The Black Seal

Writers Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson end series one of The Black Adder on a high with The Black Seal, which features the greatest Adder one-liners to be cooked up by the duo, and introduces six of their most outrageous characters, who team up with Prince Edmund to try and seize the throne of England: there's villainous Sir Wilfred Death (John Hallam); treacherous Three Fingered Pete; evil Guy of Glastonbury (Patrick Malahide); lecherous Friar Bellows (Paul Brooke); Sean, The Irish Bastard (no description necessary); and diminutive killer Jack Large (played by Big Mick, who is anything but), the bull-buggering beast killer of no fixed abode.

As if that wasn't enough, The Young Ones' Rik Mayall turns up in an uncredited and hilarious role as Mad Gerald, a wild haired crazy man who has been locked up in prison for 20 years (with only Mr. Rat and Mr. Key for company), and Patrick Allen, the series' narrator, makes an appearance as The Hawk, Edmund's lifelong arch enemy, who also wants to be king.

The Black Seal also sets the precedent that the last episode of each series sees Atkinson's character die, often along with the rest of the cast (although Series 3 provides an unusual twist on this idea): in this case, Edmund gets his from a nasty piece of torture equipment equipped with a rotating device called a 'codling grinder'. Ouch!

I like the bit how Jack large is actually very small. Ha ha interesting

Edmund attempts to organise a coup d'état for the throne of England.

This is a solid, silly and at times somber finish to series 1. I enjoyed the focus on ruthless ambition for power that drives people to kill and torture their competitors, along with the performances of all cast members.

The story makes a number of homages as Edmund organises his big move, with films like The Seven Samurai and The Adventures of Robin Hood being spoofed comically. It finishes in darkly humorous fashion so typical of all Blackadder series finales.

There are many humorous scenes throughout which are hit and miss in terms of funny. Some of the characters Edmund recruits have hilarious names and Rowan Atkinson delivers them in his unique style. The prison scenes are both absurd and irreverent thanks to the manic presence of Rik Mayall. How the ending unfolds is very funny, requiring an appreciation for black humour, but also feels quite tragic like all Blackadder finales.

As with all episodes of the first series the subject matter is pretty fascinating when you think of how blatantly ruthless and literally backstabbing the infighting between ruling classes must have been during the feudal ages.

All cast are excellent, particularly Rowan Atkinson who brings the first incarnation of his Blackadder character to a spectacularly bloody finish.

"The Black Seal shall rule England!"

This was the last, and best, Blackadder Series 1 episode. The first historic series bowed out with this great episode, which had it all - humour, plot, new characters and adventure. None of the other episodes are as good as The Black Seal, which finally brings out the intelligence and cunning of Edmund, the uselessness of Percy (which results in one tragic consequence at the end - I shall say no more), and the dirty dung gatherer that Baldrick is. This episode has taken all of the weaknesses from past episodes and perfected them, letting the first great series end with an unforgettable experience.

As Edmund leaves the castle, he embarks on a mission to find the Six Most Evil Men in the land, who are all introduced in humorous scenarios. We don't really get to know anyone except Edmund, but you can't get everything in 30 minutes, and it is, after all - a comedy. This episode is the funniest of the whole series, and even betters a lot of episodes in other series too. However, Rowan Atkinson's being kicked off the position of Richard Curtis's Blackadder writing partner and replaced by Ben Elton has resulted in funnier series on the whole, and has made Blackadder a real success in later series. However, Rowan gives us one last good episode, to bid us farewell with. Nevertheless, his presence in the show is extremely important - without him, Blackadder would be nowhere near as good.

With epic settings, original scenarios and some great one-liners, The Black Seal ends the first series of a great tradition, and makes the first series better in every way. People say the first series was a sham, but that is utter rubbish, and the claim it is rubbish is further proved wrong by this - the last episode of the series.

A great episode that makes the first series just as great as the others! 10/10