It has been interesting to see Michael Gove's attack on Blackadder for perpetuating the myth about World War 1 being a "misbegotten shambles". Judging by the Education Secretary's comments one might think that one of the greatest British sitcoms ever made was actually a commie plot to bring down the establishment. Gove even went as far as accusing Richard Curtis and Ben Elton's portrayal of idiotic officers as being "designed to belittle Britain and its leaders".

I wonder if Michael Gove has watched many sitcoms over the years. Does he have a sense of humour? Maybe if he had watched The Office he would condemn it for denigrating people who work in Slough. God knows what he would make of Mrs Brown's Boys or Miranda. Mr Gove seems to think that left-wing historians and TV makers have conspired to popularise the idea that soldiers in WW1 were led by an "out of touch elite". No relation to the out of touch elite running the country at the moment of course. 

The fourth series of Blackadder was that rare thing, a sitcom that did not just make you laugh, it actually had a powerful message. I'm not even sure if it singled out the officer classes for ridicule. I think it pretty much ridiculed every rank from Stephen Fry's bumptious General Melchett down to Tony Robinson's cretinous Baldrick. And in so doing it was underlining the absolute madness of war. Though that particular message doesn't seem to have got through to Michael Gove. 

For once Rowan Atkinson's scheming Blackadder was the voice of reason amid the trench warfare. When he had used up all of his plans to avoid going over the top to almost certain death, he even briefly considered one of Baldrick's schemes: "I'm sure it was better than my plan to get out of this by pretending to be mad. I mean, who would've noticed another madman around here?"

I presume Gove has actually seen Blackadder, but I haven't seen him comment of the very final scene, which is one of the most profound, moving moments in the history of television, not just in the history of sitcoms. Surely if he was familiar with that he would have grasped what the whole series was about. Like a sniper wearing a blindfold he picked the wrong target. Now, if only he had decided to put the boot into Ben Elton's The Wright Way he would have had my wholehearted support. 

Here is a reminder of Blackadder at its best.