Blackadder from this series ranked number three in a list of the top 25 television "putdowns" of the last 40 years by the "Radio Times" magazine: "The eyes are open, the mouth moves, but Mr. Brain has long since departed, hasn't he, Percy?" "Blackadder the Third" is set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period known as the Regency. In the series, Edmund Blackadder Esquire is the butler to the Prince Regent, the Prince of Wales (the prince is played by Hugh Laurie as a complete fop and idiot). Despite Edmund's respected intelligence and abilities, he has no
Dish and Dishonesty schoolroom, a hot crumpet burning my cheeks with shame" under the Prince's sort before seeking and succeeding to become what he is today; Blackadder complements that Pitt was not "too busy to remove the crumpet." Pitt declares that he shall have his own brother, William Pitt the "Even" Younger, as a candidate on his side. When he leaves, Blackadder tells the Prince how they shall win the election: firstly, fight the campaign on "issues, not personalities"; secondly, be "the only fresh thing on the menu"; and thirdly, "we'll cheat". After an obviously rigged election where the one voter cast 16,472