Blackadder Empire in 1453, predating the events in the episode by 33 years); this dramatic licence would continue in the subsequent "Blackadders". The filming of the series was highly ambitious, with a large cast and much location shooting. The series also featured Shakespearean dialogue, often adapted for comic effect; the end credits featured the words "Additional Dialogue by William Shakespeare". "Blackadder II" is set in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), who is portrayed by Miranda Richardson. The principal character is Edmund, Lord Blackadder, the great-grandson of the original Black Adder. During the series, he regularly deals with
Blackadder: Back & Forth them he will soon return. He informs Baldrick he has a "very, very, very cunning plan", and they set off again in the time machine. The guests watch the broadcast of the royals and the prime minister arriving at the Millennium Dome. Blackadder is shown to now be "King Edmund III", who is married to "Marian of Sherwood" (Kate Moss) and is joined by Prime Minister Baldrick. The cast reunited most of the regulars of series two to four of the television series, who each played a variety of different incarnations of themselves, in a similar fashion to "Blackadder's Christmas