Review of "Black Adder II" by

Rowan Atkinson is one of the funniest people in the world. This second series in the Blackadder saga is set in late 16th Century England where Edmund Blackadder, the Duke of Edinburgh (Rowan Atkinson) is still a devious, selfish, and arrogant little man plotting for fame and fortune in the court of the completely mad Queen Bess (Miranda Richardson). With the aid of his dogsbody Baldrick (Tony Robinson) and the effeminate Percy (Tim McInnerny), he vies for the Queen's favor against the equally slimy Lord Melchett (Stephen Fry) who delights in persuading the Queen to thwart Blackadder's plans by getting her to take his money or have him beheaded. All in good fun, of course, since the Queen's grip on reality left her with her childhood.

Written and produced by Atkinson and his long-time partner Richard Curtis, Blackadder II is a side-splitting satire of the British aristocray of the era. With no regard for anyone but himself, Edmund Blackadder excels at hurling the most articulate insults at everyone in sight, especially poor Baldrick. It's always a treat to hear the language weilded with such deft and articulate humor, and nobody does it better than the Brits. For those of us who are unabashed Anglophiles, Blackadder is the stuff of life.