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Rowan Atkinson has played many famous roles over the years (Blackadder will always be a classic), but he is most famous for playing an oddball named Mr Bean.

30 years ago, the TV show Mr Bean made its debut on the UK channel ITV, and soon became a hit across the world, reaching a global audience in excess of a billion people.

In total, just 15 episodes were ever made (including a ‘best bits’ episode), in addition to the two movies, which would come far later (1997 and 2007).

To celebrate the TV show’s 30th birthday, ITV have put together Happy Birthday Mr Bean, and reviews suggest that fans of the quirky Brit will enjoy the latest offering.

The Independent gives it four stars, stressing that “this documentary is worth watching for the rarity of Atkinson talking about his work”:

As Atkinson explains, Mr Bean is indeed pretty much a slightly exaggerated, non-verbal version of himself – a bit more childish, maladroit and more inclined to take his ingenious answers to everyday dilemmas to their logical absurd conclusion…

If there is a central driving feature, if you’ll pardon the pun, to the whole Atkinson/Bean phenomenon, it is “perfectionism”. As Atkinson analyses it in the soft, modulated voice we hear so seldom, “it’s not a particularly attractive quality. More a disease than a quality. It’s very debilitating. Very draining.”

It’s not just Atkinson who features, with Richard Curtis, who began developing the character with Atkinson while they were at Oxford University, also offering his take.

The Telegraph awards the doccie four stars, calling it “more than just a clip show”:

For collectors of trivia, there were the odd gems, such as Curtis revealing that the Four Weddings and a Funeral scene with Hugh Grant trapped in a hotel bedroom cupboard was originally an idea for a Mr Bean sketch. And there was the promise of more to come. Will he get another outing? “Never say never,” was Atkinson’s response.

In keeping with the other outlets, The Times also scored it four stars, so I think it’s safe to assume this one is worth a watch.

There are two clips from the doccie available online, in which you can hear Atkinson and Curtis open up about the thinking behind what played out onscreen.

Curtis kicks things off below:

Here’s another famous sketch unpacked:

Just grand.

One more? Sure, here’s the full Christmas Day sketch, which, as disastrous as Bean’s day goes, is still better than awkwardly telling family members that they can’t come over because of COVID-19:

[sources:independent&telegraph]