[2009-10-20] "Black Adder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition" DVD 6-disc set (BBC)

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Oct 13, 2009 2:08 pm

Amazon.com
One of the best comedy series ever to emerge from England, Black Adder traces the deeply cynical and self-serving lineage of various Edmund Blackadders from the muck of the Middle Ages to the frontline of World War I. In his pre-Bean triumph, British comic actor Rowan Atkinson played all five versions of Edmund, beginning with the villainous and cowardly Duke of Edinburgh, whose scheming mind and awful haircut seem to stand him in good stead to become the next Archbishop of Canterbury--a deadly occupation if ever there was one. Among tales of royal dethronings, Black Death, witch smellers (who root out spell makers with their noses), and ghosts, Edmund is a perennial survivor who never quite gets ahead in multiple episodes. Jump to the Elizabethan era and Atkinson picks up the saga as Lord Edmund, who is perpetually courting favor from mad Queen Bess (Miranda Richardson) and is always walking a tightrope from which he can either gain the world or lose his head. Subjected to bizarre services for her majesty (at one point, Edmund is asked to do for potatoes what Sir Walter Raleigh did for tobacco), Edmund--as with his ancestor--can never quite fulfill his larger ambitions. The next incarnation we encounter is in late-18th-century Regency England. This time, Blackadder is a mere butler to the idiotic Prince Regent (Hugh Laurie in a brilliantly buffoonish performance) and is caught in various misadventures with Samuel Johnson, Shakespearean actors, the Scarlet Pimpernel, and William Pitt the younger. With a brief stop in Victorian London for a Christmas special, the series concludes with several episodes set during the Great War. The new Edmund is a career Army officer, but a scoundrel all the same. Shirking his duties whenever possible and taking advantage of any opportunity for undeserved reward, this final, deeply sour, and very funny Blackadder negotiates survival among a cadre of fools and dimwits. No small mention can be made of Atkinson's supporting cast, easily among the finest comic performers of their generation: besides Laurie and Richardson, Stephen Fry, Tony Robinson, and Tim McInnerny. --Tom Keogh

Product Description
Rowan Atkinson is deliciously twisted as the comic villain, Edmund Blackadder, in the enormously popular comedy series. Follow Blackadder in hysterical send-ups of the Middle Ages, the Elizabethan age, the Regency period, and World War I. This special edition contains new exclusive interviews and audio commentaries, making it a must have for all Black Adder fans.

Remastered series: The Black Adder, Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third, Blackadder Goes Forth
New commentary by Rowan Atkinson and John Lloyd, Stephen Fry, Ben Elton and Richard Curtis, Tony Robinson and Tim McInnery
Blackadder Rides Again: special 60-minute documentary to mark the 25th anniversary
Exclusive extended interviews with Hugh Laurie, Rowan Atkinson, Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry
Costumes Revisited with Miranda Richardson, Patsy Byrne, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnery
Plus Blackadder's Christmas Carol, Blackadder the Cavalier Years, Blackadder Back and Forth, Baldrick's Video Diary and more

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LFPAUM/?tag=imwan-20

alantig · 20 Sep 2006

I'm there! "Blackadder's Christmas Carol" is annual viewing in this here house. And if the end of Blackadder IV doesn't leave you with a lump in your throat...

Oh, and Miranda Richardson as the Queen? Wonderful!

Alan

Jimbo · 19 Jul 2006

The Christmas Carol episode is such a funny idea I'm surprised it wasn't done before--at least, not that I know of. Essential viewing every season for me too.

alantig · 20 Sep 2006

I got this one for Christmas - taking a look at "Christmas Carol" now, and sad to say, they used the wrong master for the DVD (apparently this is a recurring theme w/DVD releases - the Complete Collection has the same issue). This version cuts Baldrick's excellent line, when talking about the Nativity scene, about nailing up the dog at Easter. Guess I'm hanging on to the VHS for a while.

Alan

JohnG · 03 Aug 2006

Which episode is this christmas one on? I want to rent it at netlfix. They have 4 series available.

alantig · 20 Sep 2006

It was a standalone. If they have the remastered or complete collection, it'll be on there.

Just had a look - they don't have it on there. Just the four series and the Back And Forth 'movie'. That sucks - BACC is very funny (although funnier when they talk about nailing up the dog).

Alan

alantig · 20 Sep 2006

Just had a quick look - youtube has the whole special in five parts. Not the best way to see it, but I guess it's better than nothing.

Part one, and the related links has the rest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0xMc7gbfbk

Alan

JohnG · 03 Aug 2006

thanks....too bad its not at Netflix.

Jimbo · 19 Jul 2006

"Black Adder's Christmas Carol"--intact, with the line about nailing up the dog--is a bonus feature on the 2001 DVD of Black Adder III. Looks like it's still available from Amazon, and a specific search might turn it up at Netflix.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005A1SV/?tag=imwan-20

JohnG · 03 Aug 2006

Thanks Jim, Netflix does have Disc #3 so I'll rent that and check it out.

Jimbo · 19 Jul 2006

John, if Netflix doesn't come through, you can borrow mine. :ohyes:

[2009-10-20] "Black Adder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition" DVD 6-disc set (BBC)

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