# "Blackadder Goes Forth" without the laugh-track **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807 "2009-12-28T16:34:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/1 "2009-12-28T16:34:45Z")
Has anyone released a DVD of “Blackadder Goes Forth” without the laugh-track? I think it’s one of the finest TV shows ever made, and it’s often hilarious - but good Ford, at times it’s about as black as comedy can get, and the laugh-track is off-putting. Hell, it comes near to ruining the series finale - the jokes are funny, but they’re gallows humor. The characters _know_ that they are about to die, horribly, and the laugh-track is just hideously inappropriate. The canned laughter sounds psychotic. So, does anything exist like what I’m looking for? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/2 "2009-12-28T17:49:17Z")
It’s a studio audience. I suppose they might have “enhanced” the laughter afterwards, but you won’t find a laughter-free version. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/3 "2009-12-28T17:54:40Z")
I became a fan of Tony Robinson from _Time Team_. I’m curious now to see how funny he is when he performs. I need to watch the Blackadder series. Should I start with the first series _The Black Adder_? Or does it matter if I watch the four series in order? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/4 "2009-12-28T17:59:09Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I became a fan of Tony Robinson from _Time Team_. I’m curious now to see how funny he is when he performs. I need to watch the Blackadder series. Should I start with the first series _The Black Adder_? Or does it matter if I watch the four series in order? I’d suggest just starting with the first series & continuing in order. The first one is somewhat different from the others–Tony Robinson’s character is smart, for one thing! In the later series, he’s amazingly thick. But I love them all… ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/5 "2009-12-28T18:04:28Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I’d suggest just starting with the first series & continuing in order. It is worth mentioning that Blackadder did not earn its popularity due to the first season. It’s markedly different in tone from the next three seasons, which are what people think of when they think of Blackadder. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/6 "2009-12-28T18:06:44Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > It is worth mentioning that Blackadder did not earn its popularity due to the first season. It’s markedly different in tone from the next three seasons, which are what people think of when they think of Blackadder. Well, I saw & liked the first season of Blackadder. Then, found the other ones even better. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/7 "2009-12-28T18:12:29Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I’d suggest just starting with the first series & continuing in order. The first one is somewhat different from the others–Tony Robinson’s character is smart, for one thing! In the later series, he’s amazingly thick. But his plans are so cunning. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/8 "2009-12-28T18:23:04Z")
One thing to consider is that [spoiler]while it was not unexpected to have characters die at the end of the season, it was not usually all of them dying. (like on the second season) In the third season Blackadder actually becomes the prince and only the real prince dies. So the audience was expecting that someone or many would find a way out and more black humor and laughs were coming up. It was shocking for the audience to realize that this time no one was coming back, so no one was laughing at the end.[/spoiler] Last scene: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IJZsZ0bWTSw/hqdefault.jpg "Blackadder Final") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJZsZ0bWTSw) What was interesting is that the end was going to be different with maybe only Blackadder surviving! Clip of the editor and actors looking at the original (embarrassing) footage and the editors finding the great dramatic ending almost by luck: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh6ohRiv--s) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/9 "2009-12-28T18:24:54Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > It is worth mentioning that Blackadder did not earn its popularity due to the first season. It’s markedly different in tone from the next three seasons, which are what people think of when they think of Blackadder. The first series also requires a little bit more knowledge of Shakespeare to fully appreciate it than subsequent series do. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/10 "2009-12-28T18:27:35Z")
I think watching the series in order is the best way to appreciate it. But if you find the character of Edmund Black Adder unbearably obnoxious after the first episode, feel free to skip right to the Elizabethan year. There’s no continuity between series other than a few principal actors (playing different characters). Prince Edmund’s descendants (though how he managed to have any is a mystery) are much less buffoonish. ETA: **Gigobuster** , not sure why you bothered boxing one line of a post that already manages to spoil the third and fourth series. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/11 "2009-12-28T18:34:22Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > ETA: **Gigobuster** , not sure why you bothered boxing one line of a post that already manages to spoil the third and fourth series. Whoops, sorry, the spoiler was supposed to add more lines than the ones I left. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/12 "2009-12-28T18:44:20Z")
I’ll put this in a spoiler box just to be safe. I’ve always found this funny: The Black Adder starts out as a prince. In the second series Blackadder is no longer a prince, but a member of Queen Elizabeth’s court. In the third series he’s a butler to the prince. In the fourth, he is an Army captain. I just thought it was funny that he sunk in rank with each season. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/13 "2009-12-28T18:45:17Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Clip of the editor and actors looking at the original (embarrassing) footage and the editors finding the great dramatic ending almost by luck: > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh6ohRiv--s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh6ohRiv--s) Thanks for posting this. I’d never heard this story and it’s all very illuminating to see how sometimes art comes out of happenstance. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/14 "2009-12-28T19:04:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The Black Adder starts out as a prince. In the second series Blackadder is no longer a prince, but a member of Queen Elizabeth’s court. In the third series he’s a butler to the prince. In the fourth, he is an Army captain. I just thought it was funny that he sunk in rank with each season. Maybe in absolute terms, but the dynamic is pretty much the opposite. In the first series he’s a worm, forever scheming, and failing, to rise in station (or accomplish much of anything, really). In the second series, he’s subject to Elizabeth’s whims, but pretty much manages to avoid disappointing her. In the third series, he has Baldrick to kick around, and can pretty much manipulate the Prince Regent into doing what he wants. In the trench during the fourth series, he’s clearly in charge. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/15 "2009-12-28T19:09:47Z")
Good point, Robot Arm. I’d never looked at it that way. In a 1999 special, by the way…A Blackadder finally becomes king in his own name – and marries a model! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/16 "2009-12-28T19:14:04Z")
Damn, even in that clip I started tearing up. It’s the segue into the modern field of poppies that does it. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/17 "2009-12-28T19:32:23Z")
Best damn TV ever, and I like a lot of classic TV. The boxed set I bought has been watched many times. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/18 "2009-12-28T21:03:18Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > …and can pretty much manipulate the Prince Regent into doing what he wants. Let’s see him try and manipulate House. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/19 "2009-12-28T21:39:06Z")
IMHO, you should start with \*Blackadder II \*and stop there. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807/20 "2009-12-28T21:45:33Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Well, I saw & liked the first season of Blackadder. Then, found the other ones even better. I’d advise the opposite. I started with Dish and Dishonesty from series 3, and really liked it. So I bought series one and hated it because it was so different. I think season three is a great way to start myself. I would call it the strongest of the four series. Though season two is up there as well. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blackadder-goes-forth-without-the-laugh-track/522807.md?page=2)