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Mr. Bean is a British comedy television series starring Rowan Atkinson. The programme was produced by Tiger Television, later renamed Tiger Aspect productions (a company in which Atkinson has a stake), for Thames Television and originally shown on ITV. In the United States the has been broadcast on PBS intermittently over the past few years and is now available on DVD.

In the show, Atkinson plays a selfish, sometimes ingenious buffoon who frequently gets into hilarious situations due to his various schemes and contrivances.

The humour of the show is very physical (as opposed to verbal), and the main character speaks very little, if at all, during most shows. It features Mr. Bean trying to undertake 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 a total disregard for others when solving them.

Mr. Bean is the star of the show, and doesn't share the spotlight with anyone else (even his lovable stuffed teddy bear). Other characters exist simply to provide victims for his various antics, and besides the star, there is only one recurring character, his sometime "girlfriend" Irma Gobb.

The show's title sequence (used from the second episode onward) depicts Mr. Bean falling from the sky in a beam of light. It is not clear whether this is meant as a literal depiction of the character's origins, but it might as well be: he is alone in the world, is frequently childlike, and often seems unaware of basic aspects of the way the world works.

The words sung by the choir during the series credits 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)
• Vale homo qui est faba – "Farewell, man who is a bean" (sung at end)

Episode list

1. Mr. Bean
2. The Return of Mr. Bean
3. The Curse of Mr. Bean
4. Mr. Bean Goes to Town
5. The Trouble with Mr. Bean
6. Mr. Bean Rides Again
7. Merry Christmas Mr. Bean
8. Mr. Bean in Room 426
9. Mind the Baby Mr. Bean
10. Do It Yourself Mr. Bean
11. Back to School Mr. Bean
12. Tee Off Mr. Bean
13. Good Night Mr. Bean
14. Hair by Mr. Bean of London

and two Never-before-seen-on-TV sketches: "Bus Stop" and "Library"

A movie, Bean, was made based on the show in 1997, but this broke with the show's tradition by having a subplot with more developed characters. Instead of being the sole centre of attraction, Mr. Bean now played second fiddle to the travails of a typical suburban Californian family (after having been sent to America by his employers, who wanted a break from his constant messing up their lives).

The character was revived again in the 2002 animated series, Mr. Bean. Some people have questioned the point of an animated Mr. Bean – although he is now capable of far stranger adventures (and facial expressions), they lack the interest generated when it was an actual person doing it.

Animated series episode list

1. In the Wild / Missing Teddy
2. No Parking / Bean's Bounty
3. Artful Bean / The Fly
4. Mime Games / Spring Clean
5. No Pets / Ray of Sunshine
6. Roadworks / Sofa
7. Camping / Chocks Away
8. In the Pink / Dinner for Two
9. Treasure / Homeless
10. Super Trolley / Magpie
11. Hot Date / Wanted
12. The Ball / Toothache
13. Haircut / Neighbourly Bean
14. Art Thief / Scaredy Bean
15. A Royal Makeover / Super Marrow
16. Car Trouble / Resturant
17. Gadget Kid / Visitor
18. Nurse! / Dead Cat
19. Cat Sitting / The Bottle
20. Birthday Bear / The Mole
21. Royal Bean / Young Bean
22. Hopping Mad / A Grand Invitation
23. Big TV / Keyboard Capers
24. Goldfish / Inventor
25. A Running Battle / Egg and Bean
26. Bean in Love / Double Trouble

External link

• Mr. Bean - The Animated Series official site
• IMDB entry for Mr. Bean (1989), the series
• IMDB entry for Bean (1997), the movie
• IMDB entry for Mr. Bean (2002), the animated series

• British television sitcoms
• ITV television programmes