Blackadder

From 1983 until 1989, Blackadder was a series of four-period British sitcoms, as well as various one-off episodes, that were broadcast on BBC One. Set in England during the end of the War of the Roses. In actuality, Henry VII did not win the battle of Bosworth Field; he lost it, and despite Richard III dying in the fight, his nephew King Richard IV (who was not smothered while still a child in the Tower of London) reigned for a time. The plot revolves around Richard IV's younger son, Prince Edmund, a sniveling coward known as the 'Black Adder.' Edmund plots his ascent to power with the help of his grungy servant and the idiotic Lord Percy.

The fourth series, Blackadder Goes Forth, was named 16th in the British Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programs in 2000. Edmund Blackadder was placed third on Channel 4's list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters in a survey conducted in 2001. Blackadder was chosen the second-best British sitcom of all time in a 2004 television survey, behind only Only Fools & Horses. Empire magazine listed it as the 9th best television show of all time.

Detailed Information:

Genre: Period sitcom

Actors: Rowan Atkinson, Brian Blessed, Elspet Gray
Premiered: 1983
Network: BBC One