Blackadder II (TV Series) Money (1986) User Reviews

Blackadder is short of cash

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 8 February 2015]

It turns out Blackadder is not as well off as he likes people to believe; indeed he owes a thousand pounds to the Bank of the Black Monks and if he doesn't pay up by evensong the baby eating Bishop of Bath and Wells will shove a head hot poker up his backside! He has nowhere near enough money and what he does have he loses thanks to silly bets between the Queen and Lord Melchett; the 6d he makes prostituting Baldrick down the docks goes just as fast as the thousand pounds he earns from selling his house. If Blackadder is to escape the priest's poker he will have to come up with a truly debased scheme.

For the most part this was a pretty good episode; the Bishop of Bath and Wells was a delightfully vile character and Edmund's various schemes to raise the cash were pretty funny. The Queen and Melchett's tricks did seem a little too cruel meaning our sympathies are entirely with Blackadder. As one would expect the humour is fairly course but it doesn't seem overly crude as it is done in a witty way. The scene down the docks was a slightly weaker part of the episode; not terrible but it just was not as funny as it could have been; the house selling scene was much better, especially he uses 'estate agent speak' to explain that one goes to the toilet via the window! Overall and good episode with plenty of laughs.

Edmund meets his match with the Bishop of Bath and Welles.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 15 January 2016]

Blackadder's been mismanaging his finances, he's borrowed money from The Bank of the Black Monks, and now the debt is being called in, by the Bishop of Bath and Welles, a terrifying individual, the only person to strike fear into Edmund's heart. The banks motto is Repayment or Revenge, the debt is £1000, a cunning plan is needed to stop a terrible fate with a red hot poker, but the queen's constant games scupper his plans. To help, Percy attempts to create gold, Baldrick becomes a prostitute, but doom seems imminent.

I love the scene of the wild man talking to Blackadder at the grave site, the humour is utterly surreal but wonderful.

Fun performance from Ronald Lacey, a prolific and much missed actor, he made the Bishop of Bath and Welles a very memorable character. A shame he died so young.

It isn't my favourite episode of all time, but it's still hugely funny, it's nice to see Edmund taken down a peg or two by someone other then the Queen. 8/10

Nasty but funny episode with jet black humour

[snoozejonc · 9/10 · 27 January 2021]

Edmund owes money to the Bishop of Bath and Wells.

I enjoyed this episode for the dark humour, character development and excellent performances.

This is one of the darkest entries in series 2, with the corruption of the church at the heart of everything and a revealing look into the blackness of titular character. So many taboos are covered such as torture, murder, prostitution, infanticide, S and M, theft and some pretty cruel practical jokes. To be fair to Curtis and Elton, they make it funny with some hilarious situations and more of the usual sharp banter between characters. In fact its not banter, its spontaneous and its called wit!

We really do get sense of how low Edmund will sink to obtain what he wants and how much he will exploit friends who are very loyal to him. It's all done in the worst possible taste and is very humorous indeed.

Performances are excellent with Rowan Atkinson dominating and Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, Miranda Richardson and Stephen Fry also on great form. Ronald Lacey has a brilliant cameo as the Bishop and it always makes me wonder whether or not his use of the red hot poker was an in-joke reference to the Gestapo character he plays in Raiders of the Lost Ark who attempts the same method to torture Marion.

Overall I thought it was 8.5/10, but I always round upwards.

Wow

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 2 April 2020]

Another great episode full of witty jokes double entendres and and other gags

Good, but not as good as Potato.

[general-melchett · 8/10 · 30 October 2006]

Money is a good episode, but it just isn't quite as good as Head or Potato. The first five minutes are distinctly flat (one very big anachronism is made) and Queenie's cruel tricks soon become predictable and harsh. As with all episodes, Money has hilarious quotes and an interesting new character, but it is all a bit too predictable, and won't exactly grip you or amaze you. Percy's alchemy is hilarious, and Blackadder's sale of his house (which he earns back) is written and done pretty well, as well as the scene in which Baldrick convinces Blackadder to become a rent boy, but the episode is neither wild nor vivid, and stays rather flat throughout, and will not linger around in your mind for a while after. On the whole, Money beats most Series 1 episodes, and is worthy to be called Blackadder, though it is not the best. 8/10

Good, and a bit better than potato!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 3 June 2010]

My summary is worded this way because I noticed another reviewer said the opposite in their summary. I am not just saying this to be contrary--I really did think is was better and one of the more enjoyable episodes (though I think "Bells" and "Head" were the best).

This episode concerned the very worldly practices of some high church officials. In particular, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and his love of loaning money. Why? Because he really loves it when people can't pay--as his hot poker goes to work on their bottoms! And who is the next to be tormented for non-payment of his debt? Not surprisingly, it is Edmund Blackadder, of course! So, unless he wants an awful butt-roasting, he'll need to think of something FAST! Something that takes advantage of some of the Bishop's OTHER vices.

While I could see some in the Anglican Church not particularly liking this episode, it's quite enjoyable and silly. And, for once, you actually find yourself feeling a bit sorry for Blackadder, believe it or not.

Money

[Prismark10 · 10/10 · 15 January 2021]

I once watched a repeat of this episode with a friend.

There was a line that was said by a sailor at the docks and he just gasped and said. I thought you were not allow to say things like that on television.

Another classic episode full of humorous scenarios and one liners. A big performance from Ronald Lacey as the Bishop of Bath & Wells.

He is the perverted assistant manager of the bank and he has come to collect the debt of £1000 that Blackadder owes. If Blackadder does not have it. It is red hot poker time.

The only problem. Blackadder does not have it and everytime he has a bit of money be it from prostitution or selling his house, the Queen takes it from him.

Blackadder has no option but to play dirty, rely on his cunning, he needs a quick sketch artist and a willing participant.

Mixed Bag, but still a great episode.

[zacpetch · 7/10 · 2 December 2014]

The plot of this episode is one of the only ones that makes you feel any empathy for Blackadder and for someone as unpleasant as him to be someone we can relate to is quite an achievement. Basically he's got 1 day to live unless he can make £1000 with only £80-or-so to start with. We've all been there.

The opening is one that acts as a warning of what's to come as it begins with Edmund in bed with a prostitute, Mollie (most girls would charge extra for what Blackadder wants, apparently), and we'll later see two of our main cast trying at that career in the next half-hour: Baldrick and Percy.

Baldrick doing that at the docks is one of the weakest scenes in the episode as a sailor comes to him for a kiss reminiscent of his dear mother, because that totally makes sense. The scene is funny at first, but it's overindulgent and goes on for too long. It culminates in Edmund telling a story about Squirry the Squirrel (Neep, Neep, Neep!) and then we learn that all he got was 6p.

His next money-making scheme is desperate as he is forced to sell his house, a key selling- point being that "You crap out the windows" and he makes £1100 from it. This scene is much funnier than at the docks and the two sequences should probably switch lengths. This would have been a big improvement.

As for Queenie and Melchie, the two are regrettably underused here. They show up three times to ask Blackadder to hand over his cash and after the second time he is called to them these scenes get predictable. The writing of them is still excellent, as it is every time we see them on screen this series, and are among the highlights of the episode.

What "Money" is really about though is poking fun at the corruption of the church, personified in the form of the Bishop Of Bath & Wells who is known to have his way with prostitutes and eat kids for breakfast. Oh yes, and to shove red-hot pokers up peoples' backsides which he takes immense pleasure in. The episode is able to keep him out of it except for the first and last moments so it manages not to go overboard but still present one of the finest villains in this or any TV episode. It's nothing new for Blackadder to poke fun at - see series one's "The Archbishop" - but it's given a different perspective this time and is the superior episode for it.

The episode has some excellent one-liners, as expected, and Percy's efforts at alchemy are among the funniest scenes from the whole series. In conclusion, a good episode overall but not the greatest due to predictability and poor pacing. 7/10