History Series / Blackadder

_->'''Melchett:''' It's no good crushing a revolution over here only to get back home to Blighty and find that everyone's wearing overalls and breaking wind in the palaces of the mighty.

* EvilSoundsRaspy: ''Series/{{BlackAdder}}'': In "Money" from the second series, the evil Bishop of Bath and Wells has an extremely rasping voice, even when he gets his come-uppance.

* MythologyGag: Doubles as a CastingGag, in the first two series Creator/TimMcInnerny played Blackadder's UpperClassTwit friend (both named Percy) and in the second Creator/HughLaurie played his enemy "Ludwig the Indestructible". In this series the roles are somewhat reversed with Laurie playing Blackadder's friend George and [=McInnerny=] portraying his SitcomArchNemesis Darling.

* InsultMisfire

** Flashheart may also count. Although he's a lecherous egomaniac, he still agrees to come and help George rescue some "noble brother flyers" (granted he didn't know it was Blackadder and Baldrick) and [[EveryoneHasStandards even '''''he''''' is disgusted]] when he learns Darling was just going to leave them to rot.

** Flashheart may also count. Although he's a lecherous egomaniac, he still agrees to come and help George rescue some "noble brother flyers" (granted he didn't know it was Blackadder and Baldrick) and [[EveryoneHasStandards even '''''he''''' is disgusted]] when he learns Darling was just going to leave them to rot.

** It's worth noting that this Blackadder, in contrast with his forebears, is uninterested in scheming his way to power or wealth. He's merely trying to [[SeriesGoal save himself]]. [[spoiler:Too bad FailureIsTheOnlyOption]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Blackadder, to a very slight extent. He's still not remotely a nice person, but he can bring himself to feel sympathy for Darling and wish the others good luck in the final episode.
** Despite being a soldier, he is the only Blackadder in the four seasons ''not'' to commit murder -- unless you count Speckled Jim. Though it is mentioned that he has done in the past, at Mboto Gorge. According to Darling, they "massacred the peace-loving pygmies of the Upper Volta and stole all their fruit."
** He also seems genuinely horrified when he learns he's sent an innocent woman to the firing squad in "General Hospital"; hard to imagine his heartless Regency ancestor being so shaken.
** He is genuinely complimentary regarding George's painting ability too (though planning to use it for his own ends). Sincere compliments from a Blackadder are as rare as something very rare indeed.

* MythologyGag: Doubles as a CastingGag, in the first two series Creator/TimMcInnerny played Blackadder's UpperClassTwit friend (both named Percy) and in the second Creator/HughLaurie played his enemy "Ludwig the Indestructible". In this series the roles are somewhat reversed with Laurie playing Blackadders friend George and [=McInnerny=] portraying his SitcomArchNemesis Darling.

* MythologyGag: Doubles as a CastingGag, in the first two series Creator/TimMcInnerny played Blackadder's UpperClassTwit friend (both named Percy) and in the second Creator/HughLaurie played his enemy "Ludwig the Indestructible". In this series the roles are somewhat reversed with Laurie playing Blackadders friend George and {{McInnery}} portraying his SitcomArchNemesis Darling.

* MythologyGag: Doubles as a CastingGag, in the first two series Creator/TimMcInnerny played Blackadder's UpperClassTwit friend (both named Percy) and in the second Creator/HughLaurie played his enemy "Ludwig the Indestructible". In this series the roles are somewhat reversed with Laurie playing Blackadders friend George and McInnery portraying his SitcomArchNemesis Darling.

** It is implied that the Witchsmeller Pursuivant was really a witch himself, as when he is killed the king recovers from his illness and everything goes back to normal (for them) -- or possibly Edmund's mother, who likely ended the spell to keep Edmund from being thought guilty still.

* AntiHero: Edmund is a Type V: He is an OpportunisticBastard through and through but spends most of the time trying to earn the Queenie's favour (at least once by doing her evil bidding) and avoiding an appointment with Choppy.

One of the most impressive aspects of the show was the subtle differences between the various incarnations of Blackadder: The ambitious but spineless Prince Edmund the Black Adder, the dashing but impulsive Lord Blackadder, the cool and ruthless E. Blackadder Esq. and the weary, rather less evil, but more witty and intelligent Captain Blackadder all had much in common character-wise, but were recognisably different people. [[RuleOfFunny for some reason]], each incarnation was lower in social order than the previous A similar variation can be seen in the Baldricks, who always seemed to be at or around the bottom of the social order, but did get noticeable stupider as time went on.

** In the episode "Captain Cook" of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'', Baldrick believes his father was a nun.

** In "General Hospital" of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'', George mistakes Mr Smith's "nein" (German for "no") for "nine".

* TruthInTelevision: Richard IV is constantly out of the country fighting in the Crusades. This would at first seem to be AnachronismStew, since the famous First, Second and Third Crusades that everyone remembers had been over for centuries by the 1480s; but other church-sanctioned campaigns did continue well in the 15th century, particularly in order to combat Ottoman expansion into Europe.

** In ''Blackadder II'', the [[SinisterMinister Baby-Eating Bishop of Bath and Wells]] threatens to put a red-hot poker up Edmund's arse if Edmund doesn't repay the £1,000 debt he owes him.

-->'''George:''' Tell me, leaving aside the incident in question, would you think of Captain Blackadder as the sort of man who would usually ignore orders?\\

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To those familiar with the later series, ''The Black Adder'' can seem rather odd. This includes the [[CharacterizationMarchesOn different characterisations]], the larger ensemble of characters, differences in the writing (Creator/BenElton replaced Creator/RowanAtkinson as a writer from ''Blackadder II'' onwards), as well as the significantly larger budget which allowed large sets, crowd scenes and location shooting. The later seasons would focus more on dialogue and characterisation. Other, minor differences include each episode having a ColdOpen, the usage of supernatural elements, and the characters frequently speaking in a pseudo-Shakespearian manner instead of the modern English used elsewhere. Also, this one had more of an ensemble cast. It's a bit of a shock to fans of later series to see that Tony Robinson is not actually mentioned in the opening credits but Baldrick was more of a supporting character here and it was only really from ''Blackadder II'' onwards that he was promoted to the second lead. Ironically, in the original pilot things were much closer to the later seasons. Edmund was a witty DeadpanSnarker and Baldrick (not portrayed by Creator/TonyRobinson) was a BumblingSidekick. [[RunningGag Percy... is Percy]].

* AllThereInTheManual: The scripts of the four series (but not the pilot and the specials) were published in the 1998 book ''Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty 1485-1917''. It also contains plenty of bonus material such as Baldrick's family tree (almost entirely consisting of individuals called called "Baldrick") and details about other members of the Blackadder family, such as a Cardinal Blackadder from the reign of Henry VIII (presumably the father of the Elizabethan Blackadder in the second series) and an [[UsefulNotes/WarOfTheSpanishSuccession early-18th century military commander]] who deliberately lost the "Battle of Shithole" because Queen Anne had promised to build him a mansion named after his next victory -- those two clearly being [[{{Expy}} expies]] of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolsey Cardinal Wolsey]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Churchill,_1st_Duke_of_Marlborough Duke of Marlborough]].

One of the most impressive aspects of the show was the subtle differences between the various incarnations of Blackadder: The ambitious but spineless Prince Edmund the Black Adder, the dashing but impulsive Lord Blackadder, the cool and ruthless E. Blackadder Esq. and the weary, rather less evil, but more witty and intelligent Captain Blackadder all had much in common character-wise, but were recognisably different people. A similar variation can be seen in the Baldricks ([[RuleOfFunny for some reason]], each incarnation was lower in social order than the previous).