Blackadder sees an opportunity to escape the trenches by organizing a variety show as entertainment for the troops.Blackadder sees an opportunity to escape the trenches by organizing a variety show as entertainment for the troops.Blackadder sees an opportunity to escape the trenches by organizing a variety show as entertainment for the troops.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGabrielle Glaister appears in this episode as a woman who disguises herself as a man and calls herself "Bob." This is similar to the character she played in Bells (1986).
- GoofsMelchett later mistakes Baldrick's Charles Chaplin impression for an impression of Buster Keaton and remarks "The Slug Balancer seems now to be doing some feeble impression of Buster Keaton..". However Keaton would not have been widely known in 1917, as he only had small parts in Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle shorts at the time. Keaton's first solo short was One Week (1920).
- Quotes
Bob Parkhurst: I want to see how a war is fought, so badly.
Captain Blackadder: Well, you've come to the right place, Bob. A war hasn't been fought this badly since Olaf the Hairy, high chief of all the vikings, accidentally ordered 80,000 battle helmets with the horns on the inside.
- ConnectionsFeatured in TV's 50 Greatest Stars (2006)
Featured review
Major Star - another great episode!
Major Star may not be as good as Corporal Punishment or Captain Cook, but it is a well deserved 10/10, and is hilarious and fresh as well. Though cross-dressing has already been tackled in other Blackadder episodes, the idea to bring it into World War I is one that needs to be done carefully, or it will look stupid. But it has been done well here, and another star of an idea is to have General Melchett fall in love with George - who is dressing up as a girl under the name of Georgina. Though we never actually see the two together (a slight disappointment, especially as the entire episode revolves around them), Blackadder and George's conversations help keep everything in check, and we actually do feel a sense of love between them. Blackadder is once again horrible about everything - not even Charlie Chaplin, the hero of early film-making, is free from his nastiness. We do see less of Baldrick in this episode, and he isn't exactly at his wildest and stupidest, though every character has his day, and in this case, it's Lt. George's day. Once again, the girl called "Bob" who thinks she is a man shows up - we last saw her in Series 2. Though she isn't particularly significant in the story, her role was effective, and the whole episode would not have worked without it. The episode revolves around a talent show, and Baldrick is in it - doing a rubbish Charlie Chaplin impersonation (with a costume consisting of only a black bowler hat and dead slug). Yes, once again, Blackadder tries to stay away from the things that the episode revolves around, and just keeps us updated by speech, but that doesn't matter, because with an episode this good and well-written, you're probably going to be having too much fun to notice them anyway.
On the whole, Major Star is a very good episode, but it, and the previous two, will be no match compared to the next three episodes, which will actually get us prepared for the end. Still a spiffing job, though. Well done! 10/10
On the whole, Major Star is a very good episode, but it, and the previous two, will be no match compared to the next three episodes, which will actually get us prepared for the end. Still a spiffing job, though. Well done! 10/10
helpful•61
- general-melchett
- Nov 7, 2006
Details
- Runtime29 minutes
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