Mr. Bean

For the animated television series of same name, see Mr. Bean (animated series).

Mr. Bean was a British comedy television series of 13 half-hour episodes starring Rowan Atkinson. 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.

Characters

Mr. Bean

The title character, played by Atkinson, is a selfish, childlike, sometimes ingenious, and generally likeable buffoon who frequently gets into hilarious situations due to his various schemes and contrivances. 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 film adaptation, on his passport "Mr." appears under the "first 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. Indeed, some of Bean's actions occasionally have a particularly malevolent aspect to them.

At the beginning of episode two onwards, Mr. Bean falls from the sky in a beam of light. 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".

Teddy

Teddy is Mr. Bean's teddy bear, generally regarded as Mr. Bean's best friend. Although inanimate, the bear is often party to Mr. Bean's various schemes and doubles as a good dish cloth or paint brush in an emergency. The bear is a dark brown, knitted oddity with button eyes and sausage-shaped limbs and invariably ends up broken in half or in various other states of destruction. Occasionally, Teddy seems to be almost animate, for example when Mr. Bean hypnotizes Teddy, snaps his fingers and the bear's head falls backwards as if he's fallen asleep instantly. Certainly, Bean behaves as if the bear is real, for example buying it a Christmas present or trying not to wake it in the mornings.

Mr. Bean's Mini

Mr. Bean's car, a MkIII Austin Mini, developed a character of sorts. At first, an orange 1969 Morris Mini was Mr. Bean's vehicle of choice, but this was crashed at the end of the first episode. From then on, the car was a 1977 model, lime green in colour with a black bonnet. It made its first appearance in "The Curse of Mr. Bean".

The Mini was central to several antics, such as Mr. Bean getting dressed in it whilst driving or steering it whilst sitting in an armchair strapped to the roof. It also had a number of innovative security measures; Mr. Bean fitted the door with a bolt-latch and padlock, rather than use the lock fitted on the car, and he always removed the steering wheel instead of the key, which formed a running joke in several episodes, at one point deterring a car thief. The car was crushed by a tank in "Back to School Mr. Bean", but returned in later episodes.

The Mini is often seen in conflict with a light blue Reliant Regal Supervan III, which will usually get tipped over, crashed into, bumped out of its parking space and so forth.

Both the Mini and the Reliant would re-appear in the animated Mr. Bean cartoons as characters.

One of the original Mr. Bean Minis is on display at the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, northern England.

Other characters

Although Mr. Bean is the only significant human character in the programme, other characters appear, usually as foils for his various antics. There is only one recurring supporting character, his sometime "girlfriend" Irma Gobb (played by Matilda Ziegler). Mr. Bean's only other friends appear to be Hubert and Rupert, who appear as Bean's New Years party guests in the episode "Do-it-Yourself, Mr. Bean." 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, David Schneider and Richard Wilson.

Influences

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. 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.

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. 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)

Goodall also wrote an accompanying music track for many episodes.

Production and broadcast

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 non-commercial public television stations intermittently and is available on DVD.

Episode guide

The animated series

Mr. Bean was revived in a 2002 animated cartoon series, again featuring little actual dialogue, with most being either little soundbites or mumbling. 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. However, an animated character is much more endearing to younger children than an actor.

The series is notable for following up on the "alien" origin theory 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.

Rowan Atkinson provides the voice for Bean, and all of the animated Bean actions are taken from Atkinson himself. Other characters' voices are provided by Jon Glover, Rupert Degas, Gary Martin and Lorelei King.

For a full guide to the animated television series, see Mr. Bean (animated series).

Bean movie adaptations

Bean

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 the suburban Californian family that he stayed with. Many fans of the original series were quite disappointed with this Americanisation and break from format, yet the movie grossed over USD$230 million globally on a budget estimated at $22 million.

French Bean

News broke in March 2005 that a new Bean film, French Bean was in development, with Atkinson to return in the title role. It is to be released in 2007 and will be directed by Steve Bendelack. Filming began on May 15, 2006.

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, whom Homer Simpson misidentifies as Mr. Bean. Conversely, in the Mr. Bean episode "Mind the Baby, Mr. Bean" in several instances during the scenes at the Fun Fair Bart Simpson balloons are plainly visble.

Reference

External links

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Mr. Bean

Characters

Mr. Bean

Teddy

Mr. Bean's Mini

Other characters

Influences

Music

Production and broadcast

Episode guide

The animated series

Bean movie adaptations

Bean

French Bean

Mr. Bean in popular culture

Reference

External links