Product Description

England 1768-1815. The golden age of wealth, power and discovery, though not for Edmund Blackadder Esq. Edmund is now butler and gentleman's gentleman to the "mini-brained" Prince Regent.

DVD Features:
Biographies
Featurette:Black Adder's Christmas Carol
Other:Footnotes to History
Theatrical Trailer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13290 in DVD
• Brand: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2001-06-26
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 220 minutes

Customer Reviews

At your service
Black Adder stars Rowan Atkinson, an absolute comic genius who is also the star of Mr. Bean. The screenplays were written by Richard Curtis (Mr. Bean, Not the nine o'clock news) and Ben Elton - possibly one of the funniest modern writers.

In the third series, Rowan Atkinson plays a bitter, frustrated butler to the stupidest man in England - which is saying a lot since Baldrick is still around.

The six episodes in the series are:

1. Dish and Dishonesty - Edmund proves that politicians don't have to rely on issues when the lone voter can tragically cut his head off while shaving

2. Ink and Incapability - Black Adder is forced to re author the first English dictionary over the week end to avoid being skewered by a man whose sword is as mighty as his pen

3. Nob and Nobility - the French revolution is on and Mrs Miggins is busy serving suspiciously shaped sausages

4. Sense and Senility - the Prince Regent decides to be an actor, but Edmund pulls the curtain on his plans

5. Aim and Amiability - in order to keep his master, and thereby himself, in the lifestyle to which they have been born, Black Adder tries to secure his boorish boss a new, wealthy bride.

6. Duel and Duality - after a brief tryst with the Duke of Wellington's daughters, the prince regent may have finally gone too far

Series II and III are definitely the best of Black Adder. The others are funny, but these truly shine

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
When I watch BlackAdder I, I say this is the Best of the BA series. Then I watch BlackAdder II, and I say this is the Best of the BA series!

So I once again say, this is the best of the BA series! And I REALLY mean that! I think III is just a cut above the rest, because not only is Rowan Atkinson at his best, Hugh Laurie as the Prince Regent is an equal match so you have the two of them pushing each other.

In Dish and Dishonesty - Edmund see his chance to make the move from Prince's Butler to a MP by staging the elections. The episode is sidesplitting.

Ink and Incapability - Edmund wants to become a writer, but runs afoul of the first English dictionary

Nob and Nobility - The French are revolting - no they ARE really revolting and it sets the Stage for of lot of master of disguises

Sense and Senility - The Prince regent becomes enthralled of acting and pulls the whole household into it, having Edmund to recruit two actors to be the Prince's coach.

Aim and Amiability - the Prince Regent has over spent again, so Edmund must play matchmaker to find the prince a rich bride, only both sides are hiding things

Duel and Duality - The Price makes a mistake of romancing the Duke of Wellington's daughter and now it's 20 paces at dawn...unless Edmund can think of something to stop it.

Baldrick is back and Edmund's dogsbody and manage to steal the scenes! Look out for the Turnip!

Blackadder The Third....
Is EASILY the funniest run of the BA series! Atkinson's handling of the role as a resentful, scheming butler serving an idiotic Prince regent and dealing with all the vain, odd characters of 18th century England is a wonder to behold! The episodes come off like well done period comedy plays, perhaps written by the likes of Jonathan Swift or Washington Irving. There is definitely a very theatrical look and "feel" to the episodes, and I am put in mind of the field trips to Princeton's McCarter Theatre back in the 60s, where we saw "Faust", "Uncle Vanya" and "Candida". B-II had some of this feel as well, but in B-III, for some reason, it is more pronounced.

"Sense & Senility" is probably the funniest ep. here, with Edmund hiring two actors that have caught the fancy of the dim Prince, played by Hugh Laurie. The actors are the very soul and image of foolish, rococo vanity and pomposity, with over-rouged cheeks and reddened lips, ridiculous powdered wigs and the manners of rich old dowagers. Edmund teases them by endelssly repeating the name of the play "Macbeth", which is anathema to the superstitious, foppish men. A series of events seals their doom as they lead Baldrick to believe that they are plotting to kill him and the Prince. Edmund, who hates them, has them wrapped up as traitors.

Another great ep. is "Amy & Amiability", in which a financially overextended Prince has to marry wealth to be solvent again. Miranda Richardson joins the cast again for this episode as the apparently sweet and innocent intended young lady, who holds an incredible secret. A few scenes involving squirrels and the girl's overprotective father will have you on the floor laughing.

"Nob & Nobility" is probably the weakest ep. here as Edmund and Baldrick get involved with the French Revolution and the Scarlet Pimpernel. "Red Dwarf's" Chris Barrie and B-II and IV's Tim McInnerny make guest appearances in this one, but it doesn't help a fairly gagless story that has a lot of people faking VERY bad French accents.

The rest of the episodes are excellent and make this arc stand out as the high watermark for the series, edging out B-II only by a HAIR...

Buy this and B-II and prepare to laugh yourself silly!