The unceasing support of Trevor Dolby and his team at Preface, including Katherine Murphy, Phil Brown, Nicola Taplin, Najma Finlay and others, of course was also crucial in making this book the celebration which Blackadder deserved. But above all, John Lloyd has been the patron saint of this chronicle, an alpha and omega, and it’s down to his own kindness, sincerity and bulldog spirit that this True History exists at all.
As for anyone else, may the Yuletide log slip from your fire, and burn your house down.
Jem Roberts, Summer AD MMXIII
APPENDIXES
Fig.1 BIBLIOGRAPHY, LINKS & BLACKADDER BUYER’S GUIDE
BLACKADDER REMASTERED – THE ULTIMATE EDITION (BBC DVD 2009)
DVD box set containing all four series, two specials and Back and Forth, plus Blackadder Rides Again, Baldrick’s Video Diary, extended interviews and commentaries from Lloyd, Curtis & Elton, Lloyd and Atkinson, McInnerny and Robinson, and Fry.
BLACKADDER: THE COMPLETE COLLECTED SERIES (BBC AUDIO 2009)
Anniversary collection of all four series and two specials on CD, plus Back and Forth, I Have a Cunning Plan, Woman’s Hour Invasion, Shakespeare Sketch, Army Years, and Britain’s Best Sitcom.
BLACKADDER: THE WHOLE DAMN DYNASTY (MICHAEL JOSEPH 1998, PENGUIN BOOKS 1999)
Transcripts of all four series, plus further historical research and oddities.
BLACKADDER BACK AND FORTH (PENGUIN BOOKS)
Transcript of the film, with supporting material, exclusively available at the Millennium Dome.
THE BLACKADDERS CD-ROM (BBC WORLDWIDE, 2000)
Games, PC themes, galleries and other defunct features.
BOOKS BY THE BLACKADDER TEAM
ATKINSON, ROWAN
(with Robin Driscoll) Mr Bean’s Diary, Boxtree 1993
CURTIS, RICHARD
Six Weddings and Two Funerals: Three Screenplays, Michael Joseph 2006
(with Tony Robinson) Odysseus: The Greatest Hero of Them All, Knight Books 1986; Odysseus II: The Journey Through Hell, Knight Books 1987; Theseus: The King Who Killed the Minotaur, Knight Books 1988
(with Simon Bell and Helen Fielding) Who’s Had Who, Warner Books 1990
(with Paul Mayhew-Archer) The Vicar of Dibley: The Complete Companion to Dibley, Michael Joseph 2001
(with Rachel Cobb) The Empty Stocking, Puffin 2012
ELTON, BEN
Stark, Sphere 1989; Gridlocked, Sphere 1991; This Other Eden, Sphere 1993; Popcorn, Simon & Schuster 1996; Blast from the Past, Bantam 1998; Plays: 1, Methuen 1998; Inconceivable, Sphere 1999; Dead Famous, Bantam 2001; High Society, Bantam 2002; Past Mortem, Bantam 2004; The First Casualty, Bantam 2005; Chart Throb, Bantam 2006; Blind Faith, Bantam 2007; Meltdown, Bantam 2009; Two Brothers, Bantam 2012
(with Rik Mayall & Lise Mayer) Bachelor Boys: The Young Ones Book, Sphere 1984
FRY, STEPHEN (Selected)
The Liar, Heinemann 1991; Paperweight, Heinemann, 1992; The Hippopotamus, Random House 1994; Making History, Random House 1996; Moab is my Washpot, Random House 1997; The Stars’ Tennis Balls, Hutchinson 2000; Stephen Fry’s Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music, Boxtree, 2004; The Ode Less Travelled, Hutchinson, 2005; Stephen Fry in America, HarperCollins 2008; The Fry Chronicles, Michael Joseph 2010
(with Hugh Laurie) 3 Bits of Fry & Laurie, Heinemann 1992; Fry & Laurie Bit No. 4, Mandarin 1995
(with Mark Carwardine) Last Chance to See, Collins 2009
GOODALL, HOWARD
Big Bangs: Five Musical Revolutions, Vintage 2001; The Story of Music, Chatto & Windus 2012
Story of Music, The, Chatto & Windus 2013
LAURIE, HUGH
The Gun Seller, Heinemann 1996
LLOYD, JOHN
(with Douglas Adams) The Meaning of Liff, Pan 1983; The Deeper Meaning of Liff, Pan 1992
(with Sean Hardie, Editors) Not! the Nine O’Clock News, BBC Books 1980; Not the Royal Wedding, Pavilion 1981; Not the General Election, Sphere 1983
(with John Mitchinson – selected) QI: The Book of General Ignorance, Faber & Faber 2006; QI: The Book of Animal Ignorance, Faber & Faber 2007; If Ignorance Is Bliss, Why Aren’t There More Happy People? Smart Quotes for Dumb Times, Harmony 2009; QI: The Book of the Dead, Faber & Faber 2010; The EFG Bumper Book of QI Annuals, Faber & Faber 2010
MAYALL, RIK
Bigger Than Hitler, Better Than Christ, HarperCollins 2006
(with Adrian Edmondson) Bottom: The Scripts, Penguin 1995
ROBINSON, TONY (selected)
Boudicca series, Blackie & Son Ltd 1989; Maid Marian series, BBC Books 1989–1992; Maid Marian and Her Merry Men: Script Book, BBC/Longman 1996; The Hutchinson Book of Kings and Queens, Hutchinson 1999; In Search of British Heroes, Channel 4 Books 2003; The Worst Jobs in History, Boxtree 2004; The Worst Children’s Jobs in History, Macmillan 2005; My Life: In Words & Pictures, Honest Programmes, 2007
(with Mick Aston) Archaeology Is Rubbish: A Beginner’s Guide, Channel 4 Books 2002
(with Debbie Gates) Tales from Fat Tulip’s Garden, Hippo 1985
Weird World of Wonders series, Macmillan Children’s Books 2012
BIBLIOGRAPHY: GENERAL
Adams, Douglas (ed.): The Utterly Utterly Merry Comic Relief Christmas Book, Fontana 1986; Bradbury, David & Joe McGrath: Now That’s Funny!, Methuen 1998; Cross, John Keir: Blackadder: A Tale of the Days of Nelson, Frederick Muller 1950; Dale, Michael: Sore Throats and Overdrafts: An Illustrated History of the Edinburgh Fringe, Precedent Publications 1988; Dessau, Bruce: Bean There Done That, Orion 1997; Rowan Atkinson, Orion 1999; Fielding, Helen: Cause Celeb, Picador, 1994; Gaiman, Neil: Don’t Panic, Titan 2002; Gray, Simon: Fat Chance, Granta 2005; Hamilton, Paul, Peter Gordon, Dan Kieran: How Very Interesting: Peter Cook, His Universe and All That Surrounds It, Snowbooks 2006; Hewison, Robert: Footlights!, Methuen Publishing 1984; Hind, John: The Comic Inquisition, Virgin Books 1991; Howarth, Chris & Steve Lyons, Cunning, Virgin Books 2000; Lewis, Martin & Peter Walker (eds): The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball, Methuen 1981; Marks, Laurence & Maurice Gran: The B’Stard Files, David & Charles 1988; Mayer, Lise and Rachell Swann (eds): Amassed Hysteria, Penguin 1991; Rhys Jones, Griff: Semi-Detached, Penguin 2007; Tavener, Mark: In the Red, BBC Books 1989; Thompson, Harry: Peter Cook, Sceptre 1997; Various: The Utterly, Utterly Amusing and Pretty Damn Definitive Comic Relief Revue Book, Penguin 1989; Comic Relief Comic, Fleetway 1991; Peter Cook Remembered, Mandarin 1997; Webb, Nick: Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams, Headline 2003; Wilmut, Roger & Peter Rosengard: Didn’t You Kill My Mother-In-Law?, Methuen 1989
BIBLIOGRAPHY: HISTORICAL
Ambrose, Tom: Prinny and His Pals, Peter Owen 2009; Baldwin, David: The Lost Prince, Sutton 2007; Carson, Annette: Richard III: The Maligned King, History Press 2008; Elton, G. E.: England Under the Tudors, Methuen 1955; Jones, Philippa: Elizabeth: Virgin Queen?, New Holland 2010; Jones, Terry: Who Murdered Chaucer?, Methuen 2003; Mortimer, Ian: The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England, Vintage 2009; Niles, William Ogden, Niles’ Weekly Register, 1819; Parissien, Steven: George IV: The Grand Entertainment, John Murray 2001; Peach, L. Du Garde: Kings and Queens of England, Ladybird 1968; Schama, Simon: A History of Britain, Bodley Head 2000; Sellar, W. C. & R. J. Yeatman, 1066 and All That, Methuen 1998; Sheffield, Gary: Forgotten Victory, Headline 2001; Unstead, R. J.: Looking at History, A&C Black 1955
VIDEOGRAPHY (selected)
1775, CBS 1992; A Bit of Fry & Laurie – The Complete Collection, 2 Entertain 2006; A Kick Up the 80s, BBC2 1981–84; Alfresco – The Complete Series, Network DVD 2009; BAFTAs, BBC1 1990; Behind the Britcoms – From Script to Screen, PBS 2010; Behind the Scenes: Blackadder, A&E TV 1988; Behind the Screen, BBC1 1989; Ben Elton: Laughing at the 80s, Channel 4 2011; Ben Elton: The Definitive Live Collection, Spirit Entertainment 2007; Bernard & the Genie, BBC1 1991; Best of British: Ben Elton, BBC1 1999; Beyond the Fringe, Acorn Media 2005; Black Death, Sony Pictures 2010; Big Top, BBC1 2009; Blackadder: The Whole Rotten Dynasty/Most Cunning Moments, Gold 20
08; Bleak Old Shop of Stuff, BBC2 2011; Blessed, BBC1 2005; The Boat That Rocked, Universal Pictures DVD 2009; Britain’s Best Sitcom: Blackadder, BBC2 2004; Buster Keaton Collection, 2 Entertain 2006; Carpool, Llewtube.com – Paul Jackson 2009, John Lloyd 2010; Carry On – The Ultimate Collection, ITV Home Studios DVD 2008; Cellar Tapes, BBC2 1982; Chelmsford 123, Acorn Media 2011; Children in Need, BBC1 1988; Christmas Night with the Stars, BBC2 1994; Comedy Connections, BBC1 – A Bit of Fry & Laurie 2005, Not the Nine O’Clock News 2005; Complete and Utter History of Britain, LWT 1969; Comedy Playhouse: No Peace on the Western Front, BBC2 1972; Comic Relief: The Fool’s Guide, BBC1 2009; Common Pursuit, BBC2 1992; Dark Ages, ITV 1999; Court Jester, Paramount Home Entertainment 2007; Dance with a Stranger, Channel 4 1985; Dead on Time, Michael White Productions 1983; Fact or Fiction: Richard III, Channel 4 2004; Film 89, BBC1 1989; Filthy, Rich & Catflap, BBC2 1986; First on Four: Saturday Live, Channel 4 1998; Four Weddings and a Funeral, Twentieth Century Fox DVD 2004; Frankie Howerd Collection, 2 Entertain 2006; Frost on Satire, BBC4 2010; Fry & Laurie Reunited, Dave 2010; Get a Grip, ITV 2007; Girl in the Café, 2 Entertain 2005; Going Live, BBC1 1993; Grand Knockout Tournament, BBC1 1987; Happy Families, BBC1 1987; Heroes & Villains: Full Throttle, BBC1 1995; Hippies, Fremantle Media DVD 2008; History of Alternative Comedy, BBC2 1999; Hysteria 1–3, Palace Video/Laughing Stock 1987–91; Horrible Histories, CBBC 2009; House, Fox TV 2004–12; Jeeves & Wooster: Complete Collection, ITV Studios DVD 2011; John Howard Davies – A Life in Comedy, BBC2 2011; Johnny English, Universal Pictures DVD 2003; Johnny English Reborn, Universal Pictures DVD 2012; Keeping Mum, Entertainment in Video 2006; Laughing Matters, BBC2 1992; Laughter in the House, BBC2 1998; Let Them Eat Cake, Playback DVD 2007; Lion King Disney 1994; Live From Planet Earth, Nine Network 2011; London Tonight, ITV 2005; Love Actually, Universal Pictures DVD 2004; Madness: Gogglebox, Lucky Seven 2011; Maid Marian and Her Merry Men, Eureka Video 2008; Mary & Martha, BBC1 2013; Maybe Baby, Lions Gate DVD 2000; Mr Bean: The Complete Collection, Universal Pictures DVD 2010; Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Sony Pictures DVD; Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything, BBC1 1999; New Statesman: Complete Series, Network DVD 2006; Noel’s Saturday Roadshow, BBC1 1988; Not Again, BBC1 2009; Not the Nine O’Clock News, BBC2 1979–82; Notting Hill, Universal Pictures DVD 1999; Old Flames, BBC2 1990; Omnibus – What a Relief! BBC1 1996; Parkinson, BBC1 2006; Peter’s Friends, Eiv DVD 2001; Princes in the Tower, Channel 4 2004; Remember the Secret Policeman’s Ball, BBC2 2004; Richard III, Pathé 2000, Richard III: BBC Shakespeare, BBC1 1983; Rowan Atkinson Presents: Canned Laughter, LWT 1979; Rude for a Reason, BBC Video 1999; Sabotage!, Divisa DVD 2005; Saturday Live, Friday Night Live, Channel 4 1985–88; Scooby Doo: The Movie, Warner Home Video 2002; The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer UPN 1998; South Bank Show: Footlights ITV 2009; Spitting Image, ITV 1984–96; Stalag Luft, ITV 1993; Story of Bean, Tiger Aspect 1997; Tall Guy, MGM DVD 2003; Terry Jones’ Medieval Lives, BBC2 2004; The Thin Blue Line, Vision Video Ltd 2001; This Is David Lander, Channel 4 1988; Time Team, Channel 4 1994–2012; Tony Robinson’s Cunning Night Out, Acorn Media DVD 2007; Vicar of Dibley – The Ultimate Collection, Universal Pictures DVD 2007; Who Dares Wins, Channel 4 1983–88; Wogan, BBC 1 1988; The Worst Jobs in History, Channel 4 2004–7; The Young Ones, BBC Video 2007
AUDIOGRAPHY (selected)
Atkinson People, BBC Radio 3 1978; Bleak Expectations, BBC Audio 2011; A Brief History of Cunning, BBC Radio 3 2008; The Castle, BBC Radio 4 2007–10; Chain Reaction: Clive Anderson/John Lloyd, BBC Radio 4 2007; Comedy Zone: Ben Elton, BBC Radio Scotland 2001; Delve Special, BBC Radio 4 1984–87; Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4: Rowan Atkinson 1988, Stephen Fry 1988, Ben Elton 1996, Hugh Laurie 1996, Richard Curtis 1999, Howard Goodall 2008, Tony Robinson 2011, John Lloyd 2012, Hugh Laurie again 2013; Dickens’ Women, BBC Audio 1993; The Funny Side Of … Paul Jackson in Conversation With, BBC Radio 4: Ben Elton 1999, Richard Curtis 2000; Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Complete Box Set, BBC Audio 2005; Hordes of the Things, BBC Audio 2011; I Have a Cunning Plan, BBC Radio 4 2003; Not Just a Pretty Face, Polydor 1987; Not the Nine O’Clock News: The Album, BBC Records 1980; Not the Nine O’Clock News: Hedgehog Sandwich, BBC Records 1981; Not the Nine O’Clock News: The Memory Kinda Lingers, BBC Records 1982; Radio Active, BBC Radio 4 1980–87; Reunion: Not the Nine O’Clock News, BBC Radio 4 2005; Revolting People, BBC Radio 4 2000–6; Rowan Atkinson Live in Belfast, Arista Records 1980; Very Nearly an Armful: The Galton & Simpson Story, BBC Radio 2 2009
ARTICLES (selected)
Daily Express, 24 October 1999; Daily Mail: 1 October 2008, 7 March 2009, 12 December 2009; Daily Mirror, 22 January 1990; East Anglian Daily Times, 7 October 2008; GQ Magazine (Hugh Laurie), December 1993; Guardian: 1 September 2003, 29 January 2006, 2 April 2008, 11 April 2009; Idler (John Lloyd), May 2008; Independent: 4 August 1996, 26 May 2006, 26 November 2007, 15 June 2009; Intelligent Life, November 2011; Loaded (Stephen Fry), October 1997; Mustard Magazine, Issue 6, Summer 2011; New Humanist, July 2007; The New York Times, 15 October 1986; Number One, November 1989; Observer: 30 March 2003, 16 November 2003, 28 December 2008; Radio Times: 26 September 1987, 23 September 1989, 23 October 1993, 4 December 1993, 5 November 1994, 19 November 1994, 13 September 2003, 25 October 2003, 11 September 2010; Reuters, November 2011; Skyview, June 1999; Smash Hits (Comic Relief), April 1986; Sun, December 1989; Sunday People, June 1999; Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph: 21 October 1989, 1 November 2003, 2 April 2005, 17 November 2009; The Times and Sunday Times: 3 May 1996, 29 September 1997, 5 October 1997, 21 October 1997, 31 October 1999, 6 September 2003, 29 March 2008, 23 September 2008, 1 December 2008, 7 October 2010; Today, February 1995
LINKS
The Arts Desk: theartsdesk.com; BFI Database: bfi.org.uk; Blackadder @ BBC: bbc.co.uk/comedy/blackadder; Blackadder Hall (Unofficial): blackadderhall.com; Book Aid International: bookaid.org; Car pool: carpool.co.uk; Comic Relief: comicrelief.com; Footlights: footlights.org; Howard Goodall Official: howardgoodall.co.uk; Idler: idler.co.uk; Ken Plume Interviews: asitecalledfred.com; More Intelligent Life: moreintelligentlife.com; Movieweb: movieweb.com; Mustard Magazine: mustardweb.org; New Humanist: newhumanist.org.uk; Oxford Revue: oxfordrevue.com; Oxford Student News: Cherwell.org; PBJ Management: pbjmgt.co.uk; Phil McIntyre Management: mcintyre-ents.com; QI Official: qi.com; Queenie’s Cunning Page: lunaestas.com/blackadder; SOTCAA: sotcaa.net; Tibby’s Bowl Online Entertainment: tibbybowl.com; Tiger Aspect: tigeraspect.co.uk; Tim McInnerny fansite: tim-mcinnerny.webs.com; Tony Robinson fansite: unofficialtonyrobinsonwebsite.co.uk; TV Time Warp: tv-timewarp.co.uk
Fig. 2 BLACKADDER EPISODE GUIDE
THE BLACK ADDER (UNTRANSMITTED PILOT)
Recorded 20 June 1982
Prince Edmund
ROWAN ATKINSON
The King
JOHN SAVIDENT
The Queen
ELSPET GRAY
Prince Henry
ROBERT BATHURST
Percy
TIM McINNERNY
Baldrick
PHILIP FOX
McAngus
ALEX NORTON
Rudkin
SIMON GIPPS-KENT
Jesuit
OENGUS MACNAMARA
Written by
RICHARD CURTIS & ROWAN ATKINSON
Music by
HOWARD GOODALL
Director
GEOFF POSNER
Executive Producer
JOHN HOWARD DAVIES
THE BLACK ADDER
Recorded February (EXT), 10 April–15 May 1983
1) THE FORETELLING – TX 15/06/83 BBC1
Cast in Order of Precedence
Richard III
PETER COOK
Richard IV
BRIAN BLESSED
Henry VII
PETER BENSON
Harry, Prince of Wales
ROBERT EAST
Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh
ROWAN ATKINSON
Percy, Duke of Northumberland
TI
M McINNERNY
The Queen
ELSPET GRAY
Painter
PHILIP KENDALL
Goneril
KATHLEEN ST JOHN
Regan
BARBARA MILLER
Cordelia
GRETCHEN FRANKLIN
Baldrick
TONY ROBINSON
2) BORN TO BE KING – TX 06/07/83
Cast in Geographical Order
The Laird of Roxburgh, Selkirk & Peebles
ROWAN ATKINSON
Richard XII of Scotland
BRIAN BLESSED
McAngus, Duke of Argyll
ALEX NORTON
Percy, Duke of Northumberland
TIM McINNERNY
Gertrude, Queen of Flanders
ELSPET GRAY
Harry, Prince of Wales
ROBERT EAST
Baldrick, Bachelor of the Parish of Chigwell
TONY ROBINSON
Jumping Jew of Jerusalem
ANGUS DEAYTON
Celia, Countess of Cheltenham
JOOLIA CAPPLEMAN
Sir Dominick Prique of Stratford
MARTIN CLARKE
2nd Wooferoonie
MARTIN SOAN
3rd Wooferoonie
MALCOLM HARDEE
Messenger
DAVID NUNN
3) THE ARCHBISHOP – TX 29/06/83
The True History of the Blackadder: The Unadulterated Tale of the Creation of a Comedy Legend Page 43