Mr. BeanFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the original television programme. For other uses, see Mr. Bean (disambiguation).

Mr. Bean

Opening titles from episodes 4–14

Genre Sitcom

Format Physical comedy

Visual comedy

Created by Rowan Atkinson

Richard Curtis

Starring Rowan Atkinson

Country of origin United Kingdom

No. of episodes 14 (List of episodes)

Production

Executiveproducer(s) Peter Bennett-Jones

Producer(s) Sue Vertue

Running time 25 minutes[1]

Productioncompany(s) Tiger Aspect Productions

Thames Television (1990–93)

Distributor FremantleMedia (formerlyPearson Television

International)(1990–95)

Broadcast

Original channel ITV

Picture format 4:3

Audio format Stereo

First shown in 1 January 1990

Original run 1 January 1990 – 15 November 1995

Chronology

Followed by Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie

Related shows Mr. Bean (animated)

External links

Official website

Mr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 twenty-five-minute episodes written by and

starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard

Curtis and one by Ben Elton. TheMr. Bean pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990, with the last

television episode, "Goodnight Mr. Bean" broadcast on 31 October 1995.[2] The final episode, "Hair by Mr. Bean

of London", was a video exclusive released on 15 November 1995, but not broadcast in the UK until 2006.

Based on a character originally developed by Atkinson while he was studying for his master's degree at Oxford

University, the series follows the exploits of Mr. Bean, described by Atkinson as "a child in a grown man's

body", in solving various problems presented by everyday tasks and often causing disruption in the process.

[3] Bean rarely speaks, and the largely physical humour of the series is derived from his interactions with other

people and his unusual solutions to situations. The series was influenced by physical performers such

as Jacques Tati and comic actors from silent films.[3]

During its five-year run, the series gained large UK audience figures, including 18.74 million for the 1991

episode "The Trouble with Mr. Bean".[4] The series has been the recipient of a number of international awards,

including the Rose d'Or. The show has been sold in 245 territories worldwide, and has inspired an animated

cartoon spin-off, two feature films, and an appearance at the London 2012 Summer Olympics opening

ceremony.

Contents

1 Origins and influences

2 Characters and recurring props

o 2.1 Mr. Bean

o 2.2 Irma Gobb

o 2.3 Teddy

o 2.4 Mr. Bean's car

o 2.5 Hubert & Rupert

o 2.6 Other characters

3 Episodes

4 Music

5 Awards

6 International broadcast history

7 Spin-offs

o 7.1 The animated series

o 7.2 Film adaptations

o 7.3 The London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony

o 7.4 Books

8 VHS and DVD releases

o 8.1 VHS format

o 8.2 DVD format

9 Popular culture

10 See also

11 References

12 External links

[edit]Origins and influences

The character of Mr. Bean was developed while Atkinson was studying for his master's degree in Electrical

Engineering at Oxford University. A sketch featuring the character was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in

the early 1980s.[5] A similar character called Robert Box, played by Atkinson, appeared in the one-off 1979 ITV

sitcom Canned Laughter, which also featured routines used in the 1997 film Bean.[6] In 1987, one of Mr. Bean's

earliest appearances occurred at the "Just For Laughs" comedy festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. When

programme co-ordinators were scheduling Atkinson into the festival programme, Atkinson insisted that he

perform on the French-speaking bill rather than the English-speaking programme. Having no French dialogue

in his act at all, programme co-ordinators could not understand why Atkinson wanted to perform on the French

bill. As it turned out, Atkinson's act at the festival was a test platform for the Mr. Beancharacter and Atkinson

wanted to see how the silent character's physical comedy would fare on an international stage with a non-

English speaking audience.[7]

The name of the character was not decided until after the first programme had been produced, with a number

of other vegetable-influenced names, such as "Mr. Cauliflower", being explored.[8] Atkinson cited the earlier

comedy character Monsieur Hulot, created by French comedian and director Jacques Tati, as an influence on

the character.[9] Stylistically, Mr. Bean is also very similar to earlysilent films, relying purely upon physical

comedy, with Mr. Bean speaking very little dialogue (although like other live-action TV series of the time, it

features a laugh track). This has allowed the series to be sold worldwide without any significant changes to

dialogue.[7][10] In November 2012, Atkinson told newspaper The Daily Telegraph he was looking at retiring the

character, as "someone in their 50s being childlike becomes a little sad".

[edit]Characters and recurring props

[edit]Mr. Bean

The title character, played by Rowan Atkinson, is a childish and self-centred buffoon who brings various

unusual schemes and contrivances to everyday tasks. He lives alone in his small flat in Highbury, and is almost

always seen in his trademark tweed jacket and a skinny red tie. He also usually wears a digital calculator

watch. Mr. Bean rarely speaks, and when he does, it is generally only a few mumbled words which are in a

comically low-pitched voice. His first name (he names himself "Bean" to others) and profession, if any, are

never mentioned. In the first film adaptation, "Mr." appears on his passport in the "first name" field, and he is

shown employed as a guard at London's National Gallery.[11] In Mr. Bean's Holiday, however, his name is listed

on his passport as "Rowan", the actor's first name.[12]

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, using a

television set, redecorating or going to church. The humour largely comes from his original (and often absurd)

solutions to problems and his total disregard for others when solving them, his pettiness, and occasional

malevolence.

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

choir singing Ecce homo qui est faba ("Behold the man who is a bean"). These opening sequences were

initially in black and white in episodes two and three, 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; the imagery and the choir would

suggest that Bean is a being cast out of Heaven. At the end of episodes three and six he is also shown being

sucked right back up into the sky in the respective background scenes (black scene in episode 3 and street

scene in episode 6). Atkinson himself has acknowledged that Bean "has a slightly alien aspect to him".[13] In

the animated series (episode 38, "Double Trouble") he is taken inside a spacecraft with "aliens" who look

exactly like him and even have their own plushy toys. In an obvious homage, the aliens send him back home in

a beam of light similar to the opening of the original Mr. Bean series. Whether Mr. Bean himself is an

extraterrestrial is not clear. Mr. Bean lives in Flat 2, 12 Arbour Road, London, England.

[edit]Irma Gobb

Mr. Bean's girlfriend, Irma Gobb (played by Matilda Ziegler), appears in a number of episodes. In "The Curse of

Mr. Bean" and "Mr. Bean Goes to Town", the character is simply credited as "the girlfriend." She is treated

relatively inconsiderately by Bean, who appears to regard her more as a friend and companion than a love

interest. However, he does become jealous when she dances with another man at a disco in "Mr. Bean Goes

to Town", and she certainly expects him to propose to her on Christmas Day in "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean",

with his failure to do so resulting in her leaving him for good. The character does not appear in any subsequent

episodes, however, she later appears in the animated series. The spin-off book Mr. Bean's Diary (1993) states

that Mr. Bean met Irma Gobb at a local library.[14]

[edit]Teddy

Mr. Bean and Teddy

Teddy is Mr. Bean's teddy bear and perhaps Mr. Bean's best friend. The little brown bear is a knitted oddity

with button eyes and sausage-shaped limbs, invariably ending up broken in half or in various other states of

destruction and disfiguration. Although Teddy is inanimate, Mr. Bean often pretends it is alive. For example,

when Mr. Bean hypnotises Teddy, he snaps his fingers and the bear's head falls backwards as if it has fallen

asleep instantly (Bean used his finger to prop Teddy's head up). Mr. Bean behaves as if the bear is real, buying

it a Christmas present or trying not to wake it in the mornings. The bear is often privy to Mr. Bean's various

schemes and doubles as a dish cloth or paint brush in an emergency; it has been decapitated ("Mr. Bean in

Room 426"), used as his paint brush ("Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean") and shrunk in the wash ("Tee Off, Mr. Bean").

Teddy is also Mr. Bean's "pet" in "Hair by Mr. Bean of London" and is used to win a pet show. The Teddy that

was used in filming sits in the windshield of the replica of Mr. Bean's mini that is on display at the National

Motor Museum. Over the years, Teddy has undergone several changes. When it debuted on "The Trouble with

Mr. Bean", it had a smaller head. Two episodes later, its head reached its current size, but its "eye" was not

present until Bean placed gold thumb tacks on its face. The "eyes" have since been replaced with two small

white buttons sewn over Teddy's face, giving it a distinct image.

[edit]Mr. Bean's car

Rowan Atkinson demonstrating a famous scene from the episode "Do-It-Yourself Mr. Bean" on a Mini at Goodwood Circuit

Mr. Bean's car, a British Leyland Mini 1000, developed its own character of sorts over the series and was

central to several antics, such as Mr. Bean getting dressed in it, driving while sitting in an armchair strapped to

the roof, starting it with a number of locks and keys, or attempting to avoid a parking garage toll by driving out

through the entrance.

At first, it was an orange 1969 BMC Mini MK II (registration RNT 996H), but this was destroyed in an off-screen

crash at the end of the first episode. From then on, the car was a 1976 – 1980 model (registration SLW 287R),

Austin Citron Green in colour[15] with a matte black bonnet.

The Mini also had a number of innovative security measures. For example, Bean uses a bolt-latch and padlock,

rather than the lock fitted to the car, and removes the steering wheel instead of the key. These formed a

running joke in several episodes, at one point deterring a car thief. However, after changing parking spaces

with another car and exact same make in "Back to School Mr. Bean", his car is crushed by a tank. Fortunately

for him, his padlock still remains, and he hurries off to "hijack" another car with the same colour scheme.

In some episodes Mr. Bean has a long-running feud with the unseen driver of a light blue Reliant Regal

Supervan III (registration GRA 26K), which will usually get turned over, crashed out of its parking space and so

forth by Mr. Bean in his Mini. This conflict originated in the first episode, when the Reliant's driver held the Mini

up on the way to a mathematics exam, and subsequently became another running joke throughout the series.

Both the Mini and the Reliant re-appeared as characters in the animated Mr. Bean cartoons, and the mini in the

film Mr. Bean's Holiday, registration YGL 572T. Also seen is a left hand drive version of his Mini, owned by the

character Sabine which has a French registration (207 UHO 75). For the 1997 feature film Bean (film) a

sequence involving the Mini driving through Harrod's Department Store was shot, but this was not included in

the final cut, in this his Mini's registration plate number is C607 EUW.[16][17] In the animated series, his Mini's

registration plate number is STE 952R.

After filming ended, one of the original Minis was sold to Kariker Kars to be hired for various events. It was then

temporarily displayed as a major attraction at the Rover Group's museum. In 1997, it was purchased by

the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum and was on display for while, but is no longer there, having been sold; it

went to America with another. There is one currently undergoing a nut and bolt restoration in the south of

England, and another on display at National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.[18] This is the car that was used to

promote the animated series.

[edit]Hubert & Rupert

Rupert & Hubert are friends of Mr. Bean who only appeared in "Do it Yourself Mr. Bean." They attended Mr.

Bean's New Year's Eve party. They got bored, altered Mr. Bean's living room clock, and fled to a nearby party,

with Hubert leaving his hat at Bean's. After the party Hubert was last seen going for his hat during which he got

caught in the blast of white paint. Neither are seen after "Do it yourself Mr. Bean".

[edit]Other characters

Although Mr. Bean is the only significant human character in the programme, others appear, usually as foils for

his various antics. Other than his girlfriend there are more characters in each episode. 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,Paul Bown, Caroline Quentin, Danny La

Rue, Roger Lloyd Pack, David Schneider and Richard Wilson.[19]

[edit]Episodes

Main article: List of Mr. Bean episodes

Fourteen, nonsequential episodes of Mr. Bean were produced spanning six years. Thirteen were made for

broadcast on ITV and one; "Hair by Mr. Bean of London", made for video release only. A feature length special

using footage from these episodes was also made as a fifteenth and final episode. Additionally the character

has been used in one-off sketches, guest appearances and television commercials in the UK, Norway and

Japan.

All episodes were produced by Tiger Television (later Tiger Aspect Productions) for Thames Television from

1990 to 1992 and forCentral Independent Television from 1993 to 1995.

[edit]Music

Mr. Bean features a choral theme tune written by Howard Goodall and performed by the Choir of Southwark

Cathedral (later Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford). 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 advertisement break)

Pars secunda – "Part two" (sung after the advertisement break)

Vale homo qui est faba – "Farewell, man who is a bean" (sung at end)

The theme was later released on Goodall's album Choral Works. Goodall also wrote an accompanying music

track for many episodes. The first episode of Mr. Bean did not feature the choral theme tune, but instead an up-

beat instrumental piece, also composed by Howard Goodall, which was more an incidental tune than a theme.

It was used while Bean drove between locations intimidating the blue Reliant, and as such, was sometimes

heard in later episodes whenever Bean's nemesis is seen.

In the episode "Tee Off, Mr. Bean" Howard Goodall's choral theme tune for another Richard Curtis

comedy, The Vicar of Dibley, is heard playing on a car stereo. In Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean., while playing with

Queen's Royal Guards figurines and the nativity set, he hums "The British Grenadiers", which was quoted in

the theme to Blackadder Goes Forth.[20]

Mr. Bean appears in a music video made for the 1991 Comic Relief fund raising single by Hale and

Pace called The Stonk.[21] Mr. Bean also appeared in the music video for Boyzone's single Picture of You in

1997.[22] The song featured on the soundtrack to the first Bean movie.

Mr Bean also made a Comic Relief record in 1992. This was (I Want To Be) Elected and was credited to "Mr

Bean and Smear Campaign featuring Bruce Dickinson". This was a cover of an Alice Cooper song and reached

number 9 in the UK singles chart.[23]

[edit]Awards

The first episode won the Golden Rose, as well as two other major prizes at the 1991 Rose d'Or Light

Entertainment Festival inMontreux.[24] In the UK, the episode "The Curse of Mr. Bean" was nominated for a

number of BAFTA awards; "Best Light Entertainment Programme" in 1991, "Best Comedy" (Programme or

Series) in 1991, and Atkinson was nominated three times for "Best Light Entertainment Performance" in 1991

and 1994.[25]

[edit]International broadcast history

After its original run it has been shown repeatedly on PBS and satellite channels such as Telemundo in

the United States, CBC inCanada, ABC & The Comedy Channel in Australia, TVB in Hong

Kong, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and ITV3, Cartoon Network on 11 June 2012, in the UK, Disney Channel

Asia in Southeast Asia, TV3 in Malaysia, MediaCorp Channel 5 in Singapore, ABS-CBNor, previously, People's

Television Network 4 and Disney Channel Asia, in the Philippines and RCTI in Indonesia.[26] Digital

channelITV3 began rebroadcasting the series on 5 January 2010, and again on 24 May 2010. In Pakistan it

has been aired on a number of channels such as Cartoon Network, Starlite TV, Raavi and on Syndicated

Networks as well.

[edit]Spin-offs

[edit]The animated series

Main article: Mr. Bean (animated TV series)

Mr. Bean in the animation along with his landlady Mrs. Wicket, at left and his girlfriend, Irma Gobb

Bean was revived in a 2002–2004 animated cartoon series, again featuring little dialogue, with most being

either little soundbites or mumbling. The series, which consist of 26 episodes (with 2 segments each),

expanded the number of additional characters, featuring Bean's unpleasant landlady, Mrs. Wicket, and her evil

one-eyed cat, Scrapper. Atkinson reprises his role as 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.[27]A video game based on the Animated series was released on 14 December 2007 and was

a third person platformer. The games were released on PAL only for PS2, Nintendo DS, and Wii (called Mr.

Bean's Wacky World).

[edit]Film adaptations

Main articles: Bean (film) and Mr. Bean's Holiday

Two films featuring Bean have been released. The first, Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Moviewas directed by Mel

Smith and released in 1997, with Atkinson reprising his title role. This broke from the programme's tradition by

using a subplot with more developed characters – instead of being the sole centre of attention, Bean here

interacted with a suburban Californian family he stayed with while overseeing the transfer of Whistler's

Mother to a Los Angeles art gallery. The film grossed over US$250 million globally ($45 million in the USA)

[28] on a budget estimated at $22 million.[29]

News broke out in March 2005 that a second Bean film, Mr. Bean's Holiday was in development, with Atkinson

reprising his title role. The film had been through several changes of name during its development,

including Bean 2 and French Bean.[30] Filming began on 15 May 2006 and began post-production in October

2006. It was released in the UK on 30 March 2007. On 17 July 2007, the North American premiere was held in

Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at the Just For Laughs festival; the launching pad for the Mr. Bean character 20

years earlier.[7] The film was then released nationwide in North America on 24 August 2007. The film follows

Bean on an eventful journey across France for a holiday in the French Riviera, which after a number of

misfortunes culminates in an unscheduled screening of his video diary at the Cannes Film Festival. It was

directed by Steve Bendelack and, according to Atkinson, is the last appearance of Bean.[31] It grossed nearly

US$230 million globally ($33 million in the USA).[32]

[edit]The London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony

The character as represented by Atkinson plays a single note on a synthesiser in the performance of "Chariots

of Fire" during the2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. Instead of his usual dress, he wears white

tie tuxedo suit like the other musicians around him. During his performance, he becomes bored with playing the

same note repeatedly on the synthesiser and gets jealous of the more interesting part that another member of

the orchestra playing with him has on the grand piano. Still remaining bored, he takes out his mobile and takes

a picture of himself, looking chuffed. He then sneezes in a comical fashion and tries to retrieve his handkerchief

from his bag behind him. He finds that he cannot reach and has to keep playing the note with his umbrella to

retrieve it. When he finally blows his nose, he throws his handkerchief into the grand piano. He then falls asleep

continuing to play the note.

In a dream sequence, it is the opening scene of the film Chariots of Fire where they are running across a

beach, except Mr. Bean is running with them. He begins to fall behind, until he hails a car to overtake all the

others. In front and running, a runner tries to overtake Bean but is tripped by him. He crosses the line with

elation and then he wakes up. The rest of the orchestra had stopped playing while he continues his one

recurring note. Realising this, and upon encouragement from conductor Simon Rattle, he plays an extended

flourish and lastly touches a note that makes a flatulent sound then stops.[33] In November 2012, Atkinson told

newspaperThe Daily Telegraph he was looking at retiring the character, as "someone in their 50s being

childlike becomes a little sad".[34]

[edit]Books

Two books were released related to the original series: Mr. Bean's Diary in 1992 and Mr. Bean's Pocket

Diary in 1994. The two books have identical content and differ only in the format in which they are printed. The

content of both is a template diary with handwritten content scrawled in by Mr. Bean. They provide some

additional information on the setting: for example, they establish that Mr. Bean lives in Highbury and rents his

flat from a landlady named Mrs. Wicket. They confirm the name of Mr. Bean's girlfriend as "Irma Gobb", and

also give the name of the other man she actually dances with in Mr. Bean Goes to Town (Giles Gummer). An

additional book called Mr. Bean's Diary was released in 2002 to accompany the animated series; this book was

also graded as a children's reader.

[edit]VHS and DVD releases

The series was available on a number of Thames Television VHS compilations. In the United Kingdom (Region

2), episodes of Mr. Bean were released on a yearly basis by Universal Pictures UK from 2004. The complete

collection is now available, including the two feature films and other extras. In the United States (Region 1), the

complete series has been available since 2003 on A&E Home Video as "The Whole Bean".

The record-selling UK videos were withdrawn shortly before the release of Bean, and DVDs were released on

an annual basis as of 2004.

In August 2009 an official YouTube channel was launched featuring content from the live action and animated

series.[35]

[edit]VHS format

Title No. of episodes

The Amazing Adventures of Mr. Bean 2

The Exciting Escapades of Mr. Bean 2

The Terrible Tales of Mr. Bean 2

The Merry Mishaps of Mr. Bean 2

The Perilous Pursuits of Mr. Bean 2

Unseen Bean 2

The Final Frolics of Mr. Bean 2

The Best Bits of Mr. Bean Episode clips

The Complete Mr. Bean (Volume 1) 7

The Complete Mr. Bean (Volume 2) 7

Merry Christmas Mr. Bean 1

Mr. Bean – Vol. 1 3

Mr. Bean – Vol. 2 3

Thames Favourite Programmes 6

[edit]DVD format

Title No. of episodes Release date Notes

Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean

14 + 4 (special ep.)

29 April 2003

Region 1. Contains all 14 episodes, two Comic Relief sketches and two direc