Foretelling (1485), The

Synopsis
Sitcom. Comedy series set in the Middle Ages featuring the exploits of self-serving Blackadder (Atkinson). Reversing history’s perceptions Richard is a kindly monarch and Henry Tudor a self-serving opportunist re-writing history for his own ends. Blackadder accidentally kills Richard III (whom he thinks is stealing his horse), making his father King, while he hides HenryTudor in his house. Peter Cook plays Richard III. Douglas Lanier in his book Shakespeare and Modern Popular Culture sees the episode as satirising the idealised construction of Britain’s past glories.
Series
Blackadder, The
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Transmission details
15 Jun 1983 at 21:25 (Channel: BBC1)
Duration
35 mins

Credits

Director
Martin Shardlow
Producer
John Lloyd
Writer
Richard Curtis; Rowan Atkinson
Cast
Gretchan FranklinCordelia
Barbara MillerRegan
Brian BlessedRichard IV
Elspet GrayQueen
Kathleen St JohnGoneril
Peter BensonHenry VII
Peter CookRichard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard
Robert EastHenry, Prince of Wales
Rowan AtkinsonEdmund, Duke of Edinburgh
Tim McInnernyPercy, Duke of Northumberland
Tony RobinsonBaldrick

Additional Details

Production type
Sitcoms/Variety
Historical period
Medieval
Plays
King Lear; Richard III
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes
Transcript available at http://blackadder.powertie.org/transcripts
History
The first episode in the first series.

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 0165
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN

Distributor (Sale)

Name

Retail outlets

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Foretelling (1485), The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av66708 (Accessed 06 Oct 2024)