Do you feel this would have been forgotten about and seen as a HUGE flop? Its not my favorite series of Bladders but I do enjoy it. I can see why people hated it and found it as funny as a very unfunny thing swimming around in VAT labeled unfunny while telling a Knock Knock joke.... Sorry i won't do that again.. :)
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I ate my twin in the womb. :<
I watched the first one as a kid, never knew the other 3 existed. I would still be a Black Adder fan.
"He drank. He fought. He made his ancestors proud!"
I've finally got around to watching this show after decades of hearing how great it is and I'm pretty flabbergasted that so many people, including the creators, are down on the first series. I liked it far more than the latter three. I much preferred the idiot and incompetent Black Adder to the smarmy prick Blackadders of the last three series. I liked that the first series had more of a plot to it and it was more open and extravagant. Brian Blessed was funny as hell, too.
Overall, though, I've been very disappointed with the show. I'm sure a lot of the humor was very edgy for it's time and place, which led to a lot of love, but it's not so edgy now. I don't think the show holds up well if you aren't affected by nostalgia. That's not to say that it's a bad show. It's made me chuckle a few times. I certainly don't hate it. I just don't get what all the hype is about. I should say that, while I loved British comedy when I was in my 20's, after a while, I grew weary of it. It's pretty formulaic and after watching Monty Python for years, I've since been able to predict punch lines for jokes in most British comedies that I watch now. I still like Monty Python's movies and a few other British movies and shows, but not nearly as much as I used to.
Same here, for me the first season is clearly the funniest, glad to hear someone thinking the same!
shareDo you feel this would have been forgotten about and seen as a HUGE flop?
Originally I started with s2, then 3,4 and finally 1. not by any design, but i missed s1 when it was aired (and not repeated like they do now).
I actually prefer s1. i guess Atkinson didn't want to play 'another' mr bean (geeky looser).
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Gimli: You'll find more cheer in a graveyard.
It's the best sitcom set in this period ever made, so no, I don't think it would be a flop.
Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.
I, too, don't understand why people are so down on this season. It's hilarious! Sure, Edmund is a lot more appealing in later seasons, but the first season has a MUCH more interesting and consistent Baldrick (in later seasons, Baldrick's stupidity fluctuates depending on the needs of the plot) and plenty of great supporting cast. In my opinion, that makes it the equal of the excellent second and third seasons.
Personally, I've never understood the adoration for the fourth season. It's funny, but some of the humor makes me uncomfortable. Unlike Bosworth Field, WWI really wasn't that long ago, and it seems disrespectful to be laughing at the fate of so many idealistic boys (including our grandfathers and great-grandfathers) sent to their deaths by incompetent generals. Plus, the final episode, in which Blackadder pretends to be crazy to get discharged, is a total rip-off of Catch-22.