Blackadder's Christmas Carol

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“Blackadder's Christmas Carol”
Blackadder episode
Blackadder in Blackadder's Christmas Carol
Episode no.	Season – Episode –
Guest stars	Robbie Coltrane Miriam Margolyes Jim Broadbent
Written by	Ben Elton Richard Curtis
Directed by	R. Boden
Original airdate	December 23, 1988 (1988--)
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → – –

Blackadder's Christmas Carol is a one-off episode of Blackadder, a parody of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It is set between Blackadder the Third (1987) and Blackadder Goes Forth (1989), and narrated by Hugh Laurie. Produced by the BBC, it was first broadcast on BBC One on 23 December 1988.

Plot

Victorian moustache shop owner Ebenezer Blackadder is the nicest man in England. He is everything that Ebenezer Scrooge was by the end of the original story. He is generous and kind to everybody, and sensitive to the misery of others. As a result, everybody takes advantage of his kindness, and all but Mr. Baldrick view him as a victim, although even he is slighty more cynical than his ancestors. His business turns no profit, all his earnings going to charity and to con artists, and he lives a lonely, miserable life.

All this changes one Christmas Eve, when the Spirit of Christmas makes the mistake of calling round to congratulate him for his ways. The spirit lets him see shades of the past, the lives of his ancestors Lord Blackadder and Edmund Blackadder, the butler of the Prince Regent. Instead of being convinced that he is better than them, he grows to admire them and their wit. He asks the spirit to show him what could happen if he became like them. He sees a vision of a distant future where his distant descendant Admiral Blackadder is a successful, if ruthless, official of a Universe-spanning Empire about to marry the similarly ruthless and insanely ambitious Queen Asphyxia XIX, both planning to conquer the Universe. Blackadder asks the Spirit what will happen if he stays kind. As an answer, he sees an alternate vision of the same future era where his descendant is a semi-naked slave of the incompetent Admiral Baldrick.

Blackadder makes his decision, proclaiming, "Bad guys have all the fun." He wakes up a different man: bitter, vengeful, greedy for money, and insulting to everyone he meets. Although he is now more in control of his life, he misses a golden opportunity when he insults two strangers who had come to reward him for his reputed generosity. These are Queen Victoria and her Prince Consort, Albert. The episode ends with Blackadder looking startled when he is told the victims of his brushing-off were the royal couple.

Deleted Scene

There is an edit towards the beginning of the episode, after Baldrick talks about the dog in the Nativity play. Blackadder asks him "Weren't the children upset?" and Baldrick responds "Nah, they loved it. They want us to do another one at Easter. They want to see us nail up the dog." Most of this line is cut from video and most DVD releases, but it is still present when transmitted on television.

Cast

• Rowan Atkinson as Ebenezer Blackadder and Blackadder ancestors and descendants
• Tony Robinson as Mr Baldrick and Baldrick ancestors and descendants
• Robbie Coltrane as the Spirit of Christmas
• Jim Broadbent as Prince Albert
• Miriam Margolyes as Queen Victoria
• Miranda Richardson as Queen Elizabeth and Queen Asphyxia XIX (future)
• Hugh Laurie as Prince George and Lord Pigmot (future)
• Stephen Fry as Lord Melchett and Lord Frondo (future)
• Patsy Byrne as Nursie
• Nicola Bryant as Millicent, Blackadder's exploitative god-daughter (the DVD cover refers to the character as 'Awful Screeching Woman')

See also

• List of A Christmas Carol adaptations

External links

• Blackadder at the BBC
• Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) at the Internet Movie Database
• Transcript at Blackadder Hall.com

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