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It has been a very long time since the Black Adder has graced
the small box in the Anthony household and it is terrific
to be able to watch the six-episode series from the beginning
again.
The half-hour-plus episodes are The Foretelling, Born
to be King, The Archbishop, The Queen of Spain's
Beard, Witchsmeller Pursuivant, The Black Seal.
Episode one sets the scene for the series as Richard III
(Peter Cook) meets a grisly death on the field of Bosworth
and so his crown passes to his feral warrior brother Richard
IV (Brian Blessed).
Now it's a bit of an alternate history - there not having
been a Richard IV - but the comic situations are excellent
as Black Adder (Rowan Atkinson), helped by the gormless Lord
Percy (Tim McInnerny) and the evil-smelling Baldrick (Tony
Robinson), does his best to put the crown on his own mis-shapen
head.
If you know much about British history then the in-jokes
are an absolute riot and the shocking workout Shakespeare
gets in The Foretelling will make the Great Bard's
fans cringe with delight.
The other episodes include a really good sledge at the hairy
Scottish ruffians over the northern border, the ridding of
turbulent Archbishops of Canterburys, getting stuck in to
the Spanish, Puritans and the final murderous rampage that
decides the throne.
The quality of the video transfer is a bit of a problem on
this disc, with an average rating being generous. The sound
is also average but, it must be said, the ability to whack
a DVD into the player and settle down for a non-stop three
hours of Black Adder makes the lack of pristine quality almost
irrelevant.
The Black Adder 1 is a hilarious reintroduction to
one of the great comedy series produced by the BBC.
Conclusion: Rating 85%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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