The Black Adder facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Black Adder
Title screen, showing Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, a main location for the series.
Written by	Richard Curtis Rowan Atkinson
Directed by	Martin Shardlow
Starring	Rowan Atkinson Tony Robinson Tim McInnerny Brian Blessed Elspet Gray Robert East
Narrated by	Patrick Allen
Theme music composer	Howard Goodall
Country of origin	United Kingdom Australia
Original language(s)	English
No. of episodes	6
Production
Producer(s)	John Lloyd
Running time	33 minutes (approx)
Production company(s)	BBC Seven Network
Release
Original network	BBC 1
Original release	15 June (1983-06-15) – 20 July 1983 (1983-07-20)
Chronology
Related shows	Unaired pilot Blackadder II

The Black Adder is the first part of the funny BBC TV show Blackadder. It was created by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson. The show first aired in the UK from June 15 to July 20, 1983. It was also made with help from the Australian Seven Network.

The story is set in 1485, at the end of the Middle Ages in Britain. It tells a secret, made-up history where King Richard III actually won a big battle called the Battle of Bosworth Field. But then, his nephew's son, Edmund, accidentally kills him! So, Edmund's father, Richard IV, becomes king. The series follows Edmund, who calls himself "The Black Adder." He is the second son and not his father's favorite. Edmund tries many times to get his father to notice him and, in the last episode, even tries to take over the kingdom.

The show was thought up while Atkinson and Curtis were working on another show. It makes fun of medieval times in Britain, looking at things like witchcraft, who gets to be king or queen (called royal succession), and fights between the King and the Church. Filming was a big job because it needed many actors, horses, and special outdoor locations. Even though it won an International Emmy award, many people, including its creators, think The Black Adder is the least strong of the Blackadder series.

Story of The Black Adder

This show takes place in the Middle Ages. It tells an alternative history, which means a made-up story about what could have happened. It starts on August 21, 1485, just before the Battle of Bosworth Field. In this story, King Richard III wins the battle, not Henry Tudor, as happened in real life.

After his victory, King Richard III is accidentally killed by Lord Edmund Plantagenet. Richard tries to take Edmund's horse, thinking it's his own. Edmund doesn't know it's the King and thinks Richard is stealing his horse. So, he cuts off the King's head! The King's nephew, Richard, Duke of York (played by Brian Blessed), who is Edmund's father, then becomes King Richard IV. Edmund was late to the battle but later claims he killed many people, though his brother actually killed one of them.

King Richard IV and his Queen, Gertrude of Flanders, have two sons: Harry and his younger brother Edmund. Harry is the King's favorite. The King often forgets Edmund's name, which is a funny running joke. But deep down, the King loves Edmund. In one episode, Edmund helps his father get land, and the King is very proud. In the last episode, when Edmund is dying, the King tries to comfort him and has everyone toast to him.

The show follows King Richard IV's made-up rule (1485–1498) through Prince Edmund's adventures. Edmund calls himself "The Black Adder." He has two helpers: Lord Percy Percy, the silly Duke of Northumberland (played by Tim McInnerny), and Baldrick (played by Tony Robinson), a servant who is smarter than Edmund in this series.

By the end of the show, the story connects back to real history. King Richard IV and his family are all poisoned. This allows Henry Tudor to become King Henry VII. Henry then changes history, making Richard III look like a bad guy and removing Richard IV's rule from the history books.

Episodes of The Black Adder

The episodes in this series were written by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis. They were shown on BBC 1 on Wednesday evenings. Each episode was about 33 minutes long. The series started on June 15, 1983.

Each episode focused on a different medieval topic. These included the Wars of the Roses, the Crusades, who would become king, fights between the King and the Church, arranged marriages, the Plague, and witchcraft. The final episode was about a planned takeover of the kingdom.

The show was broadcast after the BBC had shown Shakespeare's plays about the Wars of the Roses. Some of the same actors from those plays were used in The Black Adder to make it even funnier. For example, Ron Cook, who played Richard III in Shakespeare's play, played a bad guy named "Sean the Irish Bastard" in The Black Adder.

How Characters Change

In this first series, Edmund, "The Black Adder," is a bit different from how his family members act in later shows. Here, he's often not very smart, a bit innocent, and whiny. But as the series goes on, he starts to show signs of being more like his future relatives. By the last episode, he's insulting people and making his own clever plans. "The Black Adder" is the name Edmund chooses for himself in the first episode.

Also, Baldrick is shown as smarter and more helpful in this series than in later ones. His "cunning plans" are usually better than Edmund's. In the shows that came after this one, Edmund and Baldrick's intelligence levels switch around.

Making the Show

How the Idea Started

Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis came up with the idea for The Black Adder while working on another comedy show. They wanted to create a historical comedy to be different from other popular shows. An early, test episode was made in 1982, and then the BBC ordered a full series of six episodes.

In that test episode, Rowan Atkinson's character looked and acted more like the smarter Blackadder characters from later series. It's not clear why they changed him to be more whiny and less intelligent for this first series. Richard Curtis has said he can't remember the exact reason, but he thinks they wanted a more complex character.

Curtis also shared that just before filming began, he realized he hadn't fully decided how Rowan Atkinson should play Edmund. Atkinson added that right before the cameras rolled for the first time, he wasn't even sure what voice to use for the character!

Filming the Series

The series featured elaborate location shooting outside Alnwick Castle in Northumberland with horses, medieval-style costumes and a large cast of extras. In this scene from the opening of the episode "Born to Be King", King Richard IV rides off to the Crusades, leaving Blackadder, Baldrick and Percy (front right) to plan a way to gain power.

Making this series cost a lot of money. Much of it was filmed outdoors, especially at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland in February 1983. Brinkburn Priory, a church that looks like a medieval monastery, was used for the episode "The Archbishop". The show also used many extra actors, horses, and expensive medieval-style clothes. Filming at the castle was tough because of bad weather, and you can see snow in many outdoor scenes.

The Cast

Tony Robinson, who plays Baldrick, said in 2003 that he was happy to get the part. He later found out that other actors had been offered the role first and turned it down. The series also had famous guest stars like Peter Cook and Peter Benson in "The Foretelling"; Miriam Margolyes and Jim Broadbent in "The Queen of Spain's Beard"; Frank Finlay in "Witchsmeller Pursuivant"; and Rik Mayall and Patrick Allen in "The Black Seal".

Opening and Closing Music

The show's opening had scenes of Edmund riding his horse and doing funny things. The closing showed Edmund riding, falling off his horse, and then the camera following the horse as it kept running. The credits often listed the actors in funny ways, like "order of witchiness."

The show used the first version of the Blackadder theme song by Howard Goodall. The opening theme had a trumpet solo with an orchestra. For the end, the theme had funny, heroic-sounding lyrics sung by a baritone singer. In the last episode, a young boy sang the theme with different, more thoughtful lyrics. The background music in the show was played by a pipe organ and drums.

Awards and What People Thought

The Black Adder won an International Emmy award in 1983 for popular arts. In 2004, all four Blackadder series were voted second in the BBC's Britain's Best Sitcom. However, some people, including the show's creators, didn't think the first series was the best.

John Lloyd, the producer, remembered a colleague saying the series "looks a million dollars, but cost a million pounds." This meant it looked expensive but actually cost a lot of money to make. Because the first series was so costly, the head of BBC1 was hesitant to approve a second series without big changes to save money. This led to a three-year gap before Blackadder II was shown, which was made mostly in a studio to cut costs.

Where to Watch It

You can find The Black Adder on Region 2 DVD from BBC Worldwide. It's also part of a larger box set that includes all the other series. A full set of audiobooks, with all the series and extra material, was released in 2009.

Old VHS Releases

In the past, all 6 episodes of The Black Adder were released on VHS tapes. They first came out on two separate tapes in 1990. Then, in 1992, they were re-released as a "Complete" double VHS set. Finally, in 1995, all 6 episodes were put onto a single VHS tape.