Blackadder: Back & Forth

Lord Blackadder hosts four guests on New Year's Eve and reveals he has built a time machine from Leonardo da Vinci's plans. He wagers each guest £10,000 that he can fetch any item from history they request. The group challenges him to bring back a Roman centurion's helmet, Wellington's boots, and a 200-year-old pair of underpants.

The guests learn the voyage is a sham, as Baldrick has actually retrieved the items and the machine is only a prop. Blackadder stages the travel, with Baldrick and himself hidden inside to fool the others. When the door is opened, to everyone's surprise, the journey has truly begun.

The machine lands in the Cretaceous period and the travellers face a Tyrannosaurus. They discard the wager items to avoid trouble, and ultimately defeat the beast using the underpants. Baldrick notes they cannot return yet because the dials have not been properly set.

The journey lands during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The Queen orders Blackadder's beheading unless he brings a present. He drops Polo mints on the floor, which the Queen loves, and she rewards him with her crown and commands him to fetch more minty things.

On the return leg, Blackadder meets William Shakespeare and secures his autograph, joking that it will be used for schoolchildren for centuries to come. He delivers a quip and leaves, continuing the journey.

The machine lands in Sherwood Forest where they are captured by Robin Hood's Merry Men. Blackadder questions their ethics about stealing from the rich to give to the poor. After a confrontation, the Merry Men shoot Robin Hood, and Blackadder, after a night with Maid Marian, leaves with Robin's hat as a souvenir.

The time machine next lands at the Battle of Waterloo where Blackadder attempts to steal the Duke of Wellington's boots to win the wager. The audacious plan adds another layer to their grand tour of history.

The journey then drops them at Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. They spy their Roman ancestors, steal a helmet, and narrowly escape a charging group of Picts.

Baldrick explains that dying people have their lives flash before them, and Blackadder considers the idea of testing the memory trick. He forcefully shoves Baldrick's head into the time machine toilet, and Baldrick remembers how to set the dials to return home.

They return to 1999 only to discover their interference has altered history: Robin Hood is unknown, Shakespeare is remembered only as the inventor of the ballpoint pen, and Britain has fallen under French rule after Waterloo.

Realising the damage, Blackadder jumps back into the time machine to try to save Britain. He charms Robin Hood, furthers Shakespeare’s legacy, and ensures the Wellington episode is corrected, aiming to restore the original timeline.

They return home to witness the Millennium Dome festivities. Blackadder reveals he is now the absolute monarch, King Edmund III, married to Queen Marian of Sherwood, with Baldrick as Prime Minister, hinting at another cunning plan and more adventures ahead.