History Recap / BlackadderS3E1DishAndDishonesty

* AluminiumChristmasTrees:
** Rotten boroughs where there is only one voter or they are all controlled by one person? Such constituencies, sometimes referred to as pocket boroughs, actually existed in Britain before the 1832 Reform Act. However, they usually had a few dozen or so voters, all of whom were influenced (usually by way of bribery or blackmail) to vote for the landowner's preferred candidate [[note]] for example, East Looe had 38 voters, while Dunwich had 32; the constituencies with the lowest number of voters were Gatton and Old Sarum, which both had just seven voters[[/note]]. All constituencies back then actually had ''two'' [=MPs=], although in the event of a by-election following the death of one of them the surviving MP didn't have to stand for re-election. And if there was only one candidate (which often happened), they'd get elected unopposed. And sending some useful idiot to parliament as a representative of the owner of said borough? If anything, Baldrick was probably an intellectual next to some of these people, although such people tended to be upper-class.
** The characters of Brigadier Horace Bolsom and especially Ivor "jest ye not, madam" Biggun, rather than being surreal whimsy, reflect the long-standing British tradition of satirical candidates or single-issue campaigners contesting high-profile electoral seats and literally "standing at the back dressed stupidly and looking stupid" when the result is announced. The aptly named Monster Raving Loony Party is the archetypal example and Ivor Biggun is clearly based on its founder, Screaming Lord Sutch [[note]] who wasn't actually a lord, of course[[/note]], although more recent elections (long after the episode came out) have given us other satirical candidates like the equally aptly-named Lord Buckethead, who came to national attention when he stood for election against UsefulNotes/TheresaMay (the Prime Minister at the time) in 2017. 'Serious' politicians have sometimes commented that they try to avoid standing near the joke candidates when the results are announced.

** The characters of Brigadier Horace Bolsom and especially Ivor "jest ye not, madam" Biggun, rather than being surreal whimsy, reflect the long-standing British tradition of satirical candidates or single-issue campaigners contesting high-profile electoral seats and literally "standing at the back dressed stupidly and looking stupid" when the result is announced. The aptly named Monster Raving Loony Party is the archetypal example and Ivor Biggun is clearly based on its founder, Screaming Lord Sutch [[note]] who wasn't actually a lord, of course[[/note]], although more recent elections (long after the episode came out) have given us other satirical candidates like the equally aptly-named Lord Buckethead, who came to national attention when he stood for election against Theresa May (the Prime Minister at the time) in 2017. 'Serious' politicians have sometimes commented that they try to avoid standing near the joke candidates when the results are announced.

** The characters of Brigadier Horace Bolsom and especially Ivor "jest ye not, madam" Biggun, rather than being surreal whimsy, reflect the long-standing British tradition of satirical candidates or single-issue campaigners contesting high-profile seats at British elections and literally "standing at the back dressed stupidly and looking stupid" when the result is announced. The aptly named Monster Raving Loony Party is the archetypal example and Ivor Biggun is clearly based on its founder, Screaming Lord Sutch [[note]] who wasn't actually a lord, of course[[/note]], although more recent elections (long after the episode came out) have given us other satirical candidates like the equally aptly-named Lord Buckethead, who came to national attention when he stood for election against Theresa May (the Prime Minister at the time) in 2017. 'Serious' politicians have sometimes commented that they try to avoid standing near the joke candidates when the results are announced.

** British viewers would be largely familiar with the tradition of satirical candidates or single-issue campaigners contesting high-profile seats at British elections and literally "standing at the back dressed stupidly and looking stupid" when the result is announced. The aptly named Monster Raving Loony Party is the archetypal example and Ivor Biggun is clearly based on its founder, Screaming Lord Sutch [[note]] who wasn't actually a lord, of course[[/note]], although more recent elections (long after the episode came out) have given us other satirical candidates like the equally aptly-named Lord Buckethead, who came to national attention when he stood for election against Theresa May (the Prime Minister at the time) in 2017. 'Serious' politicians have sometimes commented that they try to avoid standing near the joke candidates when the results are announced.

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Rotten boroughs where there is only one voter or they are all controlled by one person? Such constituencies, sometimes referred to as pocket boroughs, actually existed in Britain before the 1832 Reform Act. However, they usually had a few dozen or so voters, all of whom were influenced (usually by way of bribery or blackmail) to vote for the landowner's preferred candidate [[note]] for example, East Looe had 38 voters, while Dunwich had 32; the constituencies with the lowest number of voters were Gatton and Old Sarum, which both had just seven voters[[/note]]. All constituencies back then actually had ''two'' [=MPs=], although in the event of a by-election following the death of one of them the surviving MP didn't have to stand for re-election. And if there was only one candidate (which often happened), they'd get elected unopposed. And sending some useful idiot to parliament as a representative of the owner of said borough? If anything, Baldrick was probably an intellectual next to some of these people, although such people tended to be upper-class.

* AnachronismStew: At play in this episode and for the rest of the third series. UsefulNotes/WilliamPittTheYounger declares his intentions to fight UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, yet a few episodes later the events of ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel'' take place including UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which of course took place ''before'' Boney came to power in France -- while the final episode features UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfWellington who is mentioned as only recently come back from fighting Napoleonic forces in Spain. For all intents and purposes, the series is presented out of chronological order.

'''The Prince Regent:''' Anti-distinctly minty...

* [[AtomicFBomb Atomic D-Bomb]]: When Edmund finds out that Baldrick was made a Lord at the Prince Regent's request, after Edmund strongly suggested himself for that honour.

* FictionalPoliticalParty: After the MP for rotten borough Dunny-on-the-Wold (consisting of nothing more than a tiny plot of land, many farm animals and only one actual voter) suddenly died, the Prince Regent and Blackadder decide to run Baldrick as their own candidate and tip Parliament in their favour. Baldrick runs on behalf of the "Adder Party", a name which becomes much more appropriate when it turns out that Blackadder was both the borough's Returning Officer and lone voter after both died in freak "accidents". Other fictitious parties on the ballot included "Keep Royalty White, Rat Catching and Safe Sewage Residents' Party" and the "Standing at the Back Dressed Stupidly and Looking Stupid Party" (whose party line stands for "the compulsory serving of asparagus at breakfast, free corsets for the under-fives (girls, obviously) and [[TheTriple the abolition of slavery]]" -- though the last one was just put in as a joke).
** The last two are a ShoutOut to two real minor perennial candidates at British elections at the time the show was broadcast -- Bill Boaks, who usually stood as something like "Democratic Monarchist Road Safety White Resident", and Screaming Lord Sutch of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party (which, in their heyday of the 70s and 80s, proposed ludicrous policies, although by the 2010s a couple of them had actually been proposed and enacted by the government -- [[HilariousInHindsight much like the reference to the abolition of slavery was implied to be]]).

* ShoutOut: The "Standing at the back dressed stupidly and looking stupid party" reminds one a lot of the "Very Silly" candidates in Creator/MontyPython's election night special sketch.
** They're actually based on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_Monster_Raving_Loony_Party Monster Raving Loony Party]], a genuine British political party who, in general, stand at the back dressed stupidly and look stupid. And, as in real British elections, the returning officer is put in the ridiculous situation of being forced to take them seriously. Similarly, Brigadier General Horace Bolsom is a reference to perpetual right-wing independent candidate [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Boaks Lieutenant Commander William Boaks]].

* TakeThat: While Blackadder is filling out Baldrick's MP application form:
-->'''Blackadder''': Criminal record?\\

-->'''Blackadder''': You could appoint him a High Court judge.
-->'''George''': Is he qualified?
-->'''Blackadder''': He's a violent, bigoted, mindless old fool.
-->'''George''': Sounds a bit overqualified!

----

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Rotten boroughs where there is only one voter or they are all controlled by one person? Such constituencies, sometimes referred to as pocket boroughs, actually existed in Britain before the 1832 Reform Act. However, they they usually had a few dozen or so voters, all of whom were influenced (usually by way of bribery or blackmail) to vote for the landowner's preferred candidate [[note]] for example, East Looe had 38 voters, while Dunwich had 32; the constituencies with the lowest number of voters were Gatton and Old Sarum, which both had just seven voters[[/note]]. All constituencies back then actually had ''two'' [=MPs=], although in the event of a by-election following the death of one of them the surviving MP didn't have to stand for re-election. And if there was only one candidate (which often happened), they'd get elected unopposed. And sending some useful idiot to parliament as a representative of the owner of said borough? If anything, Baldrick was probably an intellectual next to some of these people, although such people tended to be upper-class.

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Rotten boroughs where there is only one voter or they are all controlled by one person? Such constituencies, sometimes referred to as pocket boroughs, actually existed in Britain before the 1832 Reform Act. However, they they usually had a few dozen or so voters, all of whom were influenced (usually by way of bribery or blackmail) to vote for the landowner's preferred candidate [[note]] for example, East Looe had 38 voters, while Dunwich had 32; the constituencies with the lowest number of voters were Gatton and Old Sarum, which both had just seven voters[[/note]]. All constituencies back then actually had ''two'' [=MPs=], although in the event of a by-election following the death of one of them the surviving MP didn't have to stand for re-election. And sending some useful idiot to parliament as a representative of the owner of said borough? If anything, Baldrick was probably an intellectual next to some of these people, although such people tended to be upper-class.
** British viewers would be largely familiar with the tradition of satirical candidates or single-issue campaigners contesting high-profile seats at British elections and literally "standing at the back dressed stupidly and looking stupid" when the result is announced. The aptly named Monster Raving Loony Party is the archetypal example, and more recent elections (long after the episode came out) have given us the equally aptly-named Lord Buckethead.

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Rotten boroughs where there is only one voter or they are all controlled by one person? Such constituencies, sometimes referred to as pocket boroughs, actually existed in Britain before the 1832 Reform Act. However, they they usually had a few dozen or so voters, all of whom were influenced (usually by way of bribery or blackmail) to vote for the landowner's preferred candidate [[note]] for example, East Looe had 38 voters, while Dunwich had 32; the constituencies with the lowest number of voters were Gatton and Old Sarum, which both had just seven voters[[/note]]. All constituencies back then actually had ''two'' MPs, although in the event of a by-election following the death of one of them the surviving MP didn't have to stand for re-election. And sending some useful idiot to parliament as a representative of the owner of said borough? If anything, Baldrick was probably an intellectual next to some of these people, although such people tended to be upper-class.

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Rotten boroughs where there is only one voter or they are all controlled by one person? Actually existed in Britain before the 1832 Reform Act, although they usually had a dozen or so voters (all of whom were influenced - usually by way of bribery or blackmail - to vote for the landowner's preferred candidate). And sending some useful idiot to parliament as a representative of the owner of said borough? If anything, Baldrick was probably an intellectual next to some of these people.

** Buxomly "dined heavily off a servant", which George interprets as his eating a servant rather than eating off them like a table.
** Due to Vincent Hanna's hushed delivery, it's not entirely clear if Brigadier-General Horace Bolsom represents the Keep Royalty White, Rat-Catching and Safe Sewage Residents' Party or the Keep Royalty, White Rat-Catching, etc. Do they believe in keeping royalty white and catching rats, or in keeping royalty and catching white rats? (Most transcripts and online resources go for the former.)

** The episode also implies that he directly succeeded his father, Pitt the Elder, who died five years before his son came to power, and ten years after he himself left the position.
** Pitt the Younger's real-life younger brother, James Pitt, also died before he came to power, meaning that there wouldn't have been a 'Pitt the Even Younger' to run in the by-election. He did have an older brother, John Pitt, who was alive during the events of this episode, but he was a member of the House of Lords at the time.[[note]](well, that and having a "Pitt the Slightly Less Younger" competing against Baldrick probably wouldn't have been as funny)[[/note]]

** The last two are a ShoutOut to two real minor perennial candidates at British elections at the time the show was broadcast -- Bill Boaks, who usually stood as something like "Democratic Monarchist Road Safety White Resident", and Screaming Lord Sutch of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party (which, in their heyday of the 70s and 80s, proposed ludicrous policies. By the 2010s, a couple of them had actually been proposed and enacted by the government -- [[HilariousInHindsight much like the reference to the abolition of slavery was implied to be]]).

* InsideJob: The only reason Prince George is bankrupt is because he has to keep replacing the socks Blackadder is implied to be stealing from him.

* NewscasterCameo: At the time the episode aired, Vincent Hanna was an actual newsreader who was known for frequently covering by-elections, hence his credit in this episode as his own great, great, great grandfather.
* OnlyOneName: When Blackadder asks Baldrick what is his first name, he replies that he isn't sure, but it might be "Sodoff" (because when he was little, he'd say to the other kids "Hello, my name's Baldrick," and they'd say, "Yes, we know. Sod off, Baldrick.")

* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: One plot revolves around Edmund getting the Member of Parliament with the worst attendance record -- Sir Talbot Buxomley, MP for Dunny-on-the-Wold -- to turn up to work and vote in the Prince Regent's (read: Edmund's) favour. Edmund recalls that the one time Sir Talbot did manage to attend the House of Commons "He passed water in The Great Hall and then passed out in the Speaker's chair." [[note]]It would have been better if he'd done it the other way round. Sleeping in Parliament, even in debates, was not uncommon right up until it was televised in the 1980s (and for a short time afterwards). The Speaker's chair, meanwhile, is equipped with a chamber pot and curtains to accommodate exactly the need in which Sir Talbot found himself. Admittedly it's intended for the use of the Speaker, without whose presence Parliament can't sit but still.[[/note]]

* AnachronismStew: William Pitt the Younger declares his intentions to fight UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte, yet a few episodes later the events of ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel'' take place including UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, which of course took place ''before'' Napoleon, and the final episode features UsefulNotes/TheDukeOfWellington who is mentioned as only recently come back from fighting Napoleonic forces in Spain. For all intents and purposes the series is presented out of chronological order.

-->'''Blackadder:''' Impossible, sir. Only you and I have access to your socks.

* OverlyPreparedGag: The show expounds at great length that Blackadder's robe is made of catskin, and since they've left the collars on, they can tell one belonged to the infamous Lady Hamilton. All for the build-up to the inevitable joke about "Lady Hamilton's pussy".

* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: One plot revolves around Edmund getting the Member of Parliament with the worst attendance record -- Sir Talbot Buxomley, MP for Dunny-on-the-Wold -- to turn up to work and vote in the Prince Regent's (read: Edmund's) favour. Edmund recalls that the one time Sir Talbot did manage to attend the House of Commons "He passed water in The Great Hall and passed out in the Speaker's chair." [[note]]It would have been better if he'd done it the other way round. Sleeping in Parliament, even in debates, was not uncommon right up until it was televised in the 1980s (and for a short time afterwards. The Speaker's chair, meanwhile is equipped with a chamber pot and curtains to accommodate exactly the need in which Sir Talbot found himself. Admittedly it's intended for the use of the Speaker, without whose presence Parliament can't sit but still.[[/note]]

** They're actually based on the Monster Raving Loony Party, a genuine political party who, in general, stand at the back dressed stupidly and look stupid. And, as in real British elections, the returning officer is put in the ridiculous situation of being forced to take them seriously. Similarly, Brigadier General Horace Bolsom is a reference to perpetual independent candidate [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Boaks Lieutenant Commander William Boaks]].

'''Blackadder''': Oh, come on, Baldrick, you're going to be an MP, for God's sake. I'll just put down fraud and sexual deviancy.
** Also at the judiciary:

* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: Sir Talbot Buxomley, [[InstantlyProvenWrong right as George is telling him how healthy he's looking.]]

* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: Sir Talbot Buxomley, [[TemptingFate right as George is telling him how healthy he's looking.]]

* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: Sir Talbot Buxomly.

* AmbiguousSyntax: Buxomly "dined heavily off a servant", which George interprets as his eating a servant rather than eating off them like a table.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Blackadder's remark about "Lady Hamilton's pussy" - he's wearing her dead cat as a cape.
* IdenticalGrandson: Vincent Hannah plays his own great-great-great-grandfather.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Blackadder's remark about "Lady Hamilton's pussy" - he's wearing her dead cat as a cape.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Blackadder's remark about "Lady Hamilton's pussy" - he's wearing her dead cat as a cape.

** British viewers would be largely familiar with the tradition of satirical candidates or single-issue campaigners contesting high-profile seats at British elections and literally "standing at the back dressed stupidly and looking stupid" when the result is announced. The aptly named Monster Raving Loony Party is the archetypal example, and more recent elections (long after the episode came out) have given us the equally aptly named Lord Buckethead.

** British viewers would be largely familiar with the tradition of satirical candidates or single-issue campaigners contesting high-profile seats at British elections and literally "standing at the back dressed stupidly and looking stupid" when the result is announced.

'''Blackadder''': Well, surely you must have some idea?\\

'''Blackadder''': Oh, come on, Baldrick, you're going to be an MP for God's sake. I'll just put down fraud and sexual deviancy.