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Mr. Bean

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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 show 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. One of his most beloved acts is stuffing a turkey and getting it stuck on his head. The humour largely comes from his original solutions to any problems, and a total disregard for others when solving them.

Mr. Bean is the only main character in the programme, and doesn't share the spotlight with anyone else (save for his lovable stuffed teddy bear). Other characters exist simply as victims for his various antics, and besides the star, there is only one recurring supporting 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. Theories on the meaning of this have ranged from Mr. Bean being an alien, to an angel sent to Earth. More humourously, perhaps, as a character who is always having odd things happen to him, it could represent his return after an abduction. However, the producers of the show claim that it is intended to show his status as an ordinary man cast into the spotlight (but the animated series - see below - would take it in a more literal direction). Regardless of meaning, this is clear: Mr. Bean 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 from the show's tradition by using a subplot with more developed characters. Instead of being the sole centre of attraction, Mr. Bean here 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. The series is notable, however, for following up on the "alien" origin theory for the character, with it's 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.

Animated series episode list

The below episodes are currently being shown on ITV.

  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

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