Dish and Dishonesty

The first episode deals with one of Britain's most notorious electoral singularity.
Rotten boroughs were, in most cases, small constituencies with very few inhabitants which nevertheless could boast of having representation in the Parliament. Those tiny boroughs often harbored a candidate or two for the House of Commons whose titles were either hereditary or, acquired through bribery. Their election posed no difficulties as they stood unopposed and told the voters what to do anyhow; hence the term 'rotten'.
Furthermore, as Blackadder said himself about people eligible to vote: "virtually no one is: women, peasants, (making a gesture towards Baldrick) chimpanzees, Lords...".
Prior to the Great Reform Act of 1832, the best known rotten borough was Old Sarum; a constituency with the stupendous record for the possession of a mere 11 voters.
For the purpose of didactic over-exaggeration of facts and, of course, comedy, the population Dunny-on-the-wold (the fictional borough mentioned in this first episode) is "three rather mangy cows, a dachshund named Colin, and a small hen in its late forties." Only one person lives there and he is the voter.
Blackadder's scheme to aggrandize himself is to buy the candidate to counter the policies of Pitt the Younger that threaten Prince George and therefore himself, his butler. The candidate eventually dies, but Blackadder replaces him with a man utterly bereft of ideas yet whom he will be able to manipulate: Baldrick. Naturally, Blackadder arrange the death of the only voter of Dunny-on-the-wold and takes his place, ensuring a safe victory in the by-elections.
Once again, the situation is very abnormal but it is not, however, altogether impossible to picture. In fact, it might very well have happened, given how flawed the British system appear to have been during the 18th century. In this very episode, the sly butler himself remarks "Look at Manchester  ̶  Population 60,00, electoral roll, three"

On a completely different note (and to end with this article with a joke), this episode saw the creation of a fictional character kin to an actual historical one. Pitt the Even Younger makes an appearance. His real purpose is to give birth to yet another of Blackadder's witticisms. When Young Pitt says to Blackadder "I intend to put up my own brother as candidate against you", the latter replies "And which Pitt would this be? Pitt the Toddler? Pitt the Embryo? Pitt the Glint in the Milkman's Eye?"