Edmund Blackadder is one of my favorite TV characters of all-time, and very little has ever made me laugh harder than Hugh Laurie did as the blindingly idiotic Prince "Thick As a Whale Omelet" George in Blackadder's third season. Even in my wildest dreams, however, I never dared to hope that Rowan Atkinson et al would ever return to the outrageous, vaguely-historical-accurate world the show created -- I figured that, in the wake of the one-off, tepidly-received Blackadder Back & Forth, Blackadder was gone for good. Or not.

You see, Stephen Fry -- who appeared in three of the four seasons of the show -- recently told contactmusic.com that he just spoke with Atkinson (currently busy reviving Mr. Bean, another of his TV characters), and that he professed to missing "the joys of Blackadder rehearsals and all that." Depending on who you believe, Atkinson might be doing more than just pining for his old buddies -- according to a story on virgin.net, series vet Ben Elton is actually working right now on a screenplay that lands Blackadder, Baldrick, et al squarely in the middle of The Russian Revolution. Whoa. Blackadder AND Russian history? If this movie happens, I may just die of joy.

I don't know about anyone else, but the trailer for Casanova really had me concerned - it was too short to get a sense of if the humor really worked or not, and succeeded only in making Heath Ledger look like a dolt. Happily for both Heath and the movie, however, Apple is now hosting a very reassuring five minute clip from the movie.

For people (such as myself) who had been wondering, if the clip is anything to go on, Casanova really is funny. Also very silly, but in a good way. For the Rowan Atkinson fans out there, the clip actually gives off a very strong Blackadder the Third vibe, it's that sort of joyful, costumed absurdity. In addition, these five minutes make clear once again that Oliver Platt is a complete comic genius who can bring pathos to the most absurd character on earth. Click below and check it out for yourselves - the movie comes out in the US on Christmas.

[via Movies Online]