Blackadder: The Cavalier Years Blackadder: The Cavalier Years Blackadder: The Cavalier Years is a 15-minute one-off edition of "Blackadder" set during the English Civil War, shown as part of the first Comic Relief Red Nose Day on BBC1, broadcast on Friday 5 February 1988. The show featured all series regulars except Tim McInnerny and Hugh Laurie with Warren Clarke as a guest star. The episode begins in November 1648. King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland has already lost the Civil War. Only two men remain loyal to him: Sir Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), the sole descendant of the Blackadder dynasty at the
Blackadder the Third decided not to continue playing the character of Lord Percy for fear of being typecast, although he appeared in a guest role in episode three. In addition to McInnerny, Stephen Fry and Miranda Richardson, who had played major parts in "Blackadder II", appeared in guest roles. Fry and McInnerny would return as regular performers for the fourth series of "Blackadder". The opening theme is this time a minuet played on a harpsichord, oboe and cello over close-ups of Blackadder searching a bookcase. The credits and title appear on the books' spines, and each has a condition and script to match