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
Beer (Blackadder) during the visit of the King of Austria, during which Blackadder wandered naked around the grounds of Hampton Court singing "I'm Merlin, The Happy Pig". Blackadder challenges his rival to a drinking bout, with 10,000 florins at stake. After Blackadder leaves, Queenie conspires to somehow gain entry to the party. Upon arriving back home, Blackadder begins to draft a guest list for the drinking party, with Percy's assistance. The guests include Simon Partridge, a perpetually drunken aristocrat nicknamed "Mr. Ostrich" who according to Percy, is a fearful oik, Sir Geoffrey Piddle, a deranged civil servant, and Freddie Frobisher, "the flatulent