Original artwork, not a still
As cunning as a fox who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University.
— Blackadder · 1983
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the series' running gag, Baldrick's cunning plans and Blackadder's contempt for them, pushed to its saddest note. The joke is as sharp as ever, but it lands in the last minutes before the characters walk into the attack, and the plan is never revealed. That is why a line that is just an insult elsewhere is, here, the one fans quote with a lump in the throat.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for BlackadderShow the scene
The line comes at the very end of "Goodbyeee", the sixth and last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth (BBC One, 2 November 1989), written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton. It is the final morning before the big push on the Western Front. Blackadder's plan to escape by feigning madness has failed, and the men are lined up at the foot of the trench ladders. Baldrick announces that he has a plan, and Blackadder asks whether it is as cunning as a fox newly appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford. Baldrick says yes; the whistle blows before he can explain, and they go over the top.
Sources (3)
- Wikiquote: Blackadder Goes Forth (series 4)Plan F: Goodbyeee, closing sceneReference checked
- Wikipedia: GoodbyeeeInfobox and SynopsisReference checked
- Blackadder Wiki: Private BaldrickPlan F summaryReference checked
Context reviewed
