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Blackadder is a series of four period British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC One from 1983 to 1989. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick. Each series was set in a different historical period, with the two protagonists accompanied by different characters, though several reappear in one series or another, e.g., Melchett, Lord Flashheart and George.
Benjamin Charles Elton is a British-Australian comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as continuing as a stand-up comedian on stage and television. His style in the 1980s was left-wing political satire. Since then he has published 17 novels and written the musicals The Beautiful Game (2000), We Will Rock You (2002), Tonight's the Night (2003), and Love Never Dies (2010), the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. His novels cover the dystopian, comedy, and crime genres.
The Young Ones is a British sitcom written by Rik Mayall, Ben Elton, and Lise Mayer, starring Adrian Edmondson, Mayall, Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan, and Alexei Sayle, and broadcast on BBC Two for two series, first shown in 1982 and 1984. The show focused on the lives of four dissimilar students and their landlord's family on different plots that often included anarchic, offbeat, surreal humour. The show often included slapstick gags, visual humour and surreal jokes sometimes acted out by puppets, with each episode also featuring a notable selection of guest stars and musical numbers from various performers.
Geoffrey Howard Perkins was a British comedy producer, writer and performer. Best known as the BBC head of comedy (1995–2001), he produced the first two radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and is one of the people credited with creating the bizarre panel game Mornington Crescent for I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. In December 2008 he posthumously received an Outstanding Contribution to Comedy Award.
Blackadder Goes Forth is the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989 on BBC1. The series placed the recurring characters of Blackadder, Baldrick, and George in a trench in Flanders during World War I, and followed their various doomed attempts to escape from the trenches to avoid death under the misguided command of General Melchett. The series references famous people of the time and criticises the British Army's leadership during the campaign, culminating in the ending of its final episode, in which the soldiers are ordered to carry out a lethal charge of enemy lines.
Blackadder II is the second series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986. The series is set in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and sees the principal character, Edmund, Lord Blackadder, as a Tudor courtier attempting to win the favour of the Queen while avoiding execution by decapitation, a fate that befell many of her suitors.
Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987. The series is set during the Georgian Era, and sees the principal character, Mr. E. Blackadder, serve as butler to the Prince Regent and have to contend with, or cash in on, the fads of the age embraced by his master.
The Thin Blue Line is a British sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1995 to 1996. It was created and written by Ben Elton, and starred Rowan Atkinson. The series was popular with viewers, though it suffered in critical reviews due to "inconsistent character development" and an "overly broad plot line". It was ranked number 34 in a poll for Britain's Best Sitcom. In September 2021, the series became available on BBC iPlayer. and also on STV Player.
Blessed is a BBC television sitcom created and directed by Ben Elton. The only series, of eight episodes, was broadcast on BBC One on Friday evenings at 9.00 pm between October and December 2005. It starred Ardal O'Hanlon and Mel Giedroyc as a couple of record producers, struggling to bring up two small children.
Stark is a 1989 novel by comedian Ben Elton. It was commercially and critically successful in the United Kingdom and Australia. It was Elton's first novel, and launched his writing career. Stark was reprinted 23 times in its first year, and ultimately sold well over a million copies, making Elton one of a small number of novelists to sell more than a million copies of their first book. The novel was adapted into Stark, a television miniseries.
Saturday Live is a British television comedy and music show, made by LWT and initially broadcast on Channel 4 from 1985 to 1988, with a brief revival on ITV in 1996. A few one-off editions have also been screened sporadically, including a contribution to the BBC's 1993 Comic Relief telethon. It was based on the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live but otherwise had no direct connection to the show.
Steve Speirs is a Welsh actor and writer who has appeared in films such as Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
Alfresco is a British sketch comedy television series starring Robbie Coltrane, Ben Elton, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Siobhan Redmond and Emma Thompson, produced by Granada Television and broadcast by ITV from May 1983 to June 1984. Running for two series, it totalled 13 episodes and was named Alfresco because, unusually for a comedy sketch show of the time, it was shot on location rather than in a studio.
Get a Grip is a satirical comedy television series shown on ITV in the United Kingdom. It aired on Wednesday nights in April/May 2007 and was hosted by Ben Elton and Alexa Chung.
Teenage Kicks is a British sitcom starring Adrian Edmondson, Ed Coleman and Laura Aikman, filmed at Teddington Studios. Originally as a radio show for BBC Radio 2 in 2007, it was turned into a TV series by Phil McIntyre Productions for ITV. The show ran for 8 episodes beginning 28 March 2008 although the show was not recommissioned for any further series.
Ben Elton Live From Planet Earth was an Australian comedy television series produced by FremantleMedia which aired on the Nine Network in 2011. The program was broadcast live as a sketch comedy and variety show. Comedian Ben Elton presented the program and performed some stand-up material, with the sketches performed by an ensemble cast including Paul McCarthy and Genevieve Morris. After critical reviews, hostile social media reaction and poor ratings, the Nine Network cancelled the show after three episodes had aired.
The Wright Way is a British television sitcom written by Ben Elton which aired on BBC One from 23 April to 28 May 2013. It concerns a health and safety manager, his staff and his family. Widely panned by critics, it was cancelled after one series.
The Ben Elton Show is a British comedy series, which aired on BBC in 1998. It was a comedy-variety show, which proved a surprise, since Elton had despised the format as much as The Two Ronnies. However, this didn't avoid him from getting Ronnie Corbett to do his classic "armchair monologues", although these became much racier. The show was criticised for Elton's departure from the social commentary he was known for, and the show was cancelled after its initial series.
Upstart Crow is a British sitcom based on the life of William Shakespeare. Written by Ben Elton, it premiered on 9 May 2016 on BBC Two as part of the commemorations of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Its title quotes "an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers", a critique of Shakespeare by his rival Robert Greene in the latter's Groats-Worth of Wit.
References
- ↑ Rich, Mari; Smith, Olivia J.; Thompson, Clifford (2003). World Authors, 1995–2000. H.W. Wilson.
- 1 2 Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie, BBC Comedy.
