Born to Be King (Blackadder)
"Born to Be King" | |
---|---|
Blackadder episode | |
Episode no. | Series 1 Episode 2 |
Written by | |
Original air date | 22 June 1983 |
Guest appearances | |
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"Born to Be King" is the second episode of
Although "Born to Be King" was originally broadcast as episode 2 of the series, on later broadcasts and 2009 DVD releases it has been switched with episode 4, "The Queen of Spain's Beard".[1]
Plot
The story begins in 1486. The episode opens as
A year later, Harry plans a feast to celebrate Richard's impending return and entrusts Edmund with arranging the entertainments. Edmund grows increasingly frustrated, as the traditional troupe of
King Richard's military commander from Scotland, Dougal MacAngus, arrives for the feast and mistakes Edmund for a eunuch. Edmund's bad mood worsens when MacAngus asks for land in Scotland as a reward for his service, the
Later, Edmund has the chance to examine the letters himself. They are dated 1460, his brother's year of birth, and Edmund concludes that they prove that Harry is an illegitimate child and placing Edmund first in line to the throne of England. Eagerly, Edmund reveals the letters to the Royal court; his illegitimacy being revealed, Harry renounces the regency. As MacAngus claims that Richard IV was last seen entering Constantinople to face 10,000 Turks alone and armed with only a fruit knife, Edmund has himself announced king: "The King is probably dead, long live the King!" At that moment, however, Richard IV makes a grand entrance, stating that he survived "thanks to my trusty fruit knife!".
Edmund is surprised but tries to show the letters to his father. It is found that the letters date from November–December 1460, nine months after Harry was born, and nine months before Edmund was born, thus suggesting that Edmund is a
Cast
The closing credits of this episode list the cast members "in geographical order".[2][3]
- The Laird of Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles
- Richard IV of England
- MacAngus, Duke of Argyll
- Percy, Duke of Northumberland
- Gertrude, Queen of Flanders
- Harry, Prince of Wales
- Tony Robinson as Baldrick, Bachelor of the Parish of Chigwell
- Jumping Jew of Jerusalem
- Joolia Cappleman as Celia, Countess of Cheltenham
- Sir Dominick Prique of Stratford
- Martin Soan as the 2nd Wooferoonie
- Malcolm Hardee as the 3rd Wooferoonie
- David Nunn as the Messenger
Production
As Edmund begins to plot against Dougal McAngus, he has a brief exchange with Baldrick which marks the development of Baldrick's "cunning plan" catchphrase.[4] Actor Tony Robinson later realised the potential for repetition as a comedic device and inserted it into the script of episode 5, "Witchsmeller Pursuivant".[5]
Edmund: Perhaps we need something a little more cunning.
Baldrick: I have a cunning plan.
Edmund: Yes, perhaps, but I think I have a more cunning one.
Baldrick: Mine's pretty cunning, my lord.
Similarities to the pilot episode
The plot of Born to Be King contains a large proportion of material which was originally written for the
The pilot episode differs from Born to Be King a number of respects:[7]
- The pilot episode is set some 100 years later in the 1580s.
- The cast includes different actors playing certain roles – The King, Prince Harry, and Baldrick are played by John Savident, Robert Bathurst and Philip Fox respectively. Prince Harry is named Prince Henry.
- Edmund's character is much more like that of his descendants in the other series: more sarcastic, intelligent and cruel. By contrast, Baldrick and Prince Henry are much stupider than their counterparts in this episode.
- In the pilot, the King is not at the crusades, but at home.
- The event being celebrated is the Queen's birthday, rather than St. Leonard's Day. The pilot also specifies that the reason the Eunuchs will not attend is because Edmund is refusing to pay them, though he still orders them executed anyway.
- MacAngus discovers that Edmund's parentage is in doubt at the same time as the rest of the court, rather than knowingly setting him up to reveal it. Edmund himself is also the person who realises the mistake with the birth dates, rather than Prince Henry/Harry having to point it out.
- Edmund's plot to kill MacAngus involves a hanging with a fake rope, not a staged stabbing with a real dagger, although the plan backfires in much the same way.
- The King remembers Edmund and his name.
- Edmund is Duke of York rather than Duke of Edinburgh.
- Edmund and MacAngus have the duel, rather than having MacAngus slicing Edmund's sword in half before it could start. Edmund actually wins the duel, but is prevented from killing MacAngus when it turns out that Baldrick gave him a theatrical sword from the play.
- Edmund keeps his dignity and composure when begging MacAngus for mercy, delivering his plea through clenched teeth. In Born to be King, he issues his plea in a tearful, snivelling humiliated state.
- Prince Edmund resolves his problem after the duel by apparently getting a Frenchman to confess to forging the letters; in Born to be King, Edmund casts the letters into the fire, merely asserting that they are forgeries.
References to Shakespeare
As with other episodes in this series, the end credits include an acknowledgement of "additional dialogue by
References
- Roberts, JF (2012). The True History of the Black Adder : The complete and unadulterated history of the creation of a comedy legend. London: Preface. ISBN 9781848093461.
- ISBN 9780786429226.
- ^ a b c Rowan Atkinson & Richard Curtis (writers) (22 June 1983). "Born to Be King". The Black Adder. Series 1. Episode 2. BBC. BBC One.
- ^ Roberts, p.420
- ^ Roberts, p.92
- ^ Roberts, p.112
- ISBN 9781848093461.
- The Black Adder". Blackadder. BBC. Unaired pilot.
- ^ "Born To Be King". BBC Comedy. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
External links
- "Born to Be King" at BBC Online
- "Born to Be King" at IMDb