Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) (TV)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Richard Boden

Writers:

Richard Curtis (writer)
Charles Dickens (short story "A Christmas Carol")

Genre:

Comedy | History

Plot:

Pleasant Ebenezer Blackadder is turned into a cruel and witty miser after seeing visions of his ancestors and descendants.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Ghost | Funny Accent | Black Comedy | Sarcasm

Cast

Rowan Atkinson	...	Ebenezer Blackadder / Lord Edmund Blackadder / Edmund Blackadder, Esq. / Cmdr. Edmund Blackadder
Tony Robinson	...	Baldrick / Baldrick / Sod-Off Baldrick / Baldrick
Miranda Richardson	...	Queen Elizabeth I / Asphyxia XIX
Stephen Fry	...	Lord Melchett / Lord Frondo
Hugh Laurie	...	George, the Prince Regent / Lord Pigmot
Robbie Coltrane	...	Spirit of Christmas
Miriam Margolyes	...	Queen Victoria
Jim Broadbent	...	Prince Albert
Patsy Byrne	...	Nursie
Denis Lill	...	Beadle
Pauline Melville	...	Mrs. Scratchit
Philip Pope	...	Lord Nelson
Nicola Bryant	...	Millicent
Ramsay Gilderdale	...	Ralph
David Barber	...	Enormous Orphan

Runtime:

43 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

This film and Blackadder Back & Forth (1999) are the only two to actively reprise characters from previous Blackadder incarnations (namely new segments for "Blackadder II" (1986) and "Blackadder the Third" (1987)).

Quotes:

Mrs. Scratchit: Ah, Mr. Ebenezer! I was wondering if you had perhaps a little present for me...? or had found me a little fowl for Tiny Tom's Christmas...?
Ebenezer Blackadder: I've always found you 'foul,' Mrs. Scratchit - and more than a little! As for Tiny Tom's Christmas: he can stuff it up his enormous muscular backside.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 100 Greatest Christmas Moments (2004) (TV)

Another Blackadder classic

Blackadder, quite possibly one of the greatest British comedies of all time, here turns it's attentions to the classic but much-overdone Dickens story "A Christmas Carol". The twist, in classic Blackadder style, is that here Ebenezer Blackadder is the kindest and nicest man in Victorian England. The ghost of Christmas inadvertently tells him it's tale, leading him to the assumption that "Bad guys have all the fun".

The cast, composed of regulars Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie and others, is complimented by cameos by some of Britain's finest comic actors. Miriam Margoyles, in particular, has a memorable role as Queen Victoria.

Blackadder's Christmas Carol showcases the series in fine form, and, whilst perhaps not quite matching the brilliance of the four series, it is still a memorable and delightfully funny addition to the dynasty.