And now we have a very unique offering for Scrooge Month, all the way from Great Britain- The Blackadders Christmas Carol.
This is a completely hilarious riff on the Christmas Carol story but unlike Scrooged it completely subverts the narrative of Christmas Carol which might annoy me in lesser-able hands, but the jokes are plentiful and they nail it every time. I laughed my head off. Seriously one of the funniest things I’ve seen in years.
The gist behind the special is the Blackadder played by Rowan Atkinson is constantly taken advantage of by people because ‘he’s the nicest man in town’. Much to the chagrin of his assistant Baldrick, a parade of people come into his office and take money and items from him including his Christmas tree and chicken. Pauline Melville as Mrs Scratchit is particularly funny begging for her Tiny Tim son who is clearly not so tiny.
Miriam Margolyes and Jim Broadbent are very funny as Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. Robbie Coltrane from Harry Potter is Spirit of Christmas and the way he does his ‘magic’ is a riot. Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson, Tony Robinson, Pauline Melville all at the top of their comedic games.
Coltrane takes Blackadder to the Past with a diva queen and then goes into the future with a sci-fi world and it’s so strange and hilarious.
It’s the writing that makes this so funny. You get lines like “I want a present! Give me something nice and shiny! And if you don’t, I’ve got something nice and shiny for you and it’s called an axe”
or 
“Baldrick, you wouldn’t see a subtle plan if it painted itself purple and danced naked on top of a harpsichord, singing “Subtle plans are here again!” 
or
“It’s a fist. It’s for hitting people with. (Punches Baldrick) And the great thing is, you can use it again and again! (hits Baldrick again)”
or
“Yes! Unless I’m very much mistaken, you’re the winner of the ‘Round Britain Shortest Fattest Dumpiest Woman Competition. And for her to be accompanied by the winner of this year’s Stupidest Accent Award is really quite overwhelming” (said to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert!).
The whole point of the story is to show Blackadder that the mean people have all the fun. What a clever and humorous subversion of the classic story. At least I thought it was very funny.
That gives you an idea. It’s kind of like Monty Python type humor, very dry and sardonic.
Here’s a clip from when they go into the future. Ha!
If that looks like your style of humor you will love it. If not than skip it. I laughed my head off!
Oh and if you are a hulu plus member you can stream the entire Blackadder series.
I wondered whether you were going to do this one, given that it’s not a proper Christmas Carol adaptation. Very glad that you did!
My favourite line is: “Ill-conceived love is like a Christmas cracker: one massively disappointing bang and the novelty soon wears off.”
Oh I’m doing all the versions I can put my hands on and I’m so glad I did! I had never heard of Blackadder before and now I’m excited watch the seasons on Hulu Plus. That’s why I like doing these series. You uncover things you would never find as a casual viewer. It’s exciting.
That line is very good. Also liked “I’m afraid the only way you are likely to get a wet kiss at Christmas, or indeed at any other time, is to make a pass at a water closet”
But it’s really the delivery that makes it so funny! Is the rest of the series that good?
Very much so. Full of lines like “Sorry I’m late!” “Don’t apologise, I’m sorry you’re alive.”
Rowan Atkinson is a fantastic comedy actor. He’s also well known for a series called Mr Bean, which is more slapstick humour with very little dialogue.
I have seen Mr Bean. That’s funny tio