Edmund Blackadder who shot Harold II at The Battle of Hastings. Blackadder is a genuine surname, its usage in the UK currently documented back to the 15th century, which may explain the choice of the name, with the first series being set in this time period. The name is thought to be mostly Scottish in origin, which is not contradicted in the series, as the first Blackadder begins as the Duke of Edinburgh. In the third series it is revealed that a branch of the Blackadder family is a significant clan in Scotland, although they have become known by the name MacAdder.
Blackadder were produced by John Lloyd. In 2000, the fourth series, "Blackadder Goes Forth", ranked at 16 in the "100 Greatest British Television Programmes", a list created by the British Film Institute. In the 2004 TV poll to find "Britain's Best Sitcom", "Blackadder" was voted the second-best British sitcom of all time, topped by "Only Fools and Horses". It was also ranked as the 9th-best TV show of all time by "Empire" magazine. Although each series is set in a different era, all follow the misfortunes of Edmund Blackadder (played by Atkinson), who in each is a member of a British