Blackadder/YMMV

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  • S
    • S2 Blackadder's Christmas Carol
  • S1
    • E01 The Foretelling
    • E02 Born to Be King
    • E03 The Archbishop
    • E04 The Queen of Spain's Beard
    • E05 Witchsmeller Pursuivant
    • E06 The Black Seal
  • S2
    • E01 Bells
    • E02 Head
    • E03 Potato
    • E04 Money
    • E05 Beer
  • S3
    • E01 Dish and Dishonesty
    • E02 Ink and Incapability
    • E03 Nob and Nobility
    • E06 Duel and Duality
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The show as a whole has

• Ear Worm: The theme song, in all its incarnations.
• Growing the Beard: Many fans prefer the seasons after the Retool.
  • Incidentally, Blackadder gains a literal beard in the second season, the first one after said Retool.
• Nausea Fuel: Occasional. Usually provided by Baldrick.

The Black Adder has

• Alas, Poor Villain: Prince Edmund. No matter how unsympathetic he is, you can't not feel sorry for him at the end.
• Complete Monster: Philip "The Hawk" of Burgundy. Which only increases his standing in the Black Seal's eyes.
• Crowning Music of Awesome: The ending theme
• What an Idiot!: Edmund, in the final episode, samples the wine even after seeing everyone else in court drop instantly dead from it.

Blackadder II has

• Non Sequitur Scene: The scene in "Bells" where Blackadder falls in love with "Bob", which suddenly turns into a love song album commercial, for no discernible reason.
• Complete Monster: The Bishop of Bath and Wells.
• Evil Is Sexy: Blackadder II
• Growing the Beard: According to popular opinion, this is the season where it happened.
  • Also this happens Edmund Blackadder.
• Nightmare Fuel: The Stinger to the "Chains" episode probably qualifies.
  • After the credits, we hear a tolling bell and eerie wind noises (from the intro to Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend") as the camera pans over the murdered bodies of Edmund, Percy, Queenie, Nursie, Baldrick, and Melchett. We then see Queenie there, alive and well, before she turns to the camera, gives a chuckle in a strange voice and says, in the master of disguise Prince Ludwig's voice, "Now this is a disguise I'm really going to enjoy. If I could just get the voice right." A CREEPY end to the season.
• The Woobie: Lord Percy Percy. Despite being constantly insulted by Lord Blackadder, he would anything for him and sees his insults as nothing more than his friend being witty.

Blackadder the Third has

• Acceptable Targets:
  • Nothing like repeatedly insulting the French.
  • And the Welsh. Really, this season is quite merciless.
  • Ditto Germans.
  • Politicians too:

Blackadder: Criminal record? Baldrick: Absolutely not. Blackadder: Oh, come on, Baldrick, you're going to be an MP, for God's sake!

• • And actors:

Blackadder: You mean they actually rehearse? I thought they just got drunk, stuck on a silly hat and trusted to luck.

• • Judges too:

Blackadder: Well, you could appoint him a high court judge. George: Is he qualified? Blackadder: He's a violent, bigoted, mindless old fool. George: Sounds a bit overqualified!

• Cargo Ship: Lord Sod-off Baldrick has a relationship with his turnip.
• Crowning Moment of Funny: Blackadder in "Dual and Duality": "A man may fight for many things: his country, his principles, his friends, the glistening tear on the cheek of a golden child... But personally, I'd mud-wrestle my own mother for a ton of cash, an amusing clock and a sack of French porn!"
• Magnificent Bastard: This series's Blackadder is a prime example, certainly the most outright evil and manipulative of the dynasty. The only one who not only doesn't die at the end of his series, but actually achieves his goals. The one in Blackadder: Back & Forth does too, admittedly, but he had a time machine - Blackadder the Third's Blackadder did it with just his cunning and wit.
• Out-of-Character Moment: Baldrick's poem about Prince George is unusually witty for the Baldrick of the third season.

Blackadder Goes Forth has

• Ensemble Darkhorse: Lord Flashheart. His role is greatly expanded from his previous incarnation's, but he still only appears in one episode.
  • Given that nowadays there's a heightened awareness of hate crimes, Flash shooting the Red Baron in cold blood and then yelling a homophobic insult at his corpse is pretty awkward to watch. Not that it wasn't in character.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Blackadder flirting with Nurse Mary.

Blackadder: Yes, why not? When this madness is finished, perhaps we could go cycling together. Take a trip to the Old Swan at Henley and go for a walk in the woods.

• Ho Yay: "Baldrick, I love you. I want to kiss your cherry lips and nibble at your shell-like ears."
• Moral Event Horizon: Comedy or not, by the end you are not going to like General Melchett.
• Older Than They Think: Much of the anti-war themes, tropes, and character archetypes relating to World War I (or the Great War, if you prefer) are present in the British war comic series written by Pat Mills and drawn by Joe Colquhoun, "Charley's War."
• Tear Jerker: Highly unusual for a comedy series, but the last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth cannot fail to bring tears to anyone's eyes.
  • It aired on Remembrance Sunday with no complaints. Such is its power.
  • It's made all the more heartrending in the audio only version (radio broadcast, I believe), where, since you can't see them, you have to imagine them going over the top, and as the sad reprise of the main theme is happening, you can hear a line each uttered by a character earlier in the episode; George: "We've had some good times, we've had some damn lovely good laughs.", Baldrick: "I thought it was going to be such fun, too.", Darling: "But sir, I don't want to...", and Blackadder himself: "Good luck, everyone...".