Blackadder: Back & Forth

BlackadderDecember 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…

Order the DVDswritten by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton
directed by Paul Weiland
music by Howard Goodall

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.

LogBook entry by Philip R. Frey