CHAPTER THREE. PART ONE.

A Twist in the Tale!

A New Life in a New Country…

Life, at least for Matthew James Fletcher, took on an interesting twist on Wednesday, 10 Jan. 2001 when the aircraft he was aboard landed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Some eight hours earlier, at Manchester Airport, Fletcher had been warned by one of two American federal officers stationed at the British airport to not try remaining in the United States past the visa expiration date. The thought, at this point of Fletcher’s journey, had yet to enter his mind.

The Americans had noticed in Fletcher’s luggage a complete set of BBC released Blackadder VHS cassettes. One of the Americans questioning Fletcher’s plans to visit the United States asked if he had known these same cassettes were available in the U.S.

Thinking on his feet, something he had grown accustomed to doing, Fletcher pointed out that these cassettes were gifts for a friend he was to meet in Tacoma.

His American friend had the American released cassettes; however, it wasn’t about the cassettes at all. The thing that made British version stand apart from the American released counterpart is the artwork. Artwork, on every release for different markets, is typically distinct.