Blackadder is a series of four period British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC1 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 Percy Percy / Captain Darling and George.
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator, and writer. He first came to prominence as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995) and Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993). He also starred in the sketch series Alfresco (1983–1984) alongside Laurie, Emma Thompson, and Robbie Coltrane and in Blackadder (1986–1989) alongside Rowan Atkinson. Since 2011 he has served as president of the mental health charity Mind.
James Hugh Calum Laurie is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two acted together in a number of projects during the 1980s and 1990s, including the BBC sketch comedy series A Bit of Fry & Laurie and the P. G. Wodehouse adaptation Jeeves and Wooster. From 1986 to 1989 he appeared in three series of the period comedy Blackadder, first as a recurring guest star in the last two episodes of Blackadder II, before joining the main cast in Blackadder the Third, and going on to appear in Blackadder Goes Forth and many specials of the show except for The Black Adder and Blackadder: The Cavalier Years.
Jeeves and Wooster is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the last series nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series. Set in the UK and the US in an unspecified period between the late 1920s and the 1930s, the series starred Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, an affable young gentleman and member of the idle rich, and Stephen Fry as Jeeves, his highly intelligent and competent valet. Bertie and his friends, who are mainly members of the Drones Club, are extricated from all manner of societal misadventures by the indispensable Jeeves.
Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired on BBC1 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.
Saturday Night Fry is a six-part comedy series on BBC Radio 4 that was broadcast between 30 April and 4 June 1988. The first episode had previously been broadcast as a pilot on 19 December 1987.
Fry and Laurie are an English comedy double act, mostly active in the 1980s and 1990s, composed of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. The two met in 1980 through mutual friend Emma Thompson while all three attended the University of Cambridge. Following appearances on TV sketch show Alfresco, The Young Ones, and revue series Saturday Live, they gained prominence on television sketch comedy A Bit of Fry & Laurie, actress Deborah Norton appearing in many of the sketches in the first series.
Filthy Rich & Catflap is a BBC sitcom produced in 1986 and broadcast in 1987. The series featured former The Young Ones co-stars Nigel Planer, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson as its three titular characters. It was written by Ben Elton, and produced and directed by Paul Jackson, with film sequences directed by Ed Bye. The show's music was written by Peter Brewis. One series consisting of six half-hour episodes was produced. Despite the continuity announcer saying that the show would return the following year, only one series was ever made due to a fall-out between Mayall and Elton over creative control.
John Frederick Joseph Savident was a British actor, known for his numerous television roles, including his portrayal of Fred Elliott in the soap opera Coronation Street from 1994 to 2006. He was also known for his performance as Monsieur Firmin in the West End cast of The Phantom of the Opera. His other credits include The Avengers (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Professionals (1978), Blake's 7 (1979), Yes Minister (1980), Gandhi (1982), The Remains of the Day (1993) and Middlemarch (1994).
Rowland John Rivron is a British writer, comedic actor and television personality.
Arthur BostromFRGS is an English actor, best known for his role as Officer Crabtree in the long-running BBC TV sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!.
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.
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 1 May 1983 to 2 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.
Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) is a British television series, produced by Working Title Television for BBC One, written and produced by Charlie Higson. It is a revival of the 1960s television series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and stars Vic Reeves as Marty Hopkirk and Bob Mortimer as Jeff Randall, two partner private detectives, Emilia Fox as Jeannie Hurst, Hopkirk's fiancée, and Tom Baker as Wyvern, a spirit mentor. Two series were commissioned and were broadcast in 2000 and 2001 with the pilot episode airing 18 March 2000.
The Cambridge Footlights Revue is an annual revue by the Footlights Club, a group of comedy writer-performers at the University of Cambridge. Three of the more notable revues are detailed below.
A Bit of Fry & Laurie is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring former Cambridge Footlights members Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, broadcast on both BBC1 and BBC2 between 1989 and 1995. It ran for four series with 26 episodes, including a 36-minute pilot episode in 1987.
Anthony Robert McMillan, known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series. He was appointed an OBE in the 2006 New Year Honours by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to drama. In 1990, Coltrane received the Evening Standard British Film Award – Peter Sellers Award for Comedy. In 2011, he was honoured for his "outstanding contribution" to film at the British Academy Scotland Awards.
Stephen Fry is an English actor, comedian, author and television presenter. With Hugh Laurie, as the comedy double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry & Laurie, and the duo also played the title roles in Jeeves and Wooster. Fry played the lead in the film Wilde, played Melchett in the Blackadder television series, and was the host of celebrity comedy trivia show QI. He has contributed columns and articles for newspapers and magazines, and has written four novels and three autobiographies, Moab Is My Washpot, The Fry Chronicles, and More Fool Me: A Memoir.
There's Nothing to Worry About! is a British television series that ran on ITV Granada in 1982. The sketch comedy show was the first screen collaboration between the comedy duo Fry and Laurie. Other cast members include Emma Thompson, Ben Elton, Paul Shearer and Siobhan Redmond.
