Blackadder Blackadder Blackadder is a series of four BBC1 pseudohistorical British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired in the 1980s. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the anti-hero Edmund Blackadder, and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick. Each series was set in a different historical period, with the two protagonists accompanied by different characters, though several reappear in one series or another, for example Melchett (Stephen Fry) and Lord Flashheart (Rik Mayall). The first series, "The Black Adder", was written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, while subsequent episodes were written by Curtis and Ben Elton. The shows
Blackadder in the "100 Greatest British Television Programmes", a list created by the British Film Institute. In 2004, a BBC TV poll for "Britain's Best Sitcom", "Blackadder" was voted the second best British sitcom of all time, topped by "Only Fools and Horses". It was also ranked as the 20th Best TV Show of All Time by "Empire" magazine. Despite regular statements denying any plans for a fifth series, cast members are regularly asked about the possibility of a new series. In January 2005, Tony Robinson told ITV's "This Morning" that Rowan Atkinson was more keen than he has been in