Rating: 
Summary: We want more Black Adder!
Review: I loved this series. Alot of British humor is either hit or miss or an acquired taste. I was a luke warm British humor fan when I first saw BA in the early 90's, and now, Black Adder is my all time favorite series, Brit or not. Even my wife fell in love with it, and that is a hard sell! This cast is unbelievably strong (including Oscar winner Miranda Richardson), supported by first rate writing. I agree with other reviews that recommend starting with BA 2 or 3 (Lord BA or the butler) before watching 1 (the idiot Prince). I have never laughed so hard and steady in my life....I want more!
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best
Review: Blackadder I is a miss as far as I'm concerned, but II-IV are definitely the best in historical British comedy that you'll ever see. The wit is superb and scathing! If you ever want to hear any conceivable insult (i.e. Baldrick's brain) that you're ever likely to hear, then this is the series for you. The comedy is oft-times quick. Case in point -- Blackadder II, after Blackadder just receives information from a young woman: "Here is a purse of monies [shows purse with a flourish]...which I'm not going to give to you [walks off quickly into a house]." It doesn't READ funny, but it PLAY OUT in a very hilarious fashion. And who can forget Lord Flasheart in episode I of Blackadder II?... Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: At Last!!
Review: Fantastic! At last this wonderful series is finally available on DVD. This has to be one of the all time best comedy series ever. I cannot believe it has taken so long for it to become available on DVD in a box set. I have only one question, why is this not available in the UK?
Rating:
Summary: The funniest comedy ever made
Review: This is by far the best programme ever to come out of the BBC - intelligent and hilarious. You'd have to be a grumpy old git not to like it!
Rating:
Summary: Has there ever been a better series?
Review: It is my opinion that this is the greatest comedy series of all time. It makes friends look like tiny little children struggling for air in the big swimming pool which is comedy! And dont get me wrong, i love friends but really this is a different class. Rowan is a GOD and Tony robinson is there to be kicked and hit right from start to finish. The show is a brilliant view of British history told theough the eyes of actual, believable characters that you truely love. Each series has its moments of pure comic genius, Queeny, Darling and the gang make a brilliant supporting cast, oozing with talent and primed to the eye balls with comic timing. Never again, since has british comedy reached this level and i doubt it ever will again, so why not buy and treasure an amazing collection in its best quality since its original release. BAAAA!
Rating:
Summary: I would give it six, but they won't let me.
Review: If you've read many of the other reviews you will by now realize that opinion is split on which is the 'best' of the 4 series (a sure sign that they're ALL very good). Frankly, there's no way to pick a favorite episode. If you're new to Black Adder, I think series I is the least easy to warm up to. Stylistically, it's a little different from II, III, and IV, and as other reviewers have noted, Prince Edmund is more different from the other Edmund Blackadders than they are from each other. On the other hand, the deep seated cynicism of the later Blackadders still bubbles up to delight you and series I sets the tone for all the others. The final episode of series 4 is hard for me to watch without tears welling up in my eyes, but don't watch it until you've watched all the others. Oh my god, most big screen directors would kill to have this cast! Woof!
Rating:
Summary: Black, cynical and absolutely deliciously funny
Review: This DVD series contains the complete collection of Black Adder TV episodes, made by the BBC. Black Adder aired as four individual series of six episodes each: The Black Adder, Black Adder II, Black Adder the Third and Black Adder Goes Forth. Black Adder stars Rowan Atkinson, an absolute comic genius who is also the star of Mr. Bean. The screenplays were written by Richard Curtis (Mr. Bean, Not the nine o'clock news) and Ben Elton - possibly one of the funniest modern writers. In the first series, Rowan Atkinson plays a weak chinned, effeminate heir to Richard, Duke of York. Set in medieval England, we are introduced to two of the most often recurring characters in Black Adders live(s) - Percy and Baldrick. Lord Percy is an eager to please, high strung dolt. Baldrick, an filthy peasant that is under qualified to be the village idiot, acts as Black Adder's golfer. Although funny, the first series may miss an American audience with some of it's historical references. In the second series, Black Adder's next descendant is no longer heir to the throne but remains one of Queen's dearest friends. Set in Elizabethan England, we get to follow Black Adder as he plots to carouse, fornicate and steal his way to pleasure. Even funnier than the first series, Black Adder gets far more clever. We are also introduced to two additional, recurring characters - Melchett and Flash. Melchett is a pompous, over bearing palace sycophant and Flash is fast moving ladies man with more than just a sword hanging between his legs. Black Adder's fortunes have considerably fallen by the Third Series, where he is now serving a butler to the Price Regent of England, the stupidest man in the land. Again, the clever Black Adder schemes to raise himself at the expense of everyone around him. Other great English comedic actors Hue Laurie, Robbie Coltrane and Tim McInnery all make appearances. In the fourth and final series, Black Adder finds himself caught on the front lines of World War I. Trying to eke out a comfortable existence without being sent out on a suicidal charge against the Kaiser, Black Adder's fourth series is somewhat reminiscent of Mash. Without all the nice doctor's off course. This series has the "crudest" humour of all. Black Adder is undoubtedly one of the funniest English comedy series ever made and well worth owning.
Rating:
Summary: An Absolutely Fab Series You MUST Have!!
Review: Blackadder is, in my opinion, one of the very best series to come out of the UK. There have been many, but thanks to the comic genius of Rowan Atkinson, Blackadder tops my list. Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Rowan Atkinson Live!) stars as Edmund Blackadder. His attitude is as black as his garments. The four series captured in this DVD set find him scheming to become king, trying to escape an arranged marriage, as court favorite to Queen Elizabeth I, the surly and scheming butler to Prince George, fighting World War I and, to top all, in his own special way befriending the smelly Baldrick. Even though Atkinson is the star, he is not the only shining light in this series. The charming Tony Robinson plays his lovable sidekick Baldrick. (You just have to love Baldrick!) Tim McInnerny is Lord Percy Percy in series I-II, makes a small cameo in series III and returns as Captain Darling in Series IV. Stephen Fry is Lord Melchitt in series II, General Melchitt in series IV and a small cameo as Wellington in III. Miranda Richardson is perfect as Queen Elizabeth I in Blackadder the Second, and as a nurse in series IV. Other small, but not insignificant roles are: Brian Blessed as the King in series I, Elspet Gray and Robert East make appearances as the Queen and Prince Harry in series I, Robbie Coltrain as Samuel Johnson in series III, Rick Mayall as Mad Gerald in series I and then Lord Flashheart in II and IV, Patsy Byrne as Nursie in II, and who could forget Helen Atkinson-Wood as Mrs. Miggins in Blackadder III! Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones' Diary) adds his immense writing talent to Blackadder along with Atkinson and Ben Elton. Bean fans should not buy these DVD's expecting to see Mr. Bean. Apart from Atkinson himself and his wonderfully funny facial expressions, you will find little to no resemblance in Bean and Blackadder. However, this is definitely a set worth purchasing because they will give you hours and hours of laughter.
Rating:
Summary: So cunning you could slap a tail on it and call it a weasel
Review: Wonderfully hillarious! Blackadder is one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. Rown Atkinson is a genius of comedy. The dialogue is wonderfully written and nearly every line has some type of humor to it. Adding to the wonderful cast are Baldric, who always has a cunning plan, the Prince Regent George who is as stupid as a donkey, but only if it were a particularly stupid donkey. Buy these dvds... you'll never regret it.
Rating:
Summary: I have a cunnning plan....To buy these DVDs!
Review: The BlackAdder series has got to be one of the best comedic products of the BBC since Monty Python. The characters begin in early history and work their way through to World War I, all the time making the kinds of clever word puns and intellectual jokes that Rowan Atkinson is famous for, sprinkled with other "less than intellectual" jokes as well for good measure. Each episode is side-splittingly funny. Atkinson's Edmund BlackAdder is a particularly sardonic and amusing personality sketch, but also equally enjoyable are characters like Baldrick, the hygiene-deprived servant, and George, the bumbling friend unfairly put in positions of power higher than that of Edmund. I have watched these episodes again and again. I never tire of them, and find myself and my family quoting them quite often. As Baldrick would say, "I have a cunning plan..." Top quality humor. Absolutely worth it.
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