being a TV flop. Blackadder II therefore came very close to not being made at all.
A large measure of the success of the second series is undeniably down to the Blackadder himself, Rowan Atkinson. Wisely leaving the writing to Curtis and new partner Ben Elton, Atkinson also abandoned the foppish, Mr Bean-like – and frankly annoying – persona he had hastily adopted for the first series. Very much at ease in a new beard and costume (producer John Lloyd has even suggested the part made Atkinson aware of his own sexuality in a way he hadn’t been before), the new Blackadder was devious and deeply sarcastic.
Whether displaying his skills as one of England’s finest liars (‘Oh my God, Percy! A giant hummingbird is about to eat your hat and cloak!’), attempting to teach Baldrick mathematics (‘For you the Renaissance was something that happened to other people wasn’t it?’) or simply saying ‘Bob’ (apparently said in a way to mask Atkinson’s own slight speech impediment), the performance is a comic masterclass.
Virtually everyone else in the cast is on career best form too. While Tony Robinson arguably overdoes Baldrick’s stupidity in the later series, this time he gets it exactly right. Having been an intelligent character in the first series whose ‘cunning plans’ were genuinely good, in this series, perhaps balanced by Tim McInnery’s equally gormless Lord Percy, his performance is perfect.
And then, there is Queenie. In a career otherwise undistinguished by many comedy roles, Miranda Richardson, then hot after a dramatic turn in Mike Newell’s Dance With A Stranger, gives the performance of her life as the last Tudor monarch, throwing the convention of Elizabeth as a hardened almost masculine leader on its head by portraying her as a spoilt, coquettish but potentially dangerous child.
With a then up-and-coming Stephen Fry as the obsequious Lord Melchett and Patsy Byrne as the barmy udder-fixated Nursie, it really is the cast from heaven. And even this ignores the contribution of guest stars Tom Baker as mad Captain Rum (‘You have a woman’s hand, m’lady!’) or Rik Mayall as the memorably lascivious Lord Flashheart, a character who despite only being in one scene, could potentially have had a series of his own.
Could something as good as Blackadder II be made today? I don’t see why not but it’s hard to imagine that lightning would strike twice. Perhaps it was just tremendous good fortune that it caught so many figures of the ‘alternative’ comedy scene at the peak of their game. Yes, Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth are great series too. But neither are quite what Blackadder II is.
And finally, isn’t it about time the reputation of Ben Elton enjoyed something of a reassessment? Currently one of the most hated men in comedy after his overexposure in the Eighties and perceived ‘selling out’ his co-authorship of the three great Blackadder series is often overlooked. But come on! Richard Curtis didn’t write it all himself. And to misquote the series ‘life without Blackadder II would be like a broken pencil. Pointless’.
|
http://www.chortle.co.uk/correspondents/2011/01/13/12542/blackadder_ii%3A_the_perfect_tv_comedy%3F
_________________
Chortle News Bot |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
CK Goldiing
Joined: 22 Mar 2010
Posts: 12
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 4:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
NEVER BEFORE HAVE A TRUER SELECTION OF WORDS BEEN STRUNG TOGETHER!!
I would’ve liked to read more on your Adder thoughts, Chris, but you can’t have everything, can you Darling?
The one area you and I differ on, however, is your willingness to cite series#2 as your favourite. Now, because there isn’t a TV series on Earth that I’ve watched as often as Blackadder series 2-4, it’s inevitable that I’m often asked:
“Which series is your favourite?”
That’s like asking me to choose between Oxygen and sluts! To avoid alienating either of the two things I cherish above all else, I sidestep this impossible conundrum by twisting and turning… like a twisty-turny thing.
Bravo, Chris!!
_________________
CK Goldiing |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
scottishwildcat
Joined: 13 Jan 2011
Posts: 19
|
| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 6:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: | | The first series, set during the Wars of the Roses, was, for the most part, as overblown as it was overbudget. While it undeniably had its moments, the end result, written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, was close to being a TV flop. |
I'd still rather watch the first than any of the other series (except perhaps the fourth), which were largely about how many knob gags Ben Elton could get into every episode.[/quote] |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
