Blackadder is considered by many - ourselves included - to be one of the finest British comedies ever made.
It really does rank with the likes of Fawlty Towers, Dad's Army, Only Fools & Horses and Bottom / The Young Ones. Unlike US comedies, Blackadder finished on a particularly beautiful grace note. The final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, which was set in the trenches of World War I, is a particularly haunting scene about the futility of war and violence.
Since then, the central cast - Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie, Tony Robinson and Stephen Fry - have all gone on to respectable careers. Hugh Laurie, for example, fronted the massively successful House series on US television whilst Stephen Fry's quiz show, QI, has become a household favourite.
As for Baldrick and Blackadder, Robinson and Atkinson respectively, they've both done alright. Tony Robinson hosts BBC's Time Team whilst Rowan Atkinson has cropped up here and there in a few bits and bobs. In short, they're all doing fine.
However, Tony Robinson has said in a recent interview that a new series is on the way - if they can get Hugh Laurie to come back. "I do think a new series of Blackadder is on the cards. I have spoken to virtually all the cast about this now. The only problem is Hugh’s fee. He’s a huge star now - or so he’d like to think," explained Robinson, with a chuckle.
As we said, Blackadder finished out on a high so it's going to be exceptionally difficult to top it. Thankfully, Robinson is aware of this. "Expectations for a new series will be high because people not only remember the original, they remember who they were when it was on. It’s a big danger."
So, the question is, what would the fifth season be about? There was a one-off episode around 2000 for the Millennium Dome in London that saw them going on a time-travel adventure. Moreover, are the original writers still interested? Ben Elton and Richard Curtis are both reasonably successful writers and the strength of the whole thing rests on them.
Would you watch a new series? Or has it run its course? Let us know in the comments!