When I heard that this was appearing on TV I looked forward to it with relish as I thought it would be a bonus after the generally excellent quality that the 1980's Blackadder series provided.
However, despite one or two good moments this was a major disappointment. The main reason being that unlike the other Blackadder features, the inspiration has gone and there's an overriding feeling that this is merely a new instalment in the series just for the sake of it. Often humour is attempted merely by referring back to catchphrases that became famous on earlier Blackadder episodes; this aspect verges on self-parody and Baldrick's mention of a particularly laboured cunning plan is a notable example of this.
As is mentioned in the behind-the-scenes doco, extra time and effort is put into the special effects region as this was given a big-screen premiere at the Millenium Dome in 1999. Certainly the special effects are quite impressive but so what? What made this series so good was its wit (the Shakespeare bit is an exception) and that is unfortunately lacking from this effort.
The best thing that resulted from watching this was looking for Blackadder material on the Web and finding the full script to the hilarious 'Blackadder's Christmas Carol'. Unfortunately there's no comparison between the two.
However, despite one or two good moments this was a major disappointment. The main reason being that unlike the other Blackadder features, the inspiration has gone and there's an overriding feeling that this is merely a new instalment in the series just for the sake of it. Often humour is attempted merely by referring back to catchphrases that became famous on earlier Blackadder episodes; this aspect verges on self-parody and Baldrick's mention of a particularly laboured cunning plan is a notable example of this.
As is mentioned in the behind-the-scenes doco, extra time and effort is put into the special effects region as this was given a big-screen premiere at the Millenium Dome in 1999. Certainly the special effects are quite impressive but so what? What made this series so good was its wit (the Shakespeare bit is an exception) and that is unfortunately lacking from this effort.
The best thing that resulted from watching this was looking for Blackadder material on the Web and finding the full script to the hilarious 'Blackadder's Christmas Carol'. Unfortunately there's no comparison between the two.