| Samuel Johnson | |
|---|---|
| |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Writer |
| First appearance | Blackadder the Third |
| Last appearance | Blackadder the Third |
| Episode count | 1 |
| Played by | Robbie Coltrane |
Samuel Johnson was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer.
In Blackadder the Third he is portrayed by Robbie Coltrane in the episode Ink and Incapability.
Samuel Johnson (Robbie Coltrane) seeks Prince George's patronage for his new book, A Dictionary of the English Language. The Prince – seeking to amend his reputation as an "utter turnip-head" – is interested, but Blackadder tries to turn him against the idea, condemning the dictionary as "the most pointless book since How to Learn French was translated into French". It soon emerges that Blackadder resents Johnson for apparently ignoring his novel.
Johnson has a meeting with the Prince, during which George fails to grasp the purpose of the Dictionary and Blackadder infuriates Johnson by continuously inventing and using new words in order to convince him that his work is incomplete. However, on learning that Dr. Johnson had also intended, if given the Prince's patronage, to promote Edmund: A Butler's Tale – a book Johnson considers to be the only one better than his – Blackadder persuades George that he should, in fact, support the dictionary.