List of Blackadder characters
", explaining that it began as early as his work in student productions of Shakespeare at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he would produce strange noises in order to amuse the audience.
The character was originally conceived as "Captain Cartwright"; writers Ben Elton and Richard Curtis were simply unable to think of a more amusing name for him.
His descendant, Squadron Commander the Lord Flashheart, appeared as a major character in the fourth series in an episode called "Private Plane".
The two Flashhearts are stereotypes of a certain kind of hero (the Elizabethan swashbuckler and the World War I flying ace), slanted to emphasise the negative qualities associated with such characters such as narcissism, sexism and promiscuity.
[6] The character of Robin Hood in Blackadder: Back and Forth, also played by Mayall, is essentially another version of Flashheart, with the same personality and mannerisms.
[5] In Ben Elton's 2016 sitcom Upstart Crow, Tim Downie's character Christopher Marlowe resembles Flashheart.
[7][8] "Queenie" (Miranda Richardson) is a caricature of the historical figure Queen Elizabeth I of England featured in Blackadder II.
[9][10][11] In contrast to the usual regal and austere depiction of Elizabeth I, Miranda Richardson's portrayal is childish, spoiled and silly, possessing a fiery temper.
[12] Amanda Barrie's portrayal of Cleopatra in the 1964 film Carry On Cleo as a childish seductress has been suggested as an inspiration for Richardson's interpretation of Elizabeth I.
[13] It has been remarked that Queenie closely resembles the character Violet Elizabeth Bott featured in the Just William books of Richmal Crompton.
Queenie's immature behaviour is expressed in her desire to "get squiffy and seduce nobles" (and extort extravagant presents from them on pain of death).
If anyone fails to laugh at her jokes, they risk execution, but, to her followers' bemusement and frustration, she sometimes tires of their toadying and welcomes a more cynical approach – which is why she prefers Edmund Blackadder to Lord Melchett.
Richardson appears in later series as characters not explicitly stated as being descendants of Elizabeth I, who had no known offspring (but may share common ancestors with her).
In the fifth episode of Blackadder the Third, she plays Amy Hardwood, the seemingly-delicate wealthy industrialist's daughter, whom the Prince Regent courts to get out of serious debt with her dowry, later revealed as a highwayman, the Shadow; and in the episode "General Hospital" of the fourth series, she plays Nurse Mary Fletcher-Brown who enjoys a fling with Blackadder, before being accused of being a German spy.
He had previously befriended Blackadder, Melchett and Queenie while disguised as other individuals, including Big Sally (a waitress at a pub in Dover), Fluffy (a sheep) and an unnamed stable boy.
Once his men capture Blackadder and Melchett, he keeps them imprisoned in a dungeon, and sends a message to Queenie, giving her a week to decide whom she will save by paying the ransom.
Blackadder and Melchett soon play ball, agreeing to give Ludwig information on how to infiltrate Richmond Palace and kill Queenie.
However, after the end credits have aired, it is revealed that Ludwig has resurfaced and, now disguised as Queenie after murdering her, has gone on to kill the entire main cast by using a dagger to cut their throats although it is implied that he broke Blackadder's neck or strangled or suffocated Melchett.
Richard, Duke of York grew into "a big strong boy" (the fate of his elder brother, Edward V of England, is left unmentioned), and becomes his uncle's favourite, reflected by his being seated at the side of the king at the banquet on the eve of the Battle of Bosworth Field, which is a victory for the House of York during the Wars of the Roses.
Gertrude of Flanders (Elspet Gray) is the wife of King Richard of England, Scotland and Ireland and mother of Princes Harry and Edmund.
Once Queenie's childhood nurse, by the time of her appearances in Blackadder II, Nursie is either senile or otherwise irreversibly stupid, but remains at court at the side of the Queen for unknown reasons (possibly being kept-on as a lady's companion, though her continued presence at "Queenie's" side reinforces her portrayal as 'childish'), as the Queen repeatedly treats Nursie with contempt.
"[15] In the series' finale episode, "Chains", she is killed by Prince Ludwig the Indestructible (Hugh Laurie) along with the entire main cast.
[citation needed] Prince Henry "Harry" Plantagenet, Earl of March (1460–1498) (Robert East) was a main supporting character in The Black Adder (series 1).
Prince Harry made his first televised appearance (played by Robert East) in episode 1 of The Black Adder, entitled "The Foretelling", in which the events of the first series are set up by rewriting a period of English history and telling the story of a fictional ruling monarch who succeeds Richard III after the Battle of Bosworth Field.
