‘Blackadder’ Return Looking More Likely

A return of popular British TV show Blackadder is looking more likely. Sir Tony Robinson has said that all the BBC needs to do is afford Hugh Laurie’s fees. Everyone else seems onboard to take on a new version of the drama.

Blackadder ran for four seasons after first premiering in 1983. It also included numerous specials, with one made in 1999 for the Millennium Dome. Various seasons covered different time periods, including Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, the Victorian period and World War I. Robinson and Laurie were prominent actors in all the eras, along with Rowan Atkinson, who played title character Blackadder.

According to The Guardian, Robinson has spoken to almost all the cast, who are all interested in a new season. The 69-year-old did say that Laurie would be the problem, who has since gone on to find success on the big and small screen in the United States. His most recent show House ended in 2012, and it is believed that he was paid $250,000 per episode. Despite being British, he played a convincing American doctor in the show.

“I do think a new series of Blackadder is on the cards. I have spoken to virtually all the cast about this now. The only problem is Hugh’s fee. He’s a huge star now – or so he’d like to think.”

–Tony Robinson

There will be worry from many over the quality of the show. Robinson admitted to these worries himself, saying that there will be high expectations to continue in the way Blackadder left off. There are still many original fans alive, who remember the way the characters were when they were first on the show.

The idea of a new series will be a surprise to some. According to Huffington Post, there were reports in 2012 that there would be a Blackadder movie developed by comedic writer Ben Elton. Stephen Fry was against this, saying that the show had left on such a high note and going back was wrong. He likened the idea to a boxer going back after passing his sell-by date.

“There’s a lot of feeling that we left it on such a high note that it would be a bad idea to go back. There’s nothing worse than an overweight boxer past his prime lumbering into the ring past his sell-by date.”

–Stephen Fry

The time period for the new series is now up for debate. In 2008, Richard Curtis—one of the show writers—said that there was going to be a fifth season. He and Elton were going to set it in the sixties, and have Blackadder kill President Kennedy by mistake. It is possible that this idea will be used again, if the show does get the green light from the BBC.

“[Blackadder] was going to kill Kennedy and it would have been a mistake. We’d decided on the sixties because it was such a rich period. It was a time of dodgy entrepreneurs with their fingers in loads of pies.”

–Richard Curtis

Blackadder continues to be a popular program for comedy fans around the world. There are regular repeats of the program in the UK on the Gold network, which is popular for various comedy programs from around the same time period.

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