Blackadder the Third and the Christmas special are also available for download on iTunes. The complete scripts of the four television series were released in 1998 as "Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty 1485–1917", and later reissued by Penguin Books in 2009. Blackadder the Third Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC sitcom "Blackadder", written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987. The series was set during the Georgian Era, and saw the principal character, Mr. E. Blackadder serve as butler to the Prince Regent and have to contend with, or cash in
Blackadder meeting between Richard Curtis and comedian Ben Elton led to the decision to collaborate on a new series of Blackadder. Recognising the main faults of the first series, Curtis and Elton agreed that "Blackadder II" would be a studio-only production (along with the inclusion of a live audience during recording, instead of showing the episodes to an audience after taping). Besides adding a greater comedy focus, Elton suggested a major change in character emphasis: Baldrick would become the stupid sidekick, while Edmund Blackadder evolved into a cunning sycophant. This led to the familiar set-up that was maintained in the following