Rowan Atkinson the two more sequels "Blackadder the Third" (1987) (set in the Regency era), and "Blackadder Goes Forth" (1989) (set in World War I). The "Blackadder" series became one of the most successful of all BBC situation comedies, spawning television specials including "Blackadder's Christmas Carol" (1988), "" (1988), and later "" (1999), which was set at the turn of the Millennium. The final scene of "Blackadder Goes Forth" (when Blackadder and his men go "over the top" and charge into No-Man's-Land) has been described as "bold and highly poignant". During the 2014 centennial of the start of World War I, Michael
Edmund Blackadder is the first man in the dynasty to refer to himself as 'the Black Adder'. The first Blackadder is named after the treacherous Edmond from Shakespeare's "King Lear". He appears in the first series, "The Black Adder", set shortly after The Wars of the Roses. He is the second son of the fictional King Richard IV of England, who, we are told at the beginning, was cast from all historical references by his successor, Henry Tudor. Prince Edmund is a very different character from his descendants: he is slow-witted, cowardly, and the butt of the other characters' jokes. While he