Blackadder Back & Forth (1999)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Paul Weiland

Writers:

Richard Curtis (television series "The Black Adder", "Blackadder II", "Blackadder the Third" and "Blackadder Goes Forth") &
Rowan Atkinson (television series "The Black Adder") ...

Genre:

Short | Comedy | History | Sci-Fi

Plot:

At a New Millennium Eve party Blackadder and Baldrick test their new time machine and ping pong through history encountering famous characters and changing events rather alarmingly....

Plot Keywords:

Time Machine | Friend | Millennium | Con | Cunning Plan

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Rowan Atkinson	...	Lord Edmund Blackadder / King Edmund III / Blackaddercus
Tony Robinson	...	Sod-Off Baldrick / Baldrickus
Miranda Richardson	...	Lady Elizabeth / Queen Elizabeth
Tim McInnerny	...	Archdeacon Darling / Duc de Darling / Duke of Darling
Hugh Laurie	...	Viscount George Bufton-Tufton / Georgius
Stephen Fry	...	Bishop Flavius Melchett / Melchett / General Melchecus / Wellington
Rik Mayall	...	Robin Hood
Colin Firth	...	William Shakespeare
Kate Moss	...	Maid Marian / Queen Marian
Patsy Byrne	...	Nursie
Simon Russell Beale	...	Napoleon
Jennie Bond	...	Royal Reporter
Crispin Harris	...	Friar Tuck
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Amanda Jane Manning	...	Lady in waiting
Tyronnosaurus Rex	...	Dinosaur

Also Known As:

Time for Blackadder (UK) (working title)
Untitled Blackadder Millennium Project (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

33 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS 70 mm

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

New Millennium Experience Company

Trivia:

The new lyrics for the closing credits (using a Bouncing Ball) are: Let joy fill every Briton's heart / For now the country's going to make it / At last a King who looks the part / At last a Queen who looks good naked / Blackadder, Blackadder, A monarch with panache / Blackadder, Blackadder He's got a nice moustache / Everything he wants he'll get / The world is now Blackadder's oyster / Most Prime Ministers are wet / But Baldrick he is even moister / Blackadder, Blackadder, A dog who's got his bone / Blackadder, Blackadder, A bastard on the throne / Blackadder, Blackadder, His beard is neatly curled / Blackadder, Blackadder, He's going to rule the world.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Just after Blackadder waves to his dinner guests and enters the time machine for the first time, you can see a blonde crew member wearing a red shirt pushing up the end of the drawbridge-like door to close it as Baldrick is climbing up through the trap door inside.

Quotes:

Blackadder: Well Balders, this is a turn up for the books. It seems that you have built a working time machine and are therefore, rather surprisingly, the greatest genius the world has ever known.
Baldrick: Thank you very much, my lord.

Movie Connections:

References "Blackadder Goes Forth" (1989)

Not as bad as reputation has it...

I understand why people think this is a dud compared to the rest of the Blackadder legacy. It isn't particularly remarkable. It isn;t as good as any of the series episodes of Blackadder (though it is better than the Christmas Carol special).

However, by the average standard for comedy, this is still enjoyable. It's cute. Admittedly, Blackadder was never good because of being "cute," but it works here. I suppose I liked it for the most part for the nostalgia value - 10 years after the last official episode, we see my favorite British comedians reunited (worth the price alone): Rowan Atkinson, Rik Mayall, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie... and all the rest. I was lucky enough to be in London during this show's run at the Millennium Dome, and now am proud to own it as part of the new DVD Blackadder set.

There are some great gags, and (for fans of British comedy) some great appearances. It's no "Bells" or "Dish or Dishonesty," but it makes me smile. And that's the important thing.