.gif)
Amy and Amiability (Blackadder)
Encyclopedia
"Amy and Amiability" is the fifth episode of the third series
of the BBC
sitcom Blackadder
.
is in serious debt. Baldrick
suggest that he becomes a highwayman to make money to pay off his bills; however, Blackadder, having "no desire to get hung for wearing a silly hat", simply decides to ask the Prince Regent for a raise. Unfortunately, the Prince is also broke, having been tricked out of it by his drinking buddies during games of "cards" (he was tricked into believing that the aim was to lose all of one's money). He is therefore forced to search for a rich wife and hence a sizable dowry
. Unfortunately, of the 262 princesses in Europe, only two are possible matches: Grand Duchess Sophia of Turin, who is unlikely to marry the Prince on account of the fact she's met him, and Caroline of Brunswick, a woman with the worst personality in Germany.
Amy Hardwood (played by Miranda Richardson
), daughter of a powerful, if bad-tempered, industrialist, seems the only option despite the fact that she is incredibly childish and soppy, or as Blackadder puts it; "wetter than a haddock's bathing costume". The Prince seems unlikely to succeed on his own, given his fixation on sex
, so Blackadder helps out by "playing Cyrano
" for George.
The flirtation and engagement seems to be going well until Blackadder discovers that Amy's father is broke, upon which he breaks the engagement, though too late to prevent the Prince spending several thousand pounds on wedding gifts. Blackadder saddles up Baldrick and turns to the life of a highwayman
. He soon discovers that Amy Hardwood is in fact herself the notorious highwayman, The Shadow. She pretends to be in love with Blackadder to steal the Prince's money and the wedding gifts, but Blackadder turns her in for a £10,000 reward. The Prince, now in love with Amy, is crushed to discover that she has been hanged, but is warmed by the fact that he discovered "so much money I don't know what to do with it!", having accidentally found Edmund's reward money. The episode ends with Blackadder convincing the Prince to play a game of "cards" with him.
Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third is the third series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 17 September to 22 October 1987....
of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
.
Plot
Mr. E. BlackadderMr. E. Blackadder
Edmund Blackadder, Esq. is the main character in the third series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder. He was played by Rowan Atkinson.The series was set in the reign of George III of the United Kingdom . The character is in keeping with the trend of the series Blackadder is lower in rank in this series,...
is in serious debt. Baldrick
Baldrick
Baldrick is the name of several fictional characters featured in the long-running BBC historic comedy television series Blackadder. Each one serves as Edmund Blackadder's servant and sidekick and acts as a foil to the lead character...
suggest that he becomes a highwayman to make money to pay off his bills; however, Blackadder, having "no desire to get hung for wearing a silly hat", simply decides to ask the Prince Regent for a raise. Unfortunately, the Prince is also broke, having been tricked out of it by his drinking buddies during games of "cards" (he was tricked into believing that the aim was to lose all of one's money). He is therefore forced to search for a rich wife and hence a sizable dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
. Unfortunately, of the 262 princesses in Europe, only two are possible matches: Grand Duchess Sophia of Turin, who is unlikely to marry the Prince on account of the fact she's met him, and Caroline of Brunswick, a woman with the worst personality in Germany.
Amy Hardwood (played by Miranda Richardson
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
), daughter of a powerful, if bad-tempered, industrialist, seems the only option despite the fact that she is incredibly childish and soppy, or as Blackadder puts it; "wetter than a haddock's bathing costume". The Prince seems unlikely to succeed on his own, given his fixation on sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
, so Blackadder helps out by "playing Cyrano
Cyrano de Bergerac
Hercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand...
" for George.
The flirtation and engagement seems to be going well until Blackadder discovers that Amy's father is broke, upon which he breaks the engagement, though too late to prevent the Prince spending several thousand pounds on wedding gifts. Blackadder saddles up Baldrick and turns to the life of a highwayman
Highwayman
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
. He soon discovers that Amy Hardwood is in fact herself the notorious highwayman, The Shadow. She pretends to be in love with Blackadder to steal the Prince's money and the wedding gifts, but Blackadder turns her in for a £10,000 reward. The Prince, now in love with Amy, is crushed to discover that she has been hanged, but is warmed by the fact that he discovered "so much money I don't know what to do with it!", having accidentally found Edmund's reward money. The episode ends with Blackadder convincing the Prince to play a game of "cards" with him.
Continuity
- It is revealed that Mrs MigginsMrs MigginsMrs. Miggins is a fictional character in the British sitcom Blackadder, playing a supporting role in Blackadder the Third. She is played by Helen Atkinson-Wood.-Character Development:...
loves BlackadderMr. E. BlackadderEdmund Blackadder, Esq. is the main character in the third series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder. He was played by Rowan Atkinson.The series was set in the reign of George III of the United Kingdom . The character is in keeping with the trend of the series Blackadder is lower in rank in this series,...
and that she hopes: "one day, you'll settle down and we get married and that together we might await the slither of tiny Adders," to which Blackadder replies: "Mrs M, if we were the last three humans on EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
I'd be trying to start a family with BaldrickBaldrickBaldrick is the name of several fictional characters featured in the long-running BBC historic comedy television series Blackadder. Each one serves as Edmund Blackadder's servant and sidekick and acts as a foil to the lead character...
."
Historical and cultural references
- This episode contains a reference to the Prince's eventual real-life bride, Caroline of BrunswickCaroline of BrunswickCaroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the Queen consort of King George IV of the United Kingdom from 29 January 1820 until her death...
, who is dismissed as a candidate for having a horrible personality. The real George did in fact marry Caroline of Brunswick and the marriage was an unmitigated disaster. - The balcony scene is adapted from a scene in the play Cyrano de BergeracCyrano de Bergerac (play)Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
, in which Christian de Neuvillette uses Cyrano's words to court the beautiful Roxanne. - The episode also anachronistically alludes to criticism of The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in the 1980s. - At one point, when asked by Baldrick if he is becoming a highwayman, Blackadder sarcastically replies 'No, I'm auditioning for the role of Arnold the Bat in Sheridan's new comedy!', a reference to (for that time) contemporary British comedic playwright Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
.
Trivia
- Miranda RichardsonMiranda RichardsonMiranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....
previously played the recurring role of QueenieQueenie"Queenie" is a caricature of the historical figure Queen Elizabeth I of England, played by Miranda Richardson in Blackadder II, the second series of the BBC historical sitcom Blackadder, which was set in Elizabethan England...
in Blackadder IIBlackadder IIBlackadder II is the second series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 9 January 1986 to 20 February 1986...
. She also appears in the series four episode "General HospitalGeneral Hospital (Blackadder)"General Hospital" is the fifth episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, the fourth series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Plot:The episode opens with George and Baldrick playing "I spy", to Blackadder's great annoyance and boredom...
" wherein she plays a similar role of a seemingly soppy nurse who turns out to be more cynical than she lets on. - On its first screening, the episode was erroneously billed in the Radio TimesRadio TimesRadio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
under its working title of "Cape and Capability"