Inquisitor 1843: Too Much by Skylark

15 comments on “Inquisitor 1843: Too Much by Skylark”

1. ‘A BBC sitcom called Blackadder’.

   Wow.

2. I found this crossword to be on the tough side, mostly because there were two different manipulations to have to prepare for with every clue. (A similar experience to yours, Ken.) It was a very good set of clues, though, and everything eventually came out fully explained and parsed.

   The instruction coming from the extra letters was clear, and the quote (which was unfamiliar to me) easily found. What I most liked about the design of this puzzle was the fact that the deliberate errors in the names made it unlikely that any of those names would be noticed easily while the grid was being filled. Once I found the quote and identified the source, two of the misspelt names jumped out, but the two I didn’t know (ST BARLEIGH and DARLING) did not, and I had to look them up.

   Thanks to Skylark for a fine puzzle, and to kenmac (for it is he, surely) for the blog.

3. It has the most tragic end of any sitcom – set in a WW1 trench, finally all the characters go ‘over the top’ into battle – none survive.

4. Thanks Skylark and Kenmac!
   One question on LATENTLY
   Unable to see how it is &lit.
   ‘Apparently not’ (not apparently) seems to be the def. The rest of the clue as explained in the blog is the WP. Am I right?
   CELLARET
   This is clear to me (&lit)

5. KVa @4
   I agree concerning LATENTLY. ‘Latent’ means ‘not apparent’, so LATENTLY means ‘apparently not’ (if you accept that word order!).

6. Dear kenmac,
   Thank you so much for the entertaining and instructive blog.
   Sorry it was a curate’s egg of a puzzle for you – I loved Blackadder, after the damp squib of the first series, yet wasn’t expecting the final episode to end in the four characters in the grid being sent – SPOILER ALERT – over the top of the trench into No Man’s Land and, once up the ladder, swiftly fall to their deaths. This was movingly shown in slow motion, accompanied by a poignant rendition of the theme on piano, then the empty battle site switched to the modern field of poppies which remains. Damp eyes all round, in our house at least.

   If anyone wants to see this, the final few minutes are on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH3-Gt7mgyM

   As for Squaredle – I and my youngest have played it together every day since I returned from York.
   Thanks so much for wisely judging I might enjoy it. You’ve got us both hooked.
   Jo (Skylark)

7. AlanB@5
   LATENTLY
   Thanks for your response.
   I am fine with the order, which ups the crypticity index, pleasurably!

8. kenmac: the fourth Blackadder character is St Barleigh, not Garleigh (played by Hugh Laurie). I wasted some time looking for Melchett. I am impressed that you managed to dig out the character names without being told what happens in that final episode, which crops up regularly in World War I discussions. Thanks to you and Skylark.

9. Excellent puzzle: I remember watching the end of the episode in some shock. It seems it has remained embedded in the national memory.
   From both its position and letters 24d, Cellaret, clearly wants to be Mellchet, but can’t quite make the leap. I’m guessing Mellchet didn’t go over the top.
   Many thanks to Skylark and kenmac

10. Excellent puzzle with a fun denouement, which I was lucky to quickly unlock by googling my two first extra words, “another madman”. The rest took a while but I was always going to get there.

    I am however shocked – shocked! – to discover there are people who barely know and don’t enjoy Blackadder.

11. All thanks to Skylark and our diligent-though-left-cold explicator. An enjoyable solve — I didn’t remember the final words of that famous episode, but after staring long enough at BLACK/ODDER and BALD/ROCK the light eventually dawned. DARLING soon followed but I had to look up ST BARLEIGH. In the book of scripts still lurking on an obscure shelf here….

12. I’m another one who thorughly enjoyed the puzzle – in spite of the theme! I thought many of the clues were excellent and I liked having two devices to grapple with. It was only when I spotted Blackadder that I had a slightly heart-sinking moment, ‘Oh… that. Well, never mind, you can’t like them all.’ From the few bits I’ve seen on tv and the few pieces I’ve read over the years, I know there is no chance of me ever warming to the subject.

13. Thanks kenmac. We think you are correct in saying that it was a ‘curate’s egg’ puzzle. We knew a few of the characters but we needed a search to fill in the gaps. It was OK but not riveting.

    BTW – Squardle still going well. Joyce has been addicted to it ever since our son mentioned that I may enjoy it. I have to complete Squardle before starting the IQ. Sacrilege!

14. Thanks Skylark. I really enjoyed this. Loved the Blackadder theme. Great set of clues (esp. liked CELLARET). I was hunting for ‘George’ at the end, couldn’t recall his full name so I am clearly not the super fan I thought I was. Great stuff.

    (I watched this episode about a year ago, the final scene has lost none of it’s poignancy)

15. Enjoyed finishing this one (for a change!) but couldn’t parse 10D as I didn’t know, or think to look up, the second definition of ‘EARN’. I was convinced that MELCHETT was supposed to be in the final column – not least to balance the grid with five names – and some of the letters are there in almost the right places, but maybe it just wasn’t possible. I tried to get him in as the fourth name because I hadn’t at that stage worked out BARLEIGH, a name I had to look up on IMDb. I’m pretty sure the General didn’t go ‘OTT’ either and this final scene was a rare if not unique front-line experience for Darling.

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