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''The Black Adder'' is the first series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC One from 15 June 1983 to 20 July 1983, and was a joint production with the Australian Seven Network. Set in 1485 at the end of the British Middle Ages, the series is written as a secret history which contends that King Richard III won the Battle of Bosworth Field, only to be unintentionally assassinated by his nephew Edmund, and is succeeded by Richard IV, one of the Princes in the Tower. The series follows the exploits of Richard IV's unfavoured second son Edmund (who calls himself "The Black Adder") in his various attempts to increase his standing with his father and in the final episode his quest to overthrow him.〔''(The Black Adder )'' at the BBC Comedy Guide. Retrieved 17 April 2008〕 Conceived while Atkinson and Curtis were working on ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'', the series covers a number of medieval issues in Britain in a humorous and often anachronistic manner - witchcraft, Royal succession, European relations, the Crusades and the conflict between the Crown and the Church. The filming of the series was highly ambitious, with a large cast and much location shooting.〔(Trivia ) at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 17 April 2008〕 The series also features Shakespearean dialogue, often adapted for comic effect.〔''I Have a Cunning Plan - 20th Anniversary of Blackadder'', BBC Radio 4 documentary broadcast 23 August 2003. Excerpts available at (bbc.co.uk ). Retrieved 17 April 2008〕 ==Plot== Set in the Middle Ages, the series is written as a alternate history. It opens on 21 August 1485, the eve of the Battle of Bosworth Field, which in the series is won not by Henry Tudor (as in reality) but by Richard III. Richard III, played by Peter Cook, is presented as a good king who doted on his nephews, contrary to the Shakespearean view of him as a hunchbacked, infanticidal monster. After his victory in the battle, Richard III is then unintentionally killed by Lord Edmund Plantagenet; Richard attempts to take Edmund's horse, which he thinks is his own. Not recognizing the king, Edmund thinks Richard is stealing it and cuts his head off. The late King's nephew, Richard, Duke of York (played by Brian Blessed) who is Lord Edmund Plantagenet's father, is then crowned as Richard IV. Lord Edmund himself did not take part in the battle after arriving late, but later claims to have killed 450 peasants and several nobles, one of whom had actually been killed by his brother in the battle. King Richard IV of England and XII of Scotland and his Queen Gertrude of Flanders have two sons: Harry, Prince of Wales and his younger brother Prince Edmund. Of the two, Harry is by far his father's favourite, the King barely acknowledging his second son's existence. It is a running gag throughout the series that Edmund's father cannot even remember his name. However, despite his mostly dismissive attitude toward his second son, the series' finale makes it clear that the King loves Edmund as much as Harry: on Edmund's deathbed, the King does his best to console him and has the entire court drink a toast in his honour. In the third episode, when Edmund becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury and helps his father to secure some land before the church, the King acknowledges Edmund as his son, embraces him and even mentions to the Queen that he has "turned out well". Using this premise, the series follows the fictitious reign of Richard IV (1485–98) through the experiences of Prince Edmund, who styles himself as "The Black Adder", and his two sidekicks: the imbecilic Lord Percy Percy, the Duke of Northumberland (Tim McInnerny); and Baldrick (Tony Robinson), a more intelligent servant of no status. By the end of the series, events converge with accepted history, when King Richard IV and his entire family are poisoned, allowing Henry Tudor to take the throne as King Henry VII. He then rewrites history, presenting Richard III as a monster, and eliminating Richard IV's reign from the history books. In reality, Richard, Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower, was only twelve years old (and perhaps two years dead) when the Battle of Bosworth Field took place in 1485, and thus too young to have had two adult sons. One notable anachronism is Edmund´s title, Duke of Edinburgh, as the Plantagenets no longer held the Scottish throne at this point, though given that this is an alternate history, it is possible that Henry Tudor falsified the events of the Wars of Scottish Independence as well. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Black Adder」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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