Blackadder
Sense and Senility
TV Flash files “Sense and Senility” as hour 16 of 24 in the TV Flash guide — Blackadder (1983–1989) on BBC One, season 3, episode 4, aired 1987-10-08, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E04: listed hour 16 of 24 in the Blackadder guide, hour 4 of 6 in season 3. It aired 1987-10-08 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Nob and Nobility” (S03E03). Next is “Amy and Amiability” (S03E05).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
While the Prince Regent is attending a play, he survives an assassination attempt by anarchists. He is horrified to learn that he is unpopular and Blackadder suggests he improves his image by delivering a speech, so he hires the two actors they saw at the theatre to tutor him in public speaking. Anarchists lurk in every cupboard and actors in every coffee house, but which pose a greater threat to the prince?
Viewer FAQ
Where does Sense and Senility sit in the Blackadder guide?
S03E04 is listed hour 16 of 24 — hour 4 of 6 in season 3, season 3 episode 4.
When did Blackadder S03E04 air?
Sense and Senility aired 1987-10-08 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I watch in historical order?
The series eras escalate: medieval, Elizabethan, Regency, then the trenches. Start anywhere for the snark; finish in the mud. Goes Forth's last episode still drops the floor out of the joke.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Rowan Atkinson's historical snark escalator: medieval, Elizabethan, Regency, then the trenches. Baldrick's cunning plans, Hugh Laurie's upper-class vacancy, and a final Goes Forth episode that still drops the floor out of the joke. Peak 1980s UK comedy export — start anywhere, but finish in the mud. Tony Robinson's dogsbodies are the secret engine.
The escalator is the form. BBC, 1983–1989 across four series eras: cunning antihero Blackadder schemes through English history with idiot sidekick Baldrick — medieval snark to a WWI gut-punch. Blackadder is Rowan Atkinson with Tony Robinson, plus Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in rotating upper-class vacancy, from Richard Curtis, Atkinson, and Ben Elton. Escalating quality across series; global cult via PBS and video. Baldrick's cunning plans as eternal meme. If you came for a blotter item about a finale that still…
Filed against
- Rowan Atkinson as Edmund Blackadder
Rowan Atkinson’s Edmund Blackadder rode a historical snark escalator from medieval to the trenches — Baldrick’s cunning plans, a Goes Forth closer that still drops the floor — then traveled without a translator as Mr. Bean’s almost-silent…
- Tony Robinson as Baldrick
Tony Robinson’s Baldrick turned Blackadder’s historical snark escalator into cunning plans that never were — medieval, Elizabethan, Regency, then the trenches. Rowan Atkinson’s sneer needed a servant with a turnip for a scheme. TV Flash…
- Stephen Fry as Melchett / various
Stephen Fry’s Melchett bellowed Blackadder’s historical snark — upper-class vacancy beside Atkinson’s insult escalator, a Goes Forth closer that still drops the floor — then entered The Dropout’s turtleneck scam as prestige limited-series…
- Hugh Laurie as George / Prince Regent
Hugh Laurie’s George / Prince Regent made Blackadder upper-class vacancy a blood sport — 1980s catalog historical snark, then House stretching the instrument into a cane, Vicodin, and a whiteboard America could not quit. TV Flash files…