Showing results by author "Ben Elton" in Toutes les catégories

Through the ages of Britain, from the 15th century to the 21st, Edmund Blackadder has meddled his way along the bloodlines, aided by his servant and sidekick, Baldrick, and hindered by an assortment of dimwitted aristocrats. Now the complete history of Blackadder is collected together, including the four TV series: The Black Adder, Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth.

The artists on this compilation range from Rowan Atkinson to Eddie Izzard to Bill Hicks, and we've also included some previously unreleased material. There is eight years worth of material in this collection, and we hope that you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed producing it.

Flanders, June 1917: a British officer and celebrated poet is shot dead, killed not by German fire, but while recuperating from shell shock well behind the lines. A young English soldier is arrested and, although he protests his innocence, charged with his murder. Douglas Kingsley is a conscientious objector, previously a detective with the London police, now imprisoned for his beliefs. He is released, and sent to France in order to secure a conviction.

With a ya boo sucks to you fritzy, hot tiddly tumble, it's off to Western Front 1917. Captain Blackadder, hero of Mboto Gorge, joined the British Army when it was little more than a travel agency for gentlemen with an abnormally high sex drive.

For amiable city trader Jimmy Corby money was the new rock n' roll. His whole life was a party, adrenaline charged and cocaine fuelled. If he hadn't met Monica, he would probably have ended up either dead or in rehab. But Jimmy was as lucky in love as he was at betting on dodgy derivatives, so instead of burning out, his star just burned brighter than ever. Rich, pampered and successful; Jimmy; Monica; and their friends lived the dream, bringing up their children with an army of domestic helps.

England 1558-1603. The filthy genes of the Blackadder dynasty bubble to the surface of history's melting pot as Lord Edmund, arrogant peer-about-town, swaggers with a big head and small beard in search of grace and favour from the stark raving mad Queen Bess.

It’s the 1st of June 1914 and Hugh Stanton, ex-soldier and celebrated adventurer is quite literally the loneliest man on earth. No one he has ever known or loved has been born yet. Perhaps now they never will be.Stanton knows that a great and terrible war is coming. A collective suicidal madness that will destroy European civilization and bring misery to millions in the century to come. He knows this because, for him, that century is already history.Somehow he must change that history. He must prevent the war.

Flanders, June 1917: a British officer and celebrated poet, is shot dead, killed not by German fire, but while recuperating from shell shock well behind the lines. A young English soldier is arrested and, although he protests his innocence, charged with his murder.Douglas Kingsley is a conscientious objector, previously a detective with the London police, now imprisoned for his beliefs.

Based on the format of the American TV show Saturday Night Live, this home-grown comedy production was an enormous success and bought recognition and fame to a great many performers, many of whom are now household names.

England 1760-1815. With the advent of the Regency period the Blackadder's family fortune has rather plummeted. Edmund Blackadder, butler to the Prince Regent, veers from calamity to disaster with very little in the way of constructive help from either his imbecile Lord and master the Prince Regent or the mouse-brained Baldrick.

As Trafford Sewell struggles to work through the usual crowds of commuters, he is confronted by the intimidating figure of his Parish Confessor. Why has Trafford not been streaming his every moment of sexual intimacy onto the community website like everybody else? Does he think he's different or special in some way? Better than his fellow man and woman? Does he have something to hide? Imagine a world where everyone knows everything about everybody.

The war on drugs has been lost but for want of the courage to face the fact that the whole world is rapidly becoming one vast criminal network. From pop stars and princes to crack whores and street kids. From the Groucho Club toilets to the poppy fields of Afghanistan, we are all partners in crime.

The ultimate pop quest. Ninety-five thousand hopefuls. Three judges. Just one winner. And that’s Calvin Simms, the genius behind the show. Calvin always wins because Calvin writes the rules. But this year, as he sits smugly in judgement upon the mingers, clingers and blingers whom he has pre-selected in his carefully scripted ‘search’ for a star, he has no idea that the rules are changing.

For amiable City trader Jimmy Corby money was the new Rock n' Roll. His whole life was a party, adrenalin charged and cocaine fuelled. If he hadn't met Monica he would probably have ended up either dead or in rehab. But Jimmy was as lucky in love as he was at betting on dodgy derivatives, so instead of burning out, his star just burned brighter than ever. But then it all came crashing down....

The war on drugs has been lost but for want of the courage to face the fact that the whole world is rapidly becoming one vast criminal network. From pop stars and princes to crack whores and street kids. From the Groucho Club toilets to the poppy fields of Afghanistan, we are all partners in crime.

With old friends like these, who needs enemies? It's a question short, mild mannered detective Edward Newson is forced to ask himself having in romantic desperation logged on to the Friends Reunited Web site searching for the girlfriends of his youth. Newson is not the only member of the Class of '86 who has been raking over the ashes of the past. As his old class begins to reassemble in cyberspace, the years slip away and old feuds and passions burn hot once more.

Dickens' classic tale of kindness, truth, and virtue is utterly ruined here by having a member of the Blackadder family involved. Stuffed with deeply horrible people and groaning with cartloads of seasonal bottom jokes, it manages to squeeze a Victorian Blackadder and his Elizabethan, Regency, and Space Age relatives into a huge pie of entertainment which will satisfy everyone, unless you're a beadle, an orphan, or a long-dead member of the Royal Family.

Imagine a world where everyone knows everything about everybody. Where what a person "feels" and "truly believes" is protected under the law, while what is rational, even provable is condemned as heresy. A world where to question ignorance and intolerance is to commit a Crime against Faith. Imagine it. Or just wait until After the Flood.

Chart Throb: the ultimate pop quest, with 95,000 hopefuls, three judges, and just one winner. And that's Colin Simms, the genius behind the show. Colin always wins, because Colin writes the rules. But this year, as he sits smugly in judgement upon the mingers, clingers, and blingers he has pre-selected in his carefully scripted "search" for a star, he has no idea that the rules are changing.

Friday Night Live was a late night programme that pushed comedy on TV to new levels. Most TV comedy at that time was a rather safe affair full of middle aged comics and impersonators. Friday Night Live brought in a new generation of comedians; some from the growing club circuit and some along the path from University. Volume 2, Another comic who got an enormous boost from Friday Night Live was Harry Enfield. He introduced two great characters--the loveable Greek kebab shop owner Stavros, and the less loveable but equally funny Loadsamoney, the plasterer who boasted about his earnings in the booming late 80’s. Included here also is his Northern cousin Buggerallmoney--ah the north south divide! Other great tracks are to be found by Robbie Coltrane, Jo Brand and the wonderful Dame Edna Everage.