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

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

Blackadder is also usually one of the few intelligent people present at any given time and usually is surrounded by incompetent, stupid and at times mad servants, equals and superiors.

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 ).

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.

In this section, brief descriptions of the various Edmund Blackadders who have appeared in their own series or in another notable Blackadder production are provided.

The latter Edmund became the de facto archetype ; nearly all subsequent Blackadders in the series were modelled after Edmund, Lord Blackadder, the exceptions being MacAdder, who appeared as a cameo in the finale of Blackadder the Third, and Ebenezer Blackadder, who initially began as the nicest man in England to the point of naivete but who gradually fell back into the standard persona.

Laurie appeared in the music videos for the 1986 single " Experiment IV " by Kate Bush, and the 1992 single " Walking on Broken Glass " by Annie Lennox, in full Georgian-period costume, a toned-down version of his Prince George character from Blackadder the Third, opposite John Malkovich, similarly reprising his role of the Vicomte Valmont from Dangerous Liaisons.

He appeared as a Privy Councillor in Witchsmeller Pursuivant, an episode of the first series of Blackadder in 1983.

The first Melchett appeared in series two of Blackadder.

Although the character Melchett did not appear in the third series of Blackadder, Stephen Fry appeared in the final episode as The Duke of Wellington, portrayed as a loud, bellowing and bellicose warmonger with a tendency towards casual violence aimed at the serving classes ( in particular the incompetent and buffoonish Prince Regent, who was then disguised as his own butler ).

Lord Flashheart is the name of two fictional characters who appeared in two episodes of the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder.

The first Lord Flashheart appeared in a single scene of the first episode of the second series of Blackadder.

A more recent radio appearance was in The Ape That Got Lucky and has appeared in TV shows such as Press Gang, Chef !, Big Train, Blackadder the Third: Dish and Dishonesty, Chelmsford 123, Jonathan Creek, 15 Storeys High, Armstrong and Miller.

He also narrated the first series of Blackadder, and appeared in the last episode ' The Black Seal ' as Edmund's arch-nemesis, Phillip of Burgundy-known to his enemies as ' The Hawk '.

He also appeared as the drunken MP Sir Talbot Buxomly who died onscreen in an episode of Blackadder the Third and as the Beadle in Blackadder's Christmas Carol.

* The episode of Blackadder Goes Forth entitled Private Plane reuses scenes from the film during the flying sequence.

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.

In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000 and voted for by industry professionals, Blackadder Goes Forth placed 16th.

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

She returned to play Queenie in the Christmas special Blackadder's Christmas Carol and a special edition for the millennium Blackadder: Back and Forth.

Caroline is mentioned in the third series of the BBC comedy Blackadder, in which Mr. E. Blackadder dismisses Caroline as a potential wife for George because she " has the worst personality in Germany " ( allegedly " up against some pretty stiff competition ").

She is well known for her role as Mrs Miggins in Blackadder the Third ( co-written by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis ).

He is known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History.

Robinson came to prominence in 1983 for his role in the British historical sitcom Blackadder, as Edmund Blackadder's dogsbody Baldrick.

After Blackadder, Robinson became the narrator and one of the lead actors for the British animated series Nellie the Elephant, based on a song of the same name.

Notable acting roles include the lead in the film Wilde, Melchett in the BBC television series Blackadder, the titular character in the the television series Kingdom, a recurring guest role as Dr. Gordon Wyatt on the crime series Bones and as Gordon Deitrich in the dystopian thriller V for Vendetta.

A soldier under the pay of Bothwell, William Blackadder of the Clan Blackadder, was allegedly the first non-participant to happen upon the scene, and for that reason was initially treated as a suspect.

* In the episode " Dish and Dishonesty " of Blackadder the Third, Blackadder tells the Prince, who has been granted money by Parliament, to " take out the drawings for that beach hut at Brighton!

Although each Blackadder is positioned in a different place in British society over each series, generally falling in class over the centuries-starting out as the King's nephew at the very beginning of series one-before he mistakes his uncle for an enemy commander, kills him and allows his father ( played by Brian Blessed ) to assume the throne-and ending as a front line soldier ( a Captain ) in the British Army of World War I-there are certain common characteristics that each Blackadder shares.

After the death of Richard IV and Edmund's older brother, he is briefly King of England ; a lyric one of the closing credits for Blackadder II describes him as " a king / Although for only thirty seconds ".

Darling and Blackadder have a natural animosity towards one another, since Darling is aware that Blackadder is attempting to avoid his duty, while Blackadder hates Darling for his comfortable position several miles behind the front.