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Rowan Atkinson headed up the cast and writing team, yet the first series of \u2018The Black Adder\u2019 drew a decidedly mixed reaction from audiences and critics when it debuted on BBC TV on 15th June, 1983.\nSet in 1484, and filmed in castles across England, the series led some wags to quip that it \u2018looks a million dollars, but cost a million quid\u2019. It was only later, when Ben Elton joined Richard Curtis to write subsequent series, that its iconic comedy characters truly took shape.\nIn this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion consider the role of Oxbridge privilege in the genesis of the series, ask whether it was ever really an \u2018alternative comedy\u2019, and quote some funny lines at each other - because this is a discussion about Blackadder, after all...\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 The show\u2019s profile on the BBC Comedy site (2014):\xa0https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theblackadder/\n\u2022 \u2018Blackadder at 35: why the writers completely reinvented him after one series\u2019 (The i, 2018):\nhttps://inews.co.uk/culture/television/blackadder-reinvented-after-one-series-164228\n\u2022 CLIP: \u2018The Blackadder is Born\u2019:\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na4v8CeKnxM\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.\n#80s #Arts #TV #Person #White #Funny #UK\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices