This is such a highly original and entertaining series. The first time I saw it, I had no idea what it was. I thought it was a documentary about the War of the Roses but once I started watching, I knew something was amiss!! It seems Edmund Black Adder and his family are supporters of Richard III BUT the story diverges a lot from the Shakespearian version when first Edmund accidentally kills Richard III and then Edmund's father becomes king--NOT Henry VII. The narration explains that history is wrong--it was deliberately changed by Henry to exclude the short reign of Black Adder's awful father, Richard IV.
The series is amazingly silly and compelling. Particularly funny episodes are the one where Edmund is to marry the incredibly gross Spanish Infanta (but in the end gets married to a 7 year-old princess instead) and the one where he is accused of being a witch (look very carefully at ALL the members of the audience). The only negative is the final episode, which is a real downer! If this sort of ending is too sad, see what happens to Edmund at the end of the 3rd series (the only one to end well for Black Adder).
The series is amazingly silly and compelling. Particularly funny episodes are the one where Edmund is to marry the incredibly gross Spanish Infanta (but in the end gets married to a 7 year-old princess instead) and the one where he is accused of being a witch (look very carefully at ALL the members of the audience). The only negative is the final episode, which is a real downer! If this sort of ending is too sad, see what happens to Edmund at the end of the 3rd series (the only one to end well for Black Adder).