The Black Adder (Series Pilot)

BlackadderEurope, 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…

Order the DVDswritten by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson
directed by Geoff Posner

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), Oengus Macnamara (Jesuit)

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

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey