Blackadder II size of the principal cast was reduced compared to the previous series, with a fixed number of characters appearing in every episode. Richard Curtis has been quoted as saying that due to the familiar cast, the series was the happiest for him to work on, comparing it to a "friendly bunch of school chums". The series also featured at least one significant cameo role per episode. Notable appearances include Rik Mayall as the debonair Lord Flashheart in "Bells"; Tom Baker and Simon Jones as Captain Redbeard Rum and Sir Walter Raleigh, respectively, in "Potato"; Miriam Margolyes, who had appeared in
Raleigh was Right Raleigh was Right "Raleigh was Right" is a poem by William Carlos Williams, composed in response to the Elizabethan exchange between Christopher Marlowe, in "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love", and Walter Raleigh, with "The Nymph's Reply". Horton Foote's "Roots in a Parched Ground", the opening play of "The Orphans' Home Cycle", takes its title from a line in this poem. <poem> "Raleigh was right" We cannot go to the country for the country will bring us no peace What can the small violets tell us that grow on furry stems in the long grass among lance-shaped leaves? Though you