Cunning: The Blackadder Programme Guide

Out of the two this books available about the Blackadder series this one is by far the worst.

The authors seem to know exactly what to do wrong and stick to that formula throughout the book. They discuss people and shows surrounding the series but one cannot help but feel that there is too little of a connection to the Blackadder series. They give NO information about the production of the shows as some great guides like Zicree's Twilight Zone Companion does.

The most irritating part of this book is the authors' gall and audacity to re-write the jokes in the episodes. Each episode section has a bolded sub heading where basically the authors, in telling something about the episode, re-tell some of the jokes that were in that particular episode. It gets really irritating really quickly especially since the jokes are much better when watching the actual show and they are only [messed] up by having to read the changed versions in the book....

Suffice it to say this book isn't very good at all, and I would advise very much against purchasing it.


The Guidebook to the Black Adder universe   March 4, 2002
David L. White (Everett, WA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

A nicely done episode guide to Black Adder. The book explores the sitcom influences on the series, gives complete descriptions of each episode, describes memorable events in each episode, describes aome programs that were influenced by Black Adder, and finishes with a section on the Black Adder Millennium Film. The book is written by a couple of fans, which makes it fun, in my opinion. It is a fun read. It doesn't go into much detail about production and it doesn't give a real in-depth analysis of the series, which is why I gave it 4 stars, instead of 5. However, some books that I've read about comedy get too analytical and make really boring reading, so the fact that this books lacks deep analysis probably isn't a terrible thing.
A good, solid, readable guide to one of the great British sitcoms of the 1980s


Disappointing   March 1, 2002
Allyn Gibson (Raleigh, NC United States)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

While Blackadder deserves a solid episode guide providing background and details on the creation of one of the best sitcoms of all time, Blackadder never deserved Cunning. This book isn't so much an episode guide as it is a compendium of factoids, character moments, and quotes from the show. Rather than go behind the scenes and analyze the series in depth, Howarth and Lyons take a fanboy approach to the series, and as a consequence this book reads like something written by two fans on a drunken lark off the top of their collective memories. Watch the episodes to enjoy and experience the real Blackadder, and leave books like Cunning to the wayside. This book is best avoided.