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
Edward Blackadder Edward Blackadder Edward Blackadder (April 18, 1874 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia – October 22, 1922) was a Canadian politician, lecturer, physician and professor in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1921 as a Member of the Liberal Party to represent the riding of Halifax. He was the son of William Blackadder and May Henderson and was educated at Acadia University and Dalhousie University. Blackadder practised medicine for two years in Westport, Nova Scotia and then for 15 years in Halifax. He was a professor of Medical Jurisprudence at Dalhousie University from 1908