Introduced in its fourth iteration, "Blackadder Goes Forth", Captain Kevin Darling (Tim McInnerny) is main character Captain Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson)'s intellectual peer and bitter rival; while Blackadder reluctantly serves in World War I trenches, Darling is safely stationed some distance from the front line. Darling is the sycophantic adjutant to Stephen Fry's General Melchett. The character was originally conceived as "Captain Cartwright"; writers Ben Elton and Richard Curtis were simply unable to think of a more amusing name for him. Eventually however, Stephen Fry suggested "Darling" would be a more comedic alternative; the series makes use of a recurring joke where his name is used or referred to for comedic effect.