Rowan Atkinson Books

Great book, worth the price a hundred times. Great to read more exploits of Bean! Just like the TV show! Recomended! Some parts will laugh you to death such as:

Smashed bugs in the book

Police reports

Much much more!

Funny, but I expected it to be like a book, and there were just some andom notes for every day.

Even Mr. Bean's most enthusiastic fans will have to agree that he can be really gross sometimes. For those of us who wish we'd never seen him try to stop his ears with someone else's used chewing gum, he's a lot easier to take in print than on video, just as weird but much less nauseating. I think he's funnier, too. It's kind of like a radio play: What you fill in with your imagination can be funnier than what they show you.

This book is hilarious and makes for simple, entertaining reading. It consists of a diary in which Mr. Bean records his various escapades (in his untidy scrawl) and keeps his letters and newspaper clippings. It contains quite a few references to the episodes themselves, and it's necessary to read it more than once to appreciate the full humour value. I recommend this book to all fans of Mr. Bean.

Mr Bean aka Rowan Atkinson is one of my favorite comedian. He manages to crack you up without resorting to low down slapstick humor. The book is a must-read for Mr Bean fans, and for those of you who have yet to see his TV shows (way better than the movie), I highly recommend this book. It is guaranteed to give me tummyaches from laughing too hard.

Too much fun! Read it over and over and never tire of it. Blackadder will not disappoint you if you love British Comedy, Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie.

"Blackadder" is one of the most brilliant television shows ever. The star, Rowan Atkinson, along with other series regulars such as Tony Robinson (as the perpetual dogsbody with a cunning plan,) Tim McInnerny, Stephen Fry, and Hugh Laurie carry this show through four distinct historical periods, with more laughs than could possibly be expected. Series one starts in the fifteenth century, with Atkinson as Prince Edmund, the illegitimate and despised son of the lunatic king, Richard IV. During this season Edmund adopted the moniker "The Black Adder" only after Baldrick advised him it was much more awe inspiring than his original choice "The Black Vegetable." (Note that while his name is spelled "Blackadder" in the scripts, when it is used as a title in season one, it is spelled "Black Adder.") This season sets the stage for Blackadder as a conniving and scheming con man, a reputation he and his Blackadder descendants live up to through the rest of the series.

Seasons two and three see a progression though history with Edmund first becoming Lord Edmund Blackadder, in the court of Elizabeth I (who is delightfully played by Miranda Richardson,) and later becoming the butler to Prince George, the Prince Regent, who is the idiot offspring of crazy King George III. These seasons provide the most laughs of the series for me, and I am particularly enthralled with the episode "Ink and Incapability" in which Baldrick burns Doctor Johnson's new dictionary. This episode is the ultimate in Blackadder humor, witty and urbane, yet full of madcap comedic moments as well, especially when Blackadder introduces new and confounding words for Dr. Johnson's considerations: "Contrafibularities, sir. It is a common word down our way....I am anaspeptic, phrasmotic, even compunctious to have caused you such pericombubulations." (Of course in true Blackadder fashion this only gets him in trouble, as Coleridge, the poet and Johnson ally threatens to thrust an Oriental disemboweling cutlass up his "ignoble behind.")

The forth season of Blackadder sees Atkinson as Captain Edmund Blackadder in the British army during the trench warfare of World War One France. This series also had a lot of laughs, with my favorite episode being "Private Plane," in which Blackadder and Baldrick join the Royal Air Force and are forced down behind enemy lines. They are subsequently interrogated and insulted by the Red Baron ("How lucky you English are to find the toilet so amusing, for us it is a mundane and functional item, for you it is the basis of an entire culture.") and sentenced to teach home economics to a convent of nuns for the duration of the war. One thing about this season (and two of the others) is that in the last episode of the season the entire cast dies, which elevates the series into a peculiar blend of black comedy and social commentary which I have still not grown fully accustomed to.

The book is a collection of scripts and has several extras germane to the time period being satirized which are also well done. I like the excerpt from "Dr. Johnson's Dictionary" provided on page 106, with definitions such as "left behind - part of the sitting apparatus of a personage," and "leek - a long, thin Welsh tomato." There are also helpful lists of the "Duties of the Prince Regent," "Duties of a Butler of a Royal Household" which includes "Commissioning moleskins (as and when necessary)," and "Duties of an Underscrogman." Baldrick, being the Underscrogman serving under Edmund is responsible for (among other things): "Removing and making good all squoles, whiffen-plugs, and blunters," "Cleaning the wulger-hole," "Quilping," "Cliving," "Groving," "Arranging the sheep droppings into neat little pyramids," "Frossiking the hounds," "Folding the glut-pile," and of course, "Making sandwiches."

This is a wonderful book, though if you are unfamiliar with the series, I recommend buying the DVD set and watching the shows first; a subsequent reading of this book will ensure many more laughs. As a side note, profits from this book go to the charity Comic Relief, a brief history of which appears in the last three pages of the book.

I recommend this book very highly for intelligent wit, and I likewise recommend the television series on DVD interphrastically.

1983 saw the airing of a hilariously funny new British television show, Blackadder. This show had four separate seasons that chronicled the lives of four members of the Blackadder family: Edmund Blackadder in 1484, son of Richard, Duke of York; Edmund Blackadder, favorite of Queen Elizabeth I; Edmund Blackadder, butler to Prince George, son of King George III; and, finally, Edmund Blackadder, Army captain during World War I. This book is a companion to that wonderful series, filling in the holes left in English history, giving all sort of useful information drawn from the Blackadder family archives, and the full scripts of each of the shows!

This is a great book, and a must-have for any fan of the Black Adder. The scripts are great to have, and the other information demonstrates the same great humor as the show. Having been created in 1998, the book does not contain any information on the Y2K special, Blackadder Back & Forth, which makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that it completely ignores the 1988 Christmas Special! But, that said, this is a nice book, one that I highly recommend to every Blackadder fan!

The Blackadder series, begun in the 1980s, was a comedic masterpiece set forth by Rowan Atkinson and his comrades. From start to finish, the first series was a masterstroke of wit, irony and comedic styling that fits both the contemporary and medieval situations perfectly. The combination of slapstick and intellectual humour blended well, and the literary types will not miss the occasional credit of William Shakespeare as a collaborating writer on some episodes -- this might well be the kind of comedy Shakespeare would have produced today.

The first series was set in the pre-Tudor royal family, projecting that Richard III won at Bosworth Field, and Richard IV succeeded him, until after many adventures, the entire royal family was done in, and Henry Tudor reworte history thereafter. The first series starred Brian Blessed and Elspet Gray as the King and Queen, and Robert East as their eldest son, the Prince of Wales. Rowan Atkinson played the second son, who with companions Percy and Baldrick (Tim McInnerny and Tony Robinson) create most of the comic scenes. BlackAdder variously becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury, the betrothed of the Spanish Infanta, a witch on trial, and finally, however briefly, King of England.

The second series sees Percy and Baldrick following a descendent of Blackadder in Elizabethan times; as befits the period, the characters are more vibrant and saucy, particularly Blackadder, who still seeks his fortune as one of the Queen's suitors. Here he variously becomes the royal executioner, a sea-faring discoverer, a bankrupt noble, and finally a traitor to the crown, albeit not without a sense of humour. Miranda Richardson puts in a spectacular performance as Queen Elizabeth, with Stephen Fry and Patsy Byrne in attendance. Stephen Fry will recur throughout the series.

In the third series, Blackadder is still close to the crown, as the butler of the Prince Regent, a despised position to a despised person. Baldrick is still around, and the Prince is played by Hugh Laurie, who will recur in the final series. Done almost as a period comedy, the very titles and situations pay hommage to the day of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Dr. Johnson's dictionary, and the conflict with France. Through an interesting set of circumstances, butler and prince trade places, and the Blackadder finally becomes his intended goal, albeit in the name of someone else.

In the fourth and final series, Blackadder has fallen from a great height, and is an officer in the trenches of World War I. Baldrick is still there, and Percy and the Prince have transformed into fellow field officers, with Stephen Fry playing a bellicose general here as he did Wellington in the third series. The main device of this series is the effort by Blackadder to escape the trenches, by variously becoming an artist, a theatre producer, a chef, but to no avail finally, producing a sombre end to the dynasty.

The book is a fabulous companion piece to the series, as the BBC is known to do with television series of success. The six episodes of each of the four seasons is laid out in script-narrative form, with a generous collection of side offerings, such as the Blackadder family tree, the menu of Mrs. Miggins' pie shoppe, and other pieces of interest related to but not found in the actual series. The cast is included at the beginning of each series section. The book concludes with a partial collection of some of Blackadder's best insults.

This book was printed in aid of Comic Relief, who give a brief outline of their history of funding good causes in the last few pages.

This is a must-have for any Blackadder fan. Regretably, it does not contain the addition special features (such as the Victorian Christmas of Blackadder), but for any devotee of the series, this is a requirement.

I stumbled upon the Black Adder comedy series one night in the 1980s while channel surfing. Something was weird, I thought--there's this sniveling coward, and this even more sniveling sycophant, and then the dogsbody who has dung all over him. Looks interesting. And as I watched, I found it extremely funny, as well. It required a knowledge of history (or Shakespeare, as you see fit), yet wasn't afraid to do the occasional fart joke. Puerile, yet intelligent. That described me at the time as well.

The successive series (Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third, and Blackadder Goes Forth) shifted over into the more intelligent realm (with the third series being the most so), although the running jokes about Baldrick (the dogsbody) being little better than the dung he came from remained. Blackadder II, set in the court of the virgin queen, starred Miranda Richardson, who was perfect in her cruelty towards the hapless Blackadder. The third series had Hugh Laurie as the Prince Regent, a befuddled German idiot who is being taken advantage of by Blackadder, the butler (think of a dark Wooster/Jeeves match, where the Jeeves character retains his aplomb but becomes extra greedy). I never got to see the fourth series on television, so my experience with it is through this book alone.

And what a great book it is. Published to benefit Comic Relief, the organization trying to aid the poor and destitute in England and Africa, it contains the scripts to each episode of the four series with faux historical documents and a running summary of the line of Blackadder. For an American, the scripts are almost a necessity to catch some of the more obscure language used in the series--especially the curses. The endpapers have color pictures of the main characters in each series, and there are some black and white stills with humorous captions included within the pages.

To say that Black Adder is my favorite TV show is true. I liked the 1970s American sitcom, SOAP, as well, but from its hilarious beginnings, it tapered off into pure silliness (as most American shows tend to do). The nice thing about the Blackadder series is the way that the British limit themselves to sets of shows, rather than endlessly milking the cash cow. Yes, I would like to see a fifth Black Adder (I've seen the Christmas Carol, which was wonderful), but only if it can be of the same quality as these. If not, let's not ruin a good thing, shall we?

"Blackadder" is one of the most brilliant television shows ever. The star, Rowan Atkinson, along with other series regulars such as Tony Robinson (as the perpetual dogsbody with a cunning plan,) Tim McInnerny, Stephen Fry, and Hugh Laurie carry this show through four distinct historical periods, with more laughs than could possibly be expected. Series one starts in the fifteenth century, with Atkinson as Prince Edmund, the illegitimate and despised son of the lunatic king, Richard IV. During this season Edmund adopted the moniker "The Black Adder" only after Baldrick advised him it was much more awe inspiring than his original choice "The Black Vegetable." (Note that while his name is spelled "Blackadder" in the scripts, when it is used as a title in season one, it is spelled "Black Adder.") This season sets the stage for Blackadder as a conniving and scheming con man, a reputation he and his Blackadder descendants live up to through the rest of the series.

Seasons two and three see a progression though history with Edmund first becoming Lord Edmund Blackadder, in the court of Elizabeth I (who is delightfully played by Miranda Richardson,) and later becoming the butler to Prince George, the Prince Regent, who is the idiot offspring of crazy King George III. These seasons provide the most laughs of the series for me, and I am particularly enthralled with the episode "Ink and Incapability" in which Baldrick burns Doctor Johnson's new dictionary. This episode is the ultimate in Blackadder humor, witty and urbane, yet full of madcap comedic moments as well, especially when Blackadder introduces new and confounding words for Dr. Johnson's considerations: "Contrafibularities, sir. It is a common word down our way....I am anaspeptic, phrasmotic, even compunctious to have caused you such pericombubulations." (Of course in true Blackadder fashion this only gets him in trouble, as Coleridge, the poet and Johnson ally threatens to thrust an Oriental disemboweling cutlass up his "ignoble behind.")

The forth season of Blackadder sees Atkinson as Captain Edmund Blackadder in the British army during the trench warfare of World War One France. This series also had a lot of laughs, with my favorite episode being "Private Plane," in which Blackadder and Baldrick join the Royal Air Force and are forced down behind enemy lines. They are subsequently interrogated and insulted by the Red Baron ("How lucky you English are to find the toilet so amusing, for us it is a mundane and functional item, for you it is the basis of an entire culture.") and sentenced to teach home economics to a convent of nuns for the duration of the war. One thing about this season (and two of the others) is that in the last episode of the season the entire cast dies, which elevates the series into a peculiar blend of black comedy and social commentary which I have still not grown fully accustomed to.

The book is a collection of scripts and has several extras germane to the time period being satirized which are also well done. I like the excerpt from "Dr. Johnson's Dictionary," with definitions such as "left behind - part of the sitting apparatus of a personage," and "leek - a long, thin Welsh tomato." There are also helpful lists of the "Duties of the Prince Regent," "Duties of a Butler of a Royal Household" which includes "Commissioning moleskins (as and when necessary)," and "Duties of an Underscrogman." Baldrick, being the Underscrogman serving under Edmund is responsible for (among other things): "Removing and making good all squoles, whiffen-plugs, and blunters," "Cleaning the wulger-hole," "Quilping," "Cliving," "Groving," "Arranging the sheep droppings into neat little pyramids," "Frossiking the hounds," "Folding the glut-pile," and of course, "Making sandwiches."

This is a wonderful book, though if you are unfamiliar with the series, I recommend buying the DVD set and watching the shows first; a subsequent reading of this book will ensure many more laughs. As a side note, profits from this book go to the charity Comic Relief, a brief history of which appears in the last three pages of the book.

I recommend this book very highly for intelligent wit, and I likewise recommend the television series on DVD interphrastically.

The authors Richard Curtis and Ben Elton are well known to BBC audiences for their comedic masterwork, having been severally and individually part of the Vicar of Dibley, Mr. Bean, The Young Ones, The Man from Auntie. Rowan Atkinson, the lead actor in this series, also collaborated as writer and actor in other features such as Mr. Bean and the Thin Blue Line. John Lloyd was the producer who helped bring this series to life.

The Blackadder series, begun in the 1980s, was a comedic masterpiece set forth by Rowan Atkinson and his comrades. From start to finish, the first series was a masterstroke of wit, irony and comedic styling that fits both the contemporary and medieval situations perfectly. The combination of slapstick and intellectual humour blended well, and the literary types will not miss the occasional credit of William Shakespeare as a collaborating writer on some episodes -- this might well be the kind of comedy Shakespeare would have produced today.

The first series was set in the pre-Tudor royal family, projecting that Richard III won at Bosworth Field, and Richard IV succeeded him, until after many adventures, the entire royal family was done in, and Henry Tudor reworte history thereafter. The first series starred Brian Blessed and Elspet Gray as the King and Queen, and Robert East as their eldest son, the Prince of Wales. Rowan Atkinson played the second son, who with companions Percy and Baldrick (Tim McInnerny and Tony Robinson) create most of the comic scenes. BlackAdder variously becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury, the betrothed of the Spanish Infanta, a witch on trial, and finally, however briefly, King of England.

The second series sees Percy and Baldrick following a descendent of Blackadder in Elizabethan times; as befits the period, the characters are more vibrant and saucy, particularly Blackadder, who still seeks his fortune as one of the Queen's suitors. Here he variously becomes the royal executioner, a sea-faring discoverer, a bankrupt noble, and finally a traitor to the crown, albeit not without a sense of humour. Miranda Richardson puts in a spectacular performance as Queen Elizabeth, with Stephen Fry and Patsy Byrne in attendance. Stephen Fry will recur throughout the series.

In the third series, Blackadder is still close to the crown, as the butler of the Prince Regent, a despised position to a despised person. Baldrick is still around, and the Prince is played by Hugh Laurie, who will recur in the final series. Done almost as a period comedy, the very titles and situations pay hommage to the day of the Scarlet Pimpernel, Dr. Johnson's dictionary, and the conflict with France. Through an interesting set of circumstances, butler and prince trade places, and the Blackadder finally becomes his intended goal, albeit in the name of someone else.

In the fourth and final series, Blackadder has fallen from a great height, and is an officer in the trenches of World War I. Baldrick is still there, and Percy and the Prince have transformed into fellow field officers, with Stephen Fry playing a bellicose general here as he did Wellington in the third series. The main device of this series is the effort by Blackadder to escape the trenches, by variously becoming an artist, a theatre producer, a chef, but to no avail finally, producing a sombre end to the dynasty.

The book is a fabulous companion piece to the series, as the BBC is known to do with television series of success. The six episodes of each of the four seasons is laid out in script-narrative form, with a generous collection of side offerings, such as the Blackadder family tree, the menu of Mrs. Miggins' pie shoppe, and other pieces of interest related to but not found in the actual series. The cast is included at the beginning of each series section. The book concludes with a partial collection of some of Blackadder's best insults.

This book was printed in aid of Comic Relief, who give a brief outline of their history of funding good causes in the last few pages.

This is a must-have for any Blackadder fan. Regretably, it does not contain the addition special features (such as the Victorian Christmas of Blackadder), but for any devotee of the series, this is a requirement.

Bruce Dessau's book begins with his childhood and school life at St. Bees, then into his gradual abandonment of a science degree (he was expected to go into electrical engineering) and onto the theatre, where via connections to the Oxbridge mafia, he got the biggest breaks and the funniest lines.

Influences? Jacques Tati's Mr. Hulot character, whose tics and twitches he memorized during his time at St. Bees. The significance of this is that it helped him in his technique of using silent comedy, miming even, to get laughs. Coupled with the faces he pulled in front of a mirror to gain a rubbery-faced elasticity that rivalled Jim Carrey, we can see the beginnings of Mr. Bean. Naturally, Monty Python is an influence, as it aired when he was 15 years old. John Cleese's nasty sarcasm was later felt in each of the Blackadders, as well as his portrayal of hideous comedy star Ron Anderson in his first starring movie, The Tall Guy, opposite Jeff Goldblum.

There are a lot of comparisons between him and Cleese, come to think of it. Each of them had many years behind them, cutting their teeth on TV series, working with other performers, never being in something for too long, before making it big.

In terms of his TV series, there's quite a lot devoted to each of them: Not The Nine O'Clock News, Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and the Thin Blue Line. Brief plots are given of each episode, as well as major performers who appear as guest stars, such as Miranda Richardson, Rik Mayall (The Young Ones), and Robbie Coltrane (Harry Potter movies). It is with the third series of Black Adder (my personal favourite) that he won BAFTAs (the British equivalent of the Emmys and Oscars).

Mr. Bean, despite being his breakthrough series, was not only his fulfillment to create a comedy that could be more universal instead of being directed strictly at British tastes, was in a way the culmination of sketches he did on stage in the late 1970's, so it was basically old material (e.g. face shaving routine) refined. The movie was a success here, but because it was so Hollywoodized, was panned quite a bit in Britain.

Atkinson though comes through as a genius who despite striving to be a perfectionist, realizes that perfectionism unhealthily reduces someone to a bundle of ragged nerves. More an introvert, he is two different people, a comic onstage, a very private person offstage.

At this point, the Bean movie seems to be the pinnacle of his American success, but has the backlash happened? Sure, he came out the painfully jejune Rat Race, but Johnny English may be his saving grace, as Hollywood seems at a loss how to use him optimally. Then again, he didn't quite break into movies, as the book points out. Most of his movie roles have been minor (Never Say Never Again, Hot Shots Part Deux, Four Weddings And A Funeral). Yet through this book and from the time I noticed him in Not The Nine O'Clock News, the thing I've learned is never to anticipate what Rowan Atkinson will do next. Overall, a well-done book that casts Atkinson in a positive light and recommended for those who want to find out more on Britain's most talented comic since John Cleese.

Something of a lesson in not judging a book by its cover (or the blurb on the back). After purchasing this book, I was disappointed to learn in the opening acknowledgements that this was an unauthorized biography and that not even one of Atkinson's friends or close business associates agreed to be interviewed by Bruce Dressau, which in my mind, somewhat discredits the biography. On the other hand, if you're an American who didn't stumble upon Blackadder until it began airing on public television in the 90's (the way I did), this book isn't a bad read. It closely follows his career from his Oxford days up through The Thin Blue Line, which was interesting, especially when you see that seeds of certain characters (particularly Mr. Bean) took root early on in his career. Other than that, though, don't expect to gain any insight as to Rowan Atkinson the man, because there isn't any. The author tries to draw parallels between things like Atkinson's love of cars and his performing (if I had the book by my side now I'd subject you to the metaphor)but they just don't fly. I also realized, after reading the book, that the numerous articles that he quotes from (since no one was willing to talk to him) are mostly available on the internet. So while I'm willing to say that I learned something about British comedy and Rowan Atkinson, in the end I was still disappointed.

This biography is an excellent account of the various television shows, films and stage productions that Rowan Atkinson has performed in during the course of his career. Starting with some plays that he did as a school-boy, it continues right up to the year 2000 with his Comic Relief CURSE OF THE FATAL DEATH sketches and the BLACKADDER BACK AND FORTH one-off special. Unfortunately, while the book is bursting at the seams with information and facts about his professional life, we never really learn much about Mr. Atkinson himself. This is perhaps hardly surprising, after all it's fairly well-known that he hates to give interviews and will often times appear on a chat show in his Mr. Bean character in order to promote the series without having to give anything of himself away. Throughout the book one only catches a glimpse of the man behind that face. We learn rather superficial details, such as his love for automobiles and his shyness in person, but we never really get to see how much of an impact his public and private lives have on each other.

There has obviously been a lot of research that has gone into this book. To compensate for the lack of material from the mouth of Rowan Atkinson himself, the author instead quotes from a variety of his friends, but the bulk of the information comes from his co-workers. It's very interesting to see how Atkinson kept with the same people he had worked with since his graduate school days. The same names keep cropping up over and over and it becomes clear that Atkinson knows to stick with a winning team. One also learns the origin of some of the most famous Mr. Bean sketches, many of which date back to his stage persona from the late 1970s. I was fascinated to see the evolution of the Bean character. While many of his live shows incorporated a silent character, it wasn't until the 90s that he brought most of his most famous material to television.

This book is recommended for fans of Rowan Atkinson's work. Do not expect an in-depth look at his personal life, because until Atkinson starts giving more interviews or writes his autobiography, there simply won't be anything on the market resembling one. However, as far as detailing his many accomplishments in the field of comedy, you won't get any better than this book.

Until an authorized biography is written with the cooperation of Rowan Atkinson, this book will have to do. Because none of Atkinson's close companions (or the man himself) would be interviewed for the book, the author had to resort to sources such as published interviews and the like. While not an ideal situation, the general outline of Atkinson's life does successfully emerge, though with substantial interpretation required of Dessau.

The book is more a summary of Atkinson's career than an in-depth biography (for obvious reasons) and in that regard it is quite detailed. Atkinson emerges as the shy and reclusive youth with a penchant for "pulling faces" and physical humor. Although obviously his material has matured over the years, a persistent theme of the book is the essential "brainy physicality" of Atkinson's catalog. This physical humor obviously leads to comparisons with John Cleese (the two are friends,) who emerges as a mentor of sorts for Atkinson. I was especially amused at the prospect of Atkinson participating in the corporate training films made by Video Arts, Cleese's film company (see page 100 for details.) I appreciate also that Atkinson never lost touch with his roots as he participated in several projects centered on the schools he attended (he went to Durham School with Tony Blair) and Newcastle, his home town. I found it interesting that Atkinson's first date with his future wife Sunetra was to see Dire Straits, the band fronted by Newcastle's other famous progeny, Mark Knopfler.

The book does detail the shows and characters Atkinson became famous for, notably Mr. Bean, and my personal favorite, Blackadder. It also supplies a fairly detailed amount of information on several other ventures of less critical note (for instance, please feel free to read page 165 for a full account of the travails of attempting to get a piece of toast to stick to Jeff Goldblum's bottom) or import, such as his small roles in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "The Tall Guy."

As for genuine biographical insight, the book mostly outlines Atkinson's love for cars (and vehicles of all kinds; he's very proud to have a commercial truck drivers license) and racing. In the end, Atkinson seems not to have changed that much: he's still reclusive, shy, and intellectual, but of course, now he's the top paid actor in Britain.

I awarded this book four stars for a couple of reasons. While it isn't that insightful into Atkinson's inner being, it is the best that could be hoped for given the source restrictions faced by the author. It does yield a detailed professional history, and it gives us at least a glimpse of the enigma that is Rowan Atkinson.

It's a sad sad tale of an ugly duckling. Once upon a time there was this boy whom everyone called alien for his looks were quite odd if not freakish. Even own parents of his shipped him off to a distant boy boarding school as not to see his grotesque visage.

The book merrily skips the boarding school years -- thank god. Imagine the torture and suffering poor Rowan must have endured in a British school.

No wonder, the man is quite quiet and reserved. That was his survival technique. The only way poor Rowan could touch life was through playing out characters on stage. His inclination, like a snubbed wicked cripple who hates the world, was to play the bad guys and sort of get back at the world.

But the story, as you know, has a happyend. Rowan makes it big. Real big. He turns his oddity into a golden mine. Where are those pretty boys that once picked on Rowan now? Getting up at 5 lining up to catch the bus to ferry them to and fro their dead-end jobs as nobodies, carrying a mortgage on a semi-detached dwelling with a hefty dose of stress to boot.

Well done, Rowan. Way to get back at all of them. And in fact, in Blackadder II or III (The one where you play the court guy doing a great deal of hanging around with the giddy queen) you look rather dashing.

Yes, you may interject, but Atkinson is synonymous with fun... he's a hoot... he's great... that all is well but not in this case. Not in the pages of this dull paperback. Not in its confines. The retracing of steps of this comic giant leads into a boring staleness of a rather common and not so happy plight.

I'm giving it 2 stars only because I like Rowan. The book itself deserves none, really.

I'm Rick Friedman. This has been the Awful Truth, bringing you reality like no other. Take care.

Bruce Dessau has written two books on the life and career of British comedian Rowan Atkinson. The first one that I read (simply titled ROWAN ATKINSON) was a three hundred and fifty page biography -- a detailed and concise history of the man's television, film, and theatre work. This volume, BEAN THERE DONE THAT, covers the same material in coffee-table form, but only taking one hundred and twelve pages to do so. What this book lacks in content, it makes up for in large, glossy, color photographs of the clown himself. It's a fairly good summary of Atkinson's career, though after reading the more in-depth tome, this slimmer volume can't help but feel watered down.

Like Dessau's other biography, this volume has a lot to say about the various characters that Atkinson has created over the years, but very little about his private life. This omission is more forgivable here, since one probably isn't looking for an enormous amount of insight in a book of this type. It does do quite a good job at following Atkinson's career and will especially be enjoyed by anyone who isn't overly familiar with some of the television shows he has appeared in that haven't sustained the amount of international exposure as MR BEAN.

While BEAN THERE DONE THAT suffers from many of the same flaws as the other Dessau biography, this volume should be recommended to people new to Atkinson's work. There are some excellent photographs and the text is quite adequate at the task of describing all of Rowan Atkinson's work (up to the MR. BEAN movie). It may be a bit too superficial for the Atkinson fans, however, as most of the information included is available in other forms.

This book is in the words of Bart Simpson is," Fab-U-Lus! "

While Dessau's book does cover the talented British comic's meteoric rise to success, the frantic pace and "press-bio" approach ultimately ruin what true fans await. Admirers of Atkinson's work will find themselves asking, "and then what?" on every page. We learn of his childhood surroundings, but very little of his family life. His impressive body of work is listed chronologically with no discussion of the blood, sweat and tears behind it. His classic influences are mentioned in passing, save his British similiarities to Stan Laurel. Left with very little insight into the creative process, Dessau's book reads like a coffee-table version of an Entertainment Weekly article with great photos.