Blackadder meeting between Richard Curtis and comedian Ben Elton led to the decision to collaborate on a new series of Blackadder. Recognising the main faults of the first series, Curtis and Elton agreed that "Blackadder II" would be a studio-only production (along with the inclusion of a live audience during recording, instead of showing the episodes to an audience after taping). Besides adding a greater comedy focus, Elton suggested a major change in character emphasis: Baldrick would become the stupid sidekick, while Edmund Blackadder evolved into a cunning sycophant. This led to the familiar set-up that was maintained in the following
Edmund Blackadder mud of the trenches of the Western Front, this Blackadder's sole goal is to escape his inevitable fate. Blackadder's attempts to escape are thwarted by General Melchett, who does not realize the futility of the war, and Melchett's assistant Captain Darling, his sycophantic right-hand man. Blackadder shares his trench with Private S. Baldrick, and Lt. The Hon. George Colthurst St Barleigh. In the series finale, "Goodbyeee", Captain Blackadder and his company go over the top in 1917 to their implied deaths. In the series, Captain Blackadder is seen wearing the following ribbons: Lord Edmund Blackadder is the modern representative of