It is very tastefully done, isn't it? After all, up to this point, they had done a comedy show about one of the most horrific wars to ever sunder the world, and here, in the last few minutes, they remind people that for those who where there, for all those soldiers, it aws most certainly not a laughing matter.
form laughing to crying, it was a funny series but this scene was so well made and so perfect that in a few seconds you were reminded just what this was all about and the horrors these people went through. Greatest moment in TV history for me
Sheer brilliance. Such a poignant reminder of what war is really about. This is how I remember the war dead and maimed, not watching hypocritical politicians laying wreaths at the Cenotaph.
I still can't watch the final scenes without my eyes watering up. I feel certain that whatever crew was assembled, they could not have bettered this ending, even if they were still trying to this day. Shows what can be achieved by people that care about what they are doing. A most worthy memorial to the several million young men from all across the world whose lives were snatched from them.
I am waiting for the day when any American sitcomm comes even remotely close to the brilliance of this kind of work. I think we are so beholden to corporate sponsorship and over the top political correctness that we have lost our ability to creatively express our truths.
@slytherinsheirx I think you're missing the point. The mark of a great comedy is its ability to move us like this last scene does. After a whole series of comedy, this last episode never fails to make me feel emotional. The contrast is so poignant.
Given that a comic multi-generational saga is so rare, shining a light on important periods of human history, ...and that this was such a Profoundly Perceptive choice of the World War, probably humanity's worst & most pointless tragedy and turning point, as the setting for the end of the series, the character, and presumably the character's family ... this series is probably one of the greatest human works of art.
Most people probably know this already, but the image of the poppies at the end is a reference to the most famous WWI poem 'In Flanders Fields' by Lt.Col. John McCrae. The first stanza reads:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly
@EshnehGaming well you have to have silly people like me otherwise how could you tell who's smart. So, you know. Bear with me, I'm trying my best, man.
This is what editing is all about. If you have inspired people like that on the job, they will turn obstacles, mistakes and accidents into opportunities for sheer brilliance. Just goes to show the dedication and creative energy of all the people involved in this series.
I first watched the final scene in 92 or 93 i think i was 12 yrs old then it made me cry then and today 20 yrs later it is still sad .. .. Blackadder series a re just awesome !
loved the ending. good example of creativity through accidents, though why they couldn't have thought up a better scene than the original crappy one, who knows. Ran out of money probably
@katiegreenaway: I'm a guy, yet I couldn't help myself either. I believe that both laughs and tears of the viewers are a fitting tribute to this great series.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith ...
It was a sad end to characters you laughed with so much, but yet so powerful considering the historical content. Such a moving moment in a comedy no less.
I was so shocked when I saw this as I was expecting them to survive. My whole family was watching this and I think we were silent for five minutes after that.
@Mavakor I remember thinking, "oh something's gonna happen, they're gonna get out of it" towards the end of the scene I figured they'd cut to them at a sausage factory in Berlin or something.
it's wierd how a comedy can have such a great scene at the end , i would say was as moving as any film , really made me think thank god i wasn't there , what a waste of life.
I'm just so thankful for the existence of the whole Black Adder body of work. It has brought laughs (and even the tears at that ending) that are priceless. :-)
I didn't really understand when I saw it how they just transitioned to an empty scene. I assumed it meant they were killed, but honestly they could have done a little bit better there. But it was a great ending. All the actors and writers nailed it.
For a comedy programme to achieve something poignant and touching is a marvelous achievement. Such a poignant tribute to the millions of young men who had to do it for real.
i remember watching this in year 8 history, and i'll never forget how instead of squawking and hooting and wailing and chatting and all sorts after the video, there was absolute silence. remember, we're only 12 year old kids, but everyone was still captivated by the final images, still staring at the screen in what must have been a mixture of disbelief and horror. incredibly poignant.
I always hear that many people found the ending of this series extremely schocking. Obviously it does not end well, but I always believed it worked very good and it was perfectly edited, in combination with the music and because of that there was something very melancholical about it. The ending of Blackadder II, with the shot of Queenie and her entourage with their throats cut, was much more schocking to me, but that also worked for that series.
@CF1975 That ending shocked me too. Those two were my least favourite endings, purely because of the way they all died, one series ending in war, the other, murder.
Pretty good idea with the poppies and the birds! That created an epic sense of the actual battlefield as it remains... So serene. And such a bloody history. Incredible!
It clearly points out that the generals, who got all the glory, are just incompetent war criminals, with crimes perpetrated on their own troops (which makes it even worse). All the WW1 monuments to generals are spit in the face of innocent soldiers. Takes me back to Kubricks "Paths of glory".
@dinoalberini I know what you mean. However, think of it this way: suddenly leaders like Haig found themselves fighting a modern war with a much larger, sophisticated enemy without enough men or equipment. Those British leaders cut their teeth on fighting native armies who numbered a few thousand at most and had no artillery or machine guns.
@dinoalberini In 1914-1915 British artillery ran short of shells, in 1916 they had to embark on the Somme offensive & keep going as the French needed support. Even when they had tanks & aircraft (Cambrai in 1917), they didn't know how to maintain an offensive (i.e. when the tanks ran out of fuel after crossing the front lines). No battle between large, well armed forces can be bloodless!
@dinoalberini The main charge against General Haig et al is that they were intellectually lazy: bashing away with the same inflexible stategies that clearly didn't work. It took until mid 1918 before they worked out how to cordinate air power, artillery, amour & infantry into an effective force. Maybe they should have put the pieces together a year before!
@anthonythirteen I think that they didn't care at all (as well portrayed in this last season of Blackadder) They saw what was going on at Verdun and still thought that it was the right way to go. They should have been prosecuted as war criminals because eventually they were no better than Falkenheim.
@dinoalberini War is hell. When you get 2 sides with enough firepower to stop the other, but not to get through their defences, what do you do? Go home? Sounds good, but things would be very bad for the UK, France & Europe with the arrogant Kaiser stomping around if we'd given up in 1914-16.
@anthonythirteen you don't advance like an al quaida suicide bomber, that's for sure. Not to mention the shelling of your own troops because they had enough brain to know that the best thing to do is to stay put and wait in the trenches. All the suicide advances had no effect, Haig was a stubborn idiot, as well as Cadorna, Nivelle and others except Pétain. The most honest thing to do nowadays is to honor those killed by their own army because they were brave enough to rebel against insanity.
@dinoalberini Even in 1918, when the idiots at the top changed their tactics (integrating air/artillery/infantry; multiple attacks at different points in the line; rushing forward in groups, giving each other covering fire, etc. etc.) they were still sustaining massive casualities. Petin slaughtered many, just like the others: no general could avoid it if he wanted to win. The worst people are the Kaiser who started the fighting in the first place!!!!!
@anthonythirteen true about the Kaiser. However, to win, they should have just done what they eventually did: starve the Germans by keeping their position (more or less).
@ImperialGuard9001 debatable. The Russians had been told that under Germany's Schlieffen Plan "mobilisation means war". You could therefore argue that Russia started the war by mobilising its troops, but it's debatable that Germany really needed to go to war as a result of that.
@DeafFret whilst it is difficult to see how confrontation could be avoided with a resurgent Germany trying to catch up in the European Imperialist race, clearly they were arming for war years before 1914. 'Kaiser Bill' was very much pushing this even to the end: don't forget it was his officers who's nerve broke in 1918.
I've never even watched Blackadder (other than the Christmas special), but I bet that is the best ending of all time. Even though I had no connection to the characters.
@JBBJGWC But most of us are going to assume otherwise (it was deliberately left ambiguous). It's asafe assumption to make when you consider this is WWI we're talking about, with engagements like Verdun (so bad it knocked France out of the war) or the Somme (58,000 British dead on the first day alone), or other instances in which millions died in single battles.
@Freakears 20000 dead on day one, 58000 casualities altogether: none of those battles had small numbers - indeed, more British were being killed in 1918 than in any other year, and we ending up 'winning' by early November!
@JBBJGWC You mean the fan theory on the Wild Mass Guessing page that, just this once, Baldrick's "cunning plan" actually worked? I doubt that very much, and the fact that the original footage had everyone dying, and that the actual ending heavily implied the same thing...
Also, you should really watch the series. You can skip season 1 until you've seen the later episodes, though, as it's very different & not as good in most people's opinions but it's still got its moments (and BRIAN BLESSED).
Mr Bean is funny in it's own way,although it can become a bit tooo much at times.Blackadder is probably some of the most brilliant comedy ever created.It is impossible to NOT laugh when they do their thing.Pure brilliance.I can watch these series over and over again,and laugh just as hard as the first time,if not more.
Slytherinsheirhx and others...might I point out that much of the scenes that we love in movies and shoes these days are owed to last minute attempts to "save" a scene that wasn't shot so well. You should see the original scenes of Star Wars...boy was THAT movie saved by editing!
@katiegreenaway I cry when Hugh Laurie says "sir.. I'm scared sir".. a man as blind and brave as him in the war also felt scared in the end.. heartbreaking!
@rajeevbat That's the real turning point in the episode when George a real dim bulb realizes that he could be killed just like his friends. From then on the mood is barely laughable and it just sets us up for the ending to come. It's just brilliant and moving.
I love the series, all of the series, but I HATE the ending. It's so sad. It's a harrowing, permenant reminder that these things really did happen.
They did a very good job on that scene and it proves that you can do anything with a shot. They didn't know how it was going to work and thanks to some quick thinking it went from a 'what are we doing here' to a really touching scene.
@slytherinsheirx but that's what makes the whole series - without it all of Mr B's patheitic attempts to get home, the crass stupidity of Balders (who doesn't know why he's in France), the naivety of Lt George (who's covering up his terror with silly comments) and the callousness of Melchett, makes no sense at all...
@slytherinsheirx, I love the ending, it's perfect, could there be any better reminder about the futility of war? This was beamed into TVs across the nation, we followed the characters & their lives for weeks, eagerly anticipating the next show & at the very end, we saw them die. This was brilliant comedy right up until the last scene & yet the last scene puts it all into it's true historical context & reminds us of the true human tragedy behind it all. Behind every good joke is the truth.
@slytherinsheirx That's the point. Are you from a commonwealth or European country? It's kinda hard to describe the mindset, but the first world war and the lives lost is something that;s viewed almost with a reverence. All that history, all that lineage, all those lives, that entire in-universe world we'd loved and known - gone. Wiped out in a single war. It's also a rather good allegory for the irrevocable smashing and alteration of human history that resulted.
I remember getting GOOSEBUMPS seeing the field of poppies blended in....life really is too short and our lives will someday be shadows of the past as well.
some "Bright Spark" in sound?.. well, now I understand why tech guys feel unappreciated sometimes. if it weren't for these "Bright sparks" god knows what would have become of this series?
... it must be true that ties really do cut off circulation!
@BevilTex You don't understand the British use of understatement...that was a compliment, for heaven's sake. The "bright star" added the final touch of brilliance, and this is being acknowledged. Remember this guy refers to most of the contributors as "someone". You have to work with these people to understand them, and their casual but dreadfully sincere manner. And I am American, and I understand.
And this folks, is a clear example why they give out oscars in technical or obscure categories that the average viewer/film goer doesn't even think about.
Look how these guys took some average footage and turned it into one of the best final scenes ever.
The story behind one of the best scenes in television history in my opinion. Also a great example of a production team working together to make a scene that was ok, into something great.
The one dislike is from Stephen Fry. Bet he was always kicking himself for not being part of this so memorible scene.
GermanConquistador08 4 weeks ago
This is one great piece of editing!
Bombaman5632 2 months ago
It is very tastefully done, isn't it? After all, up to this point, they had done a comedy show about one of the most horrific wars to ever sunder the world, and here, in the last few minutes, they remind people that for those who where there, for all those soldiers, it aws most certainly not a laughing matter.
biggles1111 3 months ago 2
form laughing to crying, it was a funny series but this scene was so well made and so perfect that in a few seconds you were reminded just what this was all about and the horrors these people went through. Greatest moment in TV history for me
MarkCooperRunsEurope 4 months ago 3
Sheer brilliance. Such a poignant reminder of what war is really about. This is how I remember the war dead and maimed, not watching hypocritical politicians laying wreaths at the Cenotaph.
Spergematic 4 months ago
I still can't watch the final scenes without my eyes watering up. I feel certain that whatever crew was assembled, they could not have bettered this ending, even if they were still trying to this day. Shows what can be achieved by people that care about what they are doing. A most worthy memorial to the several million young men from all across the world whose lives were snatched from them.
gordon2d 4 months ago 7
Absolutely beautiful....
MrScoop77 4 months ago
I am waiting for the day when any American sitcomm comes even remotely close to the brilliance of this kind of work. I think we are so beholden to corporate sponsorship and over the top political correctness that we have lost our ability to creatively express our truths.
Noren1260 5 months ago 4
@slytherinsheirx I think you're missing the point. The mark of a great comedy is its ability to move us like this last scene does. After a whole series of comedy, this last episode never fails to make me feel emotional. The contrast is so poignant.
evildave9000 5 months ago
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Given that a comic multi-generational saga is so rare, shining a light on important periods of human history, ...and that this was such a Profoundly Perceptive choice of the World War, probably humanity's worst & most pointless tragedy and turning point, as the setting for the end of the series, the character, and presumably the character's family ... this series is probably one of the greatest human works of art.
What's the basis of comedy?
ProNorden 5 months ago
So, this means that Blackadder is likely to have survived?
RayTunesOfficial 7 months ago
@RayTunesOfficial
Afraid not. It's a running gag of the show that each series ends with everyone dying.
RedwoodTheElf 6 months ago
@RedwoodTheElf He survives in Season 3.
RayTunesOfficial 5 months ago
@RayTunesOfficial The person survives, but "Blackadder" dies - officially he is dead.
Jafroboy 4 months ago
Most people probably know this already, but the image of the poppies at the end is a reference to the most famous WWI poem 'In Flanders Fields' by Lt.Col. John McCrae. The first stanza reads:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
ravizoid 7 months ago 4
the music is really touching
swimteamizzle1114 7 months ago
Gosh now I see why did they cut it down and didn't show them die, it's so weirdly unconvincing, it's even strange guys couldn't act death better.
alinemerrow 8 months ago
@alinemerrow
You've missed the point entirely.
EshnehGaming 5 months ago
@EshnehGaming well you have to have silly people like me otherwise how could you tell who's smart. So, you know. Bear with me, I'm trying my best, man.
alinemerrow 5 months ago
This is what editing is all about. If you have inspired people like that on the job, they will turn obstacles, mistakes and accidents into opportunities for sheer brilliance. Just goes to show the dedication and creative energy of all the people involved in this series.
Sahnefilmsmember 8 months ago 2
There is a very thin line between tragedy and comedy, and this show captured it...
Nightmeare 8 months ago 28
I first watched the final scene in 92 or 93 i think i was 12 yrs old then it made me cry then and today 20 yrs later it is still sad .. .. Blackadder series a re just awesome !
jackotrades50 9 months ago 2
loved the ending. good example of creativity through accidents, though why they couldn't have thought up a better scene than the original crappy one, who knows. Ran out of money probably
Independantfellow 9 months ago
This is, without doubt, the most apt and perfect ending to any tellivision series. It ended with a meaning.
Dites1954 9 months ago 38
Fascinating.
medievalist 10 months ago
@katiegreenaway: I'm a guy, yet I couldn't help myself either. I believe that both laughs and tears of the viewers are a fitting tribute to this great series.
asmodeus585 10 months ago 3
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith ...
wimscheers 11 months ago 2
bloody brilliant
lowrioj 11 months ago
In Flanders fields ...
wimscheers 11 months ago
This video reminds me of Hamlet: "There is a divinity that shapes our ends..." I think a divinity shaped the ending of this series.
Rumiton 11 months ago 3
This scene makes me cry. I never cry.
Haystacks 11 months ago 2
Very much appreciated seeing this.
Even after having watched how it was done, the moving of the closing scene still remains unblemished.
Thanks again.
Infinitelure2008 1 year ago
It was a sad end to characters you laughed with so much, but yet so powerful considering the historical content. Such a moving moment in a comedy no less.
NJburbsSeeker 1 year ago
I was so shocked when I saw this as I was expecting them to survive. My whole family was watching this and I think we were silent for five minutes after that.
Mavakor 1 year ago 3
@Mavakor I remember thinking, "oh something's gonna happen, they're gonna get out of it" towards the end of the scene I figured they'd cut to them at a sausage factory in Berlin or something.
Shorthumor 1 year ago
it's wierd how a comedy can have such a great scene at the end , i would say was as moving as any film , really made me think thank god i wasn't there , what a waste of life.
gingerbill128 1 year ago
this ending actually makes me tear up...it's so good!
delilaha 1 year ago
I've seen this ending a hundred times by now.. and every single time it gives me goosebumps!
rockinLive 1 year ago 3
I'm just so thankful for the existence of the whole Black Adder body of work. It has brought laughs (and even the tears at that ending) that are priceless. :-)
rbz12run 1 year ago
I didn't really understand when I saw it how they just transitioned to an empty scene. I assumed it meant they were killed, but honestly they could have done a little bit better there. But it was a great ending. All the actors and writers nailed it.
HeyItsSteve93 1 year ago
BLACKADDER CHEATED DEATH!!! lol
johto3196 1 year ago
RIP to all who served during this terrible war and the second war as well.
alexamerling20 1 year ago
For a comedy programme to achieve something poignant and touching is a marvelous achievement. Such a poignant tribute to the millions of young men who had to do it for real.
MrSinister1979 1 year ago
i remember watching this in year 8 history, and i'll never forget how instead of squawking and hooting and wailing and chatting and all sorts after the video, there was absolute silence. remember, we're only 12 year old kids, but everyone was still captivated by the final images, still staring at the screen in what must have been a mixture of disbelief and horror. incredibly poignant.
JackyRowe 1 year ago 2
Rowan Atkinson must be one of the best things that has happened to this planet.
alexanderwotl 1 year ago
One of only three things on TV that have ever made me cry. And the only one to do so while I wasn't drunk.
Longsword24 1 year ago
And this is why The Sopranos can go fuck themselves.
Sylderon 1 year ago
I always hear that many people found the ending of this series extremely schocking. Obviously it does not end well, but I always believed it worked very good and it was perfectly edited, in combination with the music and because of that there was something very melancholical about it. The ending of Blackadder II, with the shot of Queenie and her entourage with their throats cut, was much more schocking to me, but that also worked for that series.
CF1975 1 year ago 2
@CF1975 That ending shocked me too. Those two were my least favourite endings, purely because of the way they all died, one series ending in war, the other, murder.
slytherinsheirx 1 year ago
Is that Ian McTierney?
vasssie 1 year ago
saddest ending ever. Perfect
sgottlieb 1 year ago 4
Pure gold.
Nothing has even come close to finishing a sitcom. So much to say.
pixelfibre 1 year ago
Pretty good idea with the poppies and the birds! That created an epic sense of the actual battlefield as it remains... So serene. And such a bloody history. Incredible!
pipenissen 1 year ago
It clearly points out that the generals, who got all the glory, are just incompetent war criminals, with crimes perpetrated on their own troops (which makes it even worse). All the WW1 monuments to generals are spit in the face of innocent soldiers. Takes me back to Kubricks "Paths of glory".
dinoalberini 1 year ago
@dinoalberini I know what you mean. However, think of it this way: suddenly leaders like Haig found themselves fighting a modern war with a much larger, sophisticated enemy without enough men or equipment. Those British leaders cut their teeth on fighting native armies who numbered a few thousand at most and had no artillery or machine guns.
anthonythirteen 1 year ago
@dinoalberini In 1914-1915 British artillery ran short of shells, in 1916 they had to embark on the Somme offensive & keep going as the French needed support. Even when they had tanks & aircraft (Cambrai in 1917), they didn't know how to maintain an offensive (i.e. when the tanks ran out of fuel after crossing the front lines). No battle between large, well armed forces can be bloodless!
anthonythirteen 1 year ago
@dinoalberini The main charge against General Haig et al is that they were intellectually lazy: bashing away with the same inflexible stategies that clearly didn't work. It took until mid 1918 before they worked out how to cordinate air power, artillery, amour & infantry into an effective force. Maybe they should have put the pieces together a year before!
anthonythirteen 1 year ago
@anthonythirteen I think that they didn't care at all (as well portrayed in this last season of Blackadder) They saw what was going on at Verdun and still thought that it was the right way to go. They should have been prosecuted as war criminals because eventually they were no better than Falkenheim.
dinoalberini 1 year ago
@dinoalberini War is hell. When you get 2 sides with enough firepower to stop the other, but not to get through their defences, what do you do? Go home? Sounds good, but things would be very bad for the UK, France & Europe with the arrogant Kaiser stomping around if we'd given up in 1914-16.
anthonythirteen 1 year ago
@anthonythirteen you don't advance like an al quaida suicide bomber, that's for sure. Not to mention the shelling of your own troops because they had enough brain to know that the best thing to do is to stay put and wait in the trenches. All the suicide advances had no effect, Haig was a stubborn idiot, as well as Cadorna, Nivelle and others except Pétain. The most honest thing to do nowadays is to honor those killed by their own army because they were brave enough to rebel against insanity.
dinoalberini 1 year ago
@dinoalberini Even in 1918, when the idiots at the top changed their tactics (integrating air/artillery/infantry; multiple attacks at different points in the line; rushing forward in groups, giving each other covering fire, etc. etc.) they were still sustaining massive casualities. Petin slaughtered many, just like the others: no general could avoid it if he wanted to win. The worst people are the Kaiser who started the fighting in the first place!!!!!
anthonythirteen 1 year ago
@anthonythirteen true about the Kaiser. However, to win, they should have just done what they eventually did: starve the Germans by keeping their position (more or less).
dinoalberini 1 year ago
@anthonythirteen The Kaiser didnt star the war more than the King of England did.
ImperialGuard9001 1 year ago
@ImperialGuard9001 debatable. The Russians had been told that under Germany's Schlieffen Plan "mobilisation means war". You could therefore argue that Russia started the war by mobilising its troops, but it's debatable that Germany really needed to go to war as a result of that.
DeafFret 1 year ago
@DeafFret whilst it is difficult to see how confrontation could be avoided with a resurgent Germany trying to catch up in the European Imperialist race, clearly they were arming for war years before 1914. 'Kaiser Bill' was very much pushing this even to the end: don't forget it was his officers who's nerve broke in 1918.
anthonythirteen 1 year ago
@ImperialGuard9001 Mmmm, are you talking strict political terms, or the fact that the Kaiser was enthusiastically supporting war right to the end?
anthonythirteen 1 year ago
"Sod-off baldrick"
fixitdude74 1 year ago
Edmund actually survived, according to TV Tropes.
I've never even watched Blackadder (other than the Christmas special), but I bet that is the best ending of all time. Even though I had no connection to the characters.
JBBJGWC 1 year ago
@JBBJGWC But most of us are going to assume otherwise (it was deliberately left ambiguous). It's asafe assumption to make when you consider this is WWI we're talking about, with engagements like Verdun (so bad it knocked France out of the war) or the Somme (58,000 British dead on the first day alone), or other instances in which millions died in single battles.
Freakears 1 year ago
@Freakears 20000 dead on day one, 58000 casualities altogether: none of those battles had small numbers - indeed, more British were being killed in 1918 than in any other year, and we ending up 'winning' by early November!
anthonythirteen 1 year ago
@JBBJGWC You mean the fan theory on the Wild Mass Guessing page that, just this once, Baldrick's "cunning plan" actually worked? I doubt that very much, and the fact that the original footage had everyone dying, and that the actual ending heavily implied the same thing...
Also, you should really watch the series. You can skip season 1 until you've seen the later episodes, though, as it's very different & not as good in most people's opinions but it's still got its moments (and BRIAN BLESSED).
TotzthePlaid 1 year ago
like always... fix it in post
MattTrecartin 1 year ago
Mr Bean is funny in it's own way,although it can become a bit tooo much at times.Blackadder is probably some of the most brilliant comedy ever created.It is impossible to NOT laugh when they do their thing.Pure brilliance.I can watch these series over and over again,and laugh just as hard as the first time,if not more.
Hammern28 1 year ago 4
Slytherinsheirhx and others...might I point out that much of the scenes that we love in movies and shoes these days are owed to last minute attempts to "save" a scene that wasn't shot so well. You should see the original scenes of Star Wars...boy was THAT movie saved by editing!
mommapuddin 1 year ago
@katiegreenaway I cry when Hugh Laurie says "sir.. I'm scared sir".. a man as blind and brave as him in the war also felt scared in the end.. heartbreaking!
rajeevbat 1 year ago 4
@rajeevbat That's the real turning point in the episode when George a real dim bulb realizes that he could be killed just like his friends. From then on the mood is barely laughable and it just sets us up for the ending to come. It's just brilliant and moving.
schizoidboy 1 year ago 2
BUT....what about the music. That piece is one of the finest, most poignant pieces of music ever !
ruffian1868 1 year ago
i cried with laughter watching this episode, and at the end, i just cried with sadness.
how is this possible?
i have never felt these kind of emotions during any tv broadcast before or since.
in my opinion, the greatest piece of televisual history ever.
adamfinspain 1 year ago 3
Mr. bean can go f*ck himself. THIS is the best Rowan atkinson has ever done.
DarenSankari 1 year ago 67
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@DarenSankari Yeah and he can go fuck himself too.
DeafFret 1 year ago
@DarenSankari mr bean is rowan atkinson
MrFlix76 1 year ago
@MrFlix76 I know.
DarenSankari 1 year ago
@DarenSankari oh ok
MrFlix76 1 year ago
@MrFlix76 Just to clearify, i meant Mr. Bean (the character), not Mr. Bean as in Rowan Atkinson himself.
DarenSankari 1 year ago
@DarenSankari Totally agree here mate. People so used to Rowan being Mr. Bean and they can't really see the greatness of his acting in Black Adder.
MariosL84 1 year ago 5
@DarenSankari bang on!!!
oxonvids 5 months ago
I can go over these episodes day after day and still not get bored.. amazing stuff!
GuitarNovice100 1 year ago
Sad but true ending.
brunodude321 1 year ago
I love the series, all of the series, but I HATE the ending. It's so sad. It's a harrowing, permenant reminder that these things really did happen.
They did a very good job on that scene and it proves that you can do anything with a shot. They didn't know how it was going to work and thanks to some quick thinking it went from a 'what are we doing here' to a really touching scene.
slytherinsheirx 1 year ago 28
@slytherinsheirx perhaps people should be reminded though?
DeafFret 1 year ago 77
@DeafFret Indeed. I'm not saying people Shouldn't be reminded, I just find the ending very sad.
slytherinsheirx 1 year ago
@slytherinsheirx but that's what makes the whole series - without it all of Mr B's patheitic attempts to get home, the crass stupidity of Balders (who doesn't know why he's in France), the naivety of Lt George (who's covering up his terror with silly comments) and the callousness of Melchett, makes no sense at all...
anthonythirteen 1 year ago
@slytherinsheirx mate, that really was the point, afterall thats said and done, thats the bottom line.
to write a comedy set during the first world war was, to say the least, a gigantic effort.
it had to end this way, for this is the truth of what happened to so many young men during that conflict.
its a very powerfull testament to the futallity of war.
lest we forget.
adamfinspain 1 year ago
Comment removed
jazzyrob41 1 year ago
@slytherinsheirx lest we forget
AFIEBHC 1 year ago
@slytherinsheirx, I love the ending, it's perfect, could there be any better reminder about the futility of war? This was beamed into TVs across the nation, we followed the characters & their lives for weeks, eagerly anticipating the next show & at the very end, we saw them die. This was brilliant comedy right up until the last scene & yet the last scene puts it all into it's true historical context & reminds us of the true human tragedy behind it all. Behind every good joke is the truth.
pete2778 1 year ago 2
@slytherinsheirx That's the point. Are you from a commonwealth or European country? It's kinda hard to describe the mindset, but the first world war and the lives lost is something that;s viewed almost with a reverence. All that history, all that lineage, all those lives, that entire in-universe world we'd loved and known - gone. Wiped out in a single war. It's also a rather good allegory for the irrevocable smashing and alteration of human history that resulted.
taleya 8 months ago
@taleya I'd say a European country that does and doesn't want any EU recognition, depending on the circumstances - England.
True, that.
slytherinsheirx 8 months ago
@slytherinsheirx really? i LOVE that scene. it gives a great show a worthy and emotional ending.
and the ability of the writers and actors to make the switch from humor to tragedy that quick is talent you dont see in any other comedy series.
h3lv3te 7 months ago
I blub like a baby everytime I watch this. What a great way to end one of the best comedy shows on TV.
sophieliz1990 2 years ago
I miss this show and the characters!!!
That ending was amazing.
I remember getting GOOSEBUMPS seeing the field of poppies blended in....life really is too short and our lives will someday be shadows of the past as well.
shivercanada 2 years ago 5
real talented "auters" can turn a bad scene into a masterpiece...i grown up watching blackadder...omg good times....
jeanjacklemon 2 years ago
some "Bright Spark" in sound?.. well, now I understand why tech guys feel unappreciated sometimes. if it weren't for these "Bright sparks" god knows what would have become of this series?
... it must be true that ties really do cut off circulation!
BevilTex 2 years ago
@BevilTex You don't understand the British use of understatement...that was a compliment, for heaven's sake. The "bright star" added the final touch of brilliance, and this is being acknowledged. Remember this guy refers to most of the contributors as "someone". You have to work with these people to understand them, and their casual but dreadfully sincere manner. And I am American, and I understand.
SpindriftRI 2 years ago 8
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dharmaseed 2 years ago
a fitting tribute to the fallen
alanfinn19 2 years ago 11
Ah i see so they showed the battle field 100 years after,very amusing never saw this actually.
NEMESIS1999 2 years ago
And this folks, is a clear example why they give out oscars in technical or obscure categories that the average viewer/film goer doesn't even think about.
Look how these guys took some average footage and turned it into one of the best final scenes ever.
greyjdog 2 years ago 185
true.
flug747 2 years ago
Word.
NelsonStJames 2 years ago
@greyjdog Very true.
slytherinsheirx 1 year ago
best ending of any series ever.
fact.
thepissflap 2 years ago 16
The story behind one of the best scenes in television history in my opinion. Also a great example of a production team working together to make a scene that was ok, into something great.
WC3POchannel10A 2 years ago 14
terrible end. magnificent. a tribute to all who charged towards the enemy through nomansland. senseless orders. senseless killing of the millions.
canariojoe 3 years ago 12