YMMV / Blackadder S 3 E 1 Dish And Dishonesty

• Aluminium Christmas Trees:
  • Rotten boroughs where there is only one voter or where they are all controlled by one person? Such constituencies, sometimes referred to as pocket boroughs, actually existed in Britain before the 1832 Reform Act. However, they usually had a few dozen or so voters, all of whom were influenced (usually by way of bribery or blackmail) to vote for the landowner's preferred candidate ^note  for example, East Looe had 38 voters, while Dunwich had 32; the constituencies with the lowest number of voters were Gatton and Old Sarum, which both had just seven voters. All constituencies back then actually had two MPs, although in the event of a by-election following the death of one of them the surviving MP didn't have to stand for re-election. And if there was only one candidate (which often happened), they'd get elected unopposed. And sending some useful idiot to parliament as a representative of the owner of said borough? If anything, Baldrick was probably an intellectual next to some of these people, although such people tended to be upper-class.
  • The characters of Brigadier Horace Bolsom and especially Ivor "jest ye not, madam" Biggun, rather than being surreal whimsy, reflect the long-standing British tradition of satirical candidates or single-issue campaigners contesting high-profile electoral seats and literally "standing at the back dressed stupidly and looking stupid" when the result is announced. The aptly named Monster Raving Loony Party is the archetypal example and Ivor Biggun is clearly based on its founder, Screaming Lord Sutch ^note  who wasn't actually a lord, of course, although more recent elections (long after the episode came out) have given us other satirical candidates like the equally aptly-named Lord Buckethead, who came to national attention when he stood for election against Theresa May (the Prime Minister at the time) in 2017. 'Serious' politicians have sometimes commented that they try to avoid standing near the joke candidates when the results are announced.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The ending has Baldrick elevated to being a lord over Blackadder, much to the latter's annoyance. In 2013, Tony Robinson was knighted, while Rowan Atkinson "only" got a CBE.
• One-Scene Wonder: Denis Lill as Sir Talbot Buxomley. He appears for about two minutes and dies at the end of his scene. But he is absolutely unforgettable. Also of note in this episode is Geoffrey McGivern as Ivor "Jest Ye Not, Madam" Biggun of the Standing at the Back Dressed Stupidly and Looking Stupid Party.

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