Tony Robinson 1983 for his role in the British historical sitcom "Blackadder", as Edmund Blackadder's dogsbody Baldrick. In the first series, broadcast as "The Black Adder", he was quite astute, while his master was an idiot. Later series ("Blackadder II", "Blackadder the Third", "Blackadder Goes Forth") moved the duo through history and switched the relationship: the Edmund Blackadder of "Blackadder II" was a brilliant schemer, whereas Baldrick had devolved into a buffoon whose catchphrase was "I have a cunning plan" (which he rarely had). In addition to his acting on "Blackadder", Robinson also wrote and narrated several "Jackanory"-style children's programmes, encouraged by
Blackadder thirty-five miles from the front, where he is aided and abetted by his assistant, Captain Kevin Darling (Tim McInnerny), pencil-pusher supreme and Blackadder's nemesis, whose name is played on for maximum comedic value. The series' tone is somewhat darker than the other "Blackadder"s; it details the deprivations of trench warfare as well as the incompetence and life-wasting strategies of the top brass. For example, Baldrick is reduced to making coffee from mud and cooking rats, while General Melchett hatches a plan for the troops to walk very slowly toward the German lines, because "it'll be the last thing Fritz will