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Amazon.co.uk Review
It seemed a good idea at the time: to celebrate the end of the millennium by resurrecting Edmund Blackadder for a one-off special Blackadder: Back and Fourth. Unfortunately, those responsible for Back and Forth got the cart before the horse. The Blackadder television series worked by recasting the same characters in different times, thereby reinforcing the dynamic between Blackadder and the buffoons who ran his life (World War One generals, various idiot royalty) and the troglodytes whose lives he ran (Baldrick). Given that most of us feel most of the time like the people we work for are useless and the people that work for us are even more useless, Blackadder's concept had a huge appeal.
A special feature looking at Blackadders through the ages might, therefore, have been a worthwhile enterprise. In Back and Forth, however, the character--a modern-day descendant of the Blackadder line--is merely briefly imposed on a variety of historical circumstances; he is no longer the victim of circumstances but the creator of them, and far less appealing for it. The script is lame and formulaic, and the conclusion unbelievably lazy. Okay, so it's a comedy, but if he really had returned to an England which had been conquered by France at the battle of Waterloo, shouldn't everyone there have been speaking French?
On the DVD: There are three sound options Dolby 2.0 and 5.1, and DTS 5.1. The main feature has an easily negotiable scene selector, and there are two extra features; including a behind-the-scenes footage of the making of Back and Forth featuring interviews with co-writer Richard Curtis and the biggest gem on the whole DVD, a lost episode set in the time of Cromwell, far funnier than the dismal Back and Forth, especially for Stephen Fry's delightful blurring of the doomed Charles I and the future Charles III. --Andrew Mueller
Special Features
Full Screen
Wide Screen
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0
None
Wide Screen
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0
None
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Blackadder at it's best but good enough,
By
This review is from: Blackadder Back and Forth [1999] [DVD] (DVD)
This one-off creation of the Blackadder team was made for the turn of the millennium and includes all those people who have had recurring appearances in other Blackadder series including Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Miranda Richardson. The plot is basic with Blackadder and Baldrick building a fake time machine so they can win a bet, only to find that it actually works. It is unfortunate but you just get the feel from this film that the team were not at there best when they made it, some of the jokes fall a bit flat and some of the performances are ropey at best. There are some good jokes scattered throughout the piece but I just couldn't get of the feeling that this was an opportunity wasted. The disc also includes a comic relief sketch set during the Civil War period and Baldrick's Video Diary both of which are reasonably good to watch. Although Back and forth isn't the Worst in the Blackadder series by a long way I still wouldn't give it more than 3 ½ stars.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dissapointing,
By
This review is from: Blackadder Back and Forth [1999] [DVD] (DVD)
This misses all the sparkle and sarcasm of Blackadder at its best. Instead it relies on slapstick and unfunny humour which loses its point very quickly, it feels like something rammed together quickly instead of a labour of love, it misses the verve of the earlier series. The Cromwell episode is poor as well largely because the writers aren't confident with the period as they are with the regency and with the first world war. This looks lazy and the work of people who have moved on and not neccessarily to better things. Its worth a one star review not neccessarily because it is one star quality, but because it is such a disappointment after the rest of Blackadder.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Odd way to end the saga,
By A Customer
This review is from: Blackadder - Back and Forth [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Most people were very happy to hear of this one-off episode to complete(probably) the Blackadder saga. However, while this is very funny, it doesn't really gel with the other episodes. The whole thing(which is far too short by the way) just doesn't feel right. There is no laugh track, it sometimes seems forced and unnatural, and suffers from the worked-on-the-big-screen-but-seems-too-small-on-television bug. The other thing is that the idea of a contemporray Blackadder is somewhat self-contradictory. The video also contains classic clips and interviews with the cast and crew. This further aggravates the viewer by completely omitting the first series, and the character of Lord Percy. All in all, the jokes are very funny, but the whole tone and feel of the thing leaves one baffled.
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