MEETING MR. BEAN, A CHILD IN A GROWN MAN'S BODY

Today, The Grandma has visited Mr. Bean, an old friend who lives in London.

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 and ending with The Best Bits of Mr. Bean on 15 December 1995.

Based on a character developed by Atkinson while he was studying for his master's degree at the University of Oxford, 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. The series has been influenced by physical comedy actors such as Jacques Tati and those from early silent films.

During its original five-year run, Mr. Bean was 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 and has received a number of international awards, including the Rose d'Or.

The series has since been sold in 245 territories worldwide. It 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.

The programme carries strong appeal in hundreds of territories worldwide because, in addition to the acclaim from its original run, it uses very little intelligible dialogue, making it accessible to people who know little or no English.

More information: Mr Bean

The character of Mr. Bean was developed while Rowan Atkinson was studying for his master's degree in electrical engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford. A sketch featuring Bean was shown at the Edinburgh Fringe in the early 1980s. A similar character called Robert Box, also played by Atkinson, appeared in the one-off 1979 ITV sitcom Canned Laughter which also featured routines used in the motion picture in 1997.

The title character and 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.

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.

In the title sequence 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.

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.

More information: Youtube-Mr Bean

Mr. Bean is essentially a child trapped
in the body of a man.
All cultures identify with children in a similar way,
so he has this bizarre global outreach.

Rowan Atkinson