Mr. Bean (episode)

Mr. Bean is the first episode of the live-action TV series. It originally aired over ITV on January 1, 1990.

Act One: The Exam
in Act One: Mr. Bean is late for an important mathematics exam and speeds past a Reliant Regal, running it off the road and nearly overturning it in the process. Once he reaches the college, he sits down looking awkward. A student sitting next to him asks if he did his revision and Mr. Bean replies that he concentrated on trigonometry, to which the student said he studied calculus. Bean adds that he believed they concentrated in calculus the previous year which worries the student. He then looks around scoffing while the invigilator says that the exam will commence in two minutes. Mr Bean then irritates the fellow candidate by getting out many spare pens when he takes out one along with a number of toys, including a Pink Panther doll.

The exam starts and Mr. Bean takes a green paper out of the envelope and freaks out (as he hadn't studied calculus). He gradually becomes frustrated as he does not know how to complete it, so he resorts to spending most of the exam time attempting to cheat off the other student's work (going as far as stealing the student's paper when he becomes distracted), but each attempt ends in failure. Eventually, Bean gives up and cries out "Oh, Mummy!" before putting his head on the desk and sleeping for the remainder of the exam.

Two minutes towards the end, the invigilator gives instructions on what to do with the papers once the exam finishes. From this, Bean realises that there were two papers in the envelope – a green calculus paper, and a white trigonometry paper, with each student given a choice as to which to do (although the invigilator logically should have stated this at the beginning). Bean takes out the paper and tries to complete it in a hurried fashion, but his pen won't write anything so he steals the pen off the other student (forgetting about the many spares he came prepared with). Unfortunately, the exam has already ended and the invigilator tells him to stop writing twice. But Bean is determined to finish the exam and continues, and he finally stops when the invigilator yells "WILL YOU STOP WRITING!". At this point, his alarm clock goes off, and the first act ends as Bean frantically tries to silence it.

Act Two: The Beach
Mr. Bean goes to the beach and tries to change from his street trousers and underpants into his swimming trunks without ever becoming naked so a nearby man won't see him. After he succeeds, the man gets out of his patio seat and walks with a white cane, revealing that was actually blind all along, leaving Bean frustrated.

Act Three: Church
After a parking altercation, once again involving the Reliant, Mr. Bean attends a church service. Unfortunately he doesn't know the words to the hymns, sneezes loudly and falls asleep out of boredom, much to the annoyance of Mr Sprout who is sitting next to him. Then he tries to put a sweetie in his mouth without being seen and puts it into a pocket which he has wiped his nose on.

Act Four: Driving Home
On the way back home, Mr. Bean takes a wrong turn and the sound of the Mini crashing is heard but he and one of the tires survived (a tire is seen bouncing into view), all the while the Reliant sits there, then drives off, not helping him, as a way to get back at him.

Cast

 * Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean
 * Paul Bown as The Student
 * Rudolph Walker as The Invigilator
 * Roger Sloman as The Blind Man
 * Howard Goodall as The Church Organist
 * Richard Briers as Mr. Sprout

Trivia

 * Unlike all subsequent episodes, this episode's opening credits are displayed as subtitles over the beginning of the first act. Similarly, this is the only episode not to feature the "Ecce Homo" theme tune.
 * However, it is featured in the DVD called “Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean” (2003) and the Remastered Version of this Episode.
 * Mr. Bean makes his second longest conversation in the entire series, the first longest is in Mr. Bean: Ultimate Disaster Movie where he gives his speech about Whistler's Mother.
 * Mr Bean would have caused several accidents for pushing the Reliant Regal off its parking space into the road, due to cars travelling along and then crashing into the Reliant Regal and each other.
 * The exam scene was remade by 20th Century Fox to promote Hot Shots Part Deux, in which Rowan Atkinson was casted. The reshot episode was directed by Paul Weiland and was filmed inside a different examination room. This remade episode was included in the UK VHS release of that movie.
 * The exam invigilator failed to mention that there were two papers in the envelope. In addition, after the invigilator tells the candidates that there are 2 minutes left, he calls "stop writing" after less than 1 minute. Both of these could allow Mr Bean to appeal against his exam result in most systems.
 * Only appearance of Mr. Bean's orange BMC Mini MK II, which was crashed at the end of the episode.
 * This episode contains more Reliant gags than any other.
 * The hymn that Mr. Bean sings along with in the church is All Creatures Of Our God And King; both the melody and lyrics (including the repeated "Hallelujah") are accurate.
 * The theme from this episode became the Reliant's leitmotif in "Tee Off, Mr. Bean".
 * Running Gag: Mr. Bean knocks down a sign while parking.
 * Rudolph Walker, who plays the invigilator, would later co--star with Rowan Atkinson in "The Thin Blue Line" in 1995.
 * Series composer, Howard Goodall, cameos as the Church Organist.
 * The episode used the street opening on the Nickelodeon UK airings and the remastered version.
 * This is the first episode to be shot entirely on video tape.
 * A Pink Panther toy appears during the exam.
 * This episode aired in January 1, 1990.
 * This is the first episode to premiere on New Year's Day and the 90s decade.