Black Adder Season One Episode Two

The classic first series of BlackAdder was slightly different to its successors–Ben Elton was not yet part of the writing team, and Shakespearean parody featured prominently. Rowan Atkinson was at his best as a would-be Machiavellian medieval intriguer while Brian Blessed plays his gloriously over the top blustering militarist father.

The second episode is called "Born To Be King". To celebrate the King's imminent return from the crusades, Harry instructs Blackadder to organise an evening of traditional entertainment.

The supreme commander of the King's army, Lord Dougal McAngus, arrives home early and is awarded Blackadder's Scottish lands as a reward for his bravery in battle. Enraged, Blackadder hatches a plot for McAngus to be stabbed on stage during the entertainment.

However, he changes his mind about the assassination when McAngus offers him documents showing that Harry is illegitimate. Inconveniently, the letters prove that the Queen's adultery took place nine months before Blackadder's birth, not Harry's. Blackadder destroys the evidence and, cunningly, blows McAngus' head off.