There is a myth that the first series of Black Adder was not up to scratch. It hasn't been repeated as much as the other versions and has been criticised by the writers and cast. When Ben Elton came on board it became more popular but also more childish and less surreal. Personally, I think it is the best series and holds up much better than the subsequent entries.
shareI totally disagree with you there sorry, I think this series was not so good because Black Adder is the stupid one. I love the sequel series' because he is so funny and sarcastic and seems to be the only one who actually has half a brain, which I love.
shareI like it, but it was my least favorite series.
shareI thought that about the first half of the series was not very good (which is unfortunate because I would have loved to see Peter Cook in a different role), but I think the show picked up very quickly. Both Blackadders work, though I do prefer the smarter one.
shareHm, to me the Blackadder of the first series appears to be too much of a snivelling worm, whereas in the other series he is cynical and ironic, which in my eyes makes him an attractive character.
In the first series he's rather repulsive.
I'm a huge fan of the Blackadder series but for me the first is far and away the best...and funniest! Absolutely brilliant!
sharethe worst in the series has to be the millenium special Back And Forth....unfunny from beginning to end..if that's the way they are writing it now then perhaps it's best to end the series...all the other series were great (even if Goes Forth was starting to show signs of fatigue and repetition on the writers' part)..as for the first series, I love the snivelling Edmund who by the final show of that series has developed into the Blackadder we know and love
share''Hm, to me the Blackadder of the first series appears to be too much of a snivelling worm, whereas in the other series he is cynical and ironic, which in my eyes makes him an attractive character.
In the first series he's rather repulsive.''
That was the point. He was a spoof and aversion of Shakespearean tropes. Instead of being brave, cynical and cunning like MacBeth or many of Shakespeare's anti-heroes, he was snivelling, cowardly and repulsive, with a peasant servant who is a lot smarter than him. His character does, however, have character development; in the first episode he is a moronic, ignorant oaf whereas in the later episodes he does start to become more cunning whilst remaining cowardly. The character development is lacking in the other shows, with the possible exception of the Fourth (though he is quasi-heroic and a good guy deep down all the way through).
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Actually Ben Elton recreating the character of Blackadder for the second is a bit of a myth. The original pilot featured an Edmund remarkably similar to the one we all know and, er, love. It is an extremely interesting pilot which you can find it on almost any file-sharing program. The oddest thing about it though is how badly Rowan does clever in it. I didn't buy him at all as a slimy, clever bastard which is really surprising because I've seen him do it so well in every one since.
Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.
-Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805)
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I also loved the first series - I thought all of the episodes were good, and I LOVED Brian Blessed. He used to refer to Edmund as something like:
"Oh, the other one, Edwin, you know, the slimy one!"
Infamy! Infamy! They've all got in in for me!!
I think that in order of my own personal preference, the first series was not as bad as the forth series.
Blackadder the Third comes first, mainly because it's the first series I ever watched. And 'Ink and Incapability' is my favourite episode out of all the series put together.
Anyways, The Blackadder comes second. Even though the character of Blackadder took some getting used to (for me anyway) I enjoyed wathcing it...the situations Blackadder ended up in, Brian Blessed as the king...the whole thing was original and, even though Blackadder is so different, I found the first series to be very enjoyable.
Blackadder the Second would have been far better if they'd kept a good balance between "good clean humour" and sexual innuendo. And...rude jokes. There are only...two or three episodes which don't have 'naughty jokes' shoved in your face. Thankfully they worked out the balance in the third series...it's a pity really, I think Blackadder II is my favourite of the four Blackadder characters...
And finally (and ironically!) Blackadder Goes Forth is last on my list. It seems much more forced. It's as if the writers realised that people liked the earlier humour, such as Baldrick's "I have a cunning plan" and Blackadder's sarcastic comments like "You couldn't do (something), etc" or "That's worse then (something) when (something/one) did (something)...etc". Someone else posted a much better version of that line earlier...Anyways. Like I was saying, the writers basically picked up on the 'favourite' aspects of Blackadder humour, muiltiplied it by 100 and stuck it in a trench. And then tried to be patriotic on top of it. It's my least favourite, and seriously...did the writers not realise that saying "Darling" every so often does not make up for lack of originality?
That being said, I still love all Blackadder. Just some (a lot) more then others. My point was...the first series was in no way the worst. I think the big problem people have with it is that they (like myself) would probably be used to the smarter version of Blackadder, and find it hard to accept the difference in character...I could go on, but I don't want to keep repeating myself.
My first visit to this board, and a bit stunned that the first series was ever regarded as cr*p!!!
For me, while I'm a huge Blackadder fan, and admit that the first series is very different to the later ones, for me it is FAR superior in many, many ways. It is more sophisticated (you can tell this is made by educated folks wanting to take the p*ss out of Shakespeare!), darker, and more intelligently and creatively (IMO) written, with a fantastic cast of great actors sending themselves up. There's no real reliance on catch phrases and running gags; as much as I loved the 'cunning plan' lines and Blackadder's wonderful long-winded insults that came in later series, rewatching now makes later dialog a little predictable. Of course, the larger budget also makes it look great (whereas the rest are very obviously studio bound).
Yes, Rowan is fantastic as a suave, smart bad guy like the later Blackadders (the part he seems born to play), and I've never felt anything like Bean comes close to his greatness in the entirety of Blackadder, but to see him play a cowardly, simpering Macbeth-like b*stard really gives him more to act with, and a greater sense of playing a role (rather than doing a stand-up gig in acerbic wit). I also agree with the review here that thinks Tony is better as the 'smart' baldrick than the 'idiot' one (particularly as he gets stupider and filthier as the series' progress, IMO from funny to just silly).
The Christmas special is my personal favourite Blackadder ever, but I still consider the first series to be the 'best' Blackadder of them all.
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I think I like third and fourth the best because the additions of Laurie and Fry are a huge plus for me. I like ALL of the series, though. They all have positive aspects that I like,and I enjoy all of them quite a bit. That said, When they added a bit of Fry and Laurie to complement Atkinson and Baldrick, it became perfect.
For me, at least.
"You are to Harry, is what excrement is to cream.". Great line.
shareWhen I saw Black Adder the first series as a kid I loved it. Now as a grown up I love it even more. I later found out some of the Blackadder fans never liked the first series,which puzzled me.
The first Black Adder was the first and the best. His future successors were also funny.
The first season was at least as brilliant, if not moreso, than the other four. I think they don't count it much because he was such a radically different character in the other 3 series.
No one jokes when they talk to Terry Tibbs! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVYW-4zPKLE
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It might not have been up to par with the later ones. But nothing featuring the 'Hopping Jews of Jerusalem' can ever be qualified as crap.
shareSorry to correct you, but it's The Jumping Jews of Jerusalem... Ah, alliteration!
Born when she kissed me, died when she left me, lived whilst she loved me
I loved the first series, but I do think that the other three were even better. But the first is still brilliant :)
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