| Blackadder's Christmas Carol | |
|---|---|
 Title screen of Blackadder's Christmas Carol. |
|
| Genre | period comedy, sitcom |
| Written by | Richard Curtis Ben Elton |
| Directed by | Richard Boden |
| Starring | Rowan Atkinson Tony Robinson Robbie Coltrane Miriam Margolyes Jim Broadbent |
| Theme music composer | Howard Goodall |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | John Lloyd |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Picture format | PAL (576i) |
| Audio format | Mono |
| First shown in | 23 December 1988 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Blackadder: The Cavalier Years |
| Followed by | Blackadder Goes Forth |
Blackadder's Christmas Carol is a one-off episode of Blackadder, a parody of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It is set between Blackadder the Third (1987) and Blackadder Goes Forth (1989), and is narrated by Hugh Laurie. Produced by the BBC, it was first broadcast on BBC One on 23 December 1988.
Contents |
Plot [edit]
Ebenezer Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), the Victorian proprietor of a "moustache shop", is the nicest man in England.[1] He is everything that Ebenezer Scrooge was by the end of the original story; generous and kind to everybody, and sensitive to the misery of others. As a result, everybody takes advantage of his kindness, and all but Mr. Baldrick (Tony Robinson) view him as a victim, although even he is slightly more cynical than his ancestors. His business turns no profit, all his earnings going to charity and to con artists, and he lives a lonely, miserable life.
One Christmas Eve, Blackadder's destiny changes when the Spirit of Christmas (Robbie Coltrane) makes the mistake of calling round to congratulate him for his ways. The spirit lets him see shades of the past: his ancestors Lord Blackadder and Mr. E. Blackadder, Esq., the butler of the Prince Regent (Hugh Laurie). Instead of being convinced that he is better than them, he grows to admire them and their wit and asks the spirit to show him what could happen if he became like them. He sees a vision of a distant future where his distant descendant Grand Admiral Blackadder is a successful, if ruthless, official of a Universe-spanning Empire, with Baldrick as a thong-wearing slave, about to marry the similarly ruthless and insanely ambitious Queen Asphyxia XIX after getting rid of her Triple husbandoid. Blackadder asks the Spirit what will happen if he stays kind. As an answer, he sees an alternate vision of the same future era where his descendant is a semi-naked thong-wearing slave of the incompetent Admiral Baldrick.
Blackadder makes his decision, proclaiming, "Bad guys have all the fun." He wakes up a different man: bitter, vengeful, greedy for money, and insulting to everyone he meets. Although he is now more in control of his life, he misses a golden opportunity when he insults two strangers who had come to reward him for his reputed generosity. These are Queen Victoria (Miriam Margolyes) and her Prince Consort, Albert (Jim Broadbent) who were about to award him £50,000 and the title of Baron Blackadder for being the nicest man in England, they leave without doing so after being ridiculed by Blackadder. The episode ends with Blackadder, while sitting down to an extravagant Christmas dinner with Baldrick, looking startled when he is told the victims of his brushing-off were the royal couple after Baldrick shows the royal seal.
| “ | Bad guys have all the fun. | ” |
Censored version [edit]
There is sometimes an edit towards the beginning of the episode, after Baldrick talks about the dog in the Nativity Play. Blackadder asks him "Weren't the children upset?" and Baldrick responds "Nah, they loved it. They want us to do another one at Easter. They want to see us nail up the dog." Most of this line is cut from video and most DVD releases.[2] The earliest known case of this edit was on its first repeat at Christmas 1989, the same version being used for later terrestrial broadcasts at Christmas 1998, 2007, 2008, 2010 and in 2012. The line is also missing from the Ultimate Edition boxset. The line remains uncut on Gold broadcasts, as well as its release on Netflix and the US Region 1 DVD.
Cast [edit]
- Rowan Atkinson as Ebenezer Blackadder and his ancestors and descendants
- Tony Robinson as Mr. Baldrick and his ancestors and descendants
- Robbie Coltrane as the Spirit of Christmas
- Miriam Margolyes as Queen Victoria
- Jim Broadbent as Prince Albert
- Stephen Fry as Lord Melchett and Lord Frondo
- Hugh Laurie as Prince George and Prince Pigmot
- Miranda Richardson as Queen Elizabeth and Queen Asphyxia XIX
- Patsy Byrne as Nursie
- Denis Lill as Beadle
- Pauline Melville as Mrs. Scratchit
- Philip Pope as Lord Nelson
- Nicola Bryant as Millicent, Blackadder's goddaughter[3]
- Ramsay Gilderdale as Ralph, Millicent's fiancé[4]
- David Barber, Erkan Mustafa and David Nunn as the Enormous Orphans
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Blackadder's Christmas Carol at Blackadder Hall.com, URL accessed 21 December 2011
- ^ Alternative versions at the Internet Movie Database, URL accessed 21 December 2011
- ^ Referred to on the DVD cover as "Awful Screeching Woman."
- ^ Referred to on the DVD cover as "Giggling Ninny."
External links [edit]
- Blackadder's Christmas Carol at BBC Programmes
- Blackadder's Christmas Carol at the Internet Movie Database
- Transcript at Blackadder Hall.com
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