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After seeing the topic on blackadder i decided to post an essay i wrote recently about it...
Blackadder Goes Forth – Goodbyeee
Blackadder is a comedy show so it has no value to an historian of World War One
The final episode of Blackadder is all about the build up to the ‘final’ push of the Somme. Some Historians will use this comedy about the war as a useful source of information while others may view it as useless and ignore its usefulness.
The first point which may bring up arguments is the visual usefulness of the source. How useful would the source be even if there was no sound at all? After watching the full thirty minutes of the program critically, I personally think that the episode is very useful. As soon as the program starts we see three men, Captain Blackadder, Private Baldrick and Lieutenant George, standing outside in the muddy trenches with heavy rain pouring down on them. Also when Blackadder answered the phone, which Baldrick was carrying, he made a joke about the marshiness of the ground calling them ‘Somme Public Baths’ and listing rules as would be done in a swimming pool. Also within the first few minutes the three men manage to make another joke about the stench of the trenches with George thinking it was Baldrick’s fault and Blackadder explaining that the smell was one of dead bodies. Another piece of evidence of how the soldiers lived is in another of Blackadder’s jokes in which he is asked if he wanted to relive the old times when the war was over, he then suggested that they could go to a big garden, dig a hole, fill it up with water and ask the game keeper to shoot at them. The uniforms used in the program are also realistic because different people in different ranks have different types of uniform. However the fact that the area in which the filming happens is large may not be accurate because it is known from war accounts that the living quarters of the soldiers and captains was wet and cramped and not large a spacious as they are portrayed in the program.
At one point during the program Baldrick asks Blackadder about the start of the war and how it started. Baldrick thinks that the war started when ‘a guy called Archie-Duke shot and ostrich because he was hungry’, this shows us that most people didn’t know why the war started and they were mal informed. Blackadder then goes on to describe the Alliance system calling the two alliances two big ‘blocks who wanted to deter each other from war’; Baldrick asks why the war started if the two ‘blocks’ were so powerful and deterred each other. Blackadder simply replies ‘It was b******s’. Blackadder also explains that the Germans wanted a powerful empire because all they had was a ‘small-sausage factory in Tanganiki’.
Private Baldrick also brings up another important factor about the war which may be important to historians; this is the issue of the recruitment of soldiers. Private Baldrick talks about when he was going to war and how he remembers the way in which he was cheered off by his family and the village. Baldrick also talks about his training for War which consisted of ‘bayoneting sacks full of straw’ and how he told his mum that the ‘sack will be east to outwit in a battle situation’, although the latter is put in as piece of humour it can also be used as evidence that Baldrick and other privates going into battle were mal-informed.
Throughout the episode the soldiers talk about what they feel about the war and the German enemies. One example of a soldier that is excited about the final push and even refused a chance to stay with Hague is Lieutenant, Blackadder’s deputy in the company. Another example is Baldrick who describes how he was so excited about the prospect of war before it had started but hated it because he had lost so many pets during the war. Captain Darling, a captain working in the reserve trenches is sent to the front line by his superior, General Meltchet. General Meltchet thinks that Darling actually wants to go to the front line but he obviously doesn’t when he gets down on his knees begging Meltchet not to send him to the front line, this shows a historian that soldiers in all ranks didn’t want to go to the frontline and it wasn’t only the privates.
As Blackadder asks Baldrick for some coffee he asks Baldrick to make it taste less like mud , at that point Baldrick explains their lack of coffee for the 13 months and that in fact Blackadder had been drinking ‘hot mud’ instead of coffee. Also this scene brings up another two things that the soldiers were lacking, sugar and milk. Baldrick had been using dandruff and spit instead of them.
When Blackadder is talking to Haig on the phone about trying to get out of the ‘big push’ we can see Haig ‘playing’ with his soldiers which represented his armies, during the phone call he is seen tipping over two full companies and throwing them over his shoulder in a shovel, however when Blackadder asks him if he could get out he picks one up and stands him up, before knocking him down again. This shows us what Haig thought of his soldiers and how he just ‘played’ with them as if they were toys, throwing them into battles knowing he’s killing them. He also wasn’t too happy when Blackadder asked him how to get out of the front line.
In conclusion I would say that Blackadder actually has a vale to a historian of World War One because it does describe the conditions and the attitudes of the soldiers to the war and to their superiors. However, what does make Blackadder seem useless is the fact that it uses comedy to get the message across to the audience and not the serious and ‘boring’ way in which it is done in other programs.
Thanks for scrolling through (:-D),
Whatisdainternet
Blackadder Goes Forth – Goodbyeee
Blackadder is a comedy show so it has no value to an historian of World War One
The final episode of Blackadder is all about the build up to the ‘final’ push of the Somme. Some Historians will use this comedy about the war as a useful source of information while others may view it as useless and ignore its usefulness.
The first point which may bring up arguments is the visual usefulness of the source. How useful would the source be even if there was no sound at all? After watching the full thirty minutes of the program critically, I personally think that the episode is very useful. As soon as the program starts we see three men, Captain Blackadder, Private Baldrick and Lieutenant George, standing outside in the muddy trenches with heavy rain pouring down on them. Also when Blackadder answered the phone, which Baldrick was carrying, he made a joke about the marshiness of the ground calling them ‘Somme Public Baths’ and listing rules as would be done in a swimming pool. Also within the first few minutes the three men manage to make another joke about the stench of the trenches with George thinking it was Baldrick’s fault and Blackadder explaining that the smell was one of dead bodies. Another piece of evidence of how the soldiers lived is in another of Blackadder’s jokes in which he is asked if he wanted to relive the old times when the war was over, he then suggested that they could go to a big garden, dig a hole, fill it up with water and ask the game keeper to shoot at them. The uniforms used in the program are also realistic because different people in different ranks have different types of uniform. However the fact that the area in which the filming happens is large may not be accurate because it is known from war accounts that the living quarters of the soldiers and captains was wet and cramped and not large a spacious as they are portrayed in the program.
At one point during the program Baldrick asks Blackadder about the start of the war and how it started. Baldrick thinks that the war started when ‘a guy called Archie-Duke shot and ostrich because he was hungry’, this shows us that most people didn’t know why the war started and they were mal informed. Blackadder then goes on to describe the Alliance system calling the two alliances two big ‘blocks who wanted to deter each other from war’; Baldrick asks why the war started if the two ‘blocks’ were so powerful and deterred each other. Blackadder simply replies ‘It was b******s’. Blackadder also explains that the Germans wanted a powerful empire because all they had was a ‘small-sausage factory in Tanganiki’.
Private Baldrick also brings up another important factor about the war which may be important to historians; this is the issue of the recruitment of soldiers. Private Baldrick talks about when he was going to war and how he remembers the way in which he was cheered off by his family and the village. Baldrick also talks about his training for War which consisted of ‘bayoneting sacks full of straw’ and how he told his mum that the ‘sack will be east to outwit in a battle situation’, although the latter is put in as piece of humour it can also be used as evidence that Baldrick and other privates going into battle were mal-informed.
Throughout the episode the soldiers talk about what they feel about the war and the German enemies. One example of a soldier that is excited about the final push and even refused a chance to stay with Hague is Lieutenant, Blackadder’s deputy in the company. Another example is Baldrick who describes how he was so excited about the prospect of war before it had started but hated it because he had lost so many pets during the war. Captain Darling, a captain working in the reserve trenches is sent to the front line by his superior, General Meltchet. General Meltchet thinks that Darling actually wants to go to the front line but he obviously doesn’t when he gets down on his knees begging Meltchet not to send him to the front line, this shows a historian that soldiers in all ranks didn’t want to go to the frontline and it wasn’t only the privates.
As Blackadder asks Baldrick for some coffee he asks Baldrick to make it taste less like mud , at that point Baldrick explains their lack of coffee for the 13 months and that in fact Blackadder had been drinking ‘hot mud’ instead of coffee. Also this scene brings up another two things that the soldiers were lacking, sugar and milk. Baldrick had been using dandruff and spit instead of them.
When Blackadder is talking to Haig on the phone about trying to get out of the ‘big push’ we can see Haig ‘playing’ with his soldiers which represented his armies, during the phone call he is seen tipping over two full companies and throwing them over his shoulder in a shovel, however when Blackadder asks him if he could get out he picks one up and stands him up, before knocking him down again. This shows us what Haig thought of his soldiers and how he just ‘played’ with them as if they were toys, throwing them into battles knowing he’s killing them. He also wasn’t too happy when Blackadder asked him how to get out of the front line.
In conclusion I would say that Blackadder actually has a vale to a historian of World War One because it does describe the conditions and the attitudes of the soldiers to the war and to their superiors. However, what does make Blackadder seem useless is the fact that it uses comedy to get the message across to the audience and not the serious and ‘boring’ way in which it is done in other programs.
Thanks for scrolling through (:-D),
Whatisdainternet
HálloHowArtThou wrote:
>
>
> Thanks for scrolling through (:-D),
Pleasure.
Mse Sclrs 4eva!
>
>
> Thanks for scrolling through (:-D),
Pleasure.
Mse Sclrs 4eva!
Good eassy :D
Thank to all whop read this,
i never expected more than one or two posts which would have read something like:
'Dis aint got anyfink 2 do wiv games!'
OR
'Go away HHAT'
or something like that...
thanks..
you might be interested to know i got 12/15 in that history essay.....
i never expected more than one or two posts which would have read something like:
'Dis aint got anyfink 2 do wiv games!'
OR
'Go away HHAT'
or something like that...
thanks..
you might be interested to know i got 12/15 in that history essay.....
i know that is really annoying especially as it is the back and fourth one that i missed because of it
i wanna know why, for the past 2 weeks blackadder has been canceled on BBC1 on friday nights and replaced with Vicar of Dibley.
I love Blackadder now. I didn't used to when I was younger. I remember when series 2 was on all the time, and I always turned it off when it came on. Don't know why I didn't like it back then though! Then I saw the Millenium Dome one, and I thought that was alright. However, it was in America when I saw "Captain Cook" (Series 4) and "Chains" (Series 2). Loved them both, so shortly after got Series 2 and 4 on dvd. I most recently got Series 3 from America, basically because the special features are so much better on the American versions. Seems really stupid that the country of Blackadder's origin get's nothing while the yanks get special treatment as per usual.
My favourite episode though, is the one you discuss, "Goodbyeee". I thought that was absolutely brilliant. I don't know if you've seen the play / read the script for R.C. Sherriff's "Journeys End". I had read it before seeing this episode, and they are very similar. "Journeys End" is set in the trenches of World War 1 and leads up to a big raid. Every character has a way of dealing with the war and it's quite a saddening story. One of the characters, the cook, Mason it so similar to Baldrick it's unbelievable. I'm sure the writers of this episode have read this book. I'd really recommend it.
I just loved this episode though. I agree with you that it presented a viewpoint of the horrific conditions of war, but unbelievably it presented such a nasty thing, war, in a comical way.
One thing you missed, I'm pretty sure it was this episode was how they talked about the Germans and how they played football with them one Christmas. In the real war that happened... Imagine playing football with some people one day, then killing them the next. It just seems so... I can't find the words to describe it.
"Goodbyeee" was without a doubt one of the best Blackadder episodes ever made and I reckon the fourth series DVD was worth it for this episode alone. Blackadder, being so cunning and devious, didn't manage to get out of this situation, like the many other situations he had got into before. His attempts trying were funny though, especially the pencils and underpants! I actually felt a bit sad at the end of the episode, which I've never felt before in a comedy. Despite being so funny, it had a hidden powerful message to convey. War sucks.
My favourite episode though, is the one you discuss, "Goodbyeee". I thought that was absolutely brilliant. I don't know if you've seen the play / read the script for R.C. Sherriff's "Journeys End". I had read it before seeing this episode, and they are very similar. "Journeys End" is set in the trenches of World War 1 and leads up to a big raid. Every character has a way of dealing with the war and it's quite a saddening story. One of the characters, the cook, Mason it so similar to Baldrick it's unbelievable. I'm sure the writers of this episode have read this book. I'd really recommend it.
I just loved this episode though. I agree with you that it presented a viewpoint of the horrific conditions of war, but unbelievably it presented such a nasty thing, war, in a comical way.
One thing you missed, I'm pretty sure it was this episode was how they talked about the Germans and how they played football with them one Christmas. In the real war that happened... Imagine playing football with some people one day, then killing them the next. It just seems so... I can't find the words to describe it.
"Goodbyeee" was without a doubt one of the best Blackadder episodes ever made and I reckon the fourth series DVD was worth it for this episode alone. Blackadder, being so cunning and devious, didn't manage to get out of this situation, like the many other situations he had got into before. His attempts trying were funny though, especially the pencils and underpants! I actually felt a bit sad at the end of the episode, which I've never felt before in a comedy. Despite being so funny, it had a hidden powerful message to convey. War sucks.
heh black adder goes fourth is the best of the lot, i read all that :D my dad was one of the soldiers marching at the beginning of each episode :D
I scrolled through pretty quickly.
After seeing the topic on blackadder i decided to post an essay i wrote recently about it...
Blackadder Goes Forth – Goodbyeee
Blackadder is a comedy show so it has no value to an historian of World War One
The final episode of Blackadder is all about the build up to the ‘final’ push of the Somme. Some Historians will use this comedy about the war as a useful source of information while others may view it as useless and ignore its usefulness.
The first point which may bring up arguments is the visual usefulness of the source. How useful would the source be even if there was no sound at all? After watching the full thirty minutes of the program critically, I personally think that the episode is very useful. As soon as the program starts we see three men, Captain Blackadder, Private Baldrick and Lieutenant George, standing outside in the muddy trenches with heavy rain pouring down on them. Also when Blackadder answered the phone, which Baldrick was carrying, he made a joke about the marshiness of the ground calling them ‘Somme Public Baths’ and listing rules as would be done in a swimming pool. Also within the first few minutes the three men manage to make another joke about the stench of the trenches with George thinking it was Baldrick’s fault and Blackadder explaining that the smell was one of dead bodies. Another piece of evidence of how the soldiers lived is in another of Blackadder’s jokes in which he is asked if he wanted to relive the old times when the war was over, he then suggested that they could go to a big garden, dig a hole, fill it up with water and ask the game keeper to shoot at them. The uniforms used in the program are also realistic because different people in different ranks have different types of uniform. However the fact that the area in which the filming happens is large may not be accurate because it is known from war accounts that the living quarters of the soldiers and captains was wet and cramped and not large a spacious as they are portrayed in the program.
At one point during the program Baldrick asks Blackadder about the start of the war and how it started. Baldrick thinks that the war started when ‘a guy called Archie-Duke shot and ostrich because he was hungry’, this shows us that most people didn’t know why the war started and they were mal informed. Blackadder then goes on to describe the Alliance system calling the two alliances two big ‘blocks who wanted to deter each other from war’; Baldrick asks why the war started if the two ‘blocks’ were so powerful and deterred each other. Blackadder simply replies ‘It was b******s’. Blackadder also explains that the Germans wanted a powerful empire because all they had was a ‘small-sausage factory in Tanganiki’.
Private Baldrick also brings up another important factor about the war which may be important to historians; this is the issue of the recruitment of soldiers. Private Baldrick talks about when he was going to war and how he remembers the way in which he was cheered off by his family and the village. Baldrick also talks about his training for War which consisted of ‘bayoneting sacks full of straw’ and how he told his mum that the ‘sack will be east to outwit in a battle situation’, although the latter is put in as piece of humour it can also be used as evidence that Baldrick and other privates going into battle were mal-informed.
Throughout the episode the soldiers talk about what they feel about the war and the German enemies. One example of a soldier that is excited about the final push and even refused a chance to stay with Hague is Lieutenant, Blackadder’s deputy in the company. Another example is Baldrick who describes how he was so excited about the prospect of war before it had started but hated it because he had lost so many pets during the war. Captain Darling, a captain working in the reserve trenches is sent to the front line by his superior, General Meltchet. General Meltchet thinks that Darling actually wants to go to the front line but he obviously doesn’t when he gets down on his knees begging Meltchet not to send him to the front line, this shows a historian that soldiers in all ranks didn’t want to go to the frontline and it wasn’t only the privates.
As Blackadder asks Baldrick for some coffee he asks Baldrick to make it taste less like mud , at that point Baldrick explains their lack of coffee for the 13 months and that in fact Blackadder had been drinking ‘hot mud’ instead of coffee. Also this scene brings up another two things that the soldiers were lacking, sugar and milk. Baldrick had been using dandruff and spit instead of them.
When Blackadder is talking to Haig on the phone about trying to get out of the ‘big push’ we can see Haig ‘playing’ with his soldiers which represented his armies, during the phone call he is seen tipping over two full companies and throwing them over his shoulder in a shovel, however when Blackadder asks him if he could get out he picks one up and stands him up, before knocking him down again. This shows us what Haig thought of his soldiers and how he just ‘played’ with them as if they were toys, throwing them into battles knowing he’s killing them. He also wasn’t too happy when Blackadder asked him how to get out of the front line.
In conclusion I would say that Blackadder actually has a vale to a historian of World War One because it does describe the conditions and the attitudes of the soldiers to the war and to their superiors. However, what does make Blackadder seem useless is the fact that it uses comedy to get the message across to the audience and not the serious and ‘boring’ way in which it is done in other programs.
Thanks for scrolling through (:-D),
Whatisdainternet
Blackadder Goes Forth – Goodbyeee
Blackadder is a comedy show so it has no value to an historian of World War One
The final episode of Blackadder is all about the build up to the ‘final’ push of the Somme. Some Historians will use this comedy about the war as a useful source of information while others may view it as useless and ignore its usefulness.
The first point which may bring up arguments is the visual usefulness of the source. How useful would the source be even if there was no sound at all? After watching the full thirty minutes of the program critically, I personally think that the episode is very useful. As soon as the program starts we see three men, Captain Blackadder, Private Baldrick and Lieutenant George, standing outside in the muddy trenches with heavy rain pouring down on them. Also when Blackadder answered the phone, which Baldrick was carrying, he made a joke about the marshiness of the ground calling them ‘Somme Public Baths’ and listing rules as would be done in a swimming pool. Also within the first few minutes the three men manage to make another joke about the stench of the trenches with George thinking it was Baldrick’s fault and Blackadder explaining that the smell was one of dead bodies. Another piece of evidence of how the soldiers lived is in another of Blackadder’s jokes in which he is asked if he wanted to relive the old times when the war was over, he then suggested that they could go to a big garden, dig a hole, fill it up with water and ask the game keeper to shoot at them. The uniforms used in the program are also realistic because different people in different ranks have different types of uniform. However the fact that the area in which the filming happens is large may not be accurate because it is known from war accounts that the living quarters of the soldiers and captains was wet and cramped and not large a spacious as they are portrayed in the program.
At one point during the program Baldrick asks Blackadder about the start of the war and how it started. Baldrick thinks that the war started when ‘a guy called Archie-Duke shot and ostrich because he was hungry’, this shows us that most people didn’t know why the war started and they were mal informed. Blackadder then goes on to describe the Alliance system calling the two alliances two big ‘blocks who wanted to deter each other from war’; Baldrick asks why the war started if the two ‘blocks’ were so powerful and deterred each other. Blackadder simply replies ‘It was b******s’. Blackadder also explains that the Germans wanted a powerful empire because all they had was a ‘small-sausage factory in Tanganiki’.
Private Baldrick also brings up another important factor about the war which may be important to historians; this is the issue of the recruitment of soldiers. Private Baldrick talks about when he was going to war and how he remembers the way in which he was cheered off by his family and the village. Baldrick also talks about his training for War which consisted of ‘bayoneting sacks full of straw’ and how he told his mum that the ‘sack will be east to outwit in a battle situation’, although the latter is put in as piece of humour it can also be used as evidence that Baldrick and other privates going into battle were mal-informed.
Throughout the episode the soldiers talk about what they feel about the war and the German enemies. One example of a soldier that is excited about the final push and even refused a chance to stay with Hague is Lieutenant, Blackadder’s deputy in the company. Another example is Baldrick who describes how he was so excited about the prospect of war before it had started but hated it because he had lost so many pets during the war. Captain Darling, a captain working in the reserve trenches is sent to the front line by his superior, General Meltchet. General Meltchet thinks that Darling actually wants to go to the front line but he obviously doesn’t when he gets down on his knees begging Meltchet not to send him to the front line, this shows a historian that soldiers in all ranks didn’t want to go to the frontline and it wasn’t only the privates.
As Blackadder asks Baldrick for some coffee he asks Baldrick to make it taste less like mud , at that point Baldrick explains their lack of coffee for the 13 months and that in fact Blackadder had been drinking ‘hot mud’ instead of coffee. Also this scene brings up another two things that the soldiers were lacking, sugar and milk. Baldrick had been using dandruff and spit instead of them.
When Blackadder is talking to Haig on the phone about trying to get out of the ‘big push’ we can see Haig ‘playing’ with his soldiers which represented his armies, during the phone call he is seen tipping over two full companies and throwing them over his shoulder in a shovel, however when Blackadder asks him if he could get out he picks one up and stands him up, before knocking him down again. This shows us what Haig thought of his soldiers and how he just ‘played’ with them as if they were toys, throwing them into battles knowing he’s killing them. He also wasn’t too happy when Blackadder asked him how to get out of the front line.
In conclusion I would say that Blackadder actually has a vale to a historian of World War One because it does describe the conditions and the attitudes of the soldiers to the war and to their superiors. However, what does make Blackadder seem useless is the fact that it uses comedy to get the message across to the audience and not the serious and ‘boring’ way in which it is done in other programs.
Thanks for scrolling through (:-D),
Whatisdainternet