Rating: 
Summary: Many a cunning plan...
Review: What a terrific set! One of the great British Sitcoms of all time and probably the best British sitcom of the 1980s. I enjoyed all of the episodes. The two constants throughout the 4 series, Rowan Atkinson as Edmond Black Adder and Tony Robinson as Baldrick, both give brilliant peformances throughout the entire run. I personally enjoyed all 4 series. However, I find Series 2 to be the funniest, due, in part, to the performance of Miranda Richardson as the silly, childish Queen.
It is also nice to have the Cavalier Years special, which will probably never be shown on American TV and the Christmas Carol Special. The Millenium special, Black Adder Back & Forth, is also very fun, even though it doen't quite capture the magic of the original 4 series. The extras are nice, too. Tony Robinson (in character as Baldrick) adds narration to the biographies of the actors and (as himself) provides some background on various events that took place during the times in history that each series took place. A very nice touch. Also, the interview with writer Richard Curtis on the Black Adder goes Forth Disc is very entertaining & informative. The picture on the first series episodes are a bit grainy, but stilll better than any PBS broadcast that I've seen. The other 3 series look great. The quality isn't pristine, but the viewer needs remember the fact that these were productions made for TV, not for the cinema, so naturally the picture won't be as good as a digital transfer from a 35mm negative. The audio is great. The Back and Forth episode is close to perfect, as it is the newest materisl and done on 35mm film for screening at the UK's Millennium Dome.
An excellent package, highly recommended for all Britcom fans. Buying the set is much cheaper that buying the individual volumes, A very thin package, too. This 5 DVD set will take up as much space as 1 VHS video tape. If you want to do some reading about Black Adder, two books are available. Black Adder: The Whole Damn Dynasty which reprints the scripts from the 4 series, and gives some additional history of the Black Adder family. The other Book is Cunning: The Blackadder Programme Guide, which gives complete descriptions of every program including the specials & Back & Forth. It also describes an unaired pilot episode.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic collection.
Review: While this collector's set of all the series of the hilarious television show BlackAdder may be short on visual-oriented extras, the collection of episodes here are well worth the money. The extras that have been included here are excellent, regardless, including a twenty-four minute interview with Richard Curtis, one of the writers, Blackadder's Christmas Carol, Blackadder: The Cavalier Years, as well as a section known as "Footnotes to History," which explains what actually happened during the time period that each particular series is set.Each series of Blackadder takes on a unique period in history, ranging from the Middle Ages to World War I. It also boasts one of the best comic line-ups in recent history: Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tim McInnerny, and Tony Robinson all give excellent performances throughout, and are also accompanied by guest performances from such people as Robbie Coltrane, Chris Barrie, and Geoffrey Palmer. So just buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Watch This or be Sawed Off!
Review: I'm not a huge fan of British comedies. I only like 3 of them: Keeping Up Appearances, Mr. Bean, and... Black Adder. And Black Adder is by FAR the most involved, the wittiest, and the most subtle humor of them all. I first listened to Black Adder on cassette. It's strange that I liked them so much because once I saw them on these DVDs I couldn't see how I could understand what was going on but I did. Perhaps the casettes made me pay more attention and I got it faster even than watching the DVDs. You MUST watch these a few times, especially if American as I am, to get all the humor. As a matter of fact, I recommend that you watvh WITH English subtitles. It helps, truly it does. Not that you cannot understand them without the subtitles, obviously that's not the case since I enjoyed them so much from the cassettes alone, but you'll get FAR more of the fast-paced, razor-sharp wit that comes out of the actors' mouths. Atkinson is the star, it's obvious, but for you Mr. Bean fans (I'm one remember), he plays this perfectly straight and is the straight man for the series (first season excepted). ***I implore you to think of him as Mr. Bean by the third season! By playing sa straight man, he is SO far out of his Mr. Bean character, that they might as well have been two different actors. But he is as funny as a straight man as he is as Mr. Bean! Especially with his sidekick! Just wait until you see how each season ends.... I just can't tell you and spoil it but it is perhaps the most brilliant ending of each season of any television series you'll ever see in your life!
Rating:
Summary: its sod off, not sawed off!!!!!!!!
Review: Please if your gonna jock the show, not what your talking about. Edmund is the bomb
Rating:
Summary: The benchmark of Britcoms on DVD. Too good not to have.
Review: If you are a Blackadder fan, chances are the you have seen all of these episodes countles times. The amazing thing is that, like Fawlty Towers and Monty Python, these episodes are always fun to watch over and over again. Rowan Atkinson is at his best, while support from Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, and Miranda Richardson make this series on of the best to ever come out of the UK. But this review isn't about the episodes themselves, it is about this particular DVD set, so here goes: The layout of the DVD set is nice and neat (the casing is cardboard, more durable casings would have been nice). It folds out into 5 sections, each containing a DVD with their respective series. Series 1-4 are included, as well as the 1999 special "Back and Forth", which is a reunion of sorts, about Blackadder and Baldrick building a time machine. Not the best Blackadder outing, but a laught riot nonetheless. Each DVD has special features, including all the specials including "Blackadder's Christmas Carol" and the rare sketch "The Cavalier Years". Other extras include cast bios and historical footnotes (read by Tony Robinson), karaoke singalong, trailers, and other neat stuff. The interactive menus make getting to your desired episide easy. The only complaint I have is the lack of cast interviews, outtakes from the series itself, and behind-the-scenes specials. The only such things are on "Back and Forth" and a Richard Curtis interview. But all that aside, this is the jewel of my DVD collection, and will provide many ours of entertainment in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Complete Set - A must have
Review: If you are reading this, then you already love Black Adder, so I'll answer my biggest question before I bought these: "What's on the DVD's?" Each series gets it's own DVD. The fifth is a single episode from 1999 called "Back and Forth". Unfortunately the "Making of Back and Forth" is better than the episode. Luckily the "Making" is included on the disc. Each series has biographies for the principle characters (Rowan and others have the same biography on each disk). These are read by Tony Robinson (Baldrick). Each series has a short history of the principle events from that series episodes, these are also read by Tony. The blurbs are short but informative and interesting. Series Three has the Christmas Carol on it as an extra feature. The box has a few pictures and a short text on each series. That's about it for Extra Features. It is definitely a complete set. All the Black Adder material I've ever seen is on these disks. The episodes are crisp and clean, a good transfer. I would have liked to see some interviews with Tony and Rowan and possibly the script from the "Lost Pilot", other than that, this is a great Box Set, definitely worth the price of admission.
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 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: A must of Atkins fans
Review: The set gave me my first chance to view the whole series, from end to end. Not living in the UK, it also includes a few additional episodes, like the Christmas Carrol, that I never knew was made - and it is as hillarious as the rest of the stuff. Rowan Atkins "rule". I know it's a either you love him or hate him affair. He's definately on my "love it" side. Black adder is my favorite character of Rowan Atkins. Better than Mr. Bean - although I wouldn't do without my Bean collection either. I found the behind the scenes interesting, especially it's referral to "Faulty Towers" and how it was competing with that "unbeatable" series. Well, that's a given - nothing beats a Python - but Atkins comes close! So for those of you, that like me, only watched some of the 4 seasons, this is worth every penny.
Rating: 
Summary: Great content - Bad price
Review: The Blackadder series is British comedy at its best, but the $120 MSRP is flat out ridiculous. It would be a great value at half that price. I bought my copy used for $75, which was about the limit of what I was willing to pay. I give this set 5 stars for content, but took one star off my overall rating due to the price.
Rating:
Summary: Complete Set - A must have
Review: If you are reading this, then you already love Black Adder, so I'll answer my biggest question before I bought these: "What's on the DVD's?" Each series gets it's own DVD. The fifth is a single episode from 1999 called "Back and Forth". Unfortunately the "Making of Back and Forth" is better than the episode. Luckily the "Making" is included on the disc. Each series has biographies for the principle characters (Rowan and others have the same biography on each disk). These are read by Tony Robinson (Baldrick). Each series has a short history of the principle events from that series episodes, these are also read by Tony. The blurbs are short but informative and interesting. Series Three has the Christmas Carol on it as an extra feature. The box has a few pictures and a short text on each series. That's about it for Extra Features. It is definitely a complete set. All the Black Adder material I've ever seen is on these disks. The episodes are crisp and clean, a good transfer. I would have liked to see some interviews with Tony and Rowan and possibly the script from the "Lost Pilot", other than that, this is a great Box Set, definitely worth the price of admission.
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