Blackadder Goes Forth (1989– )

Stuck in the middle of World War I, Captain Edmund Blackadder does his best to escape the banality of the war.

Stars:

Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry

3 wins.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Rowan Atkinson	...	Captain Edmund Blackadder (6 episodes, 1989)
Tony Robinson	...	Private S Baldrick (6 episodes, 1989)
Stephen Fry	...	General Melchett (6 episodes, 1989)
Hugh Laurie	...	Lieutenant The Honourable George Colthurst St. Barleigh (6 episodes, 1989)
Tim McInnerny	...	Captain Kevin Darling (6 episodes, 1989)

Storyline

It is 1917, and lunatic General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett is leading the British troops at the front lines against the Germans, while everyone waits for Field Marshall Haig's big push. There are various emotions throughout the camp about it. For Captain Kevin Darling, Melchett's bull-dog-like right-hand man, it makes no difference, as it appears he will be safe and sound with the general when the big push occurs. For Lieutenant George Colhurst Saint Barleigh, he is overly excited at thrashing the Germans. For Private S. (probably for Sod-Off) Baldrick, it's a terrifying experience he is not looking forward to. For Captain Edmund Blackadder, however, it's something he's too cowardly too face. Self-centered, arrogant, and sarcastic, Blackadder is always constantly searching for a way out of this silly war, and will try various, often crazy, variations on escape, all of which will take a turn he never expected. Sharing a dugout with George and Baldrick, his main obstacle for ...

---

Plot Keywords:

Officer | Cult Tv | World War One | Trench | Sexual Innuendo | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | History | War

---

Details

Official Sites:

BBC [uk]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1989 (UK)

Also Known As:

Blackadder 4

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (6 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tim McInnerny's character was originally named Captain Cartwright. Stephen Fry had the idea to change it to Darling (named after a boy at his school) and created a running gag which is frequently used throughout the series.

---

Quotes

[repeated line]
Private Baldrick: I have a cunning plan.

---

Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, Captains Blackadder and George lead a battalion in parade past General Melchett and Captain Darling (with Private Baldrick in the marching band playing a triangle). The closing credits are a grainy 1920s newsreel of the same battalion heading into battle, with Melchett and Darling walking casually but quickly in the other direction...

---

Connections

Featured in De wereld draait door: Episode #4.49 (2008)
A fragment is shown.

---

Soundtracks

"British Grenadier"
(uncredited)
Traditional
(incorporated in the theme)

User Reviews

WWI comedy series with great lines

While I can think of plenty of WWII comedies, comedies about WWI are few and far between. Okay, there is Chaplin's Shoulder Arms, but then I fail to think of anything - apart from these glorious 6 half-hour long pieces of British Comedy. There are reasons for this scarcity, most notably that hardly anything happened during the war, except that millions of soldiers died in their muddy trenches. Not much room for a comedy writer to get his teeth into, is there?

Well, watch this and you'd be surprised how much one can squeeze out of that setting. The main angle is the absurdity of it all, which our hero, Edmund Blackadder, is fully aware of. Alas, he's the only one and so his cynicisms and sarcasms remain undetected by the other characters. The highlights of the series are thus Blackadder's one-liners (well, often a bit longer than one line).

If you have grown up watching TV comedy US style only then you may find the conclusion of the series rather disturbing.