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
Baldrick in childhood when he played in the gutter when he said to the other snipes, "Hello, my name's Baldrick," they would reply, "Yes, we know. Sod off, Baldrick!" A diplomatic Blackadder opts to record him as "S. Baldrick". The initial appears to have been adopted by his descendants. In a 1988 episode of "The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow", Baldrick of "Blackadder the Third" is on trial during "Clown Court". During the "trial" Baldrick reveals that he thinks his name is "Dropdead", since people who see him shout out "Drop dead, Baldrick!". The presiding judge, Lord Chief Justice Noel Edmonds, notes