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In the final season, the character of Blackadder, played by comedian Rowan Atkinson, along with his servant Baldrick, are soldiers in the trenches of the First World War under the command of a clueless general, Stephen Fry, in what is depicted as a futile conflict.

“Millions have died, but our troops have advanced no further than an asthmatic ant with some heavy shopping,” Blackadder says.

But in his article, Mr. Gove cited the show as a contributor to “misrepresentations which reflect … an unhappy compulsion on the part of some to denigrate virtues such as patriotism, honour and courage.”

He said for Britain, the First World War was “plainly a ‘just’ war” and one country was to blame for starting it — Germany, with its “aggressively expansionist war aims and … scorn for the international order.”

Mr. Gove’s remarks were criticized by Mr. Robinson, a well-known activist for the opposition Labour Party.

“I think Mr. Gove has just made a very silly mistake,” Mr. Robinson told Sky News, in saying that Blackadder formed children’s views of the war.

He said teachers used the show simply as “another teaching tool” alongside visits to battlefields and reading war poetry.

Labour’s education spokesman, Tristram Hunt, accused Mr. Gove of a “crass” attempt to hijack “what should be a moment for national reflection and respectful debate.”

“Whether you agree or disagree, given the deaths of 15 million people during the war, attempting to position 1918 as a simplistic, nationalistic triumph seems equally foolhardy, not least because the very same tensions re-emerged to such deadly effect in 1939,” said Mr. Hunt in an article for the Observer newspaper.