Blackadder in which it is set. It is performed mostly with trumpets and timpani in "The Black Adder", the fanfares used suggesting typical medieval court fanfares; with a combination of recorder, string quartet and electric guitar in "Blackadder II"; on oboe, cello and harpsichord (in the style of a minuet) for "Blackadder the Third"; by The Band of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment in "Blackadder Goes Forth"; sung by carol singers in "Blackadder's Christmas Carol"; and by an orchestra in "Blackadder: The Cavalier Years" and "Blackadder: Back & Forth". In 2000, the fourth series, "Blackadder Goes Forth", ranked at 16
Blackadder Goes Forth noted that the television series has become a pervasive view of the war in the public's perception of World War I, with Max Hastings calling the common British view of the war "the "Blackadder" take on history." Military historian Richard Holmes commented in his book "The Western Front": "Blackadder's aphorisms have become fact...A well turned line of script can sometimes carry more weight than all the scholarly footnotes in the world." Stephen Badsey, analysing trends in television programmes about the war, remarked that "Blackadder Goes Forth" as a popular comedy series was subject to particular criticism from historians, remarking that