Bathroom Reads #9: THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE BLACK ADDER by J.F. Roberts

 

I first became a big fan of the comedic talents of Rowan Atkinson in the spring of 1996, when some channel began broadcasting episodes of MR. BEAN to audiences in the USA... perhaps the channel was PBS? I know the first episode that I ever saw was "Tee Off, Mr. Bean" (the laundromat/mini golf one), and that at the time my mother and I had to watch them on the small TV in the kitchen because my other brothers and my dad were watching THE DANA CARVEY SHOW on the bigger TV in the living room. I told my brothers they were wasting their time with the latter program and should be watching MR. BEAN instead, and when THE DANA CARVEY SHOW was cancelled (very quickly, after a mere 6-7 weeks, if memory serves), they all gravitated to MR. BEAN as well and also became fans. This was a little over a year before the release of the first MR. BEAN movie, which of course made the character more of a household name in the States, so in that aspect at least, we were ahead of the curve. 

My interest in MR. BEAN has, over the years, led me to explore some other famous British sitcoms (though it should be mentioned here that my real interest in British comedy perhaps can be traced to seeing MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL in the early 90s), such as the immortal FAWLTY TOWERS, along with THE VICAR OF DIBLEY, FATHER TED and, naturally (what with my interest in Atkinson as an actor) BLACKADDER. Another thing that inspired me to give BLACKADDER a spin was my fascination in history, because each of the 4 main seasons of BLACKADDER is set in a different historical time period of England: the late Middle Ages, the Elizabethan Era, the Regency, and finally the trenches of World War I. History was (along with Art and English) one of the only subjects I was actually good at in school, and I love reading books on the subject, playing video games set in the past, watching TV shows and movies that recreate different historical eras, and so on. So it's no surprise that I became a big fan of BLACKADDER. I even greatly enjoyed the much maligned first series, which (while admittedly not as funny as the 3 series that come after it) featured some really beautiful costume work and sets. And the show certainly boasted an impressive cast: outside of Atkinson, one could also mention Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Brian Blessed, and smaller guest roles for everyone from Miriam Margoyles to Jim Broadbent to Rik Mayall to Robbie Coltrane. 

Perhaps the definitive text about BLACKADDER is the book that serves as the focus of today's entry, THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE BLACK ADDER by J.F. Roberts, published in 2012. An exhaustice chronicler, Roberts not only interviewed almost all of the actors who appeared on the show (including the man Atkinson himself, which was quite the coup), but also the various behind-the-scenes people who brought the show to life, including its creator (and main writer) Richard Curtis (who would later go on to co-create/co-write both MR. BEAN and THE VICAR OF DIBLEY, to say nothing of directing a number of very successful films), its other main writer (Ben Elton), its main producer (John Lloyd), various directors and crew members, even its musician Howard Goodall (who I first knew as the man behind the music for MR. BEAN: in fact, the first episode of MR. BEAN premiered around two months after BLACKADDER came to its end).