The series authors have stated that the opening sequence is not meant to imply that Mr. Bean is an alien; rather, he's a random ordinary guy "thrown into the spotlight". The first UK screenings of the first episodes did not have this opening sequence, but it was added to them when they were repeated and re-released.

The Latin lyrics used at the beginning are "Ecce homo qui est farba, qui est farba, qui est farba", which mean "Behold the man who is a bean". At the end, it's identical, but "Ecce" is changed to "Vale"; "Farewell, man who is a bean." Before and after the advert break (in the UK version), the lyrics are "Fin de partie primae" and "Pars secunda" - "End of Part One" and "Part Two".

The original video releases of the early 1990s include a handful of scenes that are not present on the recent DVD releases.

When Mr. Bean moves the marching band across in front of the manger, the military music he hums was also used as the theme song of Blackadder Goes Forth (in which Rowan Atkinson also stars).

Just before the scene where Mr Bean meets the Queen, the commentary is actually done by Rowan Atkinson.