Every Christmas holiday, we as a society are saturated with TV and film specials made in the spirit of celebrating the season. The excitement is so great that it takes over both November and December. After two months of non-stop Christmas cheer, it makes Christmas slightly anti-climactic. This is the reason why BBC’s Blackadder’s Christmas Carol is a must-see Christmas comedy. Charles Dickens’ penned A Christmas Carol over 150 years ago, and since then the book has been adapted for TV and film over 200 times. While the novella is not a comedy, Blackadder’s Christmas Carol is able to show respect to the book through parody, delivering one of the most hilarious versions of A Christmas Carol ever to have been depicted. The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is known to have produced some of the most acclaimed British comedies, and Blackadder’s Christmas Carol is no exception.
Blackadder is the title character of a period setting British sitcom that includes several one-off installments. Each episode features Rowan Atkinson as Edmund Blackadder (our parody hero), and Tony Robinson as his humble yet dim-witted servant, Baldrick. Assisting Atkinson in this short film are other well known British actors; including several who appeared together in the sixth installment of the Harry Potter film franchise. Robbie Coltrane portrays the ghosts of Christmas past and future; Miriam Margolyes and Jim Broadbent play the queen Victoria and her prince Consort; and Hugh Laurie reprises his role as Prince Regent from previous seasons of Blackadder. Laurie is also featured as the film’s narrator.
Each season in the Blackadder franchise is set in a different era of time in England, covering periods in British history from 1485-1917. The series in its entirety deals with the follies of Edmund Blackadder and his ancestors. As the series unfolds, each Blackadder ancestor becomes smarter and more perceptive. However, while Blackadder ancestors’ wits become sharper over time, the social status of the Blackadder family declines. Meanwhile, as the Blackadders become more intelligent, each servant–always from the Baldrick family line–becomes less intelligent, so much so that their personal hygiene is affected.
Blackadder’s Christmas Carol is a special themed episode of the series. BBC One first aired the show on December 23rd, 1988, between season three, Blackadder the Third (1987), and season four, Blackadder Goes Forth (1989). During this 43 minute special, the plot elements of the original Dickens novella are rearranged for maximum humor. Here we meet the kindest man in all of England; Ebenezer Blackadder, a moustache shop owner, is already the good-hearted man that the original Dickens story ends with. Blackadder’s kindness and compassion for his fellow man causes him to be consistently taken advantage of and swindled. After being guilted out of 17 pounds, 1 penny, a bowl of nuts, a turkey, and his presents by many greedy people who come to call on Christmas Eve night, Ebenezer Blackadder goes off to bed.
He is awoken by The Spirit of Christmas, who tells him that he didn’t mean to visit Blackadder, who is already a good man. However, since the spirit lets slip that Ebenezer Blackadder was “the good boy” and his ancestors were not, Blackadder wishes to see what his ancestors were like. The Spirit of Christmas shows Blackadder the antics of his ancestors, specifically those of Edmund, Lord Blackadder; and Edmund Blackadder Esquire, the butler to Prince Regent (the main characters from the show’s second and third seasons). After encountering these visions of the past, Ebenezer Blackadder comes to a realization: “The bad guys have all the fun!” Asking The Spirit of Christmas for a vision of what the future would hold for his descendants if he turns bad, Blackadder sees that if he goes bad, his ancestors will rule the universe. While the Spirit insists that he remain as he is, he also presents Blackadder with a vision of the future where Baldrick’s dim-witted ancestors attempt (and fail) to rule the universe.
On Christmas morning, in a neat inversion of the original Christmas Carol, Blackadder becomes the mean, greedy man that we are all familiar with from the beginning of Dickens’ classic tale. However, as he insults all the characters that have duped him in the past, Blackadder’s anger seems justified. He even, unknowingly, goes so far as to insult the queen of England and her prince consort when they come to reward him for his previous kindness, mistaking them for the fellows who swindled his turkey from him the night before. This outburst causes Blackadder to lose 50,000 pounds and the title of Baron Blackadder, ultimately lining up with the Blackadder character progression once more–Ebenezer is a wiser man, but once again has no fortune.
This short film is the perfect chance for audiences to shake up tradition and have a laugh. This film keeps the spirit of Christmas alive in a very humorous light with every witty punch line delivered with the perfect comedic timing that is the hallmark of BBC comedy. Blackadder’s Christmas Carol is a chance for everyone to slow down, lighten up, take a deep breath, and have a laugh this Christmas.
