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
The Black Adder (pilot episode) Robert Bathurst instead of Robert East. The rest of the cast (Atkinson, Tim McInnerny and Elspet Gray) were reunited for the commissioned series. It was directed by Geoff Posner, who was the director of the last series of "Not the Nine O'Clock News". The producer was the then head of Comedy Department, John Howard Davies but this was a temporary measure because John Lloyd, who had co-produced "Not The Nine O'Clock News" was working on a special with Pamela Stephenson. When the series was commissioned, Lloyd took over the producer's role. A unique instrumental version of the "Blackadder" theme by