“ Rowan Atkinson”

Mr. Bean is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced

by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15
episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and Robin Driscoll; for
the pilot, it was co-written by Ben Elton. The series was originally broadcast on ITV,
beginning with the pilot on 1 January 1990[1] and ending with "The Best Bits of Mr.
Bean" on 15 December 1995.

Based on a character originally developed by Atkinson while he was studying for his
master's degree at Oxford University, the series centres on Mr. Bean, described by
Atkinson as "a child in a grown man's body", as he solves various problems presented
by everyday tasks and often causes disruption in the process.[2] The series has been
influenced by physical comedy actors such as Jacques Tati and those from early silent
films.[2]

During its original five-year run, Mr. Bean met with widespread acclaim and attracted
large television audiences. The series was viewed by 18.74 million viewers for the
episode "The Trouble with Mr. Bean"[3] and has received a number of international
awards, including the Rose d'Or. The series has also been sold in 245 territories
worldwide and has inspired an animated spin-off and two theatrical feature-length films
along with Atkinson reprising his role as Mr. Bean for a performance at the London 2012
Summer Olympics opening ceremony, television commercials and several sketches
for Comic Relief. Besides the acclaim of the show, another reason for the show's appeal
in hundreds of territories worldwide is that the show uses very little intelligible dialogue,
making it accessible to people who know little or no English.

The title character and main protagonist, played by Rowan Atkinson, is a

childish buffoon who brings various unusual schemes and contrivances to everyday
tasks. He lives alone at the address of Flat 2, 12 Arbour Road, 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.[13]

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
activities, such as going swimming, using a television set, interior decorating 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, and his pettiness and
occasional malevolence.

The beginning of episode two, 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") which was sung by the Southwark Cathedral choir in 1990. The opening
sequence was initially in black and white in episodes two and three, which was 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. 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 (The black scene in episode 3 and street scene in episode 6).
Regarding the opening credits, Atkinson has acknowledged that Bean "has a
slightly alien aspect to him".[14] In the MrBean: The Animated Series episode "Double
Trouble", the alien aspect of him was used in a storyline in which he is taken inside a
spacecraft with aliens who look exactly like him and even have their own plushy toys. In
an obvious homage towards the end, the aliens send him back home in a beam of light
and music similar to the opening of the original Mr Bean series. Whether Bean is an
extraterrestrial is not made clear.

Mr. Bean's long-suffering girlfriend, Irma Gobb (played by Matilda Ziegler), appears in
three 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 rather than as 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"; his failure to do so results in her leaving
him for good. Despite this, she later reappears in Mr. Bean: The Animated Series. It is
revealed in the book Mr. Bean's Diary that Bean met Irma Gobb at a local library.
[15]
 Ziegler has also played a waitress, a mother and a policewoman.[16]

In the Comic Relief sketch "Torvill & Bean", Bean is accompanied by a female
companion portrayed by Sophie Thompson whose overall appearance resembles
Gobb's.

TEDDY
Teddy is Mr. Bean's teddy bear and, apparently, best friend. This little brown bear is a
knitted oddity with button eyes and sausage-shaped limbs which invariably end up
broken in half or in various other states of destruction and disfiguration. Although Teddy
is inanimate, Mr. Bean often pretends it is alive: he always buys it a Christmas present
or tries not to wake it up in the morning. For example, when Mr. Bean hypnotizes
Teddy, he snaps his fingers and the bear's head falls backwards as if it had fallen
asleep instantly. (Bean used his finger to prop Teddy's head up.) Teddy is often privy to
Mr. Bean's various schemes and doubles as a tool or other items in emergencies; 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" where he is used to win a pet show.

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 "eyes" were 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 distinctive image.

After filming ended, Teddy was donated by Atkinson to Gyles Brandreth's Teddy bear
museum in Stratford-upon-Avon. In 2008 upon the museum's closing, Teddy was sold
at auction for £180