Dish and Dishonesty
| "Dish and Dishonesty" | |
|---|---|
| Blackadder episode | |
Opening title card, illustrating the public order theme.
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| Episode no. |
Series 3 (Blackadder the Third) Episode 1 |
| Written by | Richard Curtis & Ben Elton |
| Original air date | 17 September 1987 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Simon Osborne |
|
Simon Osborne
Denis Lill
Geoff McGivern
Vincent Hanna
"Dish and Dishonesty" is the first episode of the third series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder. Due to the thorough parody of the conventions of a British electoral declaration, it has been shown several times on the dates of real General Elections.
The newly appointed Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger (portrayed by Simon Osborne as a petulant teenager), wants to declare war on Napoleon Bonaparte, give "tougher sentences" for his geography teacher "Banana-Breath" Scrigshanks, and, most of all, strike the idiotic Prince Regent from the Civil List. Despite hearing this, the Prince is nonetheless convinced that the general public adores him because yesterday, he heard them singing "We hail Prince George!", only to be corrected by his butler, Mr. Blackadder, as "We hate Prince George!" Since the House of Commons is evenly divided on the issue, Blackadder suggests to the Prince that they tip the scales in his favour by bribing a Member of Parliament (MP) named Sir Talbot Buxomley (Denis Lill) with the position of High Court judge. The Prince calls for Buxomley, who, after assuring the Prince that he will stand by him, promptly sits down in a chair and dies, due to his poor health.
Moving quickly, Blackadder realises that Buxomley represented the constituency of Dunny-on-the-Wold, a rotten borough consisting of a tiny plot of land with several farm animals – 3 rather mangy cows, a dachshund named Colin (whom the Prince assumes is a human rather than a dog) and a small hen in its late forties. Blackadder schemes to elect Baldrick as the constituency's new MP to ensure that he votes in favour of the Prince.
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