DVD Review: ‘Blackadder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition’ Rules

CHICAGO – Legendary TV shows deserve legendary DVD sets and the “Ultimate Edition” release for the beloved “Blackadder” truly lives up to the often over-used “ultimate” title. Giving fans everything “Adder”-related that they could possibly ask for, this is the perfect gift this holiday season for fans of British television.

DVD Rating: 5.0/5.0

The glorious six-disc set for “Blackadder” includes every episode of the show digitally restored from the original program masters plus a host of all-new bonus features.

Blackadder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition was released on DVD on October 20th, 2009.
Photo credit: BBC Home Video

Starring Rowan Atkinson (“Bean”), Hugh Laurie (“House”), Stephen Fry, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Miranda Richardson, and more, the four-series program is a classic in England and has a legion of fans here in the States, and this set is good enough to make a few new “Adder”-holics on either side of the pond.

Each of the four series of “Blackadder” features the title anti-hero in a different historical period. The four series are “The Black Adder,” “Blackadder II,” “Blackadder the Third,” and the massively successful “Blackadder Goes Forth”. In a 2004 poll to find Britain’s best sitcom in history, “Blackadder” finished second and Empire Magazine ranked the show in the 20 best of all time.

The “Ultimate Edition” includes all four series and brand new audio commentaries with Rowan Atkinson & John Lloyd, Stephen Fry, Ben Elton & Richard Curtis, and Tony Robinson & Tim McInnerny. Also includes are exclusive extended interviews with Hugh Laurie, Atkinson, Curtis & Elton, Robinson, and Fry.

There were several “Blackadder” specials produced and they’re all included - “Blackadder’s Christmas Carol,” “Blackadder The Cavalier Years,” “Blackadder Back and Forth,” “Baldrick’s Video Diary,” and more. Also included are costume features with Miranda Richardson, Patsy Byrne, Robinson, and McInnerny, and a ridiculously good 60-minute documentary to mark the 25th anniversary called “Blackadder Rides Again”.

The words “Ultimate Edition” have been incredibly over-used in the world of DVD but this beautiful set for a beloved series lives up to its name. Interviews, behind-the-scenes details, retrospective documentaries, and every piece of aired material that ever bore the name “Blackadder”. This is easily one of the best TV on DVD sets of the entire year.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com