Award-Winning ‘Mr. Bean’ Makes His Debut on Video

British comedic actor Rowan Atkinson has created several memorable crazy characters. He was the slimy, conniving “Blackadder” on the BBC comedy series, the befuddled minister in “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and the voice of the wisecracking bird Zazu in “The Lion King.”

But without a doubt, his most popular creation is “Mr. Bean.” The award-winning BBC comedy series aired on HBO in 1993 and 1994 and is seen Saturdays at 10 p.m. and Sundays at 10:30 p.m. on KOCE. KCET will air the retrospective special, “Reflections of Mr. Bean,” at 9:30 p.m. March 7. And this week, Polygram Video released the first two installments in the “Mr. Bean” video series ($20 each).

Mr. Bean has been described as the most embarrassing man on the planet. In one sketch, Bean manages to change into his swimming trunks without removing his trousers. In another segment, he causes havoc at a fancy restaurant.

“He is peculiar,” Atkinson acknowledges. “I always see him as a 9-year-old boy. He appears to be at first sight sort of sweet and innocent, this man on the sidelines of society, but actually when you get to know him, he is a terribly vindictive and nasty man and so selfish. I think that is the best word that sums him up. He is so selfish and self-centered and single-minded in the way that he deals with everything and anything.”

As do the films of the legendary French film clown Jacques Tati, “Mr. Bean” stresses visual humor. Dialogue is kept to a minimum.

“You don’t imagine Mr. Bean would want to talk,” Atkinson says. “You tend to put him in situations like a library or a church. He’s always in an environment where you wouldn’t want him to speak anyway.”

“Mr. Bean” is seen in 89 countries. “I didn’t think there were 89 countries in the world,” Atkinson says, laughing. He recalls the time a friend of his encountered “Mr. Bean” while making a documentary in a poor African village. “In this village there was one television, and she was wandering around late one night and heard this guffawing in this shack. She went in and there was most of the village gathered around this extremely fuzzy black-and-white television and there was ‘Mr. Bean’ on the screen.”

Only 13 episodes of “Mr. Bean” were produced. Atkinson is now doing another BBC comedy series, “The Thin Blue Line,” which is set in a police station. But Atkinson may reprise Mr. Bean for the big screen. “We are trying to make a movie which is co-written by myself and Richard Curtis [“Four Weddings and a Funeral”] and another man called Robin Driscoll. So between us we are trying to concoct a movie. We are on the second draft.”

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Pulp Royale: The “Pulp Fiction: Special Collector’s Edition” (Miramax, $20) includes commentary by writer-director Quentin Tarantino and 11 minutes of never-before-seen footage. However, neither of the new scenes is exactly scintillating. The first features Uma Thurman videotaping her initial encounter with John Travolta. The second is an extended version of the scene with Bruce Willis and the female taxi cab driver.

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Curio: “Cupid’s Arrow: The Secrets of Love Potions, Aphrodisiacs & Spells” (Central Productions, $20) is a quirky look at the history of love potions and spells; it even gives the recipes for Cleopatra’s Elixir of Everlasting Love and Casanova’s Cocktail. To order call (800) 766-5375.

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Oldies but Goodies: MGM/UA is adding five more films to its “Screen Epics Collection” ($25 each). The new titles are “Ben-Hur,” “Exodus,” “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “King of Kings” and “Quo Vadis.” Each remastered film also includes the original theatrical trailer.

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You Want Your MTV: Sony Music Video presents the MTV specials “The Real World Reunion: Inside Out” ($13) and “MTV’s Ultimate Spring Break Bash” ($15). The “Real World Reunion” is a dull disappointment, though it does feature exclusive-to-video excerpts from the cast’s original audition tapes and scenes from the pilot, which was not aired. The mindless “MTV’s Ultimate Spring Break Bash” is a total waste of time.

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Killer Bs: Ben Cross headlines “The Criminal Mind” (Columbia TriStar), a no-brainer mob thriller.

Tom Sizemore and Pamela Gidley star in “Bad Love” (A-Pix), a bad film about two losers whose volatile relationship ends in tragedy.

New This Week: Keanu Reeves and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon star in the romantic drama “A Walk in the Clouds” (FoxVideo).

Parker Posey is “Party Girl” (Columbia TriStar), a young New Yorker who falls for a falafel vendor.

Whoopi Goldberg, Elizabeth Perkins, Kathleen Turner, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Bon Jovi star in the comedy drama “Moonlight and Valentino” (Polygram).

Edward Burns stars in, wrote and directed the delightful comedy “The Brothers McMullen” (FoxVideo)...also new: “The Run of the Country” (Columbia TriStar); “Fair Game” (Warner).