The Age of Commercialism

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Throughout the ages Edmund Blackadders have been knaves to a man… that is until this one; he is the nicest man in all of England. He is generous to a fault, giving all of his money, not to mention Christmas presents and even his Christmas lunch to others. These others include Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who are searching for the most generous man in London to reward him. As he prepares to go to sleep he is visited by the Spirit of Christmas. This spirit compliments him on his goodness and mentions how he tries to show bad people the errors of their ways by showing them visions of their lives… he also tells Blackadder how bad his ancestors were and agrees to show him.We then see visions of Elizabethan Blackadder and Regency Blackadder as they deviously profit from those around them. Blackadder asks who thinks would change if he were evil… in the distant future his decedent would rule the universe but if he continues to be good things will be very different. Needless to say by the morning Blackadder learns an important lesson… bad guys have all the fun! Those who know him are in for a surprise.This is a solid one off episode of Blackadder. It was fun to see a good Blackadder for once… even if he quickly becomes the man we expect him to be. There were plenty of laughs to be had; unfortunately some of these are rather spoilt by an obtrusive laughter track. I really liked the scenes were we revisited Blackadders past and got to see old favourite characters again. The future scenes were also rather amusing as they play with some more naff sci-fi tropes. If you are a Blackadder fan this is a must see, if you haven't seen previous series this will probably still be amusing but obviously not as funny as if you know the characters.

The obligatory Christmas special it seems is something that every British sitcom has to do at least once in it's run and none managed it quite as well as this. Four incarnations of Blackadder are present: Elizabethan, Regency, Victorian and Space-Age versions. It's the third of those on whom we focus."Mr Ebenezer Blackadder is the nicest man in England," says the narrator (Hugh Laurie) and immediately we know there's something wrong. Don't panic though, Rowan Atkinson still give us a man as sarcastic and cynical as we'd hope for. This time round he's merely not nasty. He is rather gullible though, something for which advantage is taken of him repeatedly and orphans, goddaughters and monarchs all cheat him out of cash, food and presents. Other Blackadders would listen to Baldrick's (Sir Tony Robinson) advice not to give in to them but this one is too kind to refuse them.Robbie Coltrane as the spirit of Christmas is an incredible piece of casting by the production team and his character shows up over night to tell Blackadder to keep up the good work, congratulating him for not being like his ancestors.Cue some classic Blackadder II, via flashback, as Lord Edmund cheats Melchett (Stephen Fry) and Queenie (Miranda Richardson) into signing an execution order for Melchett. All the regulars of series two are present, sadly minus Tim Mcinnerney, and revisiting the Elizabethan court is a delight.Next it's on to Blackadder The Third as Edmund cheats the Prince out of his Christmas presents with one of the finest cunning plans we'll see in the whole series. This leads to one of the greatest twists you'll ever see in a TV show. I won't ruin it for you, since it's a reveal everyone deserves to experience at least once spoiler-free.So, what if Ebenezer became bad? The spirit is unwilling to reveal it, but he eventually does as Blackadder sees a descendant become ruler of the universe if he becomes bad or be a half-naked slave if he becomes good. It's a no-brainer: Bad guys have all the fun!The future segment is done with a deliberate level of cheesy effects and music - think oldschool Dr Who and you're almost there - and to see this new Blackadder is an incredible moment. I'll always welcome a new incarnation of the title character and if we ever do get Blackadder V this should be the setting for it.In short, this is an excellent addition to the Blackadder series and is actually better than many of the "main" episodes serving as a nice substitute for pathetically wet christmassy television and a great entry point for new fans to meet Blackadder for the first time. It's a shame IMDb only let's you give ratings up to ten because this deserves to get 11/10. Not to be missed.

Do they give O Levels in British History? You would certainly need one to to get all the jokes in the Blackadder series.Fortunately, to watch this special, you just need to know that Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) was a nasty SOB. Atkinson plays three Edmunds her as well as Ebenezer, and they are all SOBs.We get Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) as the Spirit of Christmas, Dr. House (Hugh Laurie), Stephen Fry, and Jim Broadbent. If you are looking to add some laughs to you Christmas season, you can't go wrong here.Of course, the lesson learned is that "Bad guys have all the fun."

Very funny. British humour at its best once again. The reversal of the christmas carol is a brilliant idea with good imagination put into it. The other added bonus this one off episode offers is that it goes back to the past era's used in the series in small snip-its and shows us once again how the cunning Lord and the money obsessed butler spent there christmases (usually involving beating baldrick up) plus a view of the blackadder family in the distant future. definately check this out. 9 out of 10.