This is an episode list of the British sitcom Blackadder. Dates shown are original airdates on BBC1.

Series overview

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
Pilot--
1615 June 1983 (1983-06-15)20 July 1983 (1983-07-20)
269 January 1986 (1986-01-09)20 February 1986 (1986-02-20)
3617 September 1987 (1987-09-17)22 October 1987 (1987-10-22)
4628 September 1989 (1989-09-28)2 November 1989 (1989-11-02)
Specials35 February 1988 (1988-02-05)31 December 1999 (1999-12-31)

Episodes

Pilot

TitleDirected byWritten by
"The Black Adder"Geoff PosnerRichard Curtis & Rowan Atkinson
The pilot of The Black Adder was not broadcast until 2023; the story-line was also used for the episode "Born to Be King."

Series 1: The Black Adder (1983)

Main article: The Black Adder

The episodes in this series were originally shown on BBC1 on Wednesday evenings, 21:25 – 22:00. Note: The "Ultimate Edition" DVD retains the broadcast order, which switched the second and fourth episodes as "Born to Be King" was not ready for transmission, despite on-screen dates continuing to identify the true order as "Born to Be King", "The Archbishop", "The Queen of Spain's Beard"[1]

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"The Foretelling"Martin ShardlowRichard Curtis & Rowan Atkinson15 June 1983 (1983-06-15)
22"Born to Be King"Martin ShardlowRichard Curtis & Rowan Atkinson6 July 1983 (1983-07-06)[1]
33"The Archbishop"Martin ShardlowRichard Curtis & Rowan Atkinson29 June 1983 (1983-06-29)
44"The Queen of Spain's Beard"Martin ShardlowRichard Curtis & Rowan Atkinson22 June 1983 (1983-06-22)[1]
55"Witchsmeller Pursuivant"Martin ShardlowRichard Curtis & Rowan Atkinson13 July 1983 (1983-07-13)
66"The Black Seal"Martin ShardlowRichard Curtis & Rowan Atkinson20 July 1983 (1983-07-20)

Series 2: Blackadder II (1986)

Main article: Blackadder II

The episodes in this series were originally shown on BBC1 on Thursday evenings, 21:30 – 22:00. The episode titles are single word references to the theme of the episode: a wedding, executions, voyages of exploration, debt, drinking alcohol, and imprisonment, respectively.

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byRecorded dateOriginal air date
71"Bells"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton13 June 1985 (1985-06-13)[2]9 January 1986 (1986-01-09)
82"Head"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton9 June 1985 (1985-06-09)[3]16 January 1986 (1986-01-16)
93"Potato"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton23 June 1985 (1985-06-23)[4]23 January 1986 (1986-01-23)
104"Money"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton30 June 1985 (1985-06-30)6 February 1986 (1986-02-06)
115"Beer"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton7 July 1985 (1985-07-07)[5]13 February 1986 (1986-02-13)
126"Chains"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton14 July 1985 (1985-07-14)20 February 1986 (1986-02-20)

Series 3: Blackadder the Third (1987)

Main article: Blackadder the Third

The episodes in this series were originally shown on BBC1 on Thursday evenings, 21:30 – 22:00. The episode titles use alliteration in parody of the titles of Jane Austen's novels Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byRecorded dateOriginal air date
131"Dish and Dishonesty"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton19 June 1987 (1987-06-19)[6]17 September 1987 (1987-09-17)
142"Ink and Incapability"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton5 June 1987 (1987-06-05)[7]24 September 1987 (1987-09-24)
153"Nob and Nobility"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton10 July 1987 (1987-07-10)[8]1 October 1987 (1987-10-01)
164"Sense and Senility"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton12 June 1987 (1987-06-12)[9]8 October 1987 (1987-10-08)
175"Amy and Amiability"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton26 June 1987 (1987-06-26)[10]15 October 1987 (1987-10-15)
186"Duel and Duality"Mandie FletcherRichard Curtis & Ben Elton3 July 1987 (1987-07-03)[11]22 October 1987 (1987-10-22)

Series 4: Blackadder Goes Forth (1989)

Main article: Blackadder Goes Forth

The episodes in this series were originally shown on BBC1 on Thursday evenings, 21:30 – 22:00. The episode titles are, with exception of the final episode, puns on military ranks.

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byRecorded dateOriginal air date
191"Captain Cook"Richard BodenRichard Curtis & Ben Elton27 August 1989 (1989-08-27)28 September 1989 (1989-09-28)
202"Corporal Punishment"Richard BodenRichard Curtis & Ben Elton3 September 1989 (1989-09-03)5 October 1989 (1989-10-05)
213"Major Star"Richard BodenRichard Curtis & Ben Elton10 September 1989 (1989-09-10)12 October 1989 (1989-10-12)
224"Private Plane"Richard BodenRichard Curtis & Ben Elton17 September 1989 (1989-09-17)[12]19 October 1989 (1989-10-19)
235"General Hospital"Richard BodenRichard Curtis & Ben Elton24 September 1989 (1989-09-24)[13]26 October 1989 (1989-10-26)
246"Goodbyeee"Richard BodenRichard Curtis & Ben Elton1 October 1989 (1989-10-01)2 November 1989 (1989-11-02)

Specials

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Blackadder: The Cavalier Years"Richard BodenRichard Curtis & Ben Elton5 February 1988 (1988-02-05)
England is in civil war, and Blackadder is harbouring the most wanted man in the country: King Charles I.
2"Blackadder's Christmas Carol"Richard BodenRichard Curtis & Ben Elton23 December 1988 (1988-12-23)
A parody of Charles Dickens' book A Christmas Carol. As Christmas approaches, Ebenezer Blackadder gets a surprising meeting with the Ghost of Christmas Present.
3"Blackadder: Back & Forth"Paul WeilandRichard Curtis & Ben Elton31 December 1999 (1999-12-31)
As the new millennium dawns, Blackadder tries to con his friends out of £30,000 with a fake time machine which, thanks to Baldrick, unexpectedly works up to a point.

Additional appearances

Blackadder and Baldrick, or one of them, have also appeared frequently as guests in other shows or live shows, often for charity.

TitleWritten byOriginal air date
"Woman's Hour Invasion"Richard Curtis & Ben Elton28 September 1988 (1988-09-28)
Woman's Hour is a show on BBC Radio 4 consisting of reports, interviews and debates aimed at women, and also includes short serials during the last quarter of the show. On one instance of the show, in 1988, Blackadder and Baldrick show up, travel back in time and talk to Shakespeare and others. The purpose of the "invasion" was to raise money for Children in Need.[14]
"Children in Need"Richard Curtis & Ben EltonFriday 18 November 1988 (Friday 18 November 1988)
Terry Wogan interviews Blackadder and Baldrick, both of which appear and behave as they are in series 3, with Blackadder insulting both Baldrick and Terry Wogan. This special cameo was done during a TV appeal for Children in Need.[15]
"Clown Court"Richard Curtis1988 (1988)
Clown Court was an item on Noel's Saturday Roadshow in which Noel Edmonds presented blooper compilations in a mock court setting. Tony Robinson appeared as Baldrick, who stands accused of a number of bloopers from the third series, and is sentenced to death.[16]
"Cooking with Baldrick on Blue Peter"Unknown9 March 1989 (1989-03-09)
Baldrick shares a recipe on a Blue Peter special. This short cameo was included on the bluray edition of Blackadder in 2023.
"Baldrick on Smellovision (CBBC Comic Relief 1991)"TBD1991 (1991)
Featured in this clip were Tony Robinson as Baldrick, Presenter Andy Peters and a puppet called the Samiad from a 1991 children's show.[17]
"Blackadder and the King's Birthday"Ben Elton14 November 1998 (1998-11-14)
A short sketch performed at the Prince of Wales' 50th Birthday Gala. It featured Rowan Atkinson as Lord Blackadder and Stephen Fry as King Charles II. Baldrick is mentioned as being Lord Blackadder's servant, but does not appear. The live-on-stage sketch was televised on ITV (in the UK) on 14 November 1998.[18]
"Blackadder: The Army Years"Ben Elton19 October 2000 (2000-10-19)
A short monologue performed at the Dominion Theatre for the Royal Variety Performance 2000. It features Rowan Atkinson as the modern-day Lord Edmund Blackadder of Her Royal Highness's regiment of Shirkers, offering a proposal to restore England's glory by invading France. The sketch was written and introduced by Ben Elton, who was the compère of the evening.[19]
"The Jubilee Girl"Richard Curtis29 December 2002 (2002-12-29)
The Jubilee Girl was a BBC special about the making of the Party at the Palace, a concert held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace for Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. The concert had been reluctantly announced on the BBC by Sir Osmond Darling-Blackadder, Keeper of the Royal Lawn Sprinklers, and while he does not appear in connection with the actual concert, he makes a few brief appearances in The Jubilee Girl to provide a humouristic note.[20]
"The Banking Crisis"Ben Elton28 September 2012 (2012-09-28)
A new Blackadder sketch about the banking crisis, performed at a special charity gala event "We Are Most Amused" in aid of the Prince’s Trust. Sir Edmund Blackadder is the chief executive of the Melchett, Melchett & Darling bank, who brings his gardener Sodoff Baldrick to an enquiry.[21]
"Red Nose Day 2023"Richard Curtis & Tony Robinson17 March 2023 (2023-03-17)
Baldrick returns alone to read “Balderella” about himself and Edmund Blackadder (absent) for the 2023 BBC Red Nose Day.

Retrospectives and documentaries

TitleOriginal air date
"Baldrick's diary: a Blackadder in the making"31 December 1999 (1999-12-31)
A featurette on the shooting of Back & Forth, in the form a video diary narrated by Baldrick. It includes several deleted scenes from the movie.
"Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga"8 October 2008 (2008-10-08)

A 90-minute documentary produced by Tiger Aspect for UKTV Gold.[22]

It featured interviews with most of the major cast members and other contributors, including Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Richard Curtis, Ben Elton, Miranda Richardson, Tim McInnerny and Tony Robinson and was narrated by comedian David Mitchell. Rowan Atkinson did not appear except in archival footage.[23] It was followed by another hour with a compilation called 'Most Cunning Moments' where celebrities and invited guests vote on their favourite scenes.[24]
"Blackadder Rides Again"25 December 2008 (2008-12-25)
A 60-minute documentary produced by Tiger Aspect for the BBC and broadcast on 25 December 2008, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show. It featured interviews with all of the major cast members and other contributors, including Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Richard Curtis, Ben Elton, Miranda Richardson, Tim McInnerny and Tony Robinson.[25] Rather than relying on 'talking head' interviews and clips from the show, the documentary included several pieces of rare, and even unseen material (behind the scenes clips, cut scenes from Series 1 etc.). It also reunited certain cast and crew members with their costumes, visited cast members on their current ventures, or took them to the original filming locations.
"Blackadder: the lost pilot"15 June 2023 (2023-06-15)
Sir Tony Robinson introduces the first UK screening of the long-unaired pilot episode on Gold, and discusses its genesis with Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and Howard Goodall.

References

  1. ^ a b c The True History of the Black Adder, ISBN 978-1-8480-9346-1, pp. 125, p 419-420
  2. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-ii-bells Filming date included with description(s).
  3. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-ii-head Filming date included with description(s).
  4. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-ii-potato Filming date included with description(s).
  5. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-ii-beer Filming date included with description(s).
  6. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-the-third-dish-and-dishonesty Filming date included with description(s).
  7. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-the-third-ink-and-incapability Filming date included with description(s).
  8. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-the-third-nob-and-nobility Filming date included with description(s).
  9. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-the-third-sense-and-senility Filming date included with description(s).
  10. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-the-third-amy-and-amiability Filming date included with description(s).
  11. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-the-third-duel-and-duality Filming date included with description(s).
  12. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-goes-forth-private-plane Filming date included with description(s).
  13. ^ https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/blackadder-goes-forth-general-hospital Filming date included with description(s).
  14. ^ The Woman's Hour Invasion at Blackadder Hall Archived 14 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  15. ^ J.F. Roberts, The True History of the Black Adder: The Unadulterated Tale of the Creation of a Comedy Legend (Preface publishing, 2000) 253-254.
  16. ^ "Baldrick on Clown Court". 13 October 2011.
  17. ^ "Baldrick on Smellovision". 18 June 2023.
  18. ^ The King's Birthday at Blackadder Hall Archived 18 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  19. ^ The Army Years at Blackadder Hall Archived 29 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  20. ^ The Royal Gardner at Blackadder Hall Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  21. ^ "New Blackadder Sketch Performed". 29 November 2012.
  22. ^ "Blackadder Hall Blog". Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  23. ^ "IMDb page". IMDb. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  24. ^ "IMDb page". IMDb. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  25. ^ "Press Office – Network TV Programme Information BBC ONE Weeks 52/53". BBC. Retrieved 27 February 2009.

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