| "The Black Adder" | |
|---|---|
| Blackadder episode | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Black_Adder_pilot_titlescreen.jpg) Title screen of the pilot episode. | |
| Directed by | Geoff Posner |
| Written by | |
| Running time | 32 minutes |
"The Black Adder" is the pilot episode of the BBC television series Blackadder. Taped on 20 June 1982,[1] it features the original incarnation of the character Edmund Blackadder, played by Rowan Atkinson. Following this pilot, The Black Adder eventually went into production and the first six-part series was broadcast in 1983, but with a number of changes to the casting, characterisation and plot; while the transmitted series was set in 1485 and the years following the Battle of Bosworth Field, this untransmitted pilot was set in 16th century, apparently during the Elizabethan Era.[2]
A close adaptation of the script of the pilot episode was used for the second episode of the first series, "Born to Be King", which contains many similar characters, situations and lines to the pilot.
The pilot episode was broadcast for the first time on UKTV's Gold channel, on 15 June 2023 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the show.[3]
- ^ "Image of the shooting script cover". www.blackadderhall.com.
- ^ Marshall, David W. (2007). Mass market medieval: essays on the Middle Ages in popular culture. McFarland. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-7864-2922-6.
- ^ "Blackadder to be shown tonight". British Comedy Guide. 15 June 2023.