Don't Mention Macbeth | Blackadder The Third | BBC Comedy Greats 

Thank you Baldric.

Let's just remember the good times and watch the actors make cod pieces of them selves

Oh yes, so cunning you could put a mask on it and call it a measle

Or maybe macbeth

E‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

It depends on who was playing McBeth.

Ooooh...Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends! :DDD

Its hard to tell if Baldrick's pause before answering is deliberate or he's trying not to laugh

He may have failed a few times before getting what you see.

Very carry on 😀

They didn't exactly give him much incentive to stop saying it, did they?

What, you mean Macbeth?

Oh, I love this scene so much, Blackadder is perfect when he’s so evil in such a harmless way.

@@cyanmanta AHHH! Hot potato orchestra stalls, puck will make amends, ah!

In all fairness the actors needed to be taken down a peg

Probably my all-time favorite Blackadder moment.

Too funny

Our knocks you impertinent butler were loud enough to wake the hounds of hell!

@@jcorona984 thanks for the writing that phrase. I couldn't make out what the actors said

@@heliotropezzz333 fixed. Thank you.

I love that too. This whole scene is probably my favourite moment in comedy

yes

no

I was just going to comment that 😂😂

Yeah you’re the only one you special snowflake you

AHHH! Hot potato orchestra stalls, puck will make amends!!!

@@HarryFrost-qu8th *Nose grab*

Look up some puppet blokes names Waldorf and Stadtler for a good laught.

The first troll we know of was an ancient Egyptian trader who had a room in his house dedicated to letters with furious complaints.

Looks like 18th century garb. No earlier than late 16th century.

In England we've always had trolling, sarcasm or "taking the piss". It's well over 500 years old in other parts of Britain and in Ireland.

The Georgian era was 1714 - 1830

wow. That's the joke :)

That was his cunning plan.

It's apophasis.

say what at every opportunity? Macbeth?

@@ishaannair7928 Aahhhhh. Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends!!!

Phil Sadler "It depends on who played MacBeth." lol

kxmode "So he was a stunt codpiece."

+waivedwench What's a cod piece?

Stephen Byrne Something men in the old days used to cover their genitals.

+Stephen Byrne basically a jock strap

+Craplatte PLETHORA!

+AWorldWithoutTenors INDEED! :-)

"Our knocks, you impertinent butler, were loud enough to wake the hounds of Hell." 😂😂

you like just one chair, i guess :-D

Ben Powell hot potato. off his draws. pluck will make amends.

Dan *Orchestra Stalls, Puck will make amends

it is said 7 times in the episode. it is different everytime.

Lord Skeptic ... what? Before Edmund says “Macbeth”?

God lord, you mean you have to do that everytime I say Macbeth?

@@axeltaylor9094 Aaargh. Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends.

@@jackmalvern5699 so you want me to call it the Scottish play?

I believe it's actually, "Hot potato, off his drawers, pluck to make amends." But I could be mistaken, that's just what it sounds like to me.

Wikipedia says its the orchestra stalls version, I'm afraid.​@@richardadams4928

***** There was a gasp. People began to flail their hands around (that might have been the ritual or something), and there was awkward silence. Then some of the actors danced around in a circle. Also, one of them glared at me and asked, "You're a dancer, aren't you?" I just sat there and grinned. XD

Believe me, I will. ;) XD

Bonnie Robertson haha, my department (theatre) is big on the Macbeth superstition as well. Gotta say, I'm the Blackadder of the department. Oops. xD

mortic0n That's a good thing. :D XD

***** That sounds like a great idea! :D

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My first time watching Blackadder was the movie on TV years ago called 'Back and Forth'

@@Sasuke81a Same here!

@@Sasuke81a Back & Forth was a one off production specially made for the Millenium Dome exhibition

My first was the dictionary episode and I was so sad to learn Robbie Coltrane was just a guest star 😂 But dictionary and this one were the best of series 3

@@TDKiller415Hold on, how can you exclude the Duke of Wellington? All 6 episodes of BA iii are a collective masterpiece 😊

Good teacher.

Instead of Macbeth?

@@svavarkjarrval8757 _"Aahhhhh. Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends."_ *[tweak someones nose]*

And NOW I get the "did he have a large part", thank you! (Eglish's not my native language)

+SethBlizzard I didn't know that =) Thank you for telling.

+SethBlizzard I used to tease my drama teacher about his Macbeth superstition.

Powerranger6342 I hope he or she took it better than the actors here.

He did.

SethBlizzard well, that and supposedly one of the most famous scenes involving the three witches used what was thought to be a real spell. "Double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble..."

Most people are still like this. Religion is just another form of superstition; just as silly as this.

kreehomel Historically its an insecure profession. Plays can run only a few days, weeks, or they could run for months, with actors not knowing whether they'll be out of work or not. I guess these superstitions were born out of that uncertainty.

I’ll be honest, this happened to me a few weeks ago. It was during a rehearsal and some cast members and I were talking about some of Shakespeare’s work we learned in high school. I said: “in Grade 11, we read Julius Caesar. Grade 9, we read Macbeth” Immediately after I said that, two of my fellow cast members heard me say that and did the exact thing here. Got a kick out of it, but they explained what it was, and why I should NEVER say it. Granted, they weren’t that superstitious, but definitely a nice way to learn of this bit of comedy gold.

kreehomel How is it sad? It's great!

DJosephWells And once an actor's unemployed, they tend to stay that way for a long time.

@Ubiquitary He was superb on Round the Horne

Two old lags to play two old lags. With their experience they could do this part without rehearsal. And I bet they did rehearse, as old pros do.

War veteran, occasional Goon, Carry On stalwart, Croft & Perry sitcom regular. One of the few comedians from his era I'd have had a pint with.

*_Oh, my dicky ticker!_*

I always wanted to know what they were saying when they did that ritual.

Subtitlers often get it wrong

@J J No they are not right. I'm British. I understand the accent, and the theatre references in the words. Off whose drawers? (That's not even grammatically correct. We don't use 'off' as a verb in Britain). Pluck what? Orchestra Stalls are part of the theatre. Puck is a theatrical character from Shakespeare who makes amends at the end of Midsummer Night's Dream.

Its "Hot Potato, Orchestra Stalls, Puck will make Amends"

Netflix subtitles are absolute gobble-a-jook.

It's potato (plural potatoes). Only Dan Quayle spells it potatoe

I’m still quite partial to BlackAdder II. Money is still one of the funniest episodes.

Blackadder goes forth most poignant

Tony Robinson said the third was his favourite 😄 But the dictionary was his favourite episode

What Macbeth?

@@BBCComedyGreats , aaahhhhh! 😮

@@BBCComedyGreats " *Hot potato* , off his drawers, pluck to *make amends* !"

@@aleksandarvil5718 Oh, you mean you have to do that every time I say "Macbeth"?

@@Enterprise-D666 "Aaahh *hot potato, off his drawers pluck to make amends."*

No, the slapping of Hugh Laurie is the best scene in any television show ever. Because it was also slightly improvised.

it has some stiff competition.

Lol, I can't believe that's still a thing. I mean, stage acting has always been a high-stress and risk profession, hence why superstitions were ripe, but it's the 21st century, we know superstition is bullshit now.

@@AtlasBlizzard Exactly. Things can still go wrong on the night without even mentioning "MacBeth".

Agh! Hot potato off his drawers Puck to make amends!

"Good lord, you mean you have to do that every time I say 'Macbeth'?"

Nope, thank god I'm not like them

It is actually "Hot potato, orchestra falls, pluck will make amends!".

Oh well

Giannis Michalopoulos I prefer yifgoh's version.

I wondered the same thing. The scream is so contrived. It must be part of the ritual.

I think it’s more of “Oh God, he just said it! Quickly, the ritual!”

I think the scream was an unnatural reaction at first, but then they just added it to the chant later.

A great comic actor ❤

Orchestra scores

Oh you mean you have to do that every time I say MACBETH!? 😕

@@alexkrycek3359 Off his drawers is the line

@@MrStickman1997 AHHHH! Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends, ah!

What do these lines even mean??

You mean you are cursed every time someone says Macbeth.

Sibernethy is one of those ants 'macbeth' ?

the ants😡🐜

Puck will make amends and lift the Macbeth curse.

@@arserobinson7118 Any relation to Peter Puck from Canada?

Homer: By saying Macbeth?

Ian McKellen is struck by lightning

@@mushroomhead3619 Mr Macbeth I'm really sorry..

True genius in comedy isn’t in making people laugh, per se. In fact any idiot can do that by simply falling over. No. The true genius comedy writer is he or she that can have you roaring with laughter one minute, then crying like a baby the next. Few can pull this off….. Victoria Wood di it with dinner ladies. Joyce Grendfell could do it. Norman Wisdom. Charlie Chaplin. Gene Wilder. Alan Bennett And I defy anyone who can watch the last episode of the fourth and final Blackadder without weeping buckets. By the time he says, “Good luck, everyone” I’m a quivering wreck. And I love it…..

Remember that Bloody counts as a swear word in Britain.

If you were a truly devious spirit you would make the only way to stop you a stupid silly looking ritual becasue who would ever work it out

chasm671 It's superstition, not logic.

What macbeth?

@@fulcrum2951 Aaaah! Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends!

Commanding Judge, DreddHot potatoe, off the drawers, Puck will make amends

There was a bit of friction in the 70s and 80s between 'legit' actors - the paid-up members of Equity - some of whom had been through stage school, and those who came into the business through stand-up and fringe comedy. This whole episode is a well-aimed pie in the face from the latter to the former.

@@HordrissTheConfuser Facts though. The same as always tbh lol IT was like that during Shakespeare's time as well as throughout the centuries since. Plus the overall superstition revolving around the stuff thats happened on the sets of the "Scottish Play" over the centuries as well. ^

How dare you, Sir! You think that because we're actors, we sleep with everybody.

"Well you have a sad life" -My Sister :)

dont say that

DA!! Hot potato, off his drawers, Puck will make amend! HUH!!

AHHHHHH. 🤣

AHHHGH! Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends!

@@ladymacbethofmtensk896 Took 9 years, but finally the correct response!

Baldrick, you wouldn't recognize a cunning plan if it stood dancing naked on the table and sang: "Cunning plans are here again".

When the going gets tough, the tough hide under the table.

By the Scottish Lady I presume you mean Macbeth? (Hot potato, Orchestra Stalls, Puck will make amends).

That sounds unlucky...

69th like

I like your picture

120th sub

They still do that every time someone says... Macbeth?

@@ethanlivemere1162 AAAAGGHHH!

Hot potato, off his drawers, pluck will make amends

@@tsitracommunications2884Yaaawwwn! Also it's "Puck". (Seeing as you're so keen on correcting folk.)

@@commandingjudgedredd1841 whoopee Kriffin do

@@Saucy-ws6jc Aaaah! Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends! Will you please stop saying that! Always call it "the Scottish play"!!

Commanding Judge, Dredd by the “Scottish play” I presume you mean Macbeth.

@@sostruk Aaaah! Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends!

Hot Potato, OFF HIS DRAWERS, puck will make amends!

@Flyfilo2 AAAAARRGHH!!! Aaaah! Hot potato, off his drawers, Puck will make amends!!! Hot potato, off his drawers, Puck will make amends!!! Hot potato, off his drawers, Puck will make amends!!!