Blackadder II - Blackadder, Season 2

It is difficult to decide whether I prefer Season 2 or Season 3 of Blackadder, but one thing I know for certain is that in Blackadder II, Rowan Atkinson is hot. That's right, I said it. Suddenly he has sex appeal, something which I never would have thought possible. It is not just his charm, which I do associate with him; instead, I believe it has something to do with his facial hair and those renaissance breeches and hoes.

We find Edmund Blackadder (Atkinson) in Renaissance England, a friend of Queen Elizabeth (played by the delightful Miranda Richardson). Here, he is very clever, easily outwitting his servant Baldrick (Tony Robinson), whose family has clearly become more dense over the years. Percy (Tim McInnerny), meanwhile, is delightfully foppish, and the addition of Stephen Fry as Lord Melchett completes a dynamic ensemble.

If such talent were not enough, the writing too has improved. Certainly, some of the humour is still over the top, but the brilliance of weaving the obvious with the witty as Blackadder pursues a young woman called Bob, whom he believes to be a young man, will make you laugh for days. Sure, that didn't start happening on stage until the restoration, but who doesn't associate the beginnings of drag with Shakespeare - when men fell in love with young men whom they believed to be young women.

The best episode of the season is the last, as is often the case, in which Hugh Laurie makes an appearance as Prince Ludwig the Indestructible. A terrific master of disguise, he surprises both Blackadder and Lord Melchett with revelations of previous encounters with them - none of them are what you would expect, and all of them are hilarious.

How can you go wrong with such a combination of wit, talent, and sexy clothes?

The Black Adder - Black Adder, Season 1

Rowan Atkinson may be best known in North America for his work as Mr. Bean, but to pigeon-hole him as an actor capable only of mute slapstick humour means to miss out on far better, far funnier work. The Black Adder, the first season of his historic comedy series, takes place just after the War of the Roses, and for fans of Richard III, the set up is already enough to win you.

Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh, known as the Black Adder (Atkinson) is the son of King Richard IV (Brian Blessed), who was not murdered by his uncle, but became king when Richard III was accidentally killed despite his victory at the battle of Bosworth Field. Henry Tudor, apparently, was definitely not a hero, but his creative writing was even better than previously believed. A terrific premise, even though these 6 episodes were the weakest of the series.

Edmund is quite the useless twit, and he surrounds himself by similar people. If his servant, Baldrick (Tony Robinson), was not the slightest bit more intelligent than he, well, things might have been even more difficult for the young prince whose greatest desire was to take the throne from his father and older brother. His best friend, Percy (Tim McInnerny), was even stupider, if that is possible to believe.

Still, the humour was clever as well as low brow, and the balance results in a show which is suited to anyone who is a fan of British comedy. Edmund's plots and the inevitable results cannot fail but put a smile on your face, and the complex humour which results from an understanding of the historical period, as well as Shakespeare, may have you in stitches for hours.

If you like Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean, this season will impress you even more, and if you only know him as such, Black Adder will give you a reason to love him for so much more than he could ever show as a mute.