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Review

British comedian Rowan Atkinson headlines this side-splitting BBC comedy show that was produced as four separate series. The first, "The Black Adder I," is set in the darkest days of the Dark Ages and finds Atkinson as Prince Edmund, a weasly little Richard III-type coniver who's always looking for an angle to be next in line for daddy's (a hilariously over-the-top Brian Blessed) throne. "The Black Adder II" jumps forward to a quasi-Elizabethan era with Atkinson's character upgraded to Lord Edmund Blackadder. Also starring in the series are Miranda Richardson and Stephen Fry. "The Blackadder III" makes yet another historical leap to the court of King George III (yes, the one who went loony!) and Edmund now playing butler to the dim-witted Prince of Wales (Hugh Laurie). The final installment brings the proceedings into the 20th century with Capt. Edmund Blackadder creating hilarious disorder on the battlefields of WWI. The Black Adder I: Part One (1986, 100 min, Martin Shardlow): Peter Cook appears as the ghost of Richard III in "The Foretelling," which introduces the hapless Prince Blackadder; A visiting Scotsman thinks he's "Born to Be King"; Edmund is next in line to be "The Archbishop." The Black Adder I: Part Two (1986, 96 min, Martin Shardlow): Edmund pursues an eligible princess (Miriam Margolyes) in "The Queen of Spain's Red Beard"; The "Witchsmeller Pursuivant" tries to expell a curse of the king; Rik Mayall guest stars in "The Black Seal," in which Edmund plots to dethrone the king. Black Adder II: Parte the Firste (1986, 88 min, Mandie Fletcher): "Bells" introduces the great, great grandson of Edmund Blackadder, Edmund; Edmund has been appointed Minister of Religious Genocide and Lord High Executioner and promptly cuts off the "Head" of Lord Farrow; In "Potato," Edmund sets on a quest for new potatoes. Black Adder II: Parte the Seconde (1986, 89 min, Mandie Fletcher): Edmund tangles with a Bishop in "Money"; In "Beer," a puritanical aunt sends the Blackadder household into a frenzy; Edmund is in "Chains" thanks to a crazed Spanish interrogator. Black Adder III: Part 1 (1989, 89 min, Mandie Fletcher): Wily servant Blackadder tries to save his master from bankruptcy in "Dish and Dishonesty"; In "Ink and Incapability," a writer tries to get Prince George to approve a new dictionary; Blackadder is imprisoned in "Nob and Nobility." Black Adder III: Part 2 (1989, 89 min, Mandie Fletcher): Prince George hires two actors to help him rehearse a speech in "Sense and Senility"; In "Amy and Amiability," the Prince is dead broke and looking for a rich wife; The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Wellington duel it out in "Duel and Duality." Black Adder Goes Forth: Part I (1989, 89 min, Richard Boden): Captain Blackadder is introduced in "Captain Cook"; Cannibalism and war plans are features in "Corporal Punishment"; Baldrick becomes a "Major Star" after a Chaplin impersonation. Black Adder Goes Forth: Part II (1989, 89 min, Richard Boden): Rik Mayall guest stars in "Private Plane" as Blackadder is trapped between the Germans and a firing squad; Miranda Richardson guest stars as a nurse in "General Hospital"; Blackadder bids "Goodbyee" in the final episode.