Category Archives: Specials

Lost Blackadder ‘Script’ uncovered

Below is an extract from Richard Curtis’  screenplay for a Christmas Special of Blackadder that was never made back in 1988.

The script is taken from a new book on Blackadder written by Jem Roberts.

ROLLER & VOICE-OVER (WITH CHORAL ACCOMPANIMENT, ANGELS, ETC)

“And it came to pass, in those days when a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrolment, when Quirinius was Governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And this did constitute an enormous business opportunity for Hoteliers all over the land of Judah, not least in the city of David, which is called Bethlehem.”

Cut to the outside of the inn; the sign reads “Blackadder Inn: Merry Enrolment Day!” Caption: 24 December.

SCENE 1 THE FOYER

It should be quite realistic, not a romanised reception desk. Enter Blackadder. He has long Jewish locks – looks Arabic.

Blackadder: Baldrick! (Enter Baldrick. He looks awful, as usual) Where the hell is that turkey?

Baldrick: What turkey, master?

Blackadder: I told you to buy a turkey for tonight’s special supper. For Jehovah’s sake this is the most important night in the history of this hotel – please our customers tonight and we’ll get them back every year – tonight could be the beginning of something big, something which will change the world.

Baldrick: All right, I’ll go out and get it…

SCENE 2 THE KITCHEN

Baldrick is arriving back. He takes a big turkey out of his sack, clears the table, and begins to pluck it. But as he pulls out the first feather…

Turkey: What the hell are you doing?

Baldrick: Who said that?

Turkey: Me.

Baldrick: Oh, my God.

Turkey: What an incredible way to behave – bring me back here to your house, and then start tearing my bloody feathers out. You little b——!

Baldrick: But I have to do it; you’re the master’s supper.

Turkey: (utter outrage) I beg your pardon?

Baldrick: You’re the special dinner.

Turkey: Wait a second – you mean, not satisfied with tearing my feathers out, you’re actually going to eat me as well?

Baldrick: That’s right.

Turkey: But I’m a talking turkey – with me, you could buy a hundred ordinary turkeys.

Enter Blackadder slightly flappy.

Blackadder: Baldrick – we need some entertainment for tonight.

Baldrick: We’ve already got it, lots of wine and our special feast. Although –

Blackadder: No, come on, come on – entertainments – you know, snake tamers, lion charmers, that kind of thing. Can you think of anyone in that line?

Baldrick: Well, my cousin is a very good all-round family entertainer.

Blackadder: (suspicious) Really?

Baldrick: Well, he’s not a bad magician.

Blackadder: Tell the truth, Baldrick. (Hits him.)

Baldrick: My cousin’s a c— magician, but he’s got a collection of funny hats. (Blackadder just hits him.) My cousin’s got one funny cap.

Blackadder: Then get him round here at once – and finish plucking that turkey.

Baldrick: I can’t.

Blackadder: Why not?

Baldrick: Well, I’ll let the turkey answer for itself.

Blackadder: I’m sorry?

Baldrick: It’s a talking turkey.

Blackadder: Of course it is. (To the turkey.) Tell me, we’re undecided what vegetables to do with you. What do you think? Peas or parsnips? (Pause.) Sorry – didn’t quite catch that. (Pause.) Mmm – Baldrick – do you remember what the punishment for lying and time wasting is under Roman law?

Baldrick: Ahm…

Blackadder: It’s something to do with a hand and a very sharp axe, isn’t it?

Baldrick: Oh, yes.

Blackadder: Now, get that cousin, and round up any other entertainers, or we’re in trouble. And get that turkey in … NOW!

(Blackadder leaves.)

Baldrick: Why didn’t you say anything while he was here?

Turkey: I was shy.

Baldrick: Well, I’m going to have to do it anyway.

Turkey: You cruel b——.

Baldrick: But I’ll go and talk to my cousin first.

Turkey: Phew. At least it gives me time to make peace with God… Oh, and by the way… if it comes down to parsnips or peas, I prefer parsnips.

Baldrick: Brilliant.

SCENE 3 FOYER

A bunch of people are checking in. Blackadder is quite thrilled…

Blackadder: Excellent, excellent. (He eventually has to write “No” in front of “Vacancies”) Brilliant. The place is full. Rachel – Baldrick – if anyone else comes – it is full. We haven’t got room to squeeze in a mouse…

He exits, as Rachel potters round the desk. There is a sound of angels vaguely in the background – and Joseph enters, a nice man with a beard.

Joseph: Good evening. Is there any room at the inn?

Rachel: I’m afraid not.

Joseph: What – totally sold out?

Rachel: Totally booked up.

Joseph: Fine. Fine. Oh, god. (He starts to cry.)

Rachel: What’s the matter?

Joseph: Oh, no, it’s fine. It’s just that my wife and I have been travelling for weeks now – and she’s about to give birth, I mean literally it could be at any moment. And, well, I suppose she’ll just have to have the baby in the street.

Rachel: Well, maybe we could find somewhere. Go on, bring your wife in.

Joseph: Oh, thank you very much. (He goes to the door.) Darling – there’s a place!

It turns out that Blackadder is actually returning, and nose to nose with him. Blackadder is not happy.

Blackadder: I’m sorry?

Joseph: I was just telling my wife there was a room here.

Blackadder: Ah – and who told you that?

Rachel: It was me.

Blackadder: And where is this extraordinary room going to magically spring from?

Rachel: Well, I thought perhaps they might stay… (Enter Baldrick.) In Baldrick’s room.

Blackadder: Oh, well, yes, all right. How about I offer you this young man’s room?

Joseph: That sounds excellent.

Blackadder: Yes. It’s not that excellent – less of a room, more of a manger.

Joseph: As long as it’s inside, it’ll do us.

Blackadder: Ah.

Joseph: It’s outside?

Baldrick: Outsidish. Come on – you’ll be all right.

Blackadder: Great, let’s get on with the evening. And tell her, if she does have the kid, to keep the noise down. We don’t want him crying during the entertainment.

SCENE 4 THE MANGER.

Baldrick leads Joseph in. It is a total hole.

Baldrick: Here we go. Had any thoughts about what you’re going to call the baby?

Joseph: Not really. If it was a girl we thought maybe after its mother.

Baldrick: What’s her name?

Joseph: Mary. We’re having a lot more trouble with the boy’s name. Any ideas?

Baldrick: Well, my name’s Baldrick, but I doubt if you’d want that.

Joseph: Well, it’s not bad. Baldrick. Yes, not bad…

Biblical Blackadder Uncovered in NEW Book!

source: BBC.co.uk

A draft script for a Christmas episode of Blackadder has come to light during research for a new book about the BBC’s classic comedy series.

Blackadder in Bethlehem sees Rowan Atkinson’s character as the owner of the inn where Joseph and Mary seek a bed for the night.

The story also features Baldrick, the Three Kings – and a talking turkey.

Written in 1988, the script was given to comedy historian Jem Roberts by writer Richard Curtis.

Roberts describes it as “completely unofficial Blackadder”.

Fragments of the unfinished script appear in his book, The History of the Black Adder, which is published later this week.

In the book, Curtis that he abandoned the idea “for fear it would cause too much offence”.

Instead, it was the Dickensian-themed Blackadder’s Christmas Carol that went into production, and was broadcast on 23 December 1988.

Blackadder ran for four series between 1983 and 1989, starring Atkinson as Blackadder and Tony Robinson as his dogsbody Baldrick.

There were also some stand-alone stories, the last of which was Blackadder: Back and Forth in 1999.

“When you write a book about a comedy world, there is a dream that you’ll be invited into this Ali Baba’s cave of unbelievable archive material,” Roberts told the BBC. “I always presumed that would never be the case with Blackadder.”

But Roberts was amazed when he was handed the previously unseen script while interviewing Curtis at his offices in Notting Hill.

“He printed out a document from his computer and said, ‘see what you want to do with this’.

“My jaw dropped when I saw I was holding a lost Blackadder script.

Roberts added: “He wrote on the script that one of the reasons it didn’t get used was because it was a strange cross between Fawlty Towers and Life of Brian.

“He didn’t think he was going to make it compare to either of them. That’s his reason for it never getting any further than it did.”

Set on 24 December at the Blackadder Inn in Bethlehem, the opening scene features an exchange in the foyer between Blackadder and Baldrick about getting a turkey for the “most important night in the history of this hotel”.

In the next scene, Baldrick is in the kitchen with a turkey which starts to remonstrate with him about being plucked and eaten.

Later, Joseph arrives looking for a room. Blackadder offers him Baldrick’s lodgings.

BLACKADDER: How about I offer you this young man’s room?

JOSEPH: That sounds excellent.

BLACKADDER: Yes. It’s not that excellent – less of a room, more of a manger.

“It wasn’t a huge script, there were massive amounts missing,” explains Roberts. “It’s the rough workings of a comic genius.”

The author said he wanted to write the history of Blackadder from the point of view of a “devoted fan”, to mark the 30th anniversary of the first pilot episode of The Black Adder.

The book was written with the co-operation of writers Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, producer John Lloyd and the cast and crew.

Roberts’s previous book was The Fully Authorised History of ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue’.

But what did Roberts think of the talking turkey scene in Curtis’s re-discovered script?

“In the Blackadder universe there are ghosts and witches, so there could have been talking turkeys – why not?”

“If they had made Blackadder in Bethlehem, it would have been very off-the-wall.”

Britain’s Best Sitcom added

Back in 2004, the BBC broadcast a series that wanted to find ‘Britain’s Best Sitcom’. The British public voted by phone and text during 2003 to decide on the top 100. With the results in, the top 10 were produced and a celebrity advocate of a sitcom was chosen to put their case to the public to ultimately decide on what would be the greatest sitcom.

John Sergeant states why ‘Blackadder’ is his favourite sitcom.

You can read his statement and watch the episode here.

Never seen Blackadder footage and Pilot episide snippets to be broadcast

Hot news just in Blackadder fans; the forthcoming TV documentary Blackadder Rides Again (Christmas Day BBC1 10:30-11:35) will feature some never-before-seen footage…. Here’s what you can expect..

  • A small sequence from the Pilot Episode that has never been broadcast on TV
  • One or two deleted or extended scenes from Series 1
  • Some “clean” footage from the various title sequences of series one (i.e. without the captions)
  • One of the specially shot trailers for Blackadder II (although it’s not best quality) *could be what I have on YouTube
  • Some studio footage from Blackadder Goes Forth
  • Blackadder Goes Forth rehearsal footage
  • The raw footage of the “over the top” sequence from the final episode
  • And a little, tiny glimpse of some backstage stuff from Blackadder Back And Forth
  • There’s also some rare photos I believe

It’s all there to tell the story of the show, so the clips are really there to illustrate what’s being said. Sadly the quality of the studio recording footage from “Potato” wasn’t good enough, so it couldn’t be featured.

Also, my appearance is towards the end of the programme and leads in to the big question of will there be a fifth series.

Blackadder Rides Again broadcast on Christmas Day

ust found out that Blackadder Rides Again will be broadcast on BBC1 on Christmas Day at 10:30pm.

Oh, and just found out that I’m going to be in it… I’ve only got a small part but it still requires me to sign a release form.

Consider me excited!

Blackadder Rides Again for Christmas

As mentioned by me some time ago, Blackadder will be making a return to BBC1 this Christmas, albeit in a documentary celebrating 25 years. The programme will be called “Blackadder Rides Again” – a title which will no doubt confuse viewers; leading them to think that its an actual one-off sitcom special and not a documentary. And I can finally reveal that Rowan Atkinson will also appear.

This article has just been published on the Mirror website.

Blackadder is going forth once more this Christmas… with a oneoff special featuring Rowan Atkinson.

Despite it being one of his best-loved roles, Atkinson has pretty much refused to discuss his character.

But in this 60-minute special, to mark 25 years since the first transmission, he gives his first in-depth interview about Edmund Blackadder.

He says: “The role was almost like an MC, with me delegating the job of entertaining to all these amazing entertainers.

“It was like saying ladies and gentlemen, Mr Tony Robinson, ladies and gentlemen Mr Stephen Fry.”

He also reveals that his initial meeting with co-writer Richard Curtis did not bode well.

He says he “sat in the corner saying nothing” while Curtis recalls that Atkinson was “just a curiously shaped object in the corner”.

Atkinson and other stars also speculate on a possible fifth series of Blackadder – and where it would be set.

Rowan says: “The best idea was Colditz.”

Fry suggests “a prisoner of war camp” and Miranda Richardson likes the idea of a cowboy themed series where she could take on a Calamity Jane type role…

A fifth series anywhere would be a result.

Rowan Atkinson to revisit Blackadder

Thanks to long-standing, much respected Blackadder Hall visitor, nay part-of-the-furniture, John D. for spotting this gem.

Rowan Atkinson has granted his first in-depth interview about his iconic Blackadder role in Tiger Aspect’s second documentary on the classic BBC sitcom.

Atkinson will describe his personal experience of his involvement in the sitcom and its phenomenal success in the 60-minute documentary Blackadder Rides Again, which forms part of BBC1’s Christmas line-up. He will also visit Alnwick Castle, the location of the show’s first series that was titled The Black Adder.

Atkinson did not appear in Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga, Tiger Aspect’s two-hour retrospective for UKTV channel GOLD, which attracted 341,000 viewers to the digital channel last month. A spokesman for the indie said the BBC1 documentary was an entirely separate production to the UKTV programme, featuring all-new interviews.

Both shows were commissioned to mark the 25th anniversary of the sitcom, which began on BBC2 and ran for three series before switching to BBC1 for Blackadder Goes Forth in 1989.

For the BBC1 show, cast members including Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Tim McInnerny and Tony Robinson and writers Richard Curtis and Ben Elton will revisit key iconic moments, costumes and locations.

Tiger Aspect’s director of factual entertainment Ricky Kelehar, who executive produced both shows, said: “We are extremely excited to have persuaded the entire creative team behind this iconic sitcom to appear in the same show for the very first time since they all worked together.

“Many of them have since gone on to become towering talents around the world, including Rowan – who has never before spoken in detail about playing the anti-hero Edmund Blackadder.”

Blackadder Rides Again was commissioned by BBC executive editor, comedy entertainment Katie Taylor and produced and directed by Matt O’Casey. Blackadder producer John Lloyd is programme consultant on the documentary.

BBC to Broadcast 25th Anniversary Special

A couple of weeks a go I was lucky enough to attend the recent Blackadder talk at the Cheltenham Literary Festival with Richard Curtis, Tony Robinson and John Lloyd in attendance. I’ll be doing a full write-up of the event soon, but thought I’d let you all know that Tiger Aspect were recording the event for use in a special 25th anniversary documentary to be broadcast on the BBC later in the year (not really much of the year left is there).

I’m wondering if they will actually feature something on the never-aired pilot episode as the guys certainly talked about it at great length at the Literary Festival.

Cunning Blackadder plan foiled

Source: SundaySun.co.uk

TELLY producers had a cunning plan to mark the 25th anniversary of Blackadder.

The idea was to show clips from the popular series, accompanied by interviews with the cast.

All the major actors agreed to take part . . . with the exception of star Rowan Atkinson.

And, as Atkinson played the title character in four incarnations, one of Baldrick’s cunning plans was needed. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find one.

You would forgive UKTV Gold executives for thinking “fortune had vomited on their eiderdown” once more.

But they went ahead without Atkinson to produce a documentary looking back on 25 years of the series, famous for Blackadder’s quotes.

You could say they “laughed at danger” and “dropped ice cubes down the vest of fear”.

Atkinson is a miss, of course, but all the other favourites are there.

UKTV’s celebration provides enough trivia and first-hand knowledge from the cast to keep fans happy.

The first of two celebratory programmes reveals how Edmund Blackadder came into being, how the character changed over the four series, and how the stellar cast was assembled.

It also reveals the real inspirations behind Baldrick’s many cunning plans.

Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga, gathers together the cast and crew to provide a complete picture of the origins and evolution of the Blackadder dynasty.

It even has a new Blackadder theme tune, composed by the show’s original theme tune writer.

Those sharing their Blackadder knowledge include writer and creator Richard Curtis and writer Ben Elton.

Actors Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, and Miranda Richardson also share their memories.

Previously unseen footage of the historical sitcom reveals the cast in rehearsals, getting into character during make-up sessions, and donning their elaborate costumes.

A show insider is quoted as saying: “It was a shame that Rowan wouldn’t appear on the reunion shows as all his friends were delighted to join us.

“But he sent his apologies. Rowan is very private . . . he doesn’t do interviews and he rarely makes public appearances.”

V BLACKADDER EXCLUSIVE: THE WHOLE ROTTEN SAGA, UKTV Gold, Thursday, 9pm.