User Reviews

I saw this not long after it debuted and I remember feeling a bit disappointed. However, as I have just bought the Blackadder mega-set, I thought I'd give it a try once again. Well, now after having see this hilarious special, I must assume back when I first saw it, I was out of my mind, as it was absolutely wonderful from start to finish! The show begins in the present. It's New Year's Eve and Edmund is having a few friends over to celebrate--and to rob them blind. His plan is to construct a fake time machine and use it to dupe his friends out of money that they will bet him. However, surprisingly, Baldrick's reconstruction of a supposed DaVinci machine actually works and the two of them are, for some time, stuck in time--unable to find their way back. In the process, unfortunately, they do some significant things to alter time and when they return, the British are all subjects of France--as, thanks to Edmund, the French won at Waterloo and subsequently invaded Britain! There's a lot more to it than this--with probably the best ending of any Blackadder series. It's then up to them to undo undo the damage they caused. I won't say more--it would spoil the fun.

Exquisitely written and laugh out loud fun, this is a show not to be missed by fans of these lovely shows.

This movie is quite fun, as you see all the cast reunited (Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie, Tim McInnerny, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson). It was also great to see Rik Mayall and Patsy Burne make a return. However, I felt that there was something lacking, something that the TV series had that made it so special. The jokes (like the clotted cream one) seemed a bit forced at times to me.

However, Blackadder Back and Forth wasn't bad. I really enjoyed both Darlings at the Battle of Waterloo; however I was really disappointed by the Duke of Wellington in this scene. Not a single BAAAH! out of him. (Dual and Duality is one of the funniest TV episodes I have ever seen.) I also liked how Baldrick's underpants wiped out the dinosaurs.

The only bit of history that Blackadder and Baldrick didn't change!

This short reformation of the Blackadder gang came ten years after the final series, and was put together to run in the ill-fated Millennium Dome, that Greenwich white elephant opened to celebrate the arrival of the 21st century.

Blackadder has built a 'time machine' which he has put together to impress his appalling dinner guests. Taking Baldrick with him he plans to bring back an array of disgusting items to prove he's been away - of course, it is initially a scam, but ...

Through their time travel, our heroes manage to change the course of history in more than one epoch - Edmund steals Maid Marian from Robin Hood (an OTT Rik Mayall with more than a whiff of Flashheart about him); he convinces Shakespeare - a morose Colin Firth - not to be a writer (and punches him for all the boring plays he wrote); he causes Napoleon to have slightly different fortunes than history dictated (Napoleon played by the stage actor Simon Russell Beale); and so on.

All the usual cast are back - alongside Rowan Atkinson and Tony Robinson there's Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Tim McInnerny, and Hugh Laurie. There are in-jokes, too - Jennie Bond appears in her guise as Royal Reporter, but in a different era (just as Vincent Hanna did election reporting for Baldrick v William Pitt the Even Younger in Blackadder the Third).

Overall, though, this short episode is a bit sparse on ideas, and feels strained. After the long wait, and the long build-up, it was just disappointing when it finally appeared.

SPOILERS To celebrate the millennium, people did some very stupid things. One of the most noteworthy however was the Government spending huge amounts of money to create a large exhibition to celebrate it. Spanning the whole of 2000, the exhibition, housed in the hideous Millennium Dome, included one potential thrill, the return of Edmund Blackadder. Released long after on video and DVD, "Blackaddr Back and Forth" probably felt like a great way to reunite, but ultimately it has little going for it and should never have been made.

To celebrate the turn of the century, Lord Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) invited his closest friends to join him for a meal. Using a copy of Leonardo Di Vinci's actual blueprints of a time machine, Blackadder has servant Baldrick (Tony Robinson) build a copy for a prank. To his surprise though, Baldrick does such a good job, the machine actually works. Travelling through time, Blackadder attempts to get home only to learn that time travel has potential consequences.

Written by Tony Curtis and Ben Elton, this half an hour long episode probably seemed like a good idea originally. Unfortunately however, this reunion of original staff might have been fun to make, but it's not particularly good to watch.

Firstly, ignoring the issue of a Blackadder being witty and intelligent any time before the pathetic wimpy Edmund of the first series, the short scene at Hadrians Wall is incredibly mediocre. As Blackaddercus and Baldrickus, Atkinson and Robinson are not too bad. The problem emerges with the awful lines given to Hugh Laurie as Georgius and Stephen Fry as General Melchecus. Given a short skirt for cheap laughs, Stephen Fry recites a large amount of Latin before then making a traditional Melchett sound afterwards. This scene remains benign of humour and is completely pointless.

Next, to attempt to bring back an old classic, and personally a massive favourite, the two writers probably thought it would be an idea to reintroduce the character of Queen Elizabeth. Whilst a nice idea, the scene is done so badly, that it actually puts you off the story before it's properly started. As Elizabeth, Miranda Richardson reprises the role which she did so well, but whilst thirteen years ago the character had a natural feel of childlike nature and humour, now it feels awkward and forced. This is sadly partly due to the performance of Richardson who doesn't look as comfortable in the role as she once did.

The inclusion of Kate Moss as the love interest is also a huge error in judgement. Whilst there's little denial that Moss is a beautiful woman, she is pointless as Maid Marion of Sherwood, albeit not quite as much so as Rik Mayall as Robin Hood. With the notable exception of Bob, there is no woman that has really been good enough for Blackadder, and by adding Kate Moss to the mix, it just doesn't feel right.

To try and say something nice about this woeful mistake, the appearance of Colin Firth as William Shakespeare is a definite plus. Only on team for a short time, he doesn't necessarily need to put in the greatest of performances, but the way in which Blackadder insults the great bard and pokes fun at Kenneth Branagh is definitely a highlight.

Sadly, apart from the short scene involving Shakespeare, there is little else positive to say about "Back and Forth". Given a random name which does little except to confuse it with "Blackadder Goes Forth", it is a programme which never should have been made. It lowers the overall picture of Blackadder and it should be ignored whenever possible.

Written specifically for the opening of the Millennium Dome, the idea of a reunion was probably a really appealing idea for cast and writers of the "Blackadder" series. Unfortunately though, the end product was a calamitous mistake. Mediocre in story and humour, the episode was also given a dire title. We can forgive the cast and writers for wanting to meet up again and have a laugh, but we can't forgive them for making such a mess of the final version. A dire mistake.

When the Millennium was coming close they built a special building in London called the Millennium Dome, they made this special film to be played in the cinema of the Dome. Richard Curtis and Ben Elton's wonderful comedy sitcom characters have returned after ten years to do a special final edition to the saga (the final member of the Blackadder family, to date). Rowan Atkinson as Lord Edmund Blackadder and his friends George (Hugh Laurie), Melchett (Stephen Fry), Darling (Tim McInnerny) and Lady Elizabeth (Miranda Richardson) sit down to dinner to celebrate the New Year, new Century and Millennium. The very good Baldrick (Tony Robinson) is also there providing a disgusting dinner. Blackadder then tells his chums he has made a time machine, he shows them and he bets them £10,000 each that he can time travel and bring back historical items. They all except the bet and ask for separate items. It's after Baldrick and Blackadder get into the machine and pull a lever that they do actually time travel, but it was meant to be a prank! Also starring Rik Mayall as Robin Hood (Woof!), Colin Firth as William Shakespeare, Kate Moss as Maid Marian and Patsy Byrne as Nursie. It was nominated the BAFTA Situation Comedy Award. Edmund Blackadder was number 3 on The 100 Greatest TV Characters, and he was number 3 on The World's Greatest Comedy Characters. Very good!

The first and essential element is the set of actors and first of all Rowan Atkinson. That is pure English comedy based on totally anachronistic and crazy situations, on witty puns that nearly or most of the time have to do with what is generally under the belt of most people but that is floating on top of the mind of these comedians. It is supposed to make you laugh and nothing else and it ridicules all historical characters and situations: Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, Georges VI or some other Prince of Wales, the First World War, Robin Hood and I guess they avoided Peter Pan because he might only be marginally historical, though Pitt Junior is a real hit, definitely under the belt at the level of the comforter, if you see what I mean. It even turns upside down the famous Christmas Carol. As for the Time Machine it is completely twisted around in all directions, back and forth for sure, to make a sort of self-centered social climbing, politically opportunistic remake of Back to the Future more than the Time Machine, but the principle is the same. So Sir Edmund Blackadder finishing King Edmund I is at least hilarious. H.G. Wells is betrayed since for him you cannot change the past and Zemeckis is betrayed just the same since you are not supposed to use your time travelling to recuperate some personal advantage from it. I must say though this type of comedy is light maybe slightly too light, but it is good indeed.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID

Blackadder Back and forth is a brilliant film where favourites of the TV series' get together for New Years Eve. Blackadder and Baldrick use a time machine to win a bet between the group, however change time in the process. In fixing the timeline Blackadder and Baldrick use the time machine to thier own advantage as the group in the present are suddenly watching the pain on TV where Blackadder in King Edmund III and Baldrick is the Prime Minister.

As with any TV reunion show this was going to get a mixed reception. The good news is that what we have here is another cracking entry to the saga of the Blackadders. The bad news is that we probably didn't need it.

Edmund tricks Elizabeth, Melchett, George and Darling (whatever happened to Percy?) with a fake time machine, built by Baldrick, to celebrate the millennium. This is Blackadder so of course it all goes horribly wrong when it actually works. What follows is a time-hopping adventure that sees our antiheroes on a mad dash back and forth through time until they eventually get back to the present. In France-occupied Britain. The series never wasted an opportunity to insult the french, and it does so again here (Garlic Pudding?!) with the same no-holds-barred approach as ever.

We get to see more new Darlings, which is welcome since that was lacking before, like the frenchman Duc De Darling at the battle of Waterloo a setting that gives us the chance to have Stephen Fry back as the (toned down) Wellington - a nice inclusion from the end of BA3.

It's all a bit too silly though. For instance in one scene the only joke is seeing Stephen Fry speak Latin without trousers (because Fry is gay so he must dress like that LOL) and at one point Baldrick kills an entire species with his underpants. Also lacking is he opportunity to revisit old settings. We only get to see the Elizabethan Court, but it's a different set and is an advert for polo mints & Tesco clubcard and all Nurse Bernard does is grin inanely. I know that's all she ever did before, but couldn't she have at least ONE line? That's not too much to ask is it? Apparently it is.

Still, can't really complain. This still balances out as a passable episode. It's just a shame that the potential isn't quite fulfilled. This should have been longer, so as to draw more upon the ideas in play here, because then it would've been great. If you want a good Blackadder special try the Christmas episode or comic relief short instead.

Basically if you consider watching this, it is probably not the first time you have come across Blackadder. I would rate the entire 33 minutes good, but not great. Sometimes the humor is spot-on, sometimes it is just childish and unfunny. These latter moments hurt the film even more as the whole air and appearance of Blackadder and this short film is fairly elitist, so it's a huge gap to bridge if they want to make humor on a character having sex with sheep credible. Anyway, the entire time traveling plot and what Blackadder did in these different periods was entertaining to watch. The ending when he returns back to his time could have been better and less self-indulgent. I am not the greatest fan of Blackadder, Mr. Bean or Rowan Atkinson's approach to comedy in general, but he was bearable in this one. And it also helped to see famous actors such as Hugh Laurie (wow he looks so young here), Colin Firth or Stephan Fry (a personal favorite) in many scenes here. All in all, I recommend this 15-year-old short movie by BAFTA nominee Paul Weiland.