'Masterpiece' period drama named BBC's best British series of all time

A popular period series has been named as the "best British BBC series" of all time by fans. Blackadder is a series of four period British sitcoms, which originally aired on the BBC between 1983 to 1989. All episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder, and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's servant Baldrick.

Each series was set in a different historical period, with the two protagonists accompanied by different characters, though several made reappearances in one series or another, including Tim McInnerny as Percy and Darling, Stephen Fry as Melchett, and Hugh Laurie as George. The first series was written by Richard Curtis and Atkinson, while the following three series were written by Curtis and Ben Elton. John Lloyd produced all four series.

The series synopsis reads: "Blackadder follows the misfortunes of Edmund Blackadder (played by Atkinson). It is implied in each series that the Blackadder character is a descendant of the previous one. Each incarnation of Blackadder and Baldrick is also saddled with tolerating the presence of a dimwitted aristocrat.

"Each series comprises six half-hour episodes and is set in a different period of British history. The first series, made in 1983, was titled The Black Adder and was set in the fictional reign of 'Richard IV'.

"The second series, Blackadder II (1986), was set during the reign of Elizabeth I. Blackadder the Third (1987) was set in the late 18th and early 19th centuries during the reign of George III. Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) was set in 1917 in the trenches of the Great War."

Blackadder has received much praise since its release and beyond.

In 2000, the fourth series, Blackadder Goes Forth, ranked at 16 in the "100 Greatest British Television Programmes", a list created by the British Film Institute. In a 2004 BBC TV poll for "Britain's Best Sitcom", Blackadder was voted the second best British sitcom of all time, topped by Only Fools and Horses, and it was also ranked as the 20th Best TV Show of All Time by Empire magazine.

In a Reddit thread titled "What's the best 'British' series the BBC have ever done", one fan wrote "Blackadder", with 67 people liking their comment.

On Google reviews one fan said: "Blackadder was an amazing comedy. Personally, the fourth series was my favourite. It had an x-factor that was so strong it made it a series that could be watched, and loved, over and over again. The depth of characters, funny storylines, and silly jokes (ahhh Darling!) all combined to result in a masterpiece."

You can stream all of the episodes of Blackadder on ITVX.