The Black Adder (Series Pilot)

• written by Richard Curtis & Rowan Atkinson
  
• directed by Geoff Posner
• Story: Europe, 400 years ago. The King frets about the war with the Spanish, as it's keeping him from fighting the French. Meanwhile, Edmund's work planning the Queen's birthday celebrations is disrupted by a Scottish warrior with interesting news concerning Henry's parentage...
• Cast: Robert Bathurst (Prince Henry), John Savident (The King), Elspet Gray (The Queen), Tim McInnerny (Percy), Philip Fox (Baldrick), Rowan Atkinson (Prince Edmund, Duke of York, The Black Adder), Alex Norton (Lord Dougal McAngus), Simon Gipps-Kent (Rudkin), Jesuit (Oengus Macnamara)
• Notes: This is the original pilot for The Black Adder. It follows the same basic plot as the episode Born To Be King. Differences in the two versions include the following:
  • Different actors for the King, The Crown Prince and Baldrick
  • Different time period (roughly Elizabethan)
  • The King is featured throughout the pilot
  • The attempt on McAngus' life is more elaborately presented
  • Most significantly, Edmund actually fights (and kind of wins) the duel with McAngus
  The King in the pilot is never named.
         The King's Crest is shown at the beginning and end of The Black Adder. It reads "Veni Vidi Castratavi Illegitimos" which translates roughly from the Latin as "I came, I saw, I castrated the bastards."
This marks the only full length Blackadder project not to include Tony Robinson.
       John Savident's career dates back to the late 1960s and includes a great many appearances on stage, in film and on television. TV appearances include shows such as Doctor Who, Blake's 7, The Saint, and a long stint on popular UK soap opera Coronation Street.
       The Black Adder was one of Philip Fox's first acting roles. He has gone on to appear in films such as Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) and television shows such as The Lenny Henry Show and Watching, which also starred Blackadder II's Patsy Byrne.
• Original airdate: produced in 1982, never aired

Blackadder: The Cavalier Years

• written by Richard Curtis & Ben Elton
  
• directed not credited
• music by Howard Goodall
• Story: November 1648. King Charles I is on the run from Oliver Cromwell and the Roundheads. He seeks shelter with his last supporter, Sir Edmund Blackadder and Edmund's servant, Baldrick. When Baldrick reveals the King's whereabouts to Cromwell himself, Edmund must find a way to save his Sovereign from the chopping block...
• Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Sir Edmund Blackadder), Tony Robinson (Baldrick), Warren Clarke (Oliver Cromwell), Stephen Fry (King Charles I)
• Notes: This approximately fifteen-minute mini-episode was created for the BBC's Comic Relief telethon and was unavailable commercially until the release of the US Blackadder VHS box set. It is now available as bonus material on the US Blackadder the Third DVD and the UK Blackadder: Back & Forth DVD.
         The young Prince Charles (portrayed here as a baby) was, in fact, 19 years old at the time his father was executed (and already safely in exile).
         Stephen Fry is clearly impersonating Prince Charles (Windsor) in his portrayal of King Charles I.
         Warren Clarke previously appeared in the Blackadder the Third episode Amy and Amiability.
• Original airdate: February 5, 1988

Blackadder's Christmas Carol

• written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
  based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  
• directed by Richard Boden
• music by Howard Goodall
• Story: On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Blackadder is visited by the Spirit of Christmas. Seeing that Ebenezer is such a good person (no, really!), the Spirit decides to show him scenes of his ancestors' shameful behavior. A view of how horrid his predecessors were leads Ebenezer to wonder what the future holds for him...
• Guest Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Ebenezer Blackadder / Lord Edmund Blackadder / Mr. Edmund Blackadder / Grand Admiral Blackadder), Tony Robinson (Mr. Baldrick / Baldrick / S. Baldrick / Commander Baldrick), Stephen Fry (Lord Melchett / Lord Frondo), Hugh Laurie (The Prince Regent / Prince Pigmont), Miranda Richardson (Queen Elizabeth I / Queen Asphyxia XIX), Robbie Coltrane (The Spirit of Christmas), Jim Broadbent (Prince Albert), Miriam Margolyes (Queen Victoria), Patsy Byrne (Nursie / Bernard), Denis Lill (Beadle), Pauline Melville (Mrs. Scratchit), Philip Pope (Lord Horatio Nelson), Nicola Bryant (Millicent), Ramsay Gilderdale (Ralph), David Barber (Orphan), Erkan Mustafa (Orphan), David Nunn (Orphan), Martino Lazzeri (Boy)
• Notes: The principals from the casts of Blackadder II (minus Tim McInnerny) and Blackadder the Third (minus Helen Atkinson-Wood) reprise their roles for the flashback sequences.
         Nicola Bryant is best known to sci-fi fans (especially guys who hit puberty around 1985) for her portrayal of Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown on Doctor Who.
         Robbie Coltrane returns in a kindly role, following his menacing portrayal of Dr. Samuel Johnson in the Blackadder The Third episode Ink and Incapability.
         Jim Broadbent and Miriam Margolyes appear together, re-uniting the duo from The Queen of Spain's Beard episode of The Black Adder. Margolyes also appeared in Blackadder II (Beer).
         This is the only full Blackadder series or special not to feature Tim McInnerny.
• Original airdate: December 23, 1988

HRH Prince Charles' 50th Birthday Gala

• written by Ben Elton
  
• director unknown
• music by Howard Goodall
• Story: May 1680. Lord Edmund Blackadder, Privy Counselor, has been asked to organize a gala to celebrate the 50th birthday of King Charles II. He is disinclined to accept the offer until the King makes it clear it would be dangerous to choose not to accept...
• Guest Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Lord Edmund Blackadder), Stephen Fry (King Charles II)
• Notes: King Charles II's well-documented lenience towards those involved in the overthrow of his father is evident in the fact that not only has he apparently forgiven the Blackadder family for nearly causing his death (in The Cavalier Years), he's elevated the current Blackadder to the level of a Lord.
         Stephen Fry here portrays his own son, having previously played Charles I in the aforementioned Cavalier Years. Charles II seems to have a lot of Melchett blood in him.
         This marks the first time Tony Robinson was not involved in a Blackadder appearance of any kind since the original pilot.
• Original airdate: November 14, 1998

Blackadder: Back & Forth

• written by Richard Curtis & Ben Elton
  
• directed by Paul Weiland
• music by Howard Goodall
• Story: December 31, 1999. On the eve of the new Millennium (well, actually on the eve of the last year of the old Millennium, but why quibble over a few hundred years of chronological accuracy), Sir Edmund Blackadder invites four of his friends to a dinner party to celebrate. As part of the festivities, Edmund shows off what he says is a time machine and takes wagers on how he can prove that it works. Unfortunately, he left the building of the fake machine to his servant Baldrick, who, naturally, found the only way to screw up a con involving a fake time machine: by making one that works...
• Guest Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Lord Edmund Blackadder / Blackaddercus / King Edmund III), Tony Robinson (Baldrick / Baldrickus / PM Baldrick), Stephen Fry (Bishop Flavius Melchett / Lord Melchett / General Melchecus / The Duke of Wellington), Hugh Laurie (Viscount George Bufton-Tufton / Georgius), Tim McInnerny (Archdeacon Darling / Duc de Darling / Duke of Darling), Miranda Richardson (Lady Elizabeth / Queen Elizabeth I), Patsy Byrne (Nursie), Colin Firth (William Shakespeare), Rik Mayall (Robin Hood), Kate Moss (Maid Marian / Queen Marian), Crispin Harris (Friar Tuck), Simon Russell-Beale (Napoleon), Jenny Bond (Royal Reporter)
• Notes: In addition to the Blackadders portrayed by Rowan Atkinson in the episode proper, the opening credits show a montage of scenes portraying other Blackadders alongside historical figures such as Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.
         Of the previous Blackadder eras, only the Elizabethan one is revisited (no doubt to work in Shakespeare, who they never bothered to include in Blackadder II). The regular cast members of the various series (except The Black Adder) all appear in multiple roles.
         Rik Mayall's portrayal of Robin Hood owes a lot to his portrayal of the Lords Flashheart in Blackadder II (Bells) and Blackadder Goes Forth (Private Plane). It owes even more to the fact that Mayall pretty much made up his own dialogue for all his Blackadder performances.
         Colin Firth is best known for his work in British comedies and costume dramas such as the mini-series Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2002).
         Kate Moss is best known for her image as a super-thin Super-Model. Blackadder: Back & Forth marks her only acting performance of any note.
• Premiered: 2000

The Royal Variety Performance

• written by Ben Elton
  
• director unknown
• music by Howard Goodall
• Story: After an introduction by writer/comic Ben Elton, Lord Edmund Blackadder, Captain in Her Royal Highness' regiment of shirkers, explains his plan for the revitalization of Britain. It's a sound plan and hinges on an action that would return England to its roots: invading France...
• Guest Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Lord Edmund Blackadder), Ben Elton (himself)
• Notes: For the first time a Blackadder is portrayed sans any kind of supporting character at all. Although given the unique circumstances of the performance (it has apparently never even been televised) the significance is minimal.
• Original performance date: 2000

The Golden Jubilee Concert

• writer unknown
  
• director unknown
• Story: Sir Osmond Darling-Blackadder, Keeper of Her Majesty's Lawn Sprinkler, is dismayed to learn that the Queen wishes to hold a concert on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. He pleads to no avail for sanity...
• Guest Cast: Rowan Atkinson (Sir Osmond Darling-Blackadder), ? (announcer)
• Notes: This was an advertisement created to promote the Golden Jubilee concert held in honor of the Queen's fifty years on the throne.
         Given the nature of Blackadder: Back & Forth's divergent timeline, Sir Osmond may be a more accurate example of the current state of the Blackadder family's fortunes.
• Original airdate: 2002

1775 (US Series Pilot)

• written by Martin Rips and Joseph Staretski
  
• directed by David Trainer
• Story: In colonial Philadelphia, Innkeeper Jeremy Proctor runs the Cock and Hound Inn with his wife, Annabelle, his three daughters Maude, Eliza and Abby and his bellman, Bert. Jeremy has a problem, as he does not have the necessary funds to send his daughters to the ball (which will hopefully lead to marrying one of them off). He tries to borrow the money from his brother-in-law, George Washington, but to no avail. The future of Jeremy's family hangs in the balance...
• Cast: Ryan O'Neal (Jeremy Proctor), Lesley-Anne Down (Annabelle Proctor), Sarah Koskoff (Maude), Judith Jones (Eliza), Danielle Harris (Abby), Gregory Sporleder (Bert), Adam West (George Washington), Jeffrey Tambor (Colonial Governor)
• Notes: This is the pilot episode for what was intended to be an American version of Blackadder. Produced in 1992 for CBS, the series was not picked up and the pilot remains unreleased commercially, although it did air once.
         Ryan O'Neal went on from the TV drama Peyton Place to become one of the golden boys of 1970s cinema starring in such films as Paper Moon (1973) and A Bridge Too Far (1977).
         Lesley-Anne Down's main forte has been costume dramas, including a stint on classic UK drama Upstairs, Downstairs and the three North & South miniseries. Genre work is minimal, but includes From Beyond The Grave (1973) and Beastmaster III (1996).
         Sarah Koskoff appeared as Theresa Nemman in The X-Files (1993), the original pilot for the series. She returned several times in that role. She also made appearances on SeaQuest DSV and Millennium.
         Judith Jones has made appearances on the genre series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Sabrina The Teenage Witch. She also portrayed Debbie Reynolds in Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story (1995).
         Danielle Harris appeared as Jamie Lloyd in both Halloween 4 (1988) and Halloween 5 (1989). She also appeared on genre series Eerie, Indiana and Charmed. Since 1998 she has provided the voice for Debbie Thornberry on the TV series The Wild Thornberrys and in its spin-off movies.
         Gregory Sporleder has made guest appearances on shows such as NYPD Blue, The Drew Carey Show and Smallville. His film work includes diverse projects such as A League Of Their Own (1992), True Romance (1993) and I Woke Up Early The Day I Died (1998).
         Jeffrey Tambor first made an impression with his scene-stealing performance in ...And Justice For All (1979). He finally gained national recognition for his work as Hank Kingsley on the HBO sitcom The Larry Sanders Show. His genre work includes Muppets From Space (1999), Hellboy (2004) and the forward-thinking sci-fi series Max Headroom.
         Adam West is best known for the role of Batman, a part he portrayed (in live action and animation) from the 1966 TV series and movie through the 1985 cartoon show The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. His numerous genre work includes appearances on The Outer Limits and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as well as in films such as Zombie Nightmare (1986) and Monster Island (2004).
• Original airdate: September 5, 1992