Throughout the ages, men of flair, faculty and outstanding courage have contributed to England’s glorious heritage. Others, like snivelling worm Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh (alias the Black Adder), the bitter and twisted son of a medieval king, have emerged from the dust of dodgy documents to claim their wrongful position in history. And so begins the first age of the Blackadder Family Dynasty.<\/p>\n
Regular Cast: Episode 1: The Foretelling (1485)<\/strong> From out of the swirling mists of the Dark Ages comes a lone horseman cursed from youth by the deformed haircut and sporting a particularly evil pair of tights.<\/p>\n Edmund accidentally kills King Richard III, making his father King while he hides Henry Tudor in his room.<\/p>\n Extra cast: Special Guest: Peter Cook as Richard III<\/em><\/p>\n Episode 2: Born to be King (1486)<\/strong> Treachery, murder and Morris-dancing break out in all their full horror when an orange-faced stranger arrives at court.<\/p>\n With King Richard off to the crusades, Edmund comes across evidence that casts doubt on Prince Harry’s stature as next in line to the throne.<\/p>\n Extra cast: Special Guest: Alex Norton as McAngus, Duke of Argyll<\/em><\/p>\n Episode 3: The Archbishop (1487)<\/strong> The landscape is littered with dead Archbishops of Canterbury. Edmund’s cunning plan is to get his deadliest rival appointed to the vacancy…<\/p>\n Edmund is made the Archbishop, which has not been a very safe office to hold, especially when the King doesn’t agree with the church.<\/p>\n Extra cast: Special Guest: Bill Wallis as Sir Justin de Boinod<\/em><\/p>\n Episode 4: The Queen of Spain’s beard (1492)<\/strong> The King’s international treachery gives the hideous Edmund a chance to press his clammy body against one of Europe’s most eligible princesses.<\/p>\n In order to prevent a war with Spain, Edmund must marry a Spanish Princess.<\/p>\n Extra cast: Special Guest: Miriam Margolyes as Princess Maria<\/em><\/p>\n Episode 5: Witchsmeller Persuivant (1495)<\/strong> The King is a bit under the weather with the Black Death. Witchcraft is diagnosed by the Black Adder and only one man can root it out.<\/p>\n Edmund gets accused of being a witch by a witchsmeller.<\/p>\n Extra cast: Special Guest: Frank Finlay as the witchsmeller<\/em><\/p>\n Episode 6: The Black Seal (1498)<\/strong> In a final gesture of defiance Edmund rides forth to seek out the Seven Most Evil Men in the land and return with them to seize the throne.<\/p>\n Extra cast: Special Guest: Mad Gerald as Mad Gerald (although it does look a bit like Rik Mayall)<\/em><\/p>\n Trivia:<\/strong> In the pilot episode, Baldrick was played by the actor Philip Fox. Throughout the ages, men of flair, faculty and outstanding courage have contributed to England’s glorious heritage. Others, like snivelling worm Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh (alias the Black Adder), the bitter and twisted son of a medieval king, have emerged from the dust of dodgy documents to claim their wrongful position in history. And so begins […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":38,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"sidebar-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-42","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/38"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blackadderhall.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>Rowan Atkinson – Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh
\nTony Robinson – Baldrick
\nTim McInnerny – Percy, Duke of Northumberland
\nBrian Blessed – Richard IV
\nElspet Gray – The Queen
\nRobert East – Harry, Prince of Wales<\/p>\n
\n\n
\n
\nFirst shown 15th June 1983<\/p>\n
\nPeter Benson – Henry VII
\nPhilip Kendall – Painter
\nKathleen St. John – Goncril
\nBarbara Miller – Regan
\nGretchen Franklin – Cordelia<\/p>\n
\n
\nFirst shown 6th July 1983<\/p>\n
\nAngus Deayton – Jumping Jew of Jerusalem
\nJoolia Cappleman – Celia, Countess of Cheltenham
\nMartin Clarke – Sir Dominick Prique of Stratford
\nMartin Soan – 2nd Wooferoonie
\nMalcolm Hardee – 3rd Wooferoonie
\nDavid Nunn – Messenger<\/p>\n
\n
\nFirst shown 29th June 1983<\/p>\n
\nPaul McDowell – Herbert, Archbishop of Canterbury
\nArthur Hewlett – Godfrey, Archbishop of Canterbury
\nArthur Hewlett – William, Bishop of London
\nJoyce Grant – Mother Superior
\nCarolyn Colquohoun – Sister Sara
\nRussell Enoch – The Duke of Winchester
\nBert Barnaby – Cain, A Peasant
\nRoy Evans – Abel, A Peasant
\nDavid Nunn – Messenger
\nDavid Delve – Sir George de Boeuf
\nLeslie Sands – Lord Graveney<\/p>\n
\n
\nFirst shown 22nd June 1983<\/p>\n
\nJim Broadbent – Don Speekingleesh, An Interpreter
\nJane Freeman – Mrs. Applebottom
\nJohn Rapley – Rev. Lloyd
\nHoward Lew Lewis – Mr. Applebottom
\nStephen Tate – Lord Chiswick
\nKenn Wells – 1st Messenger
\nRichard Mitchley – 2nd Messenger
\nDavid Nunn – 3rd & 4th Messengers
\nWilloughby Goddard – Archbishop
\nNatasha King – Princess Leia of Hungary
\nHarriet Keevil – Lady on Ramparts<\/p>\n
\n
\nFirst shown 13th July 1983<\/p>\n
\nRichard Murdoch – Ross, A Lord
\nValentine Dyall – Angus, A Lord
\nPeter Schofield – Fife, A Lord
\nStephen Frost – Soft, A Guard
\nMark Arden – Anon, A Guard
\nPerry Benson – Daft Ned, A Peasant
\nBert Parnaby – Dim Cain, A Peasant
\nRoy Evans – Dumb Abel, A Peasant
\nForbes Collins – Dopey Jack, A Peasant
\nPatrick Duncan – Officer, An Officer
\nBarbara Miller – Jane Firkettle
\nNatasha King – Princess Leia
\nHoward Lew Lewis – Piers, A Yeoman
\nSarah Thomas – Mrs. Field, A Goodwife
\nLouise Gold – Mrs. Tyler, A Goodwife
\nGareth Milne – Stuntman<\/p>\n
\n
\nFirst shown 20th July 1983<\/p>\n
\nJohn Carlisle – Murdered Lord
\nBert Parnaby – Cain, a blind beggar
\nRoy Evans – Abel, a blind beggar
\nForbes Collins – Trusting Father
\nDes Webb – Person of unrestricted growth
\nJohn Barrard – Old Man
\nPerry Bevon – Pigeon Vendor
\nPaul Brooke – Friar Bellows
\nBig Mick – Jack Large
\nRoger Slomon – Three-Fingered Pete
\nPatrick Malahide – Guy de Glastonbury
\nJohn Hallam – Sir Wilfred Death
\nPatrick Allen – The Hawk
\nRon Cook – Sean the Irish Bastard<\/p>\n
\n
\nImpress your friends with some useless trivia from the Blackadder archives.<\/p>\n
\nThe castle shown in the opening titles is Alnwick castle on the Duke of Northumberland’s estate.
\nThe Blackadder series was cancelled by the Michael Grade, controller of the BBC after lower than expected ratings and huge costs.
\nThe three witches that appear at the end of The Foretelling are named after King Lear’s daughters.
\nThe famous Blue Stone of Galveston is quite blue.
\nThe second episode Born to be King was originally shown as episode 4
\nA strange coincidence is that episode 4 was originally shown as episode 2<\/p>\n
\n
\nOther people whose job titles always appear on the back of the programs you get at local theatrical emporiums.<\/div>\n
\nGraphic Designer – Steve Connelly
\nProperty Buyers – Penny Rollinson & Tricia Ruddell
\nVisual Effects Designer – Chris Lawson
\nProduction Assistant – Jan Hallett
\nAssistant Floor Manager – Hilary Bevan-Jones
\nFilm Camerman – Willian Dudman
\nFilm Recordist – Clive Derbyshire
\nFilm Editor – Mike Jackson
\nCamera Supervisor – Ron Peverall
\nVision Mixer – Angela Wilson
\nVT Editor – Mykola Pawluk
\nCostume Designer – Odile Dicks-Mireaux
\nMake-Up Designer – Deanne Turner
\nTechnical Manager – Terry Brett
\nLighting – Brian Clemett
\nSound – Richard Chamberlain
\nProduction Manager – Marcus Mortimer
\nDesigners – Nigel Curzon & Chris Hull
\nDirector – Martin Shardlow
\nProducer – John Lloyd<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"