Blackadder Goes Forth

Blackadder Goes Forth
Left to right: (Back) Tim McInnerny: Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, (Front) Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson in Blackadder Goes Forth
Created by	Richard Curtis & Ben Elton
Starring	Rowan Atkinson Tony Robinson Hugh Laurie Stephen Fry Tim McInnerny
Theme music composer	Howard Goodall
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	6
Production
Producer	John Lloyd
Running time	30 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	28 September 1989 – 2 November 1989

Blackadder Goes Forth was the final series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989.

The series placed the recurring characters of Blackadder, Baldrick and George in a trench during the First World War. The episodes also saw a darker, more realistic edge to the writing, and in particular the series is remembered for the poignant ending of the final episode.

In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, Blackadder Goes Forth was placed 16th.

Plot

Template:Spoiler The series is set in 1917, on the Western Front in the trenches of the First World War. Another "big push" is planned, and Captain Blackadder's one goal is to avoid getting shot. The series thus follows his attempts to escape the trenches through various schemes, most of which fail due to bad fortune, misunderstandings and the general incompetence of his comrades. The aforementioned comrades present themselves in the form of the idealistic Edwardian twit Lieutenant George (Hugh Laurie), and Private S. Baldrick (Tony Robinson), introduced as "the world's worst cook". The first initial "S" is taken from the first episode of Blackadder the Third, in which Baldrick says he can't remember his first name, but assumes it must be "Sodoff", as when he introduces himself to people, they generally say, "yes, we know: Sod off, Baldrick".

Rather than the Germans, who remain unseen (apart from one exception), Blackadder's nemeses come in the form of his superior, the loony General Melchett (Stephen Fry) who rallies his troops from a French château thirty-five miles from the front, and his bureaucratic assistant, Captain Darling (Tim McInnerny). Darling is of equal rank to Blackadder, yet his relatively safe job "folding the general's pyjamas" is a cause of contempt between the two men. In particular, Blackadder is adept at using Darling's surname for maximum comedy value. Captain Darling's name was originally intended to be Captain Cartwright, until Stephen Fry remembered a boy at his school called 'Darling', whose name was a constant embarrassment to him.

The final episode of this series, "Goodbyeee...", is known for being extraordinarily emotive for a comedy — especially the final scene, which sees the main characters (Blackadder, Baldrick, George, and Darling) finally venturing forward and charging off to die in the fog and smoke of no man's land. (Melchett remains at his office but blithely orders a reluctant Darling to fight with the others.) The humour also becomes particularly dark; at one point, when the artillery goes silent the comment "The Great War 1914 to 1917" is spoken by Captain Darling. Blackadder's final line is poignant, offered after Baldrick claims to have one last cunning plan to stop them advancing, at which point a RSM-type command voice orders the men to "Stand ready", then to ascend to the fire step, before going over the top:

"Well, I am afraid it will have to wait. Whatever it was, I am sure it was better than my plan to get out of this by pretending to be mad. I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here? Good luck everyone."

Titles and music

The theme tune was another variation of the Blackadder theme by Howard Goodall, here played by a military band (in this case the Band of the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment) over opening title images of Blackadder and George parading their men past Melchett and Darling, while Baldrick plays the triangle. The music starts with the opening bars of "The British Grenadiers" before segueing into the familiar Blackadder theme.

In the closing credits, the full Blackadder theme plays as the men march off down the parade ground. Of note is that the titles here are presented as static captions instead of being rolled as in the previous three series, and that the crew credits are presented in pseudo-military fashion: for example, the designer is credited thus: "Dgr – 404371 Hull, C". Also of note is that the opening sequence is filmed in colour, while the closing sequence is filmed in grainy, streaky sepia, an imitation of the early surviving newsreels of the era.

"Goodbyeee..." had no closing titles, simply fading from the protagonists charging across no man's land under fire, to a field of poppies in the sunlight, a reference to the poem "In Flanders Fields". The music was also changed to a slow, echoey solo piano arrangement of the theme accompanied by a strong bass-drum, interposed with sound effects of gunshot, and later birdsong.

Episodes

Main article:List of Blackadder Episodes

The series aired for six episodes broadcast on BBC One at 9.30pm between 28 September and 2 November 1989, appropriately ending nine days before Remembrance Day. The titles of the first five episodes, "Captain Cook", "Corporal Punishment", "Major Star", "Private Plane" and "General Hospital" are puns based on the pairing of a military rank and another word related to the episode's content. The final episode, "Goodbyee...", was the title of a period song.

Analysis

File:Blackadder IV - Corporal Punishment.jpg

George attempts to defend Blackadder during a court martial.

Compared to the previous three series, Blackadder Goes Forth is more satirical in tone, and has a very potent anti-war message. All of the episodes include satirical musings about why the war started and the degree to which British soldiers have been suffering over its course.

Richard Curtis has said that the First World War was a particularly apt subject for a situation comedy. Before writing the series, the writers read a number of books about the war and found that

...actually, all the lead up to the first world war was very funny, all the people coming from commmunities where they'd never bumped into posh people...and all being so gung ho and optimistic...the first hundred pages of any book about the world war are hilarious, then of course everybody dies.

In the episode "Corporal Punishment", Blackadder justifies the shooting for food of a carrier pigeon (which turns out to be Melchett's pet) by saying, "With 50,000 men killed a week, who's going to miss a pigeon?" This episode sees Blackadder being sentenced to death by firing squad for the said act (which Melchett is far more upset about than Blackadder's disobeying of orders), although he escapes following a reprieve, reflecting on the harsh punishments dealt to deserters under the laws of war.

The tactics of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig (who appears in the show's final episode played by Geoffrey Palmer), that resulted in hundreds of thousands of British deaths (particularly at Passchendale and the Somme) are continually referenced and criticised by the characters. Blackadder himself describes Haig's attempts at an advance as no more than "an effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin", his master plans as "everyone climbing out their trenches and walking very slowly towards the enemy" which he claims is to be repeated "until everyone is dead except for Field Marshall Haig, Lady Haig and their tortoise Alan".

In Goodbyeee..., there is even a scene which shows Haig's tactical planning, with the General playing with toy soldiers, which he sweeps nonchalantly from trench to trench, and then onto the floor while listening to Blackadder's plea to get out of the final push on the phone.

In "Private Plane", after receiving word that Blackadder and Baldrick may have been killed when shot down over German lines, Melchett tries to cheer George up by showing a life-size model (measuring seventeen square feet) of land recaptured by the British ("It's superbly detailed - look, there's a little worm," remarks Darling). Later in the same episode, Blackadder describes WW1 as: "a war which would be a damn sight simpler if we just stayed in England and shot fifty thousand of our men a week."

The series also referenced a number of famous historical events of the war, such as the Christmas truce of 1914. Blackadder recalls the event: "Both sides advanced further during one Christmas piss-up than they did in the next two and a half years of war."

Many references are made to the popular culture of the era, as well as the previous series. The final episode "Goodbyee" was the title of a popular song during the First World War. Bob can be heard singing a snippet of this song off-camera in the episode "Major Star". It also sounds similar to Queenie's "Byeee" in her letter to Ludwig (in the second series episode "Chains") in which she refuses to pay the ransom to release Melchett and Blackadder.

External links

• Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) at IMDb
• Blackadder Goes Forth at the BBC Guide to Comedy