George (Blackadder character)

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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 did not want to play the part of Blackadder's aristocratic foil any more for fear of being typecast.^[1]

1 Character
2 Character development
3 References

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 by machine guns 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.

Character development

Blackadder the Third

George, Prince Regent
Blackadder character


Nationality	British
Occupation(s)	Monarch
First appearance	Dish and Dishonesty
Last appearance	Blackadder's Christmas Carol
Episode count	7
Played by	Hugh Laurie

Though created as replacement for the Lord Percy Percy character, George, the Prince Regent 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. He did not quite understand the concept of Samuel Johnston's dictionary, but found it useful for indulging his prurient interests. 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. Interestingly, George is often referred to in the script as being fat (In keeping with his real life counterpart), despite Hugh Laurie's slim physique.

Blackadder Goes Forth

Lieutenant The Honourable George Colthurst St. Bartleigh MC
Blackadder character


Nationality	British
Occupation(s)	Soldier
First appearance	Captain Cook
Last appearance	Goodbyeee...
Episode count	6
Played by	Hugh Laurie

In series 4 George (full name: Lieutenant The Honourable George Colthurst St. Bartleigh MC) is a frontline regular army officer who joined the army on the first day of the First World War. He had been attending Cambridge University before the outbreak of hostilities. He lacks any kind of skill or competence but due to his upper-class status went straight into the commissioned ranks upon enlisting. Something of an idealistic upper-class Edwardian fool, George serves as in a trench under his commanding 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. Despite being stuck in the trenches for three years he remains as optimistic about the war as the day he signed up and is always eager to get stuck into the enemy despite the grim reality that going over the top would mean all but certain death. 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, the gravity of the situation appears to dawn on him as he realises that all his fellow members of the Trinity College tiddlywinks team (The "Trinity Tiddlers") 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.

The Trinity Tiddlers

The Gubber - Killed at the First Battle of Ypres (1914)
Jocko - Killed at the First Battle of Ypres (1914)
Sticky - Killed at the First Battle of Ypres (1914)
The Badger - Killed at the First Battle of Ypres (1914)
Bumfluff - Killed at the Battle of Gallipoli (1915)
Drippy - Killed at the Battle of Gallipoli (1915)
Strangely Brown - Killed at the Battle of Gallipoli (1915)
Mister Floppy - Wounded at the Battle of the Somme (1916)
Titch - Wounded at the Battle of the Somme (1916)
George - Probably killed at the Battle of Passchendaele (1917)

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. Hugh Laurie is also the narrator of this special episode.

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 George Bufton-Tufton, The Viscount Bufton-Tufton.