Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988)

I love this movie so much

Good concept, poorly executed.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Throughout the ages Edmund Blackadders have been knaves to a man… that is until this one; he is the nicest man in all of England. He is generous to a fault, giving all of his money, not to mention Christmas presents and even his Christmas lunch to others. These others include Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who are searching for the most generous man in London to reward him. As he prepares to go to sleep he is visited by the Spirit of Christmas. This spirit compliments him on his goodness and mentions how he tries to show bad people the errors of their ways by showing them visions of their lives… he also tells Blackadder how bad his ancestors were and agrees to show him.We then see visions of Elizabethan Blackadder and Regency Blackadder as they deviously profit from those around them. Blackadder asks who thinks would change if he were evil… in the distant future his decedent would rule the universe but if he continues to be good things will be very different. Needless to say by the morning Blackadder learns an important lesson… bad guys have all the fun! Those who know him are in for a surprise.This is a solid one off episode of Blackadder. It was fun to see a good Blackadder for once… even if he quickly becomes the man we expect him to be. There were plenty of laughs to be had; unfortunately some of these are rather spoilt by an obtrusive laughter track. I really liked the scenes were we revisited Blackadders past and got to see old favourite characters again. The future scenes were also rather amusing as they play with some more naff sci-fi tropes. If you are a Blackadder fan this is a must see, if you haven't seen previous series this will probably still be amusing but obviously not as funny as if you know the characters.

Do they give O Levels in British History? You would certainly need one to to get all the jokes in the Blackadder series.Fortunately, to watch this special, you just need to know that Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) was a nasty SOB. Atkinson plays three Edmunds her as well as Ebenezer, and they are all SOBs.We get Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) as the Spirit of Christmas, Dr. House (Hugh Laurie), Stephen Fry, and Jim Broadbent. If you are looking to add some laughs to you Christmas season, you can't go wrong here.Of course, the lesson learned is that "Bad guys have all the fun."

SPOILERS Every Christmas it is the same thing. You wake up on Christmas Day, you spend the day with family and you eat Turkey. Every year as well, we always have at least one version of Charles Dickens' classic novel "A Christmas Carol". Talking about the transformation over night of Ebenezer Scrooge from nasty to nice, the tale is one of the most well known around.In 1988 however, we had an alternative to life. A spoof of Dickens' novel saw the light of day. Poking fun at the story and fitting it into the Blackadder family, we were given a Christmas present to remember.In Victorian London, one of the nicest men around was Ebenezer Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson). A kind businessman who constantly gave money and food away to the poor, Blackadder and his associate Baldrick (Tony Robinson) were short of money, but happy none the less. On Christmas Eve however, Blackadder was visited by the Spirit of Christmas (Robbie Coltrane) and things were about to change.This retelling of the classic tale but in a sort of reverse is brilliant because it allowed us to see new sketches for the Elizabethan and Georgian Blackadders. Bringing back all the old characters, Melchett (Stephen Fry), Queen Elizabeth (Miranda Richardson), Nursie (Patsy Byrne) and Prince George (Hugh Laurie), this episode also granted us a view into the future with the two ways the Blackadder family might evolve.Not without flaws, this episode did contain the incredibly annoying character of Millicent (Nicola Bryant), but written that way, it's difficult to really fault the character. Likewise the three fat orphans and their master Beadle (Denis Lill). Ultimately though, whether these characters are irritating or not, it is so good to see the old ones return, as well as a spirited performance (get it?) by Robbie Coltrane as the Ghost of Christmas, that all the negative characters are forgiven.All in all, "Blackadder's Christmas Carol" is brilliant. Funny throughout, it reminds us of why we love the series and it continues to entertain after multiple viewings. Well worth getting a copy of.

A grand reversal of "The Christmas Carol".Very funny, but *perhaps* viewing the BlackAdder series is a prerequisite so you know the characters. (Well at least the first 3 series.)Amanda Richardson does the switch from Elizabeth I to the future perfectly.And BlackAdder's progression, vs. Baldrick's progression are shown well.An annual event here!