“I have a cunning plan.”

For some obvious reasons and some not, British television series’ do not usually become popular in the United States. There are clear exceptions to this of course with shows such as Top Gear, Doctor Who (with the less popular spin-off series of Torchwood), and Sherlock to name a few. There (obviously) are many more series that are capable of becoming popular in the United States today but, from a marketing viewpoint and cultural outlook, are not.

A series in my opinion that I feel could have become more popular outside of British television is “Blackadder.” The series was based off of a made up British royal family and it’s history. Edmund Blackadder was the name of each family member shown from the different eras of the family dynasty. Mr. Blackadder would always have his personal assistant who came from the Baldrick family. The Blackadder family was intelligent, however the Baldrick family was clearly not.

Rowan Atkinson (more popularly known now as Mr. Bean) played the role of Edmund Blackadder and executed it very well in my opinion. He was snappy, intelligent and, dare I say it, cunning. The servant to Mr. Blackadder was played by Tony Robinson (a practically unknown actor in the USA). The acting put forth into the Baldrick character complemented the way Blackadder was projected adequately by showing a completely different way of looking at an issue, and provided the comical relief when it was necessary. It is in the episode of the Blackadder series called “Blackadder Back and Forth” that Baldrick states one of the more popular quotes from the series: “For I have a cunning plan.”

(Side note: I highly recommend giving this series a chance by watching clips or episodes on YouTube, or other internet sources. It provides a different form of television than what we have today. Also, maybe if you end up like me, you will find another lesser known British television series such as Fawlty Towers.)