George (Blackadder character)

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Blackadder character
George
Nationality	British (of some German descent)
Occupation(s)	Prince of Wales, Lieutenant
First appearance	Dish and Dishonesty
Last appearance	Goodbyeee...
Episode count	12 +2 specials
Played by	Hugh Laurie

George is the name of two characters appearing in the historical BBC sitcom Blackadder played by Hugh Laurie. The first was a caricature of HRH The Prince George, Prince of Wales, the second (presumably a distant descendant of the first), Lt. George C. St Bartleigh, serves as a stereotype of the ever-optimistic young officer in the British Army during World War I. Writers of the show have confirmed that George and Laurie were brought in after Tim McInnerny didn't want to play the part any more for fear of being typecast.^[1]

Contents 1 Character 2 Character development 2.1 Blackadder the Third 2.2 Blackadder Goes Forth 2.3 Blackadder's Christmas Carol 2.4 Blackadder: Back and Forth 3 References

[edit] Character

Both Prince George and Lt. George are portrayed as ignorant and dim witted "upper class twits". In series 3, the Prince of Wales was portrayed as a young and loud buffoon who spent money extravagantly (especially on fancy trousers and socks). The fact that Hugh Laurie was young and thin, and the real Prince of Wales was, by this point, old and fat did not seem to bother writers Ben Elton and Richard Curtis, who still referred to him as "a fat, flatulent git." In the series, Prince George's butler was a certain Mr. E. Blackadder, assisted by his dogsbody, S. Baldrick. In series 4 Lieutenant George carries himself with a great deal more innocence than the Prince, and his blind optimism shows that he is unaware of the seriousness of the situation he is in. Rather, he treats the war as a jolly game or as an exciting adventure story, and cannot wait to get to grips with the enemy (blissfully ignorant of the fact that he'll be wiped out long before he can get to them). He is also rather patriotically gullible, naively believing even the most exaggerated and ludicrous items of propaganda issued by the British.

[edit] Character development

[edit] Blackadder the Third

Though created as replacement for the Lord Percy Percy character, Prince George appears to be about as (if not more) stupid than Percy. In fact, the character can be better described as a composite of series 2's Percy (foppish upper-class twit) and Queenie (temperamental, selfish monarch). He is also rather uncouth and oafish. It once took him a week to put on a pair of trousers by himself, and even then they were on his head.

He also did not appear to understand the concept of acting and at the end of a performance of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar demanded that someone arrest the actor playing Marcus Junius Brutus, having shouted "Look behind you, Mr Caesar!" in the murder scene.

While temperamental and priggish at times, George is helpful and loyal. He knows he is not a vastly intelligent man (describing himself as "as thick as a whale omelette") but he is keen on self-improvement. According to the show, George was shot dead around 1814 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who had mistaken him for the butler. The butler, Blackadder, was subsequently mistaken for the prince by his mad father and presumably went on to live what history records as the rest of George IV's life.

[edit] Blackadder Goes Forth

In series 4 George (full name: Lieutenant The Honourable George Colthurst St. Bartleigh) serves in a trench under regular Army officer Captain Blackadder, to whom his presence is a constant annoyance. Despite Blackadder's obvious contempt, however, he both admires and likes his superior officer. The dugout in which they live is also shared with Private S. Baldrick. George is shown to have a special friendship with General Melchett, as the two both attended the same public school. Melchett even offers George a way out of the trenches for the 'final push', which he refuses, much to Blackadder's incredulity. Nonetheless, before the final push, he appears to realise the gravity of the situation, as he realises that all his fellow members of the Trinity College tiddlywinks team who signed up with him in "The Golden Summer of 1914" are now dead; he is unable to satisfactorily answer Baldrick's impassioned questioning of why they're fighting, and expresses his fear of dying shortly before going over the top.

[edit] Blackadder's Christmas Carol

In Blackadder's Christmas Carol Prince George appears while Blackadder is being shown his past, in the distant future a Lord Pigmot is shown, being that he also played by Hugh Laurie one could assume he is a distant descendant.

[edit] Blackadder: Back and Forth

Laurie would reprise the role in the millennium special Blackadder: Back & Forth, playing the Roman Consul Georgius and the modern day Lt The Viscount George Bufton-Tufton.

[edit] References

1. ^ More bite than Blackadder. Retrieved on 28th August 2006.