Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC One period British sitcom, along with several one-off instalments.

Although each series is set in a different era, all follow the " misfortunes " of Edmund Blackadder ( played by Atkinson ), who in each is a member of a British family dynasty present at many significant periods and places in British history.

It is implied in each series that the Blackadder character is a descendant of the previous one, although it is never mentioned how any of the Blackadders manage to father children.

Each Blackadder and Baldrick is also saddled with the company of a dim-witted aristocrat whose presence Blackadder must somehow tolerate.

Blackadder II is set in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I ( 1558 – 1603 ), played by Miranda Richardson.

The principal character is Edmund, Lord Blackadder, the great-grandson of the original Black Adder.

Blackadder the Third is set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a period known as the Regency.

In the series, E. Blackadder Esquire is the butler to the Prince Regent, the Prince of Wales ( the prince is played by Hugh Laurie as a complete fop and idiot ).

Blackadder is joined by his batman Private S. Baldrick ( Tony Robinson ) and idealistic Edwardian twit Lieutenant George ( Hugh Laurie ).

The final episode of this series, " Goodbyeee ", is known for being extraordinarily poignant for a comedy – especially the final scene, which sees the main characters ( Blackadder, Baldrick, George, and Darling ) finally going " over the top " and charging off into the fog and smoke of no man's land to presumably die.

Another significant difference is that the character of Prince Edmund presented in the pilot is much closer to the intelligent, conniving Blackadder of the later series than the snivelling, weak buffoon of the original.

In a twist on Charles Dickens ' A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Blackadder is the " kindest and loveliest " man in England.

It is set on the turn of the millennium, and features Lord Blackadder placing a bet with his friends – modern versions of Queenie ( Miranda Richardson ), Melchett ( Stephen Fry ), George ( Hugh Laurie ) and Darling ( Tim McInnerny ) – that he has built a working time machine.

While this is intended as a clever con trick, the machine, surprisingly, works, sending Blackadder and Baldrick back to the time of the dinosaurs, where they manage to cause the extinction of the dinosaurs, through the use of Baldrick's best, worst and only pair of underpants as a weapon against a hungry T. Rex.

* Baldrick is a character in the BBC comedy series Blackadder played by Tony Robinson.

* Freddie Frobisher, the flatulent hermit of Lindisfarne, is featured in Blackadder the second, episode Beer.

Richardson is known for her role as a comedic Queen Elizabeth I, aka Queenie, in the British television comedy Blackadder II.

In the television comedy series Blackadder, Richard III is portrayed by Peter Cook in an alternative version of history as a doting, kindly man who treats his nephews with affection.

He is unintentionally killed by Edmund, the titular " Blackadder " ( Rowan Atkinson ), when Edmund thinks he is trying to steal his horse.

In addition to his acting on Blackadder, he also wrote and narrated several Jackanory-style children's programmes, encouraged by Richard Curtis.

Each Blackadder is also surrounded by various other figures who reappear over the series.

There is also usually another main character who is on a par with him in terms of intelligence and serves as someone for him to play games of one-upmanship with, such as Lord Melchett and Captain Darling, but these characters are typically sycophantic toadies who suck up to their superiors like Queenie and General Melchett, whom Blackadder himself is also forced to reluctantly serve.

Prince Edmund is the first man in the dynasty to refer to himself as ' the Black Adder ' ( although in Blackadder: Back and Forth, a centurion in Roman Britain also possesses a similar name ).

This Blackadder also appeared in an introductory sequence for Charles, Prince of Wales ' fiftieth birthday Gala Performance, in which he was supposedly organising a birthday show for Charles II ( also Fry ).

The series launched the careers of several high-profile actors and writers, and also led to other comedy series including Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and Alas Smith and Jones.

In the millennium special, Blackadder Back and Forth, Fry reprised the roles of The Duke of Wellington and Lord Melchett, and also played the Roman General Melchicus ( a character very similar to General Melchett ) and the modern-day Archbishop Flavius Melchett ( a character with slight similarities to both Lord Melchett and General Melchett ).

They are also the independent bottlers for Signatory Vintage, Cadenhead's, Blackadder, Douglas Laing's Old Malt Cask and Provenance.

She also appeared in two of the Blackadder specials ; Blackadder's Christmas Carol and Blackadder: Back & Forth.

She's also shown to treat Blackadder as if he was an infant.

The Ghost of Christmas Past gives Ebenezer Blackadder a glimpse of his ancestor Lord Blackadder at the Court of Queen Elizabeth, and Nursie also makes an appearance.

Although Darling only features as a main character for one series of the original Blackadder run, several of his ancestors and descendants are also portrayed by McInnerny, in keeping with the series ' ongoing motif of identical descendants.

The final Darling, however, is also a Blackadder and was portrayed by Atkinson in BBC promotional materials in 2002 ; the name Sir Osmond Darling-Blackadder suggests an unknown familial union between Blackadders and Darlings at some point in their histories.

As well as inheriting his name, Blackadder also appears to have inherited his ancestor's cohorts.

This Blackadder also seems slightly more ruthless than his ancestors and willing to engage in criminal behavior ( such as a highway robbery, and extortion ), being directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of a number of innocent and less-than-innocent people.

The Blackadder dynasty also seems to have maintained a close link with the Baldrick family line.

Captain Blackadder also has a cameo in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier, fighting at the Battle of Mons.

Mayall also played a very Flashheart-like Robin Hood in the millennium special Blackadder: Back & Forth.

* Bernard, a character from Blackadder II, who is usually only called by her title: Nursie

Although each series is set within a different period of British history, each character is part of the same familial dynasty and is usually called Edmund Blackadder.

Throughout each series, Blackadder is a self-serving, cynical opportunist concerned solely with increasing his own influence and status within his society ( and, usually, gaining a lot of money along the way ) rather than serving any idealistic goals.

Unlike most characters ( who are usually comic foils ), Darling is portrayed as a rival and intellectual equal to Blackadder, with whom he is always in conflict, and one who usually triumphs.

While his great-grandfather Prince Edmund was cowardly and slow-witted, Lord Blackadder, while still cowardly, is demonstrably more intelligent, more so in fact than most of the people around him, whom he usually regards with withering disdain.

Blackadder comes close to suffering that fate several times throughout the series, he always pulls through at the last minute, usually through dumb luck.