User Reviews

This was a welcome addition to the original four series of Black Adder. It is strong on humor and it being one episode, it doesn't get stale or have any comedic lulls.

This is sort of an "anti-Christmas Carol" where this Black Adder is the complete opposite of all the previous ones. He is unbelievable kind and giving and as a result, everyone takes complete advantage of him. After being used by pretty much everyone, one of the Christmas Ghosts accidentally comes to his home. Realizing his mistake, the ghost praises Black Adder for his goodness BUT makes the mistake of staying to talk with Black Adder. He accidentally agrees to show him his past incarnations (such as Edmund from "Black Adder 2" and the future Master of the Universe Black Adder). From this accident, Black Adder realizes being nice is for the birds and his future is bright, indeed, if he is 100% selfish and rotten! Nice moral to the story, huh?

I think one of the reasons I love this show so much is that there have been too many versions of "A Christmas Carol"--and few of them are that inspired to make them worth making in the first place. After all, we have some excellent versions of the original story and I think the only reason we could use more is if the story is DIFFERENT and not the same old same old--and "Blackadder's Christmas Carol" certainly is different!

The obligatory Christmas special it seems is something that every British sitcom has to do at least once in it's run and none managed it quite as well as this. Four incarnations of Blackadder are present: Elizabethan, Regency, Victorian and Space-Age versions. It's the third of those on whom we focus.

"Mr Ebenezer Blackadder is the nicest man in England," says the narrator (Hugh Laurie) and immediately we know there's something wrong. Don't panic though, Rowan Atkinson still give us a man as sarcastic and cynical as we'd hope for. This time round he's merely not nasty. He is rather gullible though, something for which advantage is taken of him repeatedly and orphans, goddaughters and monarchs all cheat him out of cash, food and presents. Other Blackadders would listen to Baldrick's (Sir Tony Robinson) advice not to give in to them but this one is too kind to refuse them.

Robbie Coltrane as the spirit of Christmas is an incredible piece of casting by the production team and his character shows up over night to tell Blackadder to keep up the good work, congratulating him for not being like his ancestors.

Cue some classic Blackadder II, via flashback, as Lord Edmund cheats Melchett (Stephen Fry) and Queenie (Miranda Richardson) into signing an execution order for Melchett. All the regulars of series two are present, sadly minus Tim Mcinnerney, and revisiting the Elizabethan court is a delight.

Next it's on to Blackadder The Third as Edmund cheats the Prince out of his Christmas presents with one of the finest cunning plans we'll see in the whole series. This leads to one of the greatest twists you'll ever see in a TV show. I won't ruin it for you, since it's a reveal everyone deserves to experience at least once spoiler-free.

So, what if Ebenezer became bad? The spirit is unwilling to reveal it, but he eventually does as Blackadder sees a descendant become ruler of the universe if he becomes bad or be a half-naked slave if he becomes good. It's a no-brainer: Bad guys have all the fun!

The future segment is done with a deliberate level of cheesy effects and music - think oldschool Dr Who and you're almost there - and to see this new Blackadder is an incredible moment. I'll always welcome a new incarnation of the title character and if we ever do get Blackadder V this should be the setting for it.

In short, this is an excellent addition to the Blackadder series and is actually better than many of the "main" episodes serving as a nice substitute for pathetically wet christmassy television and a great entry point for new fans to meet Blackadder for the first time. It's a shame IMDb only let's you give ratings up to ten because this deserves to get 11/10. Not to be missed.

(POSSIBLE SPOILER) If all people sincerely practiced good will toward others and businesses only marketed their goods to spiritually enlighten their customers during the Yuletide season, BLACKADDER'S CHRISTMAS CAROL would've been pointless and repugnant. But since at Christmas time, many people only behave nicely in order to impress others and businesses peddle a variety of junk- including crass holiday movies- for money, what could be a greater relief from all this humbug than a reverse Scrooge story about "the nicest man in England" who after seeing ghostly visions on Christmas Eve, becomes "the horridest man in the world."

Even if one is not familiar with the popular BLACKADDER series with Rowan Atkinson as the scheming, sharp-witted Blackadder and Tony Robinson as his moronic assistant Baldrick, one can still enjoy this Christmas special. Much of the appeal of the special is the "turning of the worm" theme. Because the pre-visions Ebenezer Blackadder (Atkinson) is thoroughly sweet and generous, he is an easy pushover for avaricious hangers-on. He also seems repressed by his saintliness. Atkinson expresses his amiability in a strained manner, particularly when spouting inanities like "Well, bless my ten toes!"

Therefore Atkinson's transformation after witnessing the humorously despicable behavior of his ancestors and descendant (also played by Atkinson) is not only cathartic but thoroughly convincing. As he effortlessly and buoyantly expresses his meanness toward his tormenters, one is convinced that Ebenezer's character hasn't actually changed. Rather, he has shed a facade in order to divulge his true nature.

The final sequence suggests that benevolence, not misanthropy, is the key to true happiness. Yet it is presented in the same irreverent humorous manner as the rest of the program and avoids sentimentality so the viewers aren't betrayed. A wickedly funny show with hilarious performances (particularly Robbie Coltrane as a fumbling Christmas Spirit and Jim Broadbent as a dense Prince Albert) and witty dialogue ("Think nothing of it, Baldrick- I, after all, think nothing of you."), BLACKADDER'S CHRISTMAS CAROL can be enjoyed any time of the year.

It is tradition that all successful comedy programmes/sitcoms should have a Christmas Special, and this was no exception. Rowan Atkinson plays Ebenezer Blackadder, but there is a twist, because Blackadder is usually nasty, they decide to twist the story of Scrooge. So he is a generous man who gives to the poor, but hardly saves anything for himself, or Baldrick (Tony Robinson). One night he is visited by the Spirit of Christmas (Robbie Coltrane) who mentions about Blackadder's past relatives, and how terrible they were. So he shows him Lord Edmund Blackadder (from Blackadder II), Edmund Blackadder (from Blackadder the Third), and future Esq./Cmdr. Edmund Blackadder. The ghost convinces him that if he is bad, he can become rich and powerful like his relatives, so he does! Is this a happy ending? Also starring Miranda Richardson as Queen Elizabeth I/Asphyxia XIX, Stephen Fry as Lord Melchett/Lord Frondo, Hugh Laurie as George, the Prince Regent/Lord Pigmot, Miriam Margolyes as Queen Victoria, Jim Broadbent as Prince Albert and Patsy Byrne as Nursie. Rowan Atkinson was number 18 on The 50 Greatest British Actors, he was number 24 on The Comedians' Comedian, and he was number 8 on Britain's Favourite Comedian, Edmund Blackadder was number 3 on The 100 Greatest TV Characters, and he was number 3 on The World's Greatest Comedy Characters, and this special was number 9 on The 100 Greatest Christmas Moments. Very good!

SPOILERS Every Christmas it is the same thing. You wake up on Christmas Day, you spend the day with family and you eat Turkey. Every year as well, we always have at least one version of Charles Dickens' classic novel "A Christmas Carol". Talking about the transformation over night of Ebenezer Scrooge from nasty to nice, the tale is one of the most well known around.

In 1988 however, we had an alternative to life. A spoof of Dickens' novel saw the light of day. Poking fun at the story and fitting it into the Blackadder family, we were given a Christmas present to remember.

In Victorian London, one of the nicest men around was Ebenezer Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson). A kind businessman who constantly gave money and food away to the poor, Blackadder and his associate Baldrick (Tony Robinson) were short of money, but happy none the less. On Christmas Eve however, Blackadder was visited by the Spirit of Christmas (Robbie Coltrane) and things were about to change.

This retelling of the classic tale but in a sort of reverse is brilliant because it allowed us to see new sketches for the Elizabethan and Georgian Blackadders. Bringing back all the old characters, Melchett (Stephen Fry), Queen Elizabeth (Miranda Richardson), Nursie (Patsy Byrne) and Prince George (Hugh Laurie), this episode also granted us a view into the future with the two ways the Blackadder family might evolve.

Not without flaws, this episode did contain the incredibly annoying character of Millicent (Nicola Bryant), but written that way, it's difficult to really fault the character. Likewise the three fat orphans and their master Beadle (Denis Lill). Ultimately though, whether these characters are irritating or not, it is so good to see the old ones return, as well as a spirited performance (get it?) by Robbie Coltrane as the Ghost of Christmas, that all the negative characters are forgiven.

All in all, "Blackadder's Christmas Carol" is brilliant. Funny throughout, it reminds us of why we love the series and it continues to entertain after multiple viewings. Well worth getting a copy of.

This is a 43 minute Christmas special from over 25 years ago. Well.. what can I say: The whole thing is very British from start to finish, but only rarely actually funny. But this perception may also be because I was never a great fan of Rowan Atkinson's humor. However, I love Stephen Fry and don't mind Hugh Laurie and Jim Broadbent. It's a pretty different version of Charles Dickens' famous "Christmas Carol". The film's director is not particularly known, but the writer is. It's the man behind the very successful "Love Actually".

The worst thing about this one is probably the really annoying audience laughter. They are really losing it about unfunny sequences like the "subtle plans" part or also think it's funny to talk about peeling one's tangerines. They really burst out with laughter on that one. Or when Atkinson's character has a fist as a present for the other guy near the end and just keeps hitting him repeatedly. Absolutely not funny at all. Fairly embarrassing try-hard humor, in fact. There are lots of spectacular costumes in here, but the script really leaves me wanting for more. A lot more. The best thing for me was maybe the catchy Blackadder melody in Christmas fashion. Everything else is very forgettable here. Not recommended.

Throughout the ages Edmund Blackadders have been knaves to a man… that is until this one; he is the nicest man in all of England. He is generous to a fault, giving all of his money, not to mention Christmas presents and even his Christmas lunch to others. These others include Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who are searching for the most generous man in London to reward him. As he prepares to go to sleep he is visited by the Spirit of Christmas. This spirit compliments him on his goodness and mentions how he tries to show bad people the errors of their ways by showing them visions of their lives… he also tells Blackadder how bad his ancestors were and agrees to show him.

We then see visions of Elizabethan Blackadder and Regency Blackadder as they deviously profit from those around them. Blackadder asks who thinks would change if he were evil… in the distant future his decedent would rule the universe but if he continues to be good things will be very different. Needless to say by the morning Blackadder learns an important lesson… bad guys have all the fun! Those who know him are in for a surprise.

This is a solid one off episode of Blackadder. It was fun to see a good Blackadder for once… even if he quickly becomes the man we expect him to be. There were plenty of laughs to be had; unfortunately some of these are rather spoilt by an obtrusive laughter track. I really liked the scenes were we revisited Blackadders past and got to see old favourite characters again. The future scenes were also rather amusing as they play with some more naff sci-fi tropes. If you are a Blackadder fan this is a must see, if you haven't seen previous series this will probably still be amusing but obviously not as funny as if you know the characters.

Great comedy, a reverse Scrooge starts good then becomes an utter c***. Brilliant.

Blackadder Christmas Carol was a brilliant film which saw many characters of the TV series return. It gave a good spin on A Christmas Carol whereby Scrooge (Blackadder) was good (a first for any Blackadder) and the 'spirit of Christmas' showed him visions of his ancestors that encouraged him to be bad.