Watch Blackadder: Back & Forth For Free

hyped garbage

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I'm sorry. I just couldn't like this. It's not that I disliked it, I just didn't like it. Blackadder's humour is gone in this. The characters are not like in the series, most notably Queen Elizabeth, who was much more harsh and unhappy than in the series. It was nice to see the characters, though. And it's odd seeing them all older than in the series, because now I recognise them for different roles. Most prominently, Atkinson reminds me of Mr. Bean here, not Edmund Blackadder, Stephen Fry reminds me of QI, not his many roles in Blackadder, and Laurie reminds me of Gregory House here, not of his two roles in Blackadder.This episode just came off as a big disappointment. I honestly thought I'd like it for one reason or another, but it felt like a completely different show. Usually I'd be ecstatic at the return of a show, but this really should have been left alone. They even removed the much needed laugh track. The spark is just not in this episode. However, it is good as a stand alone episode and if it wasn't Blackadder I'd still think it was alright. It's just not the quality I was hoping for; much, much less. Least favourite episode.

This movie is quite fun, as you see all the cast reunited (Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie, Tim McInnerny, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson). It was also great to see Rik Mayall and Patsy Burne make a return. However, I felt that there was something lacking, something that the TV series had that made it so special. The jokes (like the clotted cream one) seemed a bit forced at times to me.However, Blackadder Back and Forth wasn't bad. I really enjoyed both Darlings at the Battle of Waterloo; however I was really disappointed by the Duke of Wellington in this scene. Not a single BAAAH! out of him. (Dual and Duality is one of the funniest TV episodes I have ever seen.) I also liked how Baldrick's underpants wiped out the dinosaurs.The only bit of history that Blackadder and Baldrick didn't change!

When the Millennium was coming close they built a special building in London called the Millennium Dome, they made this special film to be played in the cinema of the Dome. Richard Curtis and Ben Elton's wonderful comedy sitcom characters have returned after ten years to do a special final edition to the saga (the final member of the Blackadder family, to date). Rowan Atkinson as Lord Edmund Blackadder and his friends George (Hugh Laurie), Melchett (Stephen Fry), Darling (Tim McInnerny) and Lady Elizabeth (Miranda Richardson) sit down to dinner to celebrate the New Year, new Century and Millennium. The very good Baldrick (Tony Robinson) is also there providing a disgusting dinner. Blackadder then tells his chums he has made a time machine, he shows them and he bets them £10,000 each that he can time travel and bring back historical items. They all except the bet and ask for separate items. It's after Baldrick and Blackadder get into the machine and pull a lever that they do actually time travel, but it was meant to be a prank! Also starring Rik Mayall as Robin Hood (Woof!), Colin Firth as William Shakespeare, Kate Moss as Maid Marian and Patsy Byrne as Nursie. It was nominated the BAFTA Situation Comedy Award. Edmund Blackadder was number 3 on The 100 Greatest TV Characters, and he was number 3 on The World's Greatest Comedy Characters. Very good!

Old BBC shows are lovely, so low-budget and witty and strange.To a lover of literature and history like myself, Blackadder stands as possibly the funniest sitcom of all time. Like Doctor Who, it was cheap, but I didn't give a fig...it was simply ten times cleverer than anything on American television, and I loved it. At first, I was dubious about this millennium special - I didn't think that Blackadder really needed a big-budget makeover, special effects, etc. But in the end, "Back and Forth" served its purpose for me. I laughed. Lots. Maybe I would've liked a little more wit and a few less sight gags, but so what? It's been ten years since the original Blackadder went off the air, and it's unreasonable to expect that a new special will emulate the old show exactly. And in addition to the new material, there's plenty of nostalgic jokes on hand (e.g. "I have a cunning plan"...why do people complain that this was recycled here? Can you image Blackadder WITHOUT this line?).Like the recent big-budget Doctor Who and Asterix films, this was criticized by fans who were disappointed that it wasn't 4 stars all the way...but a general audience can forgive the odd flaw and accept this for what it is, a delightful reunion of great British comics for one last episode of a great show.