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
Corporal Punishment (Blackadder) Corporal Punishment (Blackadder) "Corporal Punishment", or "Plan B: Corporal Punishment", is the second episode of "Blackadder Goes Forth", the fourth series of the BBC sitcom "Blackadder". It was first broadcast on BBC One on 5 October 1989. Blackadder faces a court-martial for shooting a carrier pigeon. Captain Blackadder receives numerous calls to the wrong number before finally having a call with orders to advance. He avoids going over the top by pretending the line is breaking up. He then throws away a telegram ordering him to advance on the grounds that it is wrongly addressed to "Catpain Blackudder" and then