|
| “ | Hello... I'm Dr. Bean... apparently... and- and my job is to sit and look at paintings. So... what have I learnt, that I can say about... this painting? Well... well, firstly... it's really quite big, which is excellent, because If it were really small - you know... microscopic - then hardly anyone would be able to see it.... which would be a tremendous shame. Secondly, and I'm getting quite near the end of this... analysis... of this painting... Secondly, why was it worth this man here spending fifty million of your American dollars on this portrait? And the answer to that is, well this painting is with such a lot of money because... it's a picture of Whistler's... mother. And as I've learned by staying with my best friend David Langley and his family, families are very important... and even though Mr. Whistler was perfectly aware... that his mother was a hideous old bat who looked like she'd had a cactus lodged up her backside, he stuck with her, and even took the time to paint this amazing picture of her. It's not just a painting. It's a picture... of a mad old cow who he thought the world of. And that's marvelous... Well, that's what I think. | „ |
| ~ Mr. Bean's speech about Whistler's Mother. |
Mr. Bean (born 15th September 1956) is the titular main protagonist of the comedy franchise of the same name.
Although he is often an amoral and selfish character, he has sometimes acted as a hero due to the fact that when his antics go too far Mr. Bean often goes to great lengths to undo them and help people in need (partly due to the fact he is often the one responsible for their plight).
He also has a girlfriend named Irma Gobb, but she can get frustrated with him at times due to his behaviour. One Christmas, she tried to hint for him to get her an engagement ring, but he instead got her picture of someone wearing an engagement ring.
He was portrayed by Rowan Atkinson, who famously portrayed the Blackadder dynasty in the Blackadder series: The Black Adder in The Black Adder, Lord Blackadder in Blackadder II, Sir Blackadder in Blackadder: The Cavalier Years, Edmund Blackadder, Esq. in Blackadder the Third, Ebenezer Blackadder in Blackadder's Christmas Carol, Captain Blackadder in Blackadder Goes Forth, and King Blackadder in Blackadder: Back & Forth. Atkinson also portrayed Johnny English in the Johnny English film trilogy, and voiced Zazu in The Lion King.
Background[]
Mr. Bean lives alone in his small North London flat. He does not often speak, and when he does, it is generally only a few mumbled words, which are in a comically low-pitched voice. He has been shown in the first episode to have studied trigonometry but not calculus.
His ingenuity often leads him to finding ridiculous and impractical solutions to these problems (such as painting a room by putting fireworks into a paint can). Bean will often get confused at the world, not understanding what is going on. He is also quite selfish - if someone is doing something he does not like, he gets very agitated. He also does not like people taking his things.
Mr. Bean often seems unaware of basic aspects of the way the world works, and the program usually features his attempts at what would normally be considered simple tasks, such as going swimming, redecorating, 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, his pettiness, and occasional malevolence. He acts silly often.
Appearance[]
Mr. Bean wears a brown tweed jacket, a white shirt, a thin red tie, brown trousers, black shoes and a black digital calculator watch.
Personality[]
Mr. Bean is often portrayed as a buffoon, a simpleton, delusional, immature, and in a world of his own, whose thoughts processes and strain of logic, while often effective, are incredibly strange. Whenever life throws an obstacle or hurdle at Mr. Bean, he will always overdo his countermeasures to deal with it, concocting bizarre and convoluted methods of dealing with even the simplest of life's little problems. He is obnoxious, crazy and sometimes seems stupid. Though on the contrary, Mr. Bean is shown to be a very intelligent man, being able to teach a physics class with ease and creating multiple inventions in a time of need. But his cleverness is difficult to spot under his odd mannerisms, and general immaturity. Mr. Bean rarely speaks and when he does, only a mumbling voice comes out. He doesn't show much care to his girlfriend which was proven in many episodes. Mr. Bean often pretends his teddy is real but he does not always treat Teddy nicely. Mr. Bean is also a pain to the Reliant Regal in many episodes, becoming a running gag in the series. In some occasions, Mr. Bean can be kind. He also tends to hate Irma kissing him, and views her more as a friend than partner. However, he gets angry when a restaurant musician starts dating Irma, which shows that Mr. Bean does love Irma. He exhibits various traits and mannerisms which suggest that he has combination of various mental disorders:
- ADHD: Mr. Bean is impatient, wayward, and often has temporary, but intense interests in various things. He tends to fidget and become restless and irritable if forced to sit still for any extended period of time. He also sometimes struggles to concentrate.
- Asperger syndrome: Mr. Bean exhibits a few traits linked to it, such as a hatred of physical contact, poor social skills, and the fact that he seldom speaks.
- Peter Pan syndrome: Mr. Bean likes playing with toys, reading comic books, eating sweets, and is very immature, petty, and insecure. In many ways, he has the intelligence of an adult but the emotional stability of a toddler.
Trivia[]
- He has appeared in a popular advert for Snickers.
- His Mini's number plate is SLW 287R in the TV show, but it's STE 952R in the cartoon.
- In the film Bean, the 'name' "Mr." appears on his passport in the "first name" field, and he is shown employed as a guard at the National Gallery.
- At the beginning of all episodes except the first, 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"), recorded by Southwark Cathedral Choir. These opening sequences were black-and-white in episodes two and three, and were 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. At the end of episodes three and six, he is also shown being sucked right back up into the sky.
- In the cartoon, his address is Flat 2, 12 Arbour Road, Highbury, London, England.
- In the cartoon episode "Double Trouble", he is taken inside a spacecraft with "aliens" who look exactly like him and even have their own plush toys. In an obvious homage, the aliens send him back home in a beam of light and music similar to the opening of the live action series.