Blackadder II

Lord Edmund Blackadder is a Lord in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. With his long suffering servant Baldrick and `close-friend' Percy he must wiggle his way through several sticky situations to come through with his political state and his skin intact!

This second of four series of Blackadder ranks as one of the consistently best. It may not be as fresh as the thrid and fourth series – mainly because the later series were sharper, crueler and benefited from very familiar (and by then – quite famous) characters and actors. The stories were always a little absurd but built around the deadpan, downbeat Blackadder. Plots include the Blackadder falling in love with his female man-servant Bob, beheading a man who was meant to be pardoned or just being kidnapped by a French master of disguise.

They all are filled with sarcasm and wit and make up for the daffy plots. Atkinson is comfortable in his role – but is better in series 3. Robinson is funny in a poor role of Baldrick. McInnerny is OK as percy but is not as good an idiot as Laurie's Prince in 3. The royal court is funny with Fry, Richardson and Byrne all good.

Overall this is as good as all the series are. Witty, cruel, sarcastic and with off the wall plots and extreme characters – it's typical of how good British comedy can be.