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Blackadder Series 5?

Started by Phil_A, June 30, 2019, 02:48:49 PM

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Scrapey Fish

Reading that book that someone on here recommended, it's clear that after Goes Forth they abandoned their winning formula of having Lloyd and the cast massively rework the scripts. So even if Curtis and Elton can rediscover their magic, they're going to have to the guts to let the others loose again

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Jem Roberts' book? A much-missed member of this parish.

This clip is fascinating. The cast, as you say, actually changing and improving the script during rehearsals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv48gC5SGcI


Quote from: Gulftastic on July 01, 2019, 08:44:29 PM
Blackadder was all downhill after the almost perfect series 2. I can't see this reversing the trend.

Maybe they can tack on another unearned 'emotional' ending that people can rabbit on about for fucking years.

They all get blown up by Islamic extremists?  I suppose the BBC might do that, once those avian porcine beings have been genetically engineered into viability...

BritishHobo

#63
Aye, I don't quite understand the desire to set it now, or recently, and remove them from a political situation. Surely the whole joy of it was that it was taking stuffy history and showing all the grand historical figures to be pompous, stupid or cowardly. Long before Horrible Histories, just being daft with historical figures who've been taken seriously for centuries/decades. It's a completely different show if you lose that. I like the Cold War or MI5 ideas because it keeps that thing of having them in the outer circle of powerful idiots.

The Bald Rick thing has always sounded fucking weird, like they came up with that name and based the whole band premise around it. Every time it comes up, 'and Baldrick will be called Bald Rick!', like that's an elevator pitch. Did they come up with anything else about that series?

ajsmith2

Yous are probably all right Re the workability of The Blackadder 5, I just wanted to see a Blackadder visually inflected with the 'Groove is in the Heart'/Daisy Age early-90s-does- the-60s aesthetic, ok? Also, you can't deny, the Howard Goodall reworking of the theme tune in a beat group style would have been amazing.

Also, I think the only other concrete thing beyond Bald Rick the drummer and the punning title that has ever been confirmed is that Blackadder would be the titular groups manager/impresario. To me, that's your in to more political territory anyway as such figures would be wheeling and dealing across all strata of society in that 'classless society' swinging 60s way, mixing with everyone from nobility to politicians to gangsters etc so I think it would have had more wide reaching potential that people credit it with, the group just being the hook to lead you into the larger world of the 60s milieu. The only problem is, who would have made up the rest of the 5? George/Laurie as a foppish idiot vocalist is a given, but not sure about the other 3. I don't see how Fry and McInnery would really fit as 60s beat group members, maybe McInnery at a push. Maybe instead the joke would be that the other members keep changing or something.

imitationleather

We all remember that fad in the 1960s for pop groups comprising of elderly men.

ajsmith2

Quote from: imitationleather on July 02, 2019, 09:23:41 AM
We all remember that fad in the 1960s for pop groups comprising of elderly men.

Elderly? Uh? I was talking about if they'd made it in the early 90s when they were mostly only in their 30s and could have gotten away with playing slightly younger for the purposes of a comedy show. The slight exception was Tony Robinson who was in his mid 40s (and was in fact old enough  to have been a classmate of actual 60s pop star Steve Marriot) but since he I'm guessing he was down for an unglamorous Ringo Starr esque role he would have done ok too.

Of course if they made The Blackadder 5 today (or any other iteration of Blackadder) it would be shite in part cos of advanced years but I was referring to when they first floated the 60s idea in the early 90s.

imitationleather

Quote from: ajsmith2 on July 02, 2019, 09:31:33 AM
Elderly? Uh? I was talking about if they'd made it in the early 90s when they were mostly only in the 30s and could easily have gotten away with playing slightly younger for the purposes of a comedy show. The slight exception was Tony Robinson who was in his mid 40s (and was in fact old enough  to have been a classmate of actual 60s pop star Steve Marriot) but since he I'm guessing he was down for an unglamorous Ringo Starr esque role he would have done ok too.

Of course if they made The Blackaddder 5 today (or any other iteration of Blackadder) it would be shite in part cos of advanced years but I was referring to when they first floated the 60s idea in the early 90s.

I'm pretty sure I remember Tony Robinson going on about this idea as if it still had the potential to be made within the last ten years.

Beagle 2

Maybe they could set it in the Labour Party and have Tony Robinson playing the part of Tony Robinson.

Blumf

Did they skip too far forwards with Third and Forth? Kinda boxed themselves in when they hit the 20th century.

ajsmith2

Quote from: Blumf on July 02, 2019, 10:21:34 AM
Did they skip too far forwards with Third and Forth? Kinda boxed themselves in when they hit the 20th century.

Well they did do the Victorian era with the Christmas Carol in between those, although I bet that could have also sustained a whole series in it's own right.

Blumf

Well yeah, a 19th century Blackadder would have been great (as we saw hints of). and Patsy Byrne would have made a brilliant Queen Vic.

But also the skip from Second to Third missed out a fair bit of history too.

ajsmith2

Quote from: Blumf on July 02, 2019, 10:28:33 AM
Well yeah, a 19th century Blackadder would have been great (as we saw hints of). and Patsy Byrne would have made a brilliant Queen Vic.

But also the skip from Second to Third missed out a fair bit of history too.

Another glimpse into what could have been in that gap with The Cavalier Years https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SXf9-Z3jwk

They actually did that one out of order as it came after the 3rd, so I guess a precedent is kind of there for doing out of order ones. I do like how the rest go in chronological order though.

Panbaams

Quote from: ajsmith2 on July 02, 2019, 10:23:50 AM
Well they did do the Victorian era with the Christmas Carol in between those, although I bet that could have also sustained a whole series in it's own right.

In an interview from years ago Richard Curtis said that they tried to do a Victorian series where Edmund had siblings, but it didn't work. So they junked that in favour of the First World War, where there was an obvious army hierarchy that helped with the writing.

I'll have to dig this out. It was from around the time that the fourth series was released on video.

Panbaams

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on July 02, 2019, 01:02:08 AM
That's a great idea. Not if they made it now, obviously, but I think all concerned could've come up with the goods in the early '90s. Blackadder, Baldrick and George as low level MI5 agents, Melchett as their boss. Potentially very funny.

I believe that early ideas and conversations about doing a Blackadder spy series (Blackadder MI5? Blackadder 005?) evolved into Rowan Atkinson's "spy" series of Barclaycard adverts, which then evolved into the Johnny English films.

Blumf

Quote from: Panbaams on July 02, 2019, 10:37:32 AM
I believe that early ideas and conversations about doing a Blackadder spy series (Blackadder MI5? Blackadder 005?) evolved into Rowan Atkinson's "spy" series of Barclaycard adverts, which then evolved into the Johnny English films.

Must have been a link with his turn in Never Say Never Again as well?


BritishHobo

SURPRIIIIIIIIISE

Mr. A Source must be feeling very foolish right now.

St_Eddie

Quote from: TheMonk on July 02, 2019, 12:00:28 PM
But of course it's never happening.
https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/7385/blackadder-returns

Good.

Quote from: BritishHobo on July 02, 2019, 01:34:08 PM
Mr. A Source must be feeling very foolish right now.

No.  Just feeling very happy and smug that they managed to get their bullshit published.  A little power trip for a sad little loser with nothing better to do.

Jittlebags

Quote from: Blumf on July 02, 2019, 10:28:33 AM
But also the skip from Second to Third missed out a fair bit of history too.

Gaps between the series are roughly 80, 255 and 100 years, so they could have slotted a couple of series around the English Civil War and Jacobite Rebellion in between 2 and 3.

maybe it was happening, until Elton read this thread and thought better of it

gilbertharding

Quote from: therubiconhasbeencrossed on July 02, 2019, 02:55:39 PM
maybe it was happening, until Elton read this thread and thought better of it

Careful - someone on another platform will read this and tell everyone that's really what everyone here thinks.

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on July 01, 2019, 08:36:45 PM
The Wiki entry about actual historical Blackadders of note contains some gems.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Blackadder#Historicity
down the rabbit hole.

QuoteIn late May 1918, Blackader was relieved of command and replaced by Thomas Cubitt, a younger officer. This was not apparently due to incompetence or age – Douglas Haig had described Blackader's achievements with 38th Division as "excellent" – but due to illness; according to Gary Sheffield, he had fallen ill after "being licked by a rabid dog".

BritishHobo

Quote from: St_Eddie on July 02, 2019, 01:47:43 PM
Good.

No.  Just feeling very happy and smug that they managed to get their bullshit published.  A little power trip for a sad little loser with nothing better to do.

Absolutely. It's the idea The Sun ever actually found it credible that annoys me. Can't believe in the age of the internet we can still end up with so many people (myself included, no judgement) discussing things completely made up by some rando prick they're pretending is an insider.

The Lion King

funny to think that the time period that blackadder goes forth was set in, at the time of filming, is the equivalent to a new series being set around 9/11

DrGreggles


"I have a cunning plan" - Mohamed Atta

Autopsy Turvey

Quote from: ajsmith2 on July 02, 2019, 09:22:03 AM
I think the only other concrete thing beyond Bald Rick the drummer and the punning title that has ever been confirmed is that Blackadder would be the titular groups manager/impresario. To me, that's your in to more political territory anyway as such figures would be wheeling and dealing across all strata of society in that 'classless society' swinging 60s way, mixing with everyone from nobility to politicians to gangsters etc so I think it would have had more wide reaching potential that people credit it with, the group just being the hook to lead you into the larger world of the 60s milieu. The only problem is, who would have made up the rest of the 5? George/Laurie as a foppish idiot vocalist is a given, but not sure about the other 3. I don't see how Fry and McInnery would really fit as 60s beat group members, maybe McInnery at a push. Maybe instead the joke would be that the other members keep changing or something.

I've thought a bit about The Blackadder Five too over the decades, was always excited by the idea. I concluded that Fry would have had to be the head of Melchett Records, and that McInnerny would be A&R rather than in the band. I assume managerial shenanigans would take precedence over band activity, but it would be very tempting to bring in Flashheart on guitar, and Nigel Planer could bring back a Smedley on bass for a Bad News/Blackadder supergroup. Philip Pope would surely be a shoe-in for organist, perhaps fleshing out Leonardo Acropolis. Bob would be a roadie-cum-groupie. Baldrick can be Bald Rick as long as his full name is Bald Rick Baldrick, and he leaves the band at one point to join folk duo The Ploppies.

Noodle Lizard

Quote from: The Lion King on July 02, 2019, 11:13:35 PM
funny to think that the time period that blackadder goes forth was set in, at the time of filming, is the equivalent to a new series being set around 9/11

What?

gloria

Quote from: BritishHobo on July 02, 2019, 09:15:23 PM
Absolutely. It's the idea The Sun ever actually found it credible that annoys me. Can't believe in the age of the internet we can still end up with so many people (myself included, no judgement) discussing things completely made up by some rando prick they're pretending is an insider.


More likely The Sun never found it at all credible and spun the story deliberately from the flimsiest basis.