The Prince and the Pauper BBC TV comedy series "Blackadder the Third" has an episode, "Duel and Duality," where the Prince Regent believes that the Duke of Wellington is after him. The prince swaps clothes with Blackadder (who is his butler) and says, "This reminds of that story 'The Prince and the Porpoise'." Blackadder corrects him: "Pauper. The Prince and the Pauper." Since "Blackadder the Third" is set during the early 1800s, this is an anachronism. In 1996, PBS aired a "Wishbone" adaptation titled "The Pooch and the Pauper" with Wishbone playing both Tom Canty and Edward VI. The BBC produced a six-part dramatization of
Edmund Blackadder who shot Harold II at The Battle of Hastings. Blackadder is a genuine surname, its usage in the UK currently documented back to the 15th century, which may explain the choice of the name, with the first series being set in this time period. The name is thought to be mostly Scottish in origin, which is not contradicted in the series, as the first Blackadder begins as the Duke of Edinburgh. In the third series it is revealed that a branch of the Blackadder family is a significant clan in Scotland, although they have become known by the name MacAdder.