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The Worst Episodes of The BBC Television Shakespeare

Every episode of The BBC Television Shakespeare ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The BBC Television Shakespeare!

The Worst Episodes of The BBC Television Shakespeare

The BBC Television Shakespeare is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and produced by BBC...

Seasons7

  1. Background image for Cymbeline
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    #1 - Cymbeline

    S6:E1

    Classic play by William Shakespeare based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus.

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    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Macbeth
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    #2 - Macbeth

    S6:E2

    Classic tragedy by William Shakespeare about how ambition can corrupt. Three witches foresee a great future for Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis.

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    Director:Jack Gold
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for The Comedy of Errors
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    #3 - The Comedy of Errors

    S6:E3

    Comical misunderstandings arise when two sets of twins, each unaware of their other halves' existence, inadvertently end up in the same town.

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  4. Background image for The Two Gentlemen of Verona
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    #4 - The Two Gentlemen of Verona

    S6:E4

    Comedy. The romantic complications of various residents of Renaissance Italy, notably the two young gentlemen Proteus and Valentine.

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    Director:Don Taylor
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for The Tragedy of Coriolanus
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    #5 - The Tragedy of Coriolanus

    S6:E5

    Classic tragedy chronicling the life of the mighty warrior, Caius Marcius Coriolanus. Although a leader among men on the battlefield, Coriolanus finds himself comprehensively out-manoeuvred when he turns to politics.

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    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for The Life & Death of King John
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    #6 - The Life & Death of King John

    S7:E1

    Classic play by William Shakespeare about the life and death of England's 'bad king', in conflict not only with the French and the Pope but also those who dispute his claim to the throne.

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    Director:David Giles
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Pericles, Prince of Tyre
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    #7 - Pericles, Prince of Tyre

    S7:E2

    Shakespearean comedy about a good man who suffers the brunt of life's hostilities. When Pericles solves the terrible answer to Antioch's riddle, his life is thrust into turmoil.

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    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Much Ado About Nothing
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    #8 - Much Ado About Nothing

    S7:E3

    Comedy by William Shakespeare about two very different sets of lovers - Beatrice and Benedick, and Claudio and Hero.

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    Director:Stuart Burge
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Love's Labour's Lost
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    #9 - Love's Labour's Lost

    S7:E4

    Comedy about the romantic affections confounding the court of Ferdinand, King of Navarre. Ferdinand and three associates commit stochastic study for three years - which means no women - but things quickly unravel.

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    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Titus Andronicus
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    #10 - Titus Andronicus

    S7:E5

    Tragedy by William Shakespeare. The great Roman general Titus Andronicus returns from the wars in triumph, but is comprehensively out-manoeuvred by wily politicians.

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    Director:Jane Howell
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for As You Like It
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #11 - As You Like It

    S1:E3

    Classic comedy by William Shakespeare about the travails of lovers Rosalind and Orlando, who become entangled in a beguiling game of love, lust and mistaken identity.

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    Director:Basil Coleman
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #12 - The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight

    S1:E6

    Classic play by William Shakespeare starring John Stride, Timothy West, Ronald Pickup, and Claire Bloom.

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    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for The Merry Wives of Windsor
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #13 - The Merry Wives of Windsor

    S5:E2

    Comedy by William Shakespeare; the only one of his plays set in England in his own time. The roguish Sir John Falstaff attempts to seduce both Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, but finds both women are more than a match for him.

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    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Romeo & Juliet
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #14 - Romeo & Juliet

    S1:E1

    Patrick Ryecart and Rebecca Saire play the star crossed lovers in one of Shakespeare's best-loved plays.

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    Director:Alvin Rakoff
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for The First Part of King Henry the Fourth with the Life and Death of Henry Surnamed Hotspur
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - The First Part of King Henry the Fourth with the Life and Death of Henry Surnamed Hotspur

    S2:E1

    Televisation of one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, featuring the opportunistic miscreant, Sir John Falstaff. Second play in a tetralogy of history plays by William Shakespeare, along with Richard II, Henry IV, Part II, and Henry V.

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    Director:David Giles
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for The Life of Henry the Fift
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - The Life of Henry the Fift

    S2:E3

    Classic play by William Shakespeare about Henry V, the monarch he admired above all others. Part of a tetralogy of history plays by Shakespeare, along with Richard II, Henry IV, Part I, and Henry IV, Part II.

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    Director:David Giles
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for The Tempest
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #17 - The Tempest

    S2:E5

    William Shakespeare's swansong play about the nature of revenge, reconciliation and forgiveness.

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    Director:John Gorrie
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for The Second Part of Henry the Sixt
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #18 - The Second Part of Henry the Sixt

    S5:E4

    The BBC's screen production of William Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part II.

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    Director:Jane Howell
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for King Richard the Second
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #19 - King Richard the Second

    S1:E2

    Derek Jacobi is King Richard II in the second of the BBC's new productions of Shakespeare.

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    Director:David Giles
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth containing his Death: and the Coronation of King Henry the Fift
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #20 - The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth containing his Death: and the Coronation of King Henry the Fift

    S2:E2

    Classic play by William Shakespeare, starring Jon Finch and Anthony Quayle. This is the third play in a tetralogy of history plays by William Shakespeare, along with Richard II, Henry IV, Part I, and Henry V.

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    Director:David Giles
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Twelfth Night
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #21 - Twelfth Night

    S2:E4

    BBC televisation of the classic comedy of mistaken identities by William Shakespeare.

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    Director:John Gorrie
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for The Taming of the Shrew
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #22 - The Taming of the Shrew

    S3:E1

    Classic comedy by William Shakespeare. Petruchio is determined to mold the shrewish Katharina into a suitable wife, both for her dowry and for the challenge of overcoming her fearsome reputation.

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    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for The Winter's Tale
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #23 - The Winter's Tale

    S3:E4

    Classic play by William Shakespeare, considered either a comedy or a romance. One of Shakespeare's last works, the play also contains tragic elements that weave throughout the work.

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    Director:Jane Howell
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for Timon of Athens
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #24 - Timon of Athens

    S3:E5

    When wealthy and famously generous nobleman Timon of Athens discovers the true state of his financial position, his former friends abandon him, and in disgust he retreats to a cave to rail against humanity.

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    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Othello
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #25 - Othello

    S4:E1

    Tragedy by William Shakespeare. The promotion of Moorish general Othello sparks bitter jealousy in his supposed friend, Iago. He subsequently plots to secure the downfall of Othello by provoking him into believing his wife Desdemona is being unfaithful.

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    Writer:Unknown

Worst Episodes Summary

"Cymbeline" is the worst rated episode of "The BBC Television Shakespeare". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Elijah Moshinsky and written by Unknown, it aired on 7/10/1983. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Macbeth".