Goodbyeee stupid and unhygienic Private Baldrick (Tony Robinson), and the overly optimistic, upper-class and equally idiotic Lieutenant George St Barleigh (Hugh Laurie)—Blackadder tries constantly to escape his position and avoid the "big push", which he fears will result in his death. His efforts are hindered by the loud and intimidating General Melchett (Stephen Fry) and Melchett's strict, sardonic, and jobsworth staff officer, Captain Darling (Tim McInnerny). Captain Blackadder's trench receives a phone call from HQ: a full-scale attack has been ordered for the next day at dawn. Realising that this is likely to mean his death, Blackadder plans to escape by
Blackadder Goes Forth noted that the television series has become a pervasive view of the war in the public's perception of World War I, with Max Hastings calling the common British view of the war "the "Blackadder" take on history." Military historian Richard Holmes commented in his book "The Western Front": "Blackadder's aphorisms have become fact...A well turned line of script can sometimes carry more weight than all the scholarly footnotes in the world." Stephen Badsey, analysing trends in television programmes about the war, remarked that "Blackadder Goes Forth" as a popular comedy series was subject to particular criticism from historians, remarking that