History Fridge / Blackadder

* In [[Recap/BlackadderSS2BlackaddersChristmasCarol Blackadder's Christmas Carol]], it would have made ''no'' difference in status if Blackadder had been nicer and so gotten the money and a title from the queen--he was horrible so he didn't get it, but if he had been nice and gotten the rewards, he probably would have ended up giving it all up to the poor.

** Also, lest we get too deep into creating sympathetic backstories for him, [[WordOfGod the writers and Tim McInnerny]] have stated that Darling's twitch is actually a nervous tic brought about by years of bitterness, seething resentment and repressed fury at being referred to as "Darling" by everyone his whole life, not as a result of his military service (which is sympathetic in another way, I suppose). Captain Darling has apparently just been lucky enough to be one of the many officers who found themselves stationed behind the front lines during the conflict.

* Prince Ludwig permanently impersonating Queen Elizabeth nicely explains the whole virgin queen thing.
** Also, Prince Ludwig is very likely an ancestor of Prince George (George IV) from ''Blackadder the Third''. George IV's great grandfather was Georg Ludwig of Germany. Which explains the uncanny resemblance (both are played by Creator/HughLaurie)
* Creator/MyriamMargoyles, a noted lesbian playing the puritanical Lady Whiteadder in the second series episode 'Beer' and in the final scene emerging from under Queenie's skirt... Does that count as a kind of Fridge ActorAllusion?

* In hindsight, it's probably a blessing is disguise that the first Blackadder drunk the poison when he did. Could you imagine living the rest of your life with his injuries in the 16th century?

* Creator/MiriamMargoyles, a noted lesbian playing the puritanical Lady Whiteadder in the second series episode 'Beer' and in the final scene emerging from under Queenie's skirt... Does that count as a kind of Fridge ActorAllusion?

* Creator/MyriamMargoyles, a noted lesbian playing the puritanical Lady Whiteadder in the second series episode 'Beer' and in the final scene emerging from under Queenie's skirt... Does that count as a kind of Fridge ActorAllusion?

* MyriamMargoyles, a noted lesbian playing the puritanical Lady Whiteadder in the second series episode 'Beer' and in the final scene emerging from under Queenie's skirt... Does that count as a kind of Fridge ActorAllusion?

* Carrying on the Shakespeare references, it turns out Henry VII got to take the throne by default after the Yorkist royal family wiped themselves out in an internal dispute, via poison. Essentially, the same way Fortinbras in ''{{Hamlet}}'' did.

* In "General Hospital", George writes letters to his Uncle Hermie. How many names abbreviate to "Hermie" apart from "Hermann", which is a German name? [[spoiler:An early hint that George's letters are the cause of the leak.]]

* The incarnations of George in ''Blackadder the Third'' and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' are both of German descent: Prince George is obviously a member of the House of Hanover, and George in ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' has an Uncle Hermann in Berlin. This hints that they are in fact descended from [[ActorAllusion Prince Ludwig]] in ''Blackadder II''.

* In "General Hospital", George writes letters to his Uncle Hermie. How many names abbreviate to "Hermie" apart from "Hermann", which is a German name? An early hint that George's letters are the cause of the leak.

* Tim McInnery didn't take a main character roll in Blackadder The Third, instead appearing in one episode as a friend of George's called "Toppy". We later find out that Toppy is the Scarlet Pimpernel. In the original novel, the Scarlet Pimpernel's real name is "Percy"!

* In the episode "[[Recap/BlackadderS3E1DishAndDishonesty Dish and Dishonesty]]" in ''Blackadder the Third'', Edmund says that he'll be back before the prince can say "antidisestablishmentarianism". It just seems like a long funny word, which the prince, who is an idiot, is unable to figure out how to pronounce before Edmund returns two days later. But, the word itself basically means "the movement of people against people who are against the establishment". Especially it refers to a 19th century political movement against the separation of the Church of England and the government. The prince is actually Prince Regent and thus effectively the head of the Church of England and the British sovereign, the whole series ([[AnachronismStew sort of]]) takes place in the early 19th century, and Edmund is going out to recruit an MP to support the Prince and oppose those who are seeking to remove him power--thus antidisestablishmentarianism is exactly what they are doing!
* In [[Recap/BlackadderSS2BlackaddersChristmasCarol Blackadder's Christmas Carol]], it would have made ''no'' difference in status if Blackadder had been nicer and so gotten the money and a title from the queen -- he was horrible so he didn't get it, but if he had been nice and gotten the rewards, he probably would have ended up giving it all up to the poor.

* In "[[Recap/BlackadderS4E6Goodbyeee Goodbyeee]]", Baldrick comes up with a "cunning plan" involving a splinter on a ladder. At first this seems like comedic NoodleImplements, but pay attention to what he says -- he says "that's a rather nasty splinter on that ladder, '''someone could get hurt'''." His plan was essentially to do something to the ladder so that when Edmund climbed out of the trenches, the ladder would break and he'd fall, possibly breaking a leg in the process and getting sent to the hospital (and thus avoiding the dreaded "Final Push").

* In the first season, Blackadder's first name is Edmund, and he's the manipulative power-hungry second son of the Duke of York. In ''Theatre/KingLear'' Edmund is the manipulative power-hungry second son of the Duke of Gloucester. Considering how often the first episode of the series references ''Theatre/RichardIII'', it seems fitting that the writers would drop a subtle reference to a different Shakespearean play.

* In ''Blackadder Goes Forth'', Captain Darling's TwitchyEye is a classic symptom of shell shock -- [[ShellShockedVeteran or, in modern parlance, post-traumatic stress disorder.]] If he actually had been invalided out of active service already, just imagine how much each one of Blackadder's (years of) veiled insults must have hurt -- not to mention General Melchett sending him back into the front lines to get pointlessly killed.

* In [[Recap/BlackadderSS2BlackaddersChristmasCarol Blackadder's Christmas Carol]], it would have made ''no'' difference in status if Blackadder had been nicer and so gotten the money and a title from the queen - he was horrible so he didn't get it, but if he had been nice and gotten the rewards, he probably would have ended up giving it all up to the poor.

* Clearly it's not above Mr. Blackadder to take the Prince's identity when the opportunity arised, but after all, George promised him "everything", and Blackadder himself fulfilled his promise to die on his friend's behalf. Technically, he's only taking what was promised. The rest was Fate being kind to him.
* In "[[Recap/BlackadderS4E6Goodbyeee Goodbyeee]]", Baldrick comes up with a "cunning plan" involving a splinter on a ladder. At first this seems like comedic NoodleImplements, but pay attention to what he says- he says "that's a rather nasty splinter on that ladder, '''someone could get hurt'''." His plan was essentially to do something to the ladder so that when Edmund climbed out of the trenches, the ladder would break and he'd fall, possibly breaking a leg in the process and getting sent to the hospital (and thus avoiding the dreaded "Final Push").

* In Blackadder Goes Forth, Captain Darling's TwitchyEye is a classic symptom of shell shock - [[ShellShockedVeteran or, in modern parlance, post-traumatic stress disorder.]] If he actually had been invalided out of active service already, just imagine how much each one of Blackadder's (years of) veiled insults must have hurt - not to mention General Melchett sending him back into the front lines to get pointlessly killed.

* The end of "[[Recap/BlackadderS2E5Beer Beer]]" goes some way to explaining why Elizabeth I was "The Virgin Queen".

* The end of "Chains" goes some way to explaining why Elizabeth I was "The Virgin Queen".

* In the episode "Dish and Dishonesty" in ''Blackadder the Third'', Edmund says that he'll be back before the prince can say "antidisestablishmentarianism". It just seems like a long funny word, which the prince, who is an idiot, is unable to figure out how to pronounce before Edmund returns two days later. But, the word itself basically means "the movement of people against people who are against the establishment". Especially it refers to a 19th century political movement against the separation of the Church of England and the government. The prince is actually Prince Regent and thus effectively the head of the Church of England and the British sovereign, the whole series ([[AnachronismStew sort of]]) takes place in the early 19th century, and Edmund is going out to recruit an MP to support the Prince and oppose those who are seeking to remove him power--thus antidisestablishmentarianism is exactly what they are doing!
* In the Blackadder Christmas Carol, it would have made ''no'' difference in status if Blackadder had been nicer and so gotten the money and a title from the queen - he was horrible so he didn't get it, but if he had been nice and gotten the rewards, he probably would have ended up giving it all up to the poor.

* In the final episode of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'', Baldrick comes up with a "cunning plan" involving a splinter on a ladder. At first this seems like comedic NoodleImplements, but pay attention to what he says- he says "that's a rather nasty splinter on that ladder, '''someone could get hurt'''." His plan was essentially to do something to the ladder so that when Edmund climbed out of the trenches, the ladder would break and he'd fall, possibly breaking a leg in the process and getting sent to the hospital (and thus avoiding the dreaded "Final Push").
* In "Blackadder Back and Forth", Blackadder travels back in time and steals Robin Hood's girlfriend. In the second season Lord Flashheart, a descendant of Robin Hood, stole Blackadder's fiance.
* "Blackadder Back and Forth" features the modern descendants of the entire main cast from different periods of history, assembled with a time machine in their midst. This creates infinite possibilities, especially with Lady Elizabeth who looks like she would travel back in time and pull a Prince Ludwig on Queenie in a heartbeat.
* The [[spoiler: dying Blackadder]] in the last episode of season one should logically be [[spoiler: screaming in agony, after his genitals, ears and hands have been chopped off]]. He isn't. He does, however, seem to have no strength left and carries physical injuries. Now bear in mind that Gertrude was [[spoiler: a witch, who had used her powers to save her son's life before]] and another layer is added to the story. Of course if she did manage to [[spoiler: completely save his life]] she wouldn't have shown it at that time, so as to protect her own life. We will never know, as [[spoiler: she and Blackadder both drink poison and die]].

* In "Chains", Lord Melchett gets the line, "As private parts to the gods are we! [[ADateWithRosiePalms They play with us for their sport]]." The joke here is not only a play on a famous line from ''Theatre/KingLear'' ("As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport."), it also plays on a thematically similar line from ''Theatre/TheDuchessOfMalfi'' ("We are merely the stars' tennis balls, struck and banded which way please them.") Note that Stephen Fry, who plays Melchett, went on to write a retelling of ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' called ''Literature/TheStarsTennisBalls''.
* In the first season of Blackadder, Blackadder's first name is Edmund, and he's the manipulative power-hungry second son of the Duke of York. In ''Theatre/KingLear'' Edmund is the manipulative power-hungry second son of the Duke of Gloucester. Considering how often the first episode of the series references ''Theatre/RichardIII'', it seems fitting that the writers would drop a subtle reference to a different Shakespearean play.

* Near the end of "Goodbyeee!", Edmund says, "The guns have stopped because we're about to attack. Not even our generals are mad enough to shell their own men. They think it's far more sporting to let the Germans do it." According to the Real Life section of TrialByFriendlyFire, the orders to walk slowly towards the enemy were intended to keep the troops behind the barrage of shells so they will have cover fire. By ceasing fire for the charge, the generals are just showing once and for all that they really are deliberately trying to get everyone killed.

* In "The Queen of Spain's Beard," Harry has to act as a translator to his various foreign fiancees, while the Infanta has Don Speekinglish to carry out that role. Yet Princess Leia, despite being Hungarian, speaks absolutely perfect English, and with an upper-class English accent as well. This, along with her young age, points to only one conclusion; that she was sent to England as soon as she was old enough to speak (if even that old), and raised there with the sole intention of marrying into the English royal family as soon as it became politically convenient.
* In hindsight, it's probaby a blessing is disguise that the first Blackadder drunk the poison when he did. Could you imagine living the rest of your life with his injuries in the 16th century?