Corporal Punishment (Blackadder) shoots a carrier pigeon relaying the same message. Upon inspection of the pigeon's partly charred message, however, it turns out that shooting carrier pigeons has become an offence punishable by court-martial, and Blackadder simply decides to eat the evidence for lunch. When General Melchett arrives at the trenches, demanding an explanation as to why the group hasn't advanced, Blackadder nearly gets away with it by blaming the communication breakdown. Unfortunately Private Baldrick and Lieutenant George unintentionally reveal what Blackadder has done (as having been told not to answer any questions on the incident, when asked unrelated questions, they reply, "We
Blackadder were produced by John Lloyd. In 2000, the fourth series, "Blackadder Goes Forth", ranked at 16 in the "100 Greatest British Television Programmes", a list created by the British Film Institute. In the 2004 TV poll to find "Britain's Best Sitcom", "Blackadder" was voted the second-best British sitcom of all time, topped by "Only Fools and Horses". It was also ranked as the 9th-best TV show of all time by "Empire" magazine. Although each series is set in a different era, all follow the misfortunes of Edmund Blackadder (played by Atkinson), who in each is a member of a British