Rating: Summary: very, very funny, a classic, a must have. Review: Roland atkinson aka mr Bean is at the pinnicle of his comedic career with this set. Very british, very funny. This is one set of tapes i don't loan to friends, it's the one you don't get back.
Rating: Summary: one of the funniest things ever to be filmed Review: I first saw several of the Black Adder episodes on a cable comedy channel that eventually changed hands and became Comedy Central. My husband and I would nearly fall off of the couch laughing. Rowan Atkinson is at his best in Black Adder. Anyone who thinks Mr. Bean is the slightest bit funny should see Black Adder. Since the time I could no longer find episodes on television, I have located a tape or two at video stores, but never a complete collection. I finally decided I had to buy the whole thing. I have so many favorite episodes, but I still like the one with the turnips the best (I think it's in Black Adder I) that was the first time I nearly fell off the couch and the neighbors complained our laughter was disturbing them.
Rating: Summary: The fabled Black Adder Review: I'm not sure how popular BA is in the States. It's a bit of an institution over here. The first series of BA was part of the new wave of comedy on Britains scenes, most famously initiated by 'The Young Ones', and kept alive by the likes of French and Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous).The first series is considered the weakest of the four, and you should probably only purchase it if you want to complete your collection. However, the other 3 series are all very popular, and it is often debated as to which series is the best. My personal favourite was series two, Elizabethan Black Adder. Mainly, I think, due to Queenie and her insane maid Nursey (Cue Black Adder: 'She's an insane old hag with an udder fixation'). If you appreciate English humour, you will love the last three series, and will soon come to have your own favourites. Although a lot of the humour is based around English historical events and figures, it's all basic stuff. My English history is naff and I enjoy it all (to the reviewer below, I don't know who 'Pitt the Younger' is either, but the jokes still funny!). Have fun,
Rating: Summary: the best I ever saw Review: Yes, i am biased, but anyone who does not think that blackadder is the best damn comedy series ever created has either not seen it, or just odes not get it. Rowan Atkinson is great, and especially the episodes of BA 4 are among the best i have ever seen. He is brilliant, and his humor is as black as it can get, so if you love comedy, and you have brains, get this collection which i know will give you many hours of laughing, even if you are not watching them, but just thinking about them
Rating: Summary: Best of English comedy ever! Review: I,m from Denmark, a contry in Scandinavia, and at my 16'th birthday I got, as a gift, Black Adder complete series 1, 2 and 3. Since then I have watched each abot twenty times, I know about all lines of each character. And most important I keep on laughing no matter how many times I've seen it. Even my baby sister (12 years) loves it. It's fabulous. Christian Marstrand, Denmark
Rating: Summary: British comedy at its best! Review: We lived in England for six years and fell in love with Black Adder. In fact, we've watched the tapes so much they have started to wear out. I will say that British Comedy is an acquired taste and the First series of Black Adder is probably the weakest. For someone who has never seen the series, I would recommend starting with the third series where he is a Butler to the Prince Regent. Every episode in that series is fantastic. As for the Christmas episode, you really have to have watched the others in the series to fully follow it. Alot of the humor is topical to Enlgland for example the episode that deals with a member of Parliment called "Pit the Younger" and for fun they added, Pit the Toddler, Pit the Infant, and Pit the Glint in the Milkmans Eye. It would help to know who Pit the Younger was. But, all that said, I would, and have, recommended buying these tapes to anyone who truly loves good comedy.
Rating: Summary: What a blast Review: Black Adder is about the funniest thing to ever come out of England, and that is saying a lot. You should definately see this. If you like Rowen Atkinsen in Mr. Bean then you will love him in Black Adder. This is the series that made him famous.
Rating: Summary: British Comedy at its best! Rowan Atkinson is a comic Genius Review: Rowan Atkinson's comic roles have been some of the most memorable in British television history. Along with the ever-hilarious escapades of Mr. Bean, Atkinson's Edmund Black Adder has become a comedy legend. In this complete set of the Black Adder series, we see Atkinson's shenanigans and chicanery from Elizabethan England to the trenches of the Great War. With such lines as,"I've never been too sure about you trenchy type fellows. I've always felt that there was a little too much of the nappy hair-wearing, I'd-rather-have-a-cup-of-tea-than-charge-stark-naked-at-Gerry about you. But if you are willing to join the 20-minuters, you're alright by me and welcome to marry my sister anyday." What more can I say? Marvelous? Stupendous? Dangerously hysterical? These terms don't come even close to the reality! Buy it and you will not be disappointed!
Rating: Summary: As funny as a very funny thing Review: The series takes you on a tour through british history in the company of the Edmund Blackadder line. The first series around the time of Macbeth upon which it based. This is the most slapstick of series. In the next series we are brought forward to the court of Elizabeth I. The addition of Ben Elton to the writing team moves the scripts toward more verbal word play and humour thereafter. A couple of specials are included in the collcetion. A brilliant lampoon of "A Christmas Carol" and a rather weak "Time Machine" spoof "Back and Forth", where they revert to slapstick and the writing is not as keen. This is a minor wrinkle as overall the series is a comic masterpiece. Well worth it.
Rating: Summary: A must have collection for any Black Adder fan Review: It's all here. Not only the four full seasons, but the Black Adder Christmas Carol, the Cavalier Years and the Black Adder Back and Forth special. Rowan Atkinson is perhaps best known as Mr. Bean, which is a shame because this is far and away his best work. The Black Adder character gives full expression to his comedic timing, subtle mannerisms and comic voice. Much, much credit must go to writers Richard Curtis and Ben Elton for putting a situation comedy in historical eras and including some of the cleverest put-downs you'll ever hear. They also create some of the most engaging characters ever to grace the small screen. Besides Edmund Black Adder himself, there is the unforgettable Baldrick played by Tony Robinson, always in the subservient role, always the butt of innumerable jokes, always lovable. Other memorable characters include Miranda Richardson as Queen Elizabeth I in Black Adder II and Stephen Fry as General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett in Black Adder Goes Forth and Tim McInnerny in a variety of roles. With just six episodes each season there was no fear of the series ever getting stale, indeed therein lies the only complaint I have about the Black Adder series, there should have been more. The DVDs have a few particularly worthwhile special features. My favorite is the historical guide in which narrator Robinson explains some of the obscure historical references or fills viewers in on the real people and events depicted, even owing up to the shows exaggerations or slights. One of my favorite aspects of the Black Adder series is that along with many hearty good laughs I feel I'm getting a history lesson in the bargain. Thank goodness a DVD collection worthy of the great show is available.
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