Blackadder from this series ranked number three in a list of the top 25 television "putdowns" of the last 40 years by the "Radio Times" magazine: "The eyes are open, the mouth moves, but Mr. Brain has long since departed, hasn't he, Percy?" "Blackadder the Third" is set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period known as the Regency. In the series, Edmund Blackadder Esquire is the butler to the Prince Regent, the Prince of Wales (the prince is played by Hugh Laurie as a complete fop and idiot). Despite Edmund's respected intelligence and abilities, he has no
Edmund Blackadder also generally dismissive of the contemporary arts and culture in the various eras in which he lives, such as medieval folk pageants, Shakespeare, Romanticist poetry, and Charlie Chaplin films. Each Blackadder is also surrounded by various other figures who reappear over the series. Most, such as his manservant Baldrick and the various imbecilic aristocrats with whose company he is lumbered (such as Lord Percy Percy or George), are usually hindrances to him. In this section, brief descriptions of the various Edmund Blackadders who have appeared in their own series or in another notable "Blackadder" production are provided. Prince Edmund (1461-1498)