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Johannesburg - From the very first time we saw Mr Bean falling from the sky in a beam of light, with that serious-sounding Latin church-choir music (the actual translation of which is: “Behold the man who is a bean. Farewell the man who is a bean”) in the background, we knew we were in a for a treat.
Here are the top 10 times we thought, “Oh, no WAYS” while watching Rowan Atkinson, the silent-comedy master, as the rubber-faced, delusional, desperate and chaotic Mr Bean, at work.
Episode 1: Mr Bean
The very first episode aired on British TV on New Year’s Day of 1990 - and what a way to ring in the new decade. Three of our best Mr Bean mishaps appeared in this episode.
1. How to survive your maths exam
This is a nightmare we’ve all had - but it’s happening IRL for Mr Bean. He takes out the wrong paper, tries to copy from his deskmate, falls asleep and then wakes up with two minutes to spare - to find that his pen won’t work.
2. How to change discreetly into your swimming trunks
More stuff of nightmares: Being naked in public. But Bean manages to avoid going starkers while changing into his swimming trunks on the beach, with great difficulty … only to realise that he needn’t have bothered.
3. How to cope with a runny nose in church
Blow it on the lining of your pocket, obviously.
Episode 3: The Curse of Mr Bean
This episode won a Bafta and is one of our absolute favourites.
4. How to face your fears
From crawling across the diving board on his belly, to inching towards the edge of it, pigeon-toed, with the wet seat of his swimming trunks embarrassingly on display, to his aborted dive and his eventual, spectacular flop into the pool, this is one of the most pathetic and perfect sequences of the series.
5. How to make a sandwich on a park bench using scissors, a credit card, the drinking fountain and a sock
Some of Mr Bean’s only spoken lines of the original series happen in this Act. After using his credit card to butter his bread, which he cut using a pair of scissors, he quips, “My flexible friend!” - the slogan of a British credit-card company in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Episode 7: Merry Christmas, Mr Bean
Because no round-up of a British comedy series would be complete without highlights from the Christmas episode.
6. How to spice up the Nativity Scene at Harrod’s
He introduced the army, a sheepdog, a truck, a robot and T-Rex, and then transferred the Baby Jesus to a doll’s house. (We also love that at Harrod’s he bought one gold bauble. Not a pack. Not a pair. Just one.)
7. How to choose Christmas presents
Instead of getting his girlfriend Irma Gobb the ring she pointed out in a jeweller’s window, he bought her the picture of the engaged couple that was at the back of the display - and has no idea why she doesn’t like it.
Episode 10: Do-It-Yourself Mr Bean
Mr Bean brings his flair for out-of-the-ordinary solutions to ridiculous problems to bear on the New Year.
8. How to host a party
At the worst New Year’s party ever to be screened on TV, Mr Bean discovers that he’s run out of snacks for his guests. So he hacks twigs off a tree branch outside his kitchen window and dips them in Marmite. He mixes vinegar with sugar to stand in for champagne. And is highly upset when his guests don’t agree that his party food is not only edible but also delicious.
9. How to load furniture onto a Mini
After loading up on a random assortment of stuff at the January sales, Mr Bean finds that there’s no room in the Mini for himself. But that doesn’t stop him - he manages to drive remotely using an ingenious and totally idiotic system of pulleys and levers while perched on the armchair, which is balanced on the roof of the Mini.
Episode 13: Good night, Mr Bean
In this episode, Mr Bean falls asleep when he shouldn’t, and can’t sleep when he should.
10. How to cheat the system
He’s never been more selfish than when he tries to jump the hospital queue ahead of seriously ill and injured patients, so that he can get his hand unstuck from the teapot. Of course, his scheme fails miserably - and, predictably, he falls asleep.
All 14 episodes of the original Mr Bean series are available to stream or download on the internet TV service ShowMax, as well as over 20 000 other series episodes and movies, for only R99 per month. Sign up now for a free trial.
(Screengrabs: ITV/ShowMax)
