Season 3 - Episode Guide

England, 1760-1815 - golden age of wealth, power and discovery. But not for E Blackadder Esq, butler to the Prince Regent. The new Prime Minister Pitt the Younger (aged 13 and 3/4) plans to bankrupt the Prince. As usual, Blackadder takes his master's side (and indeed his wallet).

Dr Samuel Johnson seeks the regent's support for his dictionary, but when it is used for firewood, Edmund must rewrite it.

Revolution sweeps France, and heads roll. Everyone in Britain is obsessed with the daring exploits of the dashing Scarlet Pimpernel as he risks his life to save French aristocrats from the guillotine. Everyone except Edmund Blackadder.

Edmund is challenged to rescue an aristocrat from the French revolutionaries. He hatches a plan to win the bet without putting himself in any danger - and promptly falls into the hands of the revolutionaries.

While the Prince Regent is attending a play, he survives an assassination attempt by anarchists. He is horrified to learn that he is unpopular and Blackadder suggests he improves his image by delivering a speech, so he hires the two actors they saw at the theatre to tutor him in public speaking.

Anarchists lurk in every cupboard and actors in every coffee house, but which pose a greater threat to the prince?

The regent is low on cash, so Edmund sets out to find him a bride with a big dowry. A certain Amy Hardwood seems to fit the bill - but is she connected with squirrel-hating highwayman Dick Turpin?

The prince is challenged to a duel by the fearsome Duke of Wellington. Edmund volunteers to take his place, hoping that his cousin MacAdder will step in for him.

Seasonal comedy special. Christmas Eve, 1850. Ebenezer Blackadder is a decent, kind, generous human being - until he gets a glimpse of his loathsome ancestors.

Blackadder: The Cavalier Years is a 15-minute one-off edition of Blackadder set during the English Civil War, shown as part of the first Comic Relief Red Nose Day on BBC1, broadcast on Friday 5 February 1988.