Alex_Hodgkinson 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.

Edwardcole I was fortunate enough to have visited London in 2000, and was able to appreciate this special in its original context, namely in a theater just outside the Millennium Dome with a bunch of primary school children talking all the way through it and giggling for nearly two minutes at the sight of Tony Robinson's buttocks. It took a few years for it to come out on DVD, but it was worth the wait. DVD extras include a documentary on the making of the special, which includes several deleted scenes, and a Tony Robinson-narrated profile on several of the historical figures mentioned. I would highly recommend that anyone watch the other four Blackadder series prior to watching this, or a lot of the jokes will be missed. It also helps to appreciate the characters in their proper context. For example, Rik Mayall completely overacts as Robin Hood, but in the context of the series, he is supposed to overact. If you had not seen his performances as Lord Flasheart, you would think he was too over the top, but having seen it, it makes his performance here even funnier. Just like any other Rowan Atkinson project, if you give him a good script and top-notch characters to work with, he will do a brilliant job and make the program memorable. All of the characters did a solid job, although Kate Moss seemed a bit out of place, possibly because she was a bit out of place. She was never in any of the previous series. And the ending, while I won't give anything away, provided one of the biggest laughs I ever had with anything Blackadder, and that is really saying something.

TheNorthernMonkee SPOILERS To celebrate the millennium, people did some very stupid things. One of the most noteworthy however was the Government spending huge amounts of money to create a large exhibition to celebrate it. Spanning the whole of 2000, the exhibition, housed in the hideous Millennium Dome, included one potential thrill, the return of Edmund Blackadder. Released long after on video and DVD, "Blackaddr Back and Forth" probably felt like a great way to reunite, but ultimately it has little going for it and should never have been made.To celebrate the turn of the century, Lord Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) invited his closest friends to join him for a meal. Using a copy of Leonardo Di Vinci's actual blueprints of a time machine, Blackadder has servant Baldrick (Tony Robinson) build a copy for a prank. To his surprise though, Baldrick does such a good job, the machine actually works. Travelling through time, Blackadder attempts to get home only to learn that time travel has potential consequences.Written by Tony Curtis and Ben Elton, this half an hour long episode probably seemed like a good idea originally. Unfortunately however, this reunion of original staff might have been fun to make, but it's not particularly good to watch.Firstly, ignoring the issue of a Blackadder being witty and intelligent any time before the pathetic wimpy Edmund of the first series, the short scene at Hadrians Wall is incredibly mediocre. As Blackaddercus and Baldrickus, Atkinson and Robinson are not too bad. The problem emerges with the awful lines given to Hugh Laurie as Georgius and Stephen Fry as General Melchecus. Given a short skirt for cheap laughs, Stephen Fry recites a large amount of Latin before then making a traditional Melchett sound afterwards. This scene remains benign of humour and is completely pointless.Next, to attempt to bring back an old classic, and personally a massive favourite, the two writers probably thought it would be an idea to reintroduce the character of Queen Elizabeth. Whilst a nice idea, the scene is done so badly, that it actually puts you off the story before it's properly started. As Elizabeth, Miranda Richardson reprises the role which she did so well, but whilst thirteen years ago the character had a natural feel of childlike nature and humour, now it feels awkward and forced. This is sadly partly due to the performance of Richardson who doesn't look as comfortable in the role as she once did.The inclusion of Kate Moss as the love interest is also a huge error in judgement. Whilst there's little denial that Moss is a beautiful woman, she is pointless as Maid Marion of Sherwood, albeit not quite as much so as Rik Mayall as Robin Hood. With the notable exception of Bob, there is no woman that has really been good enough for Blackadder, and by adding Kate Moss to the mix, it just doesn't feel right.To try and say something nice about this woeful mistake, the appearance of Colin Firth as William Shakespeare is a definite plus. Only on team for a short time, he doesn't necessarily need to put in the greatest of performances, but the way in which Blackadder insults the great bard and pokes fun at Kenneth Branagh is definitely a highlight.Sadly, apart from the short scene involving Shakespeare, there is little else positive to say about "Back and Forth". Given a random name which does little except to confuse it with "Blackadder Goes Forth", it is a programme which never should have been made. It lowers the overall picture of Blackadder and it should be ignored whenever possible.Written specifically for the opening of the Millennium Dome, the idea of a reunion was probably a really appealing idea for cast and writers of the "Blackadder" series. Unfortunately though, the end product was a calamitous mistake. Mediocre in story and humour, the episode was also given a dire title. We can forgive the cast and writers for wanting to meet up again and have a laugh, but we can't forgive them for making such a mess of the final version. A dire mistake.

w1ldcard First, the plot. It seemed typical and appropriate that when instructed to construct a phony time machine, Baldrick actually constructs a working one. Nice.I was not, however, too keen on the notion that there has "always been a Blackadder and Baldrick." That was one of the best gags was the first Edmund struggling to come up with a proper name for his new persona as the Duke of Edinburough.Still, it might have been neat to see present-day Edmund confront one of his ancestors. How would they have interacted? Perhaps this is precisely what happened when Edmund went back a third time to "set things straight."Agreed, though, that the characters simply didn't seem themselves. I can imagine it is difficult trying to resurrect a character one hasn't played in at least a decade, but at the same time, there might have been potential to play, say, Queen Bess a bit differently, perhaps play her as the older Queen, with the lead poisoning definitely setting in.I know Tim McInnerny didn't want to play Percy anymore, but I wonder what laughs they could have gotten if they had maybe drawn a connection between Percy and Darling in one of the tableaus.Blackadder, however, seems to continue his progression as a more confident character, getting to be more and more the straight-man in a lot of the gags. Baldrick, of course, continues to get dumber and dumber, frankly to the point where it is a wonder he is at all capable of functioning. This gets to be kind of problematic, as Baldrick continues to be the idiot savant who may be incapable or boiling an egg, but gets the flashes of brilliance that save the day.It might also have been nice to have seen a few other characters from the first and second series brought back in some strange modern incarnation... I would have liked to have seen Richard somehow reincarnated, or maybe if Robin Hood had let out Mad Gerrold's trademark cackle at one point...Altogether, it was great fun to see what the show could do with a greater budget, but at the same time there was an uneasy feeling the cast and crew were doing it more for old time's sake than to try to create a new installment of this comic saga.