Mr. Been Show: 2007

About Mr.bean

For the animated television series of the same name, see Mr. Bean (animated TV series). Mr. Bean is a British comedy television series of 14 half-hour episodes starring Rowan Atkinson as the eponymous title character. It was written by Rowan Atkinson, Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and Ben Elton. The self-titled first episode was broadcast on 1 January 1990, with the final episode, "Goodnight, Mr. Bean", on 31 October 1995. The series followed the exploits of Mr. Bean, described by Atkinson as "a child in a grown man's body",[1] in solving various problems presented by everyday tasks and often causing disruption in the process. During its five-year run the series gained large UK audience figures, including 18.74 million for the 1992 episode "The Trouble With Mr Bean", and was the recipient of a number of international awards, including the Rose d'Or. The show has been sold in over 200 territories worldwide, and has inspired two feature films and an animated cartoon spin-off

Character

The title character, played by Atkinson, is a slow-witted, sometimes ingenious, and generally likeable buffoon who brings various unusual schemes and connivances to everyday tasks. He lives alone in his small flat in Highbury, North London, and is almost always seen in his trademark tweed jacket and skinny red tie. Mr. Bean rarely speaks, and when he does it is generally only a few mumbled words. His first name (he names himself "Bean" to others) and profession, if any, are never mentioned. (In the first film adaptation, on his passport "Mr." appears under the "first name" field and he is shown employed as a guard at London's National Gallery. In Mr Bean's Holiday, "Rowan" is seen on his passport name field.) Mr. Bean often seems unaware of basic aspects of the way the world works, and the programme usually features his attempts at what would normally be considered simple tasks, such as going swimming, redecorating or taking an exam. The humour largely comes from his original solutions to any problems and his total disregard for others when solving them, his pettiness, and occassional malevolence. At the beginning of episode two onwards, Mr. Bean falls from the sky in a beam of light, accompanied by a choir singing Ecce homo qui est faba - Behold the man who is a bean. These opening sequences were initially in black and white in episodes 2 and 3, and were intended by the producers to show his status as an "ordinary man cast into the spotlight". However, later episodes showed Mr. Bean dropping from the night sky in a deserted London street, against the backdrop of St. Paul's Cathedral; later, in the animated series, he was shown to be an alien. Atkinson himself has acknowledged that Bean "has a slightly alien aspect to him".

Other characters

Although Mr. Bean is the only significant human character in the programme, other characters appear, usually as foils for his various antics. Other than his girlfriend, Mr. Bean's only friends appear to be Hubert and Rupert, who appear as Bean's New Years party guests in the episode "Do-it-Yourself, Mr. Bean" (although they altered his living room clock and fled to the party in the flat opposite, gaining real friends in the process). However, several notable British actors and comedians appear alongside Atkinson in sketches as various one-off supporting characters, including Richard Briers, Angus Deayton, Nick Hancock, Caroline Quentin, Danny La Rue, David Schneider and Richard Wilson.

วันพุธที่ 6 มิถุนายน พ.ศ. 2550

External links

Official Mr. Bean website
Mr. Bean at the Internet Movie Database
Mr. Bean: The Animated Series at the Internet Movie Database
Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie at the Internet Movie Database
Mr. Bean's Holiday at the Internet Movie Database

References

^ "Atkinson has Bean there and he's done with that", interview by Lucy Cavendish in The Scotsman (Wed 30 Nov 2005), URL accessed August 3rd, 2006
^ Facts and Figures at mrbean.co.uk, URL accessed August 4th, 2006
^ "The Fine Art of Being Mr Bean", interview in The Buffalo News, URL accessed June 15th, 2006
^ Cars of the Stars page about the car, URL accessed January 21st, 2007
^ "Atkinson has Bean there and he's done with that", interview by Lucy Cavendish in The Scotsman (Wed 30 Nov 2005), URL accessed August 3rd, 2006
^ Trivia at IMDb, URL accessed August 3rd, 2006
^ BFI article on Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, URL accessed August 3rd, 2006
^ Review at sitcomsonline.com, URL accessed August 12th, 2006
^ BBC Guide to Comedy, written by Mark Lewisohn, URL accessed August 3rd, 2006
^ Awards at IMDb, URL accessed August 3rd, 2006
^ Box office figures at boxofficemojo.com, URL accessed July 29th, 2006
^ Mr. Bean's Holiday at IMDb, URL accessed August 4th, 2006
^ Paramount Comedy, URL accessed February 25th, 2007
^ Download the video podcast at bbc.co.uk, URL accessed March 25, 2007
^ "Military banned from selling their stories" in The Times, April 9, 2007

Mr. Bean in popular culture

- During a 2003 episode of The Simpsons when they visit London, they are greeted at the airport by British prime minister Tony Blair, prompting Homer Simpson to exclaim, "I can't believe we just met Mr. Bean!"

- One of the adboards in British football PC game Actua Soccer 3 advertises the spinoff movie Bean.

- In the song 'Mr. P. Mosh' from the Mexican band Plastilina Mosh, they mention Mr. Bean at the end along with Mr. T.

- On episode 52 - "Mind Control", of Discovery Channel's Mythbusters series, the idea of painting a room with a stick of explosives (Firework, or other) placed in a paint can, as in the episode "Do It Yourself, Mr. Bean", was tested and deemed impossible, as adequate coverage was not achieved (Myth busted).

- Mr. Bean appeared on UK children's programme Blue Peter in March 2007 stitching up presenter Konnie as she made an Easter Basket.[14]

- Arthur Batchelor, one of the Royal Navy captives held by Iran during the 2007 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel, claimed that some of his captors had mocked him calling him "Mr. Bean".[15]

- NRL Referee Sean Hampstead is regularly nicknamed "Mr. Bean" in nationally broadcast commentary by Australian television/radio personality Ray Warren as a result of his similar appearance.

VHS-only Releases

VHS Name: The Amazing Adventures of Mr. Bean Ep # : 2
The Exciting Escapades of Mr. Bean
The Terrible Tales of Mr. Bean
Merry Mishaps of Mr Bean
Perilous Pursuits of Mr Bean
Unseen Bean
Final Frolics of Mr Bean

DVD Releases

Mr. Bean has been released on DVD for the very first time. A&E Home Video has released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 as well as a 5 episode Best-of DVD. Universal Pictures UK has released 3 volumes on DVD in Region 2 thus far with Volume 4 being released on March 19, 2007.
REGION 1
DVD Name : Complete Mr. Bean Ep # : 14 Release Date :April 29, 2003
REGION 2
DVD Name : Mr Bean - Vol 1 Ep # : 3 Release Date :November 1, 2004
Mr Bean - Vol 2 3 October 31, 2005
Mr Bean - Vol 3 3 November 13, 2006
Mr Bean - Vol 4 3 March 19, 2007

Other Releases
Best Bits Of Mr. Bean: Released November 23, 1999 NBC Universal
The Best of Mr. Bean: Released August 29, 2006 A&E Home Video

Bean movie adaptations

Bean

Main article: Bean (1997 film)

In 1997, Bean, a film version directed by Mel Smith, also known as Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie, was produced. This broke from the programme's tradition by using a subplot with more developed characters — instead of being the sole centre of attention, Mr. Bean here interacted with a suburban Californian family he stayed with while overseeing the transfer of Whistler's Mother to a Los Angeles art gallery. The movie grossed over USD$230 million globally on a budget estimated at $22 million.

. Bean's Holiday

Main article: Mr. Bean's Holiday
News broke in March 2005 that a second Bean film, Mr. Bean's Holiday was in development, with Atkinson returning in the title role. The film had been through several changes of name during its development, including Bean 2 and French Bean.[12] Filming began on May 15, 2006 and began post-production in October 2006. It was released in the UK on March 30 2007.
The film followed the character on an eventful journey across France for a holiday in the French Riviera, which after a number of misfortunes culminates in an unscheduled screening of his video diary at the Cannes Film Festival. It was directed by Steve Bendelack and according to Atkinson is probably the last appearance of the character
The film followed the character on an eventful journey across France for a holiday in the French Riviera, which after a number of misfortunes culminates in an unscheduled screening of his video diary at the Cannes Film Festival. It was directed by Steve Bendelack and according to Atkinson is probably the last appearance of the character.

Books

Two books were released related to the original series: Mr. Bean's Diary in 1992, and Mr. Bean's Pocket Diary in 1994. The two books have identical content and differ only in the format in which they are printed. The content of both is a template diary with handwritten content scrawled in by Mr. Bean. They provide some additional information on the setting: for example, they establish that Mr. Bean lives in Highbury and rents his house from a landlord named Mrs Wicket. They confirm the name of Mr Bean's girlfriend as "Irma Gobb", and also give the name of the other man she actually runs off with (Giles Gummer).
An additional book called Mr Bean's Diary was released in 2002 to accompany the animated series; this book was also graded as a children's reader.

The animated series

Main article: Mr. Bean (animated TV series)
Mr. Bean was revived in a 2002 animated cartoon series, again featuring little actual dialogue, with most being either little soundbites or mumbling.
The series expanded the number of additional characters, featuring Mr. Bean's unpleasant landlady, Mrs Wicket and her evil one-eyed cat, Scrapper. Rowan Atkinson provided the voice for Bean, and all of the animated Bean actions are taken from Atkinson himself. Other characters' voices are provided by Jon Mr. Bean in the along with his girlfriend
Glover, animationRupert Degas, Gary Martin and Lorelei King. Irma Gobb, and landlady Mrs Wickettheory
The cartoon series is notable for following up on the "alien" origin

for the character, with its final episode revealing a race of identical

Beans who come to retrieve their lost friend, only to have him opt

to stay on Earth with his girlfriend.

Awards

The first episode won the prestigious Golden Rose, as well as two other major prizes at the 1991 Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival in Montreux.[9] In the UK, the episode "The Curse of Mr. Bean" was nominated for a number of BAFTA awards; "Best Light Entertainment Programme" in 1991, "Best Comedy" (Programme or Series) in 1992, and Rowan Atkinson was nominated three times for "Best Light Entertainment Performance" in 1991, 1992 and 1994

Episode guide

Main article: List of Mr. Bean episodes

Production and broadcast

the programme was produced by Tiger Television, later renamed Tiger Aspect, for the ITV network by Thames Television from 1990 to 1992 and then by Central from 1993 to 1995.
The show is now shown in the UK on Nickelodeon (at 12:00 and 18:00) and Paramount Comedy 2 (at 22:00). It is shown in Ireland on RTÉ. Usually, episodes shown on Nickelodeon are the episodes broadcast the night before of Paramount Comedy 2.
The record selling UK videos were withdrawn shortly before the release of Bean movie and DVDs are being released on an annual basis as of 2004.
In the United States the show has been broadcast on non-commercial public television stations intermittently. In Canada, it is shown occasionally on CBC and currently airs on the Spanish-language version of A&E in Latin America. In India, it is aired on Pogo TV. In Brazil, it is aired on Bandeirantes. It has been available on DVD in Region 1 since 2003.
In Region 1, a DVD of the best episodes came out in August 2006.

Music

Mr. Bean is unusual amongst comedy series in featuring a choral theme tune, written by Howard Goodall and performed by the Choir of Southwark Cathedral (later Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford). The words sung during the title sequences are in Latin:
Ecce homo qui est faba – "Behold the man who is a bean" (sung at beginning)
Finis partis primae – "End of part one" (sung before the commercial break)
Pars secunda – "Part two" (sung after the commercial break)
Vale homo qui est faba – "Farewell, man who is a bean" (sung at end)
The theme was later released on Goodall's album Choral Works. Goodall also wrote an accompanying music track for many episodes.
The first episode of Mr. Bean did not feature the choral theme tune, but instead an up-beat instrumental piece, also composed by Howard Goodall, which was more an incidental tune than a theme. It was used while Bean drove between locations intimidating the blue Reliant, and as such, was sometimes heard in later episodes whenever Bean's nemesis is seen.
In the episode "Tee Off, Mr. Bean" Howard Goodall's choral theme tune for another Richard Curtis comedy, The Vicar of Dibley, is heard playing on a car stereo. In Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean, while playing with Queen's Royal Guards figurines and the nativity set, he hums "The British Grenadiers", which was used as theme to Blackadder Goes Forth.
Mr. Bean appears in a music video made for the 1991 Comic Relief fund raising single by Hale and Pace called The Stonk. Mr. Bean also appeared in the music video for Boyzone's single Picture Of You in 1997. The song featured on the soundtrack to the first Bean movie.
Mr Bean also made a Comic relief record in 1992. This was (I want to be) Elected and was credited to "Mr Bean and Smear Campaign featuring Bruce Dickinson" This was a cover of an Alice Cooper song and reached number 9 in the UK singles chart.

Origins and influences

The character of Mr. Bean was first developed when Rowan Atkinson was studying for his PhD at Oxford University, with a sketch featuring the character first being performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in the early 1980s.[5] However, the name of the character was not decided after the first programme had been produced, with a number of other vegetable-influenced names, such as Mr. Cauliflower, being explored.[6] Rowan Atkinson has cited the earlier comedy character Monsieur Hulot, created by French comedian and director Jacques Tati, as an influence on the character of Mr. Bean.[7] Stylistically, Mr. Bean is also very similar to early silent films, relying purely upon physical comedy, with Mr. Bean speaking very little dialogue. This has allowed the series to be sold worldwide without any significant changes to dialogue.

For the animated television series of the same name, see Mr. Bean (animated TV series).
Mr. Bean is a British comedy television series of 14 half-hour episodes starring Rowan Atkinson as the eponymous title character. It was written by Rowan Atkinson, Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and Ben Elton. The self-titled first episode was broadcast on 1 January 1990, with the final episode, "Goodnight, Mr. Bean", on 31 October 1995.
The series followed the exploits of Mr. Bean, described by Atkinson as "a child in a grown man's body",[1] in solving various problems presented by everyday tasks and often causing disruption in the process.
During its five-year run the series gained large UK audience figures, including 18.74 million for the 1992 episode "The Trouble With Mr Bean", and was the recipient of a number of international awards, including the Rose d'Or. The show has been sold in over 200 territories worldwide, and has inspired two feature films and an animated cartoon spin-off

Mr. Been Show