This documentary was shown on BBC1 on Christmas Day and will be reshown on New Years Day.
Editing seldom gets a mention, so it's interesting that the much praised ending to Blackadder 4 (the one set in the First World War) is explained, including an interview with the editor.
They filmed Blackadder, Baldrick and Co going over the top and being mown down, but everyone agreed that it didn't look right. The editor trimmed it, slowed it down and then did a cross fade into a still of a poppy field. No new film, but an ending that "worked".
and I'd always wondered what Chris Wadsworth looked like. he did almost everything comedy linked in the BBC at one point. he loked nothing like my mental picture.
(and no - it wasn't a clown with a pair of scissors!)
Must have been shown earlier than Xmas Day. I watched this explanation many weeks ago when most episodes were dissected into what worked and why.
One of the few comedy/drama series that was glorious to watch and far, far bigger than the sum of its parts.
Even ignoring the editing point for the final episode (which was as others have said a good demonstration of the editor's value) it was an excellent programme - and reportedly VERY unusual to get Rowan Atkinson to take part.
Because of my new interest in videography\film-making, I watched it with great interest. What I found most interesting was, apparently the no-mans-land set, which they had to cross, at least for a few yards, wasn't very big, so they decided to use slow motion to make the scene last longer.
Although done for technical reasons, ie. the limitations of the set, it actually made the scene more poignant, at least for me.