George (Blackadder character)

George
Blackadder character
The Prince Regent (left), Lt. George (right)
First appearance	"Dish and Dishonesty" (series 3) "Captain Cook" (series 4)
Last appearance	"Duel and Duality" (series 3) "Goodbyeee" (series 4)
Portrayed by	Hugh Laurie
Information
Occupation	Prince regent (series 3) Lieutenant (series 4)
Nationality	British

George is a supporting character who appeared in various adaptations of the BBC sitcom Blackadder, played by Hugh Laurie. Each series saw a different incarnation of the character, because each was set in a different period of history. He was most prominently featured in the third and fourth series. The character was added to the series as a replacement for the Lord Percy Percy character, who did not appear in the third instalment because Tim McInnerny, the actor playing him, feared being typecast.

The first incarnation of the character was a caricature of George, Prince of Wales, serving as the main antagonist of the third series. The second, Lt. The Hon. George Colthurst St Barleigh, was a young officer in the British Army during World War I, a supporting protagonist in the fourth series. Both portrayals were of "dim-witted upper-class twits", who depended greatly on Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson). The character garnered positive responses from critics.

Both Prince George and Lt. George are portrayed as dim-witted "upper class twits". The son of King George III, Prince George is represented as a childish, spoiled, bumbling foppish fool who spends money extravagantly (especially on impressive trousers and socks). Lieutenant George, stationed in the trenches of World War I, retains his enthusiastic naiveté, despite being stuck in the trenches for 3 years, revealing a lack of awareness of the seriousness of his circumstances; Robert Bianco of USA Today stated the character "smiles through in the face of certain death".