The series was viewed by 18.74 million viewers for the episode "The Trouble with Mr. Bean"[3] and has received a number of international awards, including the Rose d'Or.

It has inspired an animated spin-off and two theatrical feature-length films along with Atkinson reprising his role as Mr. Bean for a performance at the London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, television commercials and several sketches for Comic Relief.

The programme carries strong appeal in hundreds of territories worldwide because, in addition to the acclaim from its original run, it uses very little intelligible dialogue, making it accessible to people who know little or no English.

The character of Mr. Bean was developed while Rowan Atkinson was studying for his master's degree in electrical engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford.

[2] A similar character called Robert Box, also played by Atkinson, appeared in the one-off 1979 ITV sitcom Canned Laughter which also featured routines used in the motion picture in 1997.

[7] Atkinson also cited the influence of Peter Sellers, who had previously played similar "fumbling fool" characters, notably Hrundi Bakshi in The Party (1968) and Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther films.

[5][9] In November 2012, Atkinson told The Daily Telegraph of his intentions to retire the character, stating that "someone in their fifties being childlike becomes a little sad.

[12] The title character and protagonist, played by Rowan Atkinson, is a childish buffoon who brings various unusual schemes and contrivances to everyday tasks.

[13] Mr. Bean often seems unaware of basic aspects of the way the world works, and the programme usually features his attempts at what would normally be considered simple activities, such as going swimming, using a television set, interior decorating or going to church.

The humour largely comes from his original (and often absurd) solutions to problems and his total disregard for others when solving them, and his pettiness and occasional malevolence.

The opening sequence was initially in black and white in episodes two and three, which was intended by the producers to show his status as an "ordinary man cast into the spotlight".

However, later episodes showed Mr. Bean dropping from the night sky in a deserted London street against the backdrop of St. Paul's Cathedral.

In an obvious homage towards the end, the aliens send him back home in a beam of light and music similar to the opening of the original Mr. Bean series.

This little brown bear is a knitted oddity with button eyes and sausage-shaped limbs which invariably end up broken in half or in various other states of destruction and disfiguration.

Two episodes later, its head reached its current size but its "eyes" were not present until Bean placed gold thumb tacks on its face.

In the pilot episode, Bean's vehicle was an orange 1969 BMC Morris Mini 1000 Mark 2 (registration RNT 996H) but was destroyed in an off-screen crash at the end.

[19] After filming ended, one of the original Minis was sold to Kariker Kars to be hired for various events whereupon it was temporarily displayed as a major attraction at the Rover Group's museum.

[25] The film also features a second version of the Mini with the same colour scheme but with left-hand drive, driven by Bean's friend Sabine, and registered 207 UHD 75.

The fourteenth episode, "Hair by Mr. Bean of London", was originally released as a direct-to-video VHS exclusive in 1995, and was not broadcast on television until 25 August 2006 on Nickelodeon.

In the episode "Tee Off, Mr. Bean", Goodall's choral theme tune for another Richard Curtis comedy, The Vicar of Dibley, is heard playing on a car stereo.

In "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean", while playing with Queen's Royal Guards figurines and the nativity set, he hums "The British Grenadiers", which was quoted in the theme to Blackadder Goes Forth.

[33] Mr. Bean appeared in the music video of a 1991 fundraising single for Comic Relief, fronted by Hale and Pace, entitled "The Stonk".

[48] Mr. Bean's Holiday was originally the last live-action appearance of the character,[49] before reappearing at the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony five years later.

For this scene, Bean does not wear his usual brown tweed sports jacket but the traditional clothing of the musician – white tie and tails.

He then sneezes in a comical fashion and tries to retrieve his handkerchief from his bag behind him, finding he cannot reach it while at the synthesizer until he uses an umbrella to maintain his performance.

Now running in front, Bean ensures he wins the race on the beach by tripping one of the runners trying to overtake him, whereupon he crosses the line with elation, and then wakes up.

They provide some additional information on the setting: for example, they establish that Mr. Bean lives in Highbury and rents his flat from a landlady named Mrs. Wicket.

Rowan Atkinson has appeared in character as Mr. Bean in many television broadcasts, sometimes as a publicity stunt to promote a new episode, DVD or film.

[58][59] Various politicians have been mocked for a supposed facial resemblance to Mr. Bean, including Tony Blair,[60] Gordon Brown,[61] Kyriakos Mitsotakis,[62][63] José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero,[64][65] Sam Dastyari,[66][67] Ed Miliband[68] and Michael Gove.

[69] An image of Mr. Bean grinning mischievously has been used as an internet meme for highlighting sexual double entendres, usually accompanied by the statement "If you know what I mean.