Blackadder: The Specials (1988 - 1999)

I'm not going to go into every detail about this volume, because it's the weakest entry in the series and will be of very little interest to most people. It's damn expensive to buy singly, so, for the completists who already own Series I–IV, if you must have it your best option is to double-dip and get The Complete Collection Box Set for a fraction of the price.

Firstly, Blackadder's Christmas Carol. It's the Dickens classic given a comedy makeover, featuring some of the best comedic talent in Britain at the time. It's longer than a typical episode. It was a joy to see Robbie Coltrane doing comedy again. He's good at it. What more can I say? Stuff it in your gift sock.

The Cavalier Years is an interesting addition. It's set in 1648, during the English Civil War. It's very similar to Blackadder II. If you picture Lord Edmund with a shaggy-perm wig you'll be close to the mark. It was part of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day in 1988 and is sadly only half the length of a regular episode. It's good that it's a standalone because, while it could've certainly worked as a series, it's much too similar to what came before.

The remainder of the disc is less than impressive. I'll mention Blackadder: Back and Forth because it's presented as the 'final episode in the saga,' but the less said about it the better because it's a piss-poor effort. Rowan Atkinson tries his best but it feels as if everyone else is merely going through the motions for old-times sake. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise great series.

2½ buggered giddy aunts out of 5