User reviews

Holy crap this is so hysterical! Why aren't American comedies written like this? For anybody who thinks comedy has to be dumb-- there is more wit and intelligence in the six episodes of this series than in a shelf of novels! Hugh Laurie is a complete hoot. I couldn't believe it was the same guy as House! There are so many great lines and gags in this series you could watch each show dozens of times and still pick up on new things each time. Rowan Atkinson is hilarious as the verbose and put upon butler Edmund. This is my favorite of all the Blackadder series. And Tony Robinson is wonderful as ever as the somewhat obtuse heart of the series, "the oppressed mass" Baldrick. Some of my favorite lines: "When someone messes with a Wellington he really puts his foot in it" and Baldrick explaining how he got his name and cousin Macadder "the top kipper salesman" and homicidal swordsman from Scotland.

The 3rd and in my view the best of the Blackadder series.

The only downside is that there is no Lord Percy who was the funniest character from the previous series but Hugh Laurie's Prince Regent is suitably madcap laugh a line.

As a package it's quality through and through with convincing regency sets, superb cutting sarcasm and little bits of the wacky, the 'macbeth' actors standing out and Prince Georges 'lucky us' chicken impression, and the missing words from Dr Johnson's dictionary.

Few comedies have been quite as both clever as they are funny, okay the odd lame observation or line gets in but mostly it's a scream.

I think 'Blackadder the Third' is the best one of the series.

Actuelly all the episodes are funny, personally i really like the episode with the 'French invasion', but the one with the superstitious actors, in 'MACBETH' is also really funny, the way Rowan keeps playing on with them is really (English) Humor at the highest level.

Actors: 'Never say that again, always call it the Scottish Play; Blackadder: Oh, So you want me to say the Scottish Play? Actors: YES Blackadder: Rather than MACBETH...!

I am a big fan of Rowan and i have the majority of his work, but i think he did the series of Blackadder especially good.

I Hope Rowan is going to continue his great style, but i think we can count on him, because he is already working on a Bean 2 Movie, that will be out this year, i can't wait...

I Give this 3rd Blackadder a 9 out of 10 Rating.

Someone said that they thought the British humour of "Blackadder" might not be appreciated in the United States......WRONG!!!!! One would have to have the brain cell(s) of the Prince Regent not to enjoy this series. It is brilliant......sarcastic, cutting, witty, beautifully written, beautifully acted and generally outstanding. Rowan Atkinson is not the Mr. Bean we are used to......as Edmund Blackadder, he hits his comedy stride as the conniving butler to the Prince Regent. We miss the Percy character in the third series but Hugh Laurie, as Prince George more than makes up for his absence. Baldrick is still with us and still has "cunning plans" but his IQ has taken a definite drop in score.

If you want to laugh until you weep, then catch BA3 on BBCAmerica or better yet, go out and buy the tapes and the book "Blackadder, the Whole Damn Dynasty". It will keep you amused for years to come as this type of humour does not date. Rowan Atkinson, we salute you!!!!

Blackadder 3 is probably the Blackadder series that people have least heard of - it has basically the same principles as the second and fourth ones and has nothing revolutionary in it. But it is still great - a fiery Duke of Wellington and a fat foolish Dr Johnson (writer of the first dictionary in England) make this series one to be reckoned with. There are still more hilarious one-liners to be delivered in this series, and it brings out the humour in a lesser-known era - in historically accurate and enjoyable episodes. Blackadder's third outing is not the most famous and well-known of the lot, but Rowan Atkinson's role as a butler to a stupid prince is a funny and effectively done one, and Hugh Laurie is at his best in this series. Very good! 9/10

We could still use Black Adder even today. Imagine Rowan Atkinson resuming the role of assistant to the prime minister played by the wonderful Hugh Laurie. Hugh is sensational as the dimwit Prince George and Edmund as his brilliant assistant. I love the episode which Kenneth Connor guest stars as a British thespian. Every time, Edmund says Macbeth. The two thespians do a silly little act to ward off evil spirits. It's the funniest things that you will see. Of course, none of this brilliance and comedic genius could be without Ben Elton and Richard Curtis who are also behind the films like Love Actually, The Thin Blue Line, Four Weddings and A Funeral. Black Adder is funny and almost too good for television. Humor can be smart, sexy, and funny all at one. I was hoping last night on Saturday Night Live that Hugh Laurie would pay homage to his background in British humor. If the gang at SNL did some research, they would know what a treasure it was to have Hugh Laurie grace their stage.

The life and times of Edmund Blackadder, butler to the Prince Regent.

This is a very strong third series of Blackadder, displaying more of the great Curtis and Elton writing partnership and fantastic performances. For me it is on par with Blackadder II, albeit containing a few recycled concepts.

We see Blackadder in the services of a Prince who is characterised as a lazy, moronic yob. He frequently has to solve the Prince's problems, which indirectly impact him. This presents a number of hilarious situations that result in great comedy.

The continued Blackadder theme of Edmond's place within power structures is the driving factor. His resentment for having intelligence and being in the servitude to such ignorance is constantly simmering. In the final episode we see the tables completely turn and the darkness come racing to the surface.

Other themes tackled are poverty, class structures, revolution, anarchism, literature, politics, monarchy and war.

All episodes for me are strong, with my favourites being Dish and Dishonesty, Ink and Incapability, and Duel and Duality.

Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson and Hugh Laurie are brilliant in all episodes and there are several excellent cameos, the most memorable being Stephen Fry as Wellington, Robbie Coltrane as Dr Johnson and Kenneth Connor/Hugh Paddick as a pair of theatre actors.

BlackAdder is simply comedy at its best it stood out even in the golden age of comedy when so many shows were at there peak BlackAdder was a different show every series and gave you something new and funny to laugh at every episode the cast are perfect and work well together if you watch this and don't laugh I'll send Boldrick round to clip you round the ear good sir.

Unlike many viewers, I enjoyed this series much more than the other parts of the series (although just a bit more than Blackadder Goes Forth). It has absolutely brilliant, memorable jokes, exciting plots, brilliant characters and in this you really come to know all of the characters. I prefer this to the first part of Blackadder because that part is too silly, I prefer this part to the second part because that has the annoying queen and nurse in it and I am afraid, "Blackadder Goes Forth", that I just prefer this series to you by a little fraction of a rating, because I prefer Baldrick in this one. I also very much like Blackadder, I prefer him as a butler rather than a prince or servant. Baldrick is as hilarious as ever - but better! Hugh Laurie as the prince is amazingly entertaining, I prefer him as a companion to Percy.

There, I have stated why I like this, now for the incredible cast:

The cynical, intelligent Blackadder: Rowan Atkinson. The brainless, gorgeous Baldrick: Tony Robinson. The (also) brainless, lazy George, Prince of Wales: Hugh Laurie. The mad Mrs. Higgins: Helen Atkinson-Wood.

I recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed the previous Blackadder series but desires a slightly different cast, to people who just enjoy funny historical British TV programmes and for people who like comedy series with gripping plots that are NOT farce. Enjoy! :-)

This time around, Blackadder is no longer royal(or even particularly close to being any such thing)... instead, rather a butler to the Prince Regent, portrayed by Hugh Laurie(who replaces Tim McInnerny, who presence is sorely missed, and that hole is never filled... his character had an innocent charm... while he was a bumbling and complete moron, we can't help but care for him, which isn't at all true of his replacement) as being intolerably daft(which he apparently was, according to the Trivia page), not to mention loud-mouthed and utterly non-threatening. Edmund can now do just about what he pleases, and does so. Why is he so frustrated and angry(honestly, it gets depressing at times)? Yes, his master is a buffoon, they always are. He doesn't seem to lack money, nor is he in any danger. In the second series, the Queen was mischievous and childish, and would cut off someone's head - or marry them - on a whim. Here there is simply never enough at stake for any of the conflict to be exciting and interesting. There is still commentary and even a little satire. Too often, it seems as if they thought that the history was funny enough on its own, so they merely restate it, not bothering to actually turn the facts into jokes or gags. And I can't tell you how many of them I figured out before they were done, literally more than a minute away. It's not usually a positive when you know the punchline before it is delivered. Baldrick doesn't change from last season... he's still rather pathetic and stupid, leading to "silly" humor. Frankly, the amount goes through the roof. Don't get me started on the gross-out stuff. The sarcastic, verbal wit can still be great, though much less of it is than before. I'd say about half of the episodes were rather amusing and downright funny, while the other three didn't really get me into them at all. I was disappointed in how predictable some of the plots and developments thereof were... I could see many of such coming a mile away. Some of the material tries way too hard to be funny and winds up coming across as incredibly forced. This continues with the tradition started by "II" of letting the plans work out occasionally. The theme is the worst of the bunch, the credits sequences the least creative. All in all, this is, by far, my least favorite of the four. I recommend it to fans of the franchise and of British comedy in general. 7/10

New era, new version of Black-adder.

Sadly this show didn't do a lot for me. I know, I know, it's a British institution and I feel I should love it because everyone else does, but sorry, I didn't.

It's well written, I'll give you that, and well performed certainly, but comedy is subjective, and I can't remember laughing a lot at this brand of comedy.

In England 1790-1815 we follow the continued annals of the Blackadder family. Edmund Blackadder is now butler to Prince George – a man who is as `thick as a whale omelette'. Over 6 episodes his lot goes from the dizzying heights of ruin to disaster to opportunity with little or no help from his dogsbody the `mouse brained' Baldrick.

The third in the Blackadder series is not the best (although it's a very close). The scripts are very sharp and typically British. Every word is hilarious and Blackadder is given plenty of juicy lines to throw at his below-average-intelligence master. The plots are ludicrous but inventive – Baldrick accidentally elevated to the house of lords, Blackadder saving the Scarlet Pimpernel, the destruction of the world's first dictionary etc, but they're all carried off with style and great humour.

Rowan Atkinson is hilarious – Blackadder is one of his finest hours and he fits the character perfectly. Tony Robinson is cursed forever to be remembered for Baldrick (no matter how many Time Teams he does) and he is brilliant in a thankless role. Hugh Laurie is superb as the stupid Prince and brings inbred stupidity to life! But each episode is also underpinned by a wealth of talent including Helen Atkinson Wood, Robbie Coltrane, Kenneth Moore, Chris Barrie, Ben Elton, Stephen Fry etc. The casting is great.

Overall Blackadder is one of the finest British comedy series for decades – it deserves to be up there with Monty Python and the like. Anyone who loves to laugh at intelligent sarcastic humour will love this. One of the best comedy series I've ever seen.

Don't get me wrong I am one of those who loved the first series, but the three that proceeded it were better I feel as the humour is more sophisticated and the actors look more comfortable in their roles plus the characters are more likable than they were in the first series. This third series isn't quite as good as the second and fourth, which are as perfect as comedy can get, but it is still hugely enjoyable. Thanks to the superb period detail, goodness even Prince George's wig is immaculate. The opening credits once again are a delight, and the crude, cynical yet sophisticated and hilarious writing is still abundant. And once again the stories are well thought out. And the performances are superb. Rowan Atkisnon is once again superb as the intelligent yet cynical and conniving butler Edmund Black Adder, whose insults get better and better. As much as I love Black Adder though, I'll always have a soft spot for Baldrick, he is stupid and pathetic but he is utterly hilarious, Tony Robinson was perfect for that. Hugh Laurie is also wonderful as the equally stupid and somewhat naive Prince Regent(though he is much more naive in the fourth series), and the supporting cast of Stephen Fry, Ben Elton and Robbie Coltrane are just as brilliant. Overall, once again, a must see. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Hilariously funny.

Black Adder III finds our hero, played by Rowan Atkinson of course, the butler / assistant to Prince George during the reign of Mad King George.

This season follows the same successful formula as in Black Adder II: intelligent plot and dialogue, clever use of actual historic events and characters, incredibly funny skits and situations.

Baldrick (played by Tony Robinson) is still there. Hugh Laurie, who had a minor part in Black Adder II, is Prince George. Helen Atkinson Wood appears as Mrs Miggins, as does Stephen Fry as the Duke of Wellington and Robbie Coltrane as Dr Samuel Johnson.

For me, this is the best of the four Black Adder series. All four were brilliant, but S3 is the pinnacle. Sharp, clever writing and dialogue with some wonderfully over-the-top scenes. Superb.

This series of Blackadder depicts six madcap, daft, extremely anachronistic, and utterly hilarious episodes in the life of E. Blackadder Esquire, another misanthropic descendant of the notorious Blackadder dynasty who this time around serves as royal butler to the chronically stupid George IV during the Regency period. Assisting him over the course of this 'series' of surreal events is Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick, a descendant of another contemptible family line who, like his ancestors, has much to be desired in the intelligence department.

Although many tend to prefer the fourth series of Blackadder due to it's alleged poignancy; the superior wit, creativity, cynicism, and intelligence of this series makes it beyond a doubt the show's finest hour. The acting from all parties involved is excellent - Rowan Atkinson's neoclassical Blackadder is by far his best rendition of the character - and the setup of this series is far more agreeable than those of the others (mainly because Blackadder isn't being bullied and intimidated by any psychopathic authority figure here).

If you enjoyed the infantile Lord Percy of the past two series then you will be saddened by his absence (though Tim McInnerny does make a welcome appearance in episode three), but Huge Laurie's superb Prince Regent is a far more advanced and successful alternative that will more than fill that empty void.

A true British comedic triumph!

Like many others, I rate this series ahead of 1, but slightly behind 2 and 4; however, the scenes in the kitchen are uniformly brilliant and pants-wettingly funny. How Tony Robinson manged to keep a straight face while ramming unspeakable things up the nether regions of some poor piece of poultry I will never know, but they make great viewing. Check out Blackadder's rant about Wales in 'Amy and Amiability' if you don't believe me.

I suspect the reason I don't rate it quite as high as the 2nd and 4th series is that Prince "thick as a whale omelette" George was just too easy a mark, putting Blackadder basically in charge. In the other two, the comedy came from his being smarter than all his colleagues, but having no power to change events.

Nevertheless, it's a darn good romp, and full of the usual piquant observations about the times. And there's no shame in running a close second to absolute classics.

Another brilliant season of Black Adder. This time its set in the Regency Era where Rowan Atkinson is playing the character of Edmund Blackadder, as the butler to the Prince Regent played by Hugh Laurie. Hugh Laurie in something totally different than Doctor House like most people know him from. Totally different but great, which shows what a great sense of humor he has. Tony Robinson is still Baldrick, the dumb servant that is smarter than we want to admit. There are much more actors in this season, and they all bring something to the show. If you don't like British humor, or if you just don't get it, Black Adder isn't for you, but if you dig this kind of brilliant nonsense then you can't go wrong as Black Adder remains one of the best Brittish comedies ever.

In some ways, this is an accurate representation of elections in the 18th century. For example, in source a it says that people with land and money could only vote so yes not that many people had the vote, Also, in source d it says women kissed people for votes,Which means that fat corrupt tory land owners won the elections.

However, in other ways the episode is incorrect. For example, in source g it says the wigs won the elections more than the tories 379 wigs won seats in their constituencies against 178 tories Also, in source f it says that the wigs dominated parliament from 1915 to 1960,This means that It exaggerates things like fat tory land owners won the elections.

overall i give this episode 5 stars because it's not all right but it is very funny.

I own the DVD box set of all of the Blackadder series and this one and "Goes Forth" are my favorites, but I love them all. This series skips through history with tongue firmly planted in cheek and is just superb. I call it "smart yet silly" comedy. The British are, or were, pros at this. Seeing some more recent "Britcoms", as some of us Yanks call them, I lament that they are taking too much from our lame American sitcoms. The brilliance of the recent "Coupling" gives me hope for the future.

I really enjoy Rowan Atkinson and the cast of Blackadder. They are all fabulous, but Steven Fry just cracks me up as the Field Marshall in the Fourth Series.

To get back to the Third series I really enjoy the guest appearances of Tim McInnerny as Lord Topper/Le Comte de Frou Frou, Chris Barrie (of Red Dwarf and Brittas Empire fame) as the French Revolutionary Guard, and who can forget the role of Dr. Johnson played by the illustrious Robbie Coltrane (who later played Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter series of movies).

If you like "smart" comedy then check out Blackadder!!

From a comedy point of view, I don't think there are many better shows then Blackadder, in any of his guises. In the third run, he's at his most sarcastic, he's more cutting and nasty then ever before. Forced to buttle for the oafish and idiotic Prince Regent, he often takes out his frustrations out on the lowly Baldrick.

I love the fact that we get to see Mrs Miggins as was often mentioned in the second series, and indeed see the pie shop.

Every single episode is pure brilliance, if I had to chose a favourite, it would be Nob and Nobility, the writing was simply genius, totally hilarious and mad cap. Duel and Duality is also another favourite, largely due to the performance of Stephen Fry as Wellington, and his beating the Prince.

I did miss Tim McInnerny and Miranda Richardson as regulars, but their appearances were excellent.

Pure brilliance, love it 10/10