Ink and Incapability
Joe Siegler
 |
 |
Ink and Incapability
This Episode: Season 3, Episode 2
Black Adder Overall: Episode 14
Airdate: 24 Sep 1987
Written by Ben Elton & Richard Curtis
Directed by Mandie Fletcher
“I’m delighted to have been instrumental in keeping your bosom free of asses.”
Notes
- Samuel Johnson is played by Robbie Coltrane, who is well known for being Hagrid in the eight theatrical Harry Potter films. He was also Valentin Zukovsky in the James Bond films “Goldeneye” and “The World Is Not Enough”. He also appears in Black Adder again in “Black Adder’s Christmas Carol“.
- Samuel Johnson was a real person who did publish a dictionary. However, that happened in 1755, seven years before the real life Prince was born.
- Similarly Blackadder’s book is referred to by both him and Johnson as a “roller coaster of a novel”. Obviously roller coasters hadn’t been invented yet when this series is set.
Links
[ Wikipedia | Blackadder Wiki | IMDB | BBC Website | BBC Alternate | Amazon US DVD | Amazon UK Blu-Ray ]Black Adder Ep 14 - "Ink and Incapability" - 24 Sep 1987 1/2 Easily my fav ep of the entire series. I absolutely fell in live with the verbal sparring here. "I'm anaspeptic, frasmotic, even compunctuous to have caused you such pericombobulations". It's gibberish, but there's so many large words in
— Joe Siegler (@joesiegler.blog) November 24, 2025 at 9:33 PM
[image or embed]
Black Adder Ep 14 - "Ink and Incapability" - 24 Sep 1987 2/2 this one, I adore it. The Prince decides to become patron of Dr Johnson's dictionary, but after a squabble the dictionary is burnt, causing Black adder to have to try to rewrite it. Many hijinks ensue. This is British comedy perfection.
— Joe Siegler (@joesiegler.blog) November 24, 2025 at 9:33 PM
[image or embed]
