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
Todd Blackadder Todd Blackadder Todd Blackadder (born 20 September 1971 in Rangiora) is a former professional New Zealand rugby union player and professional rugby coach. He served as Director of Rugby for the Tasman Rugby Union before being appointed to succeed Robbie Deans as coach of Super Rugby team the Crusaders. His nickname is "Toddy". Blackadder first played for Woodend, near Rangiora which kicked off his rugby union career. He also played 7's for New Zealand in the inaugural world cup held at Murrayfield. Blackadder played for the All Blacks 25 times, including 14 as captain. He also played for the Crusaders