"Step away from the candy and come with me, kid"

I did try to strike a conciliatory tone earlier as well. Once Napoleon was defeated, and the threat of invasion removed, (apart from a minor blip under NapoleonIII) Britain and America allowed their mercantile instincts to dominate relations.

The most immediately consequence of which was the elimination of the Barbary pirates. I suspect that in1816, the Royal Navy had a new found respect for the United States Navy when they both went after the Algerines.

So, it was all the fault of the bloody French after all. North was a reactionary old bastard, and the Fox North coalition was one of the biggest examples of political expediency ever. Pitt the younger was a bit more principled.

What is a "push" ?

A nova criminal

Pitt the Embryo? Pitt the Gleam in the Milkman's Eye? . . . that was modestly clever . . .

Do you recognise either of the two main actors?

A new criminal ?

NO, i'm not familiar with Britcoms, as they're called over here. I don't watch much television--i mostly use for DVDs.

I'm sure you're familiar with the hospital drama House, and you must have heard of Mr. Bean.

The Girl has a Mr. Bean DVD, but i've never watched it. I've seen teevee ads for "House," but i've never watched it. So the dark haired joker is the gentleman who played Mr. Bean?

Yes, and Hugh Lawrie is the prince regent.

I 've seen House, but know nothing of beans.

A "new" criminal ??

The name Hugh Lawrie means nothing to me, but he played the twit to the nines.

Nova, as in super nova.

an exploding star criminal ?

Hugh Lawrie is House. I thought you might like Blackadder seeing as you're a bit of a history buff. The first series, (and the worst) is set during the fictional rule of Richard IV, sandwiched between Richard III and Henry VII. The character of Blackadder is most like Mr. Bean.

For the second series set in during the reign of Elizabeth I, Rowan Atkinson(Mr Bean) left the writing to Ben Elton and it improved immeasurably. The third series is set during the Regency, and the last series was set during WW1.

Exploding planet. Take all the resources, then blow the place up before the police get here.

OK, i'd have a problem, though. There was no Richard IV, and Henry VII took over from Richard III when the latter was killed at Bosworth.

Exactly, the first series is not as good, but the idea is that there was a Richard IV, but when Henry VII came to power he re-wrote history. Even though the series is a comedy it is packed full of historical references. I wouldn't bother with the first series until after seeing the other three.

The characters are very different, in the last three series Blackadder is intelligent but his servant Baldrick is an imbecile. It's the other way round in the first series. Even though the first series is set during a fictional reign there is a lot of satire on mediaeval life.

Here's a skit on our old friends the puritans.