Blackadder Goes Forth the effects on the soldiers who suffered over its course. The idea that the soldiers suffered whilst their commanders remained safely distant from the action was also referenced on many occasions, such as when Melchett says to Baldrick, "Don't you worry my boy, if you should falter, remember that Captain Darling and I are behind you!", to which Blackadder responds, "About 35 miles behind you!". In the episode "Corporal Punishment", Blackadder justifies the shooting for food of a carrier pigeon (which turns out to be Melchett's pet, Speckled Jim) by saying, "With 50,000 men getting killed a week, who's going
Edmund Blackadder is the first man in the dynasty to refer to himself as 'the Black Adder'. The first Blackadder is named after the treacherous Edmond from Shakespeare's "King Lear". He appears in the first series, "The Black Adder", set shortly after The Wars of the Roses. He is the second son of the fictional King Richard IV of England, who, we are told at the beginning, was cast from all historical references by his successor, Henry Tudor. Prince Edmund is a very different character from his descendants: he is slow-witted, cowardly, and the butt of the other characters' jokes. While he