 While in the first series Edmund (Black Adder) was more the idiot  and comic relief than Baldrick (who in the first series comes up  with ridiculous ideas but manages to somehow contribute to get  Edmund out of trouble on many occasions), the roles of the  characters of Black Adder and Baldrick were switched in the series  that followed due to the influence of new writer Ben Elton.  Actually, the pilot episode of the first series showed Blackadder  with his later