Quote of the day: Making the new plan just like the 18 that came before is a time-honored confound-the-enemy military strategy--at least in Britcoms

"[Field Marshal Haig's "brilliant new plan"] will catch the watchful Hun totally off guard. Doing precisely what we've done 18 times before is exactly the last thing they'll expect us to do this time!"
--Gen. Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett, in Blackadder Goes Forth

For some reason, at this particular moment in history our friend Noah, a big fan of the four BBC Blackadder series of the '80s (where most of us first encountered Hugh Laurie--better known now as Dr. Gregory House--as the idiot aristo-twit George), is recalling this bit of strategic military conferencing:

GENERAL MELCHETT [played by Stephen Fry, top photo]: Now Field Marshal Haig has formulated a brilliant new tactical plan to ensure final victory in the field. 
 
CAPTAIN BLACKADDER [played by Rowan Atkinson, left]: Ah, would this brilliant plan involve us climbing out of our trenches and walking very slowly toward the enemy, sir? 
 
CAPTAIN DARLING [played by Tim McInnerny, right]: How could you possibly know that, Blackadder? It's classified information.
 
CAPTAIN BLACKADDER: It's the same plan that we used last time, and the 17 times before that. 
 
GENERAL MELCHETT: Ex- . . . ex- . . . ex- . . . actly! And that is what is so brilliant about it! It will catch the watchful Hun totally off guard. Doing precisely what we've done 18 times before is exactly the last thing they'll expect us to do this time! There is, however, one small problem. 
 
CAPTAIN BLACKADDER: That everyone always gets slaughtered in the first ten seconds? 
 
GENERAL MELCHETT: That's right. And Field Marshal Haig is worried that this may be depressing the men a tad. So he's looking to find a way to cheer them up. 
 
CAPTAIN BLACKADDER: Well, his resignation and suicide would seem the obvious.