Blackadder

I absolutely love Black Adder, it is hilarious, and is filled with wit and tongue-in-cheek humour. This first series is not the absolute best, but it is still worth watching, as there are so many good things about it. The production values as always are superb, the costumes are great and the sets are authentic and stay true to the time period. The opening and closing credits are a delight, and the story lines are cleverly structured. What I love most about the Black Adder is the writing, extremely witty, tongue-in-cheek and simply hilarious. And we also have great acting; Patrick Allen's sardonic narration has me in squeals of laughter, and while Tim McInnery and Tony Robinson as Percy and Baldrick are wonderful and Brian Blessed relishes his role as King Richard IV while chewing the scenery at the same time, it is Rowan Atkinson as as slimy and selfish Edmund Black Adder who steals the show. Edmund is not the most likable by all means, but Atkinson's performance is still superb. Overall, this is a great series, not the best(Black Adder Goes Forth especially was outstanding) but a fine start. 9/10 Bethany Cox

The best of the lot. Very funny script, brilliant cast, superbly acted. I prefer Edmund as this type of meek, slimy character than in later series. Also Balders is better suited as intelligent than stupid, that character is already brilliantly done by Percy.

Each episode has a uniquely funny story. The Archbishop one where Baldrick makes holy artifacts is extremely funny. Especially as Percy thinks he bought a real artifact only to discover that it's one of Baldricks.

He marries an 8 year old princess in another episode. Very original humour, and the little princess herself is extremely funny. The way she laughs at the Vicar is hilarious.

Witchsmeller Persuivant, another great episode, possibly the best but its difficult to distinguish which is the best as they are all so good. Frank Finlay is so believable as the witch, his voice, expressions, the way he cross examines Edmund in court and entraps him. Pure genius.

The last one is fantastic. I love the way he finally gets revenge on his dad by forming an army of the 6 most evil men in England. All with uniquely evil attributes.

I don't think 6 episodes is enough for this first series. There is so much comedy there to fill 12 episodes at least. Still the second and third series, although inferior did not disappoint. The fourth however did.

Will always remain as one of the great British classics.

If you are having trouble defining wit, sarcasm or tongue-in-cheek watch one episode of "Black Adder". It's all there and then some. Each episode mints a new insult or sly comeback. The art of verbal humor has finally found a champion in the authors and actors of Black Adder.

I have always been a fan of British TV comedy and this is one of my favorites. It's a good start to the whole series and "side" shows. It's interesting to note that the main character Edmond is silly and immature in this show while his henchmen come off has somewhat smarter. In later shows, Blackadder II, III, and go's forth, Edmond becomes ever smarter while the henchmen become as dumb as a box of rocks! It's also funny how he slides down the social ladder from duke to commoner. I highly recommend the whole series. It's appeal crosses all age groups with a few "blue" jokes but nothing remotely vulgar. As Blackadder mite put it "It's a show so clever, you could stitch on a tail and call it a weasel"

The first series of Black Adder reminds me a lot of Monty Python films - full of hilarious moments but somehow not quite all there as a whole. I'm not a huge Bean fan and there's too much Bean here for my liking.

On the other hand, the second, third and fourth Blackadder series represent some of the best British comedy around (different script writer) and so the first series is worth watching just to introduce the characters. Watch this, but don't be put off the others if you don't like it!