"Blackadder II"
Beer (1986)

Director:

Mandie Fletcher

Writers:

Richard Curtis (written by) &
Ben Elton (written by)

TV Series:

"Blackadder II" (1986)

Original Air Date:

13 February 1986 (Season 1, Episode 5)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Blackadder finds himself hosting a drinking competition on the same night he is entertaining his puritanical relatives.

Plot Keywords:

Sinner | Breasts | Sin | Drinking Competition | Religious Fundamentalist

Cast

Rowan Atkinson	...	Lord Edmund Blackadder
Tim McInnerny	...	Lord Percy Percy
Tony Robinson	...	Baldrick
Miranda Richardson	...	Queen Elizabeth I
Stephen Fry	...	Lord Melchett
Patsy Byrne	...	Nursie
Miriam Margolyes	...	Lady Whiteadder
Hugh Laurie	...	Simon Partridge
Roger Blake	...	Geoffrey Piddle
William Hootkins	...	Freddie Frobisher
Daniel Thorndike	...	Lord Whiteadder
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tony Aitken	...	Balladeer (uncredited)

Directed by
Mandie Fletcher

Writing credits
Richard Curtis		(written by) &
Ben Elton		(written by)

Produced by
John Lloyd	....	producer

Original Music by
Howard Goodall

Film Editing by
Chris Wadsworth		(video tape)

Production Design by
Antony Thorpe

Costume Design by
Annie Hardinge

Makeup Department
Victoria Pocock	....	makeup designer (as Vicky Pocock)

Production Management
Prue Saenger	....	production manager

Art Department
Monica Boggust	....	properties buyer
Graham Kern	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Neil Sadwick	....	studio sound
Nick Way	....	deputy sound supervisor

Special Effects by
Chris Reynolds	....	special effects technician

Camera and Electrical Department
Don Babbage	....	studio lighting
Ron Green	....	senior camera operator

Editorial Department
Heather Gilder	....	vision mixer

Other crew
Sarah Gowers	....	assistant floor manager
Ray Hider	....	technical coordinator
Amita Lochab	....	production assistant

Stunts
Marc Cass	....	stunts

Goofs:

Continuity: During Scene One of Episode 5 (Beer), Baldrick is told to "get the door", and carries out this instruction by removing the front door from its hinges and taking it to Blackadder. However, the front door is visible, still in its frame, over the door that Baldrick is presenting to Blackadder.

Quotes:

Simon Partridge: [as Queen Elizabeth emerges from the closet] Whoa, another stripper.
Geoffrey Piddle: [as Lord Whiteadder also appears] And a male stripper!
Monk: Oh yes, this is much more like it!
[removes The Queen's cloak, revealing her identity]
Simon Partridge: And she's come dressed as the queen.
Geoffrey Piddle: Sexy!
Queen Elizabeth: [indignant] Do you know who I am?
Blackadder: [entering] Yes. I know who you are.
Geoffrey Piddle: Who?
Blackadder: You're Merlin, the Happy Pig.
[...]

"Beer" is very good - one to be reckoned with!

Beer is probably the most wild out of all the Blackadder Series 2 episodes - lots of shouting and disorder in it. The way Blackadder switches between parties during the main part of the episode is brilliant - he is a character that shall be remembered for his extreme intelligence and cunning. From the start, we knew that an episode that involved a drinking contest would be wild - and Beer definitely lives up to this title. It is probably the most hilarious and immoral of all the episodes - only missing out on a 10 because it just wasn't rowdy enough, and should have had more scenes outside Blackadder's house. But this is only one minor nag - the episode is very well-written, and Blackadder's constant cool and brains make it very fun to watch. On the whole, Beer is very good - funny, well-written and rowdy and fun to watch - Blackadder meets "The Young Ones". Spiffing, but not quite top-hole. One to be reckoned with! 9/10