Blackadder Episodes Codexery

Goodbyeee

The final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth.

The episode ends with the main characters charging over the top into machine gun fire, a sequence that fades into a tranquil poppy field.[1]

Quick Facts

Series
Blackadder
Director
Richard Boden
Writer
Richard Curtis; Ben Elton
Air date
2 November 1989
Length
29 minutes
Guests
Geoffrey Palmer as Field Marshal Haig

Facts from the source article.

Making and release

Filming took place before a studio audience at BBC Television Centre.[2] Rowan Atkinson described feeling a "knot in the pit of my stomach" while filming, sharing his character's dread.[2][3] The slow motion and fade effects were not scripted but added in editing after the final scene was filmed on an unconvincing polystyrene set.[4] The episode originally aired on BBC1 at 9:30 pm on 2 November 1989.[5]

A rule was followed by the writers that prevented either from reinstating content the other had deleted.[6] During read-throughs, the script underwent collaborative editing by the cast members.[6] "Good-bye-ee!", a song popular during the First World War that originated from a catchphrase of Harry Tate, is what the episode's title alludes to.[7] Howard Goodall performed the piano rendition of the theme tune, which was recorded inside a gymnasium.[4]

What the cited sources add

Finlo Rohrer of BBC News Magazine called the depiction of Field Marshal Haig sweeping away toy soldiers a "visual allusion to his callousness".[8][9] Historian Gary Sheffield stated that "the real Field Marshal Haig was certainly not a callous man".[8][9] Sheffield also noted that the character Melchett is "an amalgam of Haig and John French and the other generals".[8][9] William Philpott, a historian, described the series as "bathetic" and belonging to a "post-facto generalisation of the nature of their war".[10][11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Goodbyeee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Good Luck Everyone - Blackadder - BBC", youtube.com, 24 May 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Goodbyeee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Britain's Best Sitcom: Blackadder", Britain's Best Sitcom, 10 January 2004; Smith, "Fagin goes forth in the West End", The Observer, 28 December 2008; Atkinson, Rowan. Audio commentary for "Goodbyeee" in Blackadder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition (DVD). 2 Entertain. 2009.; Atkinson, Rowan. Audio commentary for "Goodbyeee" in Blackadder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition (DVD). 2 Entertain. 2009.; "Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga", Gold, 9 October 2008; Lloyd, John. Audio commentary for "Goodbyeee" in Blackadder Remastered: The Ult en.wikipedia.org
  3. Smith, "Fagin goes forth in the West End", The Observer, 28 December 2008. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  4. Wikipedia, "Goodbyeee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Blackadder Goes Forth", UKTV; "Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga", Gold, 9 October 2008; Roberts 2012, p. 312; "Britain's Best Sitcom: Blackadder", Britain's Best Sitcom, 10 January 2004; "Britain's Best Sitcom: Blackadder", Britain's Best Sitcom, 10 January 2004 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Goodbyeee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lewisohn, "Blackadder Goes Forth", BBC Guide to Comedy, 2004; "Blackadder Goes Forth", Comedy; Hanna 2009, p. 133–134; Hanna 2009, p. 133–134 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Goodbyeee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Britain's Best Sitcom: Blackadder", Britain's Best Sitcom, 10 January 2004; "Blackadder Exclusive: The Whole Rotten Saga", Gold, 9 October 2008; Lloyd, John. Audio commentary for "Goodbyeee" in Blackadder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition (DVD). 2 Entertain. 2009.; "Blackadder Rides Again", BBC One, 25 December 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Goodbyeee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roberts 2012, p. 312; Richard Anthony Baker, "British Music Hall: An Illustrated History", Pen and Sword, 2014, p. 146 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Goodbyeee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rohrer, "How accurately does Blackadder reflect history?", BBC News Magazine, 15 June 2013; Stirling, "'Haig is about to make yet another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin': Blackadder Goes Forth", New Histories, 20 September 2011; Badsey, "The Great War Since The Great War", Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 2002, p. 41 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Rohrer, "How accurately does Blackadder reflect history?", BBC News Magazine, 15 June 2013. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
  10. Wikipedia, "Goodbyeee" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Philpott, "Bloody Victory: The Sacrifice on the Somme", Abacus Press, 2009, p. 613; google books website The copy noted that "Corrigan's brilliant, witty history reveals how out of touch we have become with the soldiers of 1914–18. They simply (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Open Library record, ISBN 9780349120041 ("Bloody victory"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Goodbyeee (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Blackadder Episodes

Head (Blackadder)Major StarMoney (Blackadder)Potato (Blackadder)Private PlaneThe Queen of Spain's BeardWitchsmeller PursuivantThe ArchbishopBeer (Blackadder)Bells (Blackadder)The Black SealBlackadder: The Cavalier Years

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →