So, continuing from last week, I have decided to rank my
top five favourite television shows of all time. Because you can never fairly
judge things until they are completed (see Allegiant
post for more about that), I am only listing shows that have finished their
television run. So this date may be slightly outdated, but on the bright side
everything is on Amazon Prime in case anybody wants to catch up!
Ah, Rowan Atkinson. Americans think you can’t talk and that
you have only ever been Mr. Bean, but I know better. Also, Hugh Laurie is
English and Miranda Richardson is a comedic actress as well as a dramatic one.
These misconceptions would all be cleaned up in America if people started
watching Blackadder. Blackadder is a classic British Comedy
poking fun at major eras in history. It’s
the oldest television show on my list, and the only English one (!), but I feel
that it is one of the greatest television comedies of all time.
In many ways, Blackadder
should be a recipe for Christine Television Indifference. The show is not serialized
at all; episodes can be watched out of order, and even out of season, and
everything will still make perfect sense. It is a comedy, while I prefer to
watch or adventure so I can dream about them and live vicariously through the
characters. But the humor of Blackadder is
what truly makes it shine. The writing is always sharp and full of sarcasm, and
Blackadder (all versions of him) is the voice of reason as well as the schemer
who is trying to rise to the top of the monarchy. There is always the iditotic
aristocrat, bumbling and usually the target of Blackadder’s, who is unaware of
both his idiocy and Blackadder’s true motives. Plus there are the small references
to history by trying to rewrite it, and Blackadder always failing.
The specials are also not to be missed. I love the Christmas
Special, where we see a version of Blackadder who is kind and gentle, who is told
by the Ghost of Christmas Past (a very young Hagrid!) that the Blackadder line
will become successful in the future if he becomes a bad guy now (it
backfires). There is also the Millennium Special, which is probably my favourite
episode of the Blackadder series. All of the main characters return to
celebrate the turn of the Millennium, when a time travel machine causes havoc.
This episode teaches the viewer many crucial things, such as what killed off
the Dinosaurs and how Shakespeare invented the ballpoint pen.
This all to say: go and do yourself a favor, and watch Blackadder already. It’s perfect for
those long, boring plane and car rides, and makes excellent background
television too if you are doing any chores around the house.
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