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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!

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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 Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December

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  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 7 - The First Part of King Henry the Fourth with the Life and Death of Henry Surnamed Hotspur
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    #1 - The First Part of King Henry the Fourth with the Life and Death of Henry Surnamed Hotspur

    S1:E7

    Henry Bolingbroke has now been crowned King of England, but faces a rebellion headed by the embittered Earl of Northumberland and his son (nicknamed 'Hotspur'). Henry's son Hal, the Prince of Wales, has thrown over life at court in favour of heavy drinking and petty theft in the company of a debauched elderly knight, Sir John Falstaff. Hal must extricate himself from some legal problems, redeem himself in his father's eyes and help suppress the uprising.

    Director:Unknown
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  2. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 8 - The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth containing his Death: and the Coronation of King Henry the Fift
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    #2 - The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth containing his Death: and the Coronation of King Henry the Fift

    S1:E8

    King Henry's health is failing as a second rebellion against his reign threatens to surface. Intent on securing his legacy, he is uncertain that his son Hal is a worthy heir, believing him more concerned with earthly pleasures than the responsibility of rule. Sir John Falstaff is sent to the countryside to recruit fresh troops. Amongst the unwitting locals, opportunities for embezzlement and profiteering prove impossible to resist. As the king's health continues to worsen, Hal must choose between duty and loyalty to an old friend.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 9 - The Life of Henry the Fifth
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    #3 - The Life of Henry the Fifth

    S1:E9

    Insulted by the Dauphin, the newly-crowned Henry V gathers his troops for war. But Henry must convince his men that he has left his wild days behind, and prove himself as a leader. Henry V tells a tale of intrigue and betrayal, courtly romance, and a heroic battle against outrageous odds. The lead, played here by David Gwillim, is one of the most coveted of roles with inspiring lines including the St Crispin's Day speech.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 10 - Twelfth Night
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    #4 - Twelfth Night

    S1:E10

    Viola and Sebastian are lookalike twins, separated by a shipwreck. Viola lands in Illyria, where she disguises herself like her brother and goes into the service of the Duke Orsino. Orsino sends her to help him woo the Lady Olivia, who doesn't want the duke, but finds that she likes the duke's new messenger. Then Viola's brother shows up, whom she thought was dead, and chaos ensues. Meanwhile, Olivia's uncle and his cohorts are trying to find some way to get back at Olivia's officious majordomo, Malvolio.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 11 - The Tempest
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    #5 - The Tempest

    S1:E11

    Prospero, the true Duke of Milan, is now living on an enchanted island with his daughter Miranda, the savage Caliban and Ariel, a spirit of the air. Raising a storm to bring his brother - the usurper of his dukedom - along with his royal entourage, to the island, Prospero contrives his revenge.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 12 - Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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    #6 - Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

    S1:E12

    Hamlet returns home from university to find his uncle married to his mother, and his father's ghost haunting the battlements and scaring the watch. Then his father's ghost directs him to avenge his murder. Hamlet complies, but his madness and indecision take their toll on everyone.

    Director:Unknown
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  7. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 13 - The Taming of the Shrew
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    #7 - The Taming of the Shrew

    S1:E13

    Baptista has two daughters: Katherine and Bianca. Everyone wants to wed the fair Bianca, but nobody's much interested in problem child, Katherine. Baptista declares that he won't give Bianca away until he's found a husband for Katherine, so all the suitors begin busily hunting out a madman who's willing to marry her, and they find Petruchio: a man who's come to wive it wealthily in Padua. And Petruchio intends to marry Katherine with a plan to tame her, while everybody else begins scheming to win Bianca's hand.

    Director:Unknown
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  8. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 14 - The Merchant of Venice
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    #8 - The Merchant of Venice

    S1:E14

    Antonio's best friend, Bassiano, is in love with Portia, a wise and wealthy heiress, and needs three thousand ducats to press his suit. With Antonio's money tied up in ships at sea, he approaches Shylock, a Jewish usurer, who agrees to lend the money under the provision that Antonio shall forfeit a pound of his flesh if the debt is unpaid. When Antonio's ships are wrecked, Shylock calls for the contract to be filled.

    Director:Unknown
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  9. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 15 - All's Well That Ends Well
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    #9 - All's Well That Ends Well

    S1:E15

    Helena loves Bertram, but he's of noble birth, while she's just a doctor's daughter. But Bertram is at the court of the King of France, who is ill, and Helena has a remedy that cures him and wins her the right to marry Bertram. But he doesn't want to marry her, but is forced by the king. However, Bertram refuses to sleep with Helena and leaves for the Italian wars. He says that he will only accept Helena if she obtains a ring from his finger and becomes pregnant with his child!

    Director:Unknown
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  10. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 16 - The Winter's Tale
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    #10 - The Winter's Tale

    S1:E16

    King Leontes of Bohemia suspects his wife, Queen Hermione, of deceiving him with his good friend Polixenes. Leontes drives Polixenes out of his kingdom, but this leads to unforeseen consequences: the arrival of a dangerous bear, an infant abandoned in the snow, love, death, and a statue which comes to life.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 17 - Timon of Athens
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    #11 - Timon of Athens

    S1:E17

    Ancient Athenian Timon is well-known for his generosity - his many friends come to all his parties and like to get presents from him. But then Timon suffers losses and finds himself in debt, and his friends melt away. He loses faith in humanity and becomes a hermit.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 18 - Antony and Cleopatra
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    #12 - Antony and Cleopatra

    S1:E18

    Octavius Caesar (later known as Augustus), Mark Antony, and Lepidus form a triumvirate to rule the Roman Empire. Antony will rule in the east and goes to Egypt, where he becomes the lover of Queen Cleopatra. In Egypt, Antony raises an army and a navy to fight Caesar. What is destined for the lovers and political allies?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 19 - Othello
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Othello

    S1:E19

    Set in 16th-century Venice and Cyprus, Othello the Moor, a noble black warrior in the Venetian army, has secretly married a beautiful white woman called Desdemona, the daughter of a prominent senator, Brabantio. When he finds out, he is outraged, and promptly disowns her. Othello’s ensign, Iago, harbours a secret jealousy and resentment towards the Moor, partly because another soldier, Lieutenant Cassio, has been promoted ahead of him, and also because he suspects that Othello has had an affair with his wife. Intent on revenge, Iago hatches a devious plan to plant suspicions in Othello’s mind that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him with Cassio.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 20 - Troilus and Cressida
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    #14 - Troilus and Cressida

    S1:E20

    The bitter Trojan War drags on - the Greeks blame Achilles' apathy for low morale, while Troy's hero Hector challenges one of the enemy to a personal duel. And after her father exchanges Cressida for a Trojan prisoner, the war becomes personal for her distraught lover Troilus.

    Director:Unknown
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  15. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 21 - A Midsummer Night's Dream
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    #15 - A Midsummer Night's Dream

    S1:E21

    Hermia is in love with Lysander, but her father wants her to marry Demetrius. To escape the arranged marriage, she and Lysander elope into the woods. Demetrius follows them, and he is pursued by Helena, who nurses an unrequited passion for him. Puck the fairy makes both of the boys fall in love with the same girl. Meanwhile, a group of rough craftsmen rehearse a badly-written play in the woods for the wedding of the Duke of Athens. Soon all find their lives changed by the actions of Oberon and Titania, the warring king and queen of the fairies. Magic, action, love and humour are the ingredients for this unforgettable spell.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 22 - King Lear
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    #16 - King Lear

    S1:E22

    When England's ageing King Lear renounces his throne to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, treachery, madness and murder soon follow. After banishing Cordelia, his most loyal daughter, Lear is betrayed and cast out by her elder sisters Regan and Goneril. Meanwhile, evil brews at the Gloucester castle as Edgar falls victim to his brother's deception. As battle lines are drawn and backs are stabbed, Lear rages against a fearsome storm. Can a man undo his wrongs? Will Cordelia be saved? Or will the wheels of fate crush all in its way?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 23 - The Merry Wives of Windsor
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    #17 - The Merry Wives of Windsor

    S1:E23

    When Sir John Falstaff decides that he wants to have a little fun he writes two letters to a pair of Window wives: Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. When they put their heads together and compare missives, they plan a practical joke or two to teach the knight a lesson. But Mistress Ford's husband is a very jealous man and is pumping Falstaff for information of the affair. Meanwhile the Pages' daughter Anne is besieged by suitors.

    Director:Unknown
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  18. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 24 - The First Part of Henry the Sixth
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    #18 - The First Part of Henry the Sixth

    S1:E24

    Following the death of his father, Henry V, the young Henry VI is proclaimed king under the protectorship of his uncles, the Dukes of Gloucester and Exeter. There is conflict between Gloucester and his long-term rival, the Bishop of Winchester. Richard Plantagenet, having established a claim to the throne through the Mortimer line of his family, declares his animosity towards the Duke of Somerset. Charles the Dauphin, fortified by his alliance with Joan la Pucelle (Joan of Arc), dominates the battles in France. An uneasy peace is concluded between England and France, and Gloucester engineers a politically astute marriage between Henry and the Earl of Armagnac's daughter. Meanwhile, in France, Suffolk woos Margaret, daughter of the Duke of Anjou, to be Henry's queen and in order to gain her father's consent cedes the newly conquered French territories of Anjou and Maine. Suffolk persuades Henry, against opposition from the court, to marry Margaret and make her Queen of England.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 25 - The Second Part of Henry the Sixth
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    #19 - The Second Part of Henry the Sixth

    S1:E25

    Dissension is rife in the English court. Suffolk's influence intensifies. The fractious English nobles unite in their common aim to get rid of the Duke of Gloucester. His wife Eleanor, the Duchess of Gloucester, aspires to the crown and is lured by a priest, John Hume, who is in the pay of Suffolk, to consult a witch about her ambitions. Somerset returns from France with the news of the loss of all English territories. York and others seize this opportunity to implicate Gloucester in the loss of France and to accuse him of treason.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 26 - The Third Part of Henry the Sixth
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    #20 - The Third Part of Henry the Sixth

    S1:E26

    With Richard Plantagenet on the throne of England, the Yorkists confront the Lancastrians. King Henry agrees to York's demand that he disinherit his son, Edward. Margaret vows to destroy York. She enlists the support of Clifford and others to raise an army. Edward and Richard are informed of their father's murder and unite with Warwick, who proclaims Edward the new Duke of York. They raise an army and defeat the Lancastrians at Towton. Henry, Margaret and their son are forced to flee north. Henry is captured and brought to London, where he is placed in the Tower by the new King Edward. Warwick pledges support to Margaret, releasing Henry from the Tower and reinstating him as King of England. Warwick leaves London to muster his army, during which time Edward returns and recaptures Henry. The forces of Edward and Warwick meet at Barnet. Margaret's forces encounter Edward's for the last time at Tewkesbury, where, after much bloodshed, the Wars of the Roses seem finally to be over.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 27 - The Tragedy of Richard III
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    #21 - The Tragedy of Richard III

    S1:E27

    Richard Duke of Gloucester, youngest brother of King Edward IV, will stop at nothing to get the crown. He first convinces the ailing King that the Duke of Clarence, his elder brother, is a threat to the lives of Edward's two young sons. Edward has him imprisoned in the Tower of London; killers in Richard's pay then drown Clarence in a barrel of wine. When news of Clarence's death reaches the King, the subsequent grief and remorse bring about his death. Richard is made Lord Protector, with power to rule England while his nephew (now King Edward V) is still a minor. Before the young king's coronation he has his two nephews conveyed to the Tower, ostensibly for their safekeeping. Richard's accomplice, the Duke of Buckingham, then declares the two boys illegitimate and offers Richard the crown, which after a show of reticence he accepts. After Richard's coronation, he and Buckingham have a falling-out over whether or not to assassinate the two children.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 28 - Cymbeline
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    #22 - Cymbeline

    S1:E28

    Cymbeline, the King of Britain, is angry that his daughter Imogen has chosen a poor (but worthy) man for her husband. So he banishes Posthumus, who goes to fight for Rome. Imogen (dressed as a boy) goes in search of her husband, who meanwhile has boasted to his pal Iachimo that Imogen would never betray him. And Iachimo's determined to prove him wrong.

    Director:Unknown
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  23. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 29 - Macbeth
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    #23 - Macbeth

    S1:E29

    Shakespeare's dark tragedy tells of ambition and guilt amidst a background of regicide, violence and the supernatural. When a trio of witches tells the returning hero warrior Macbeth that he is fated to become King of Scotland, he attempts to forge his own destiny. Aided and encouraged by his wife, he embarks on a guilt-ridden reign of terror.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 30 - The Comedy of Errors
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    #24 - The Comedy of Errors

    S1:E30

    Aegeon of Syracuse has come to Ephesus to seek his son, who went in search of his missing twin and mother months ago. Too bad that Ephesus has just declared war on Syracuse, and will instantly put to death any Syracusean found within their borders unless a ransome's paid. Meanwhile, the son, Antipholus, and his servant, Dromio (also an identical twin), keep running into strangers who seem to know them.

    Director:Unknown
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  25. The BBC Television Shakespeare Season 1 Episode 31 - The Two Gentlemen of Verona
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    #25 - The Two Gentlemen of Verona

    S1:E31

    Two great friends leave Verona for Milan, Valentine with great enthusiasm and Proteus unwillingly, as he will have to leave his recently-betrothed Julia. Valentine soon falls in love with Silvia, daughter of the Duke of Milan, but then Proteus meets the captivating Silvia - and he too becomes besotted.

    Director:Unknown
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Worst Episodes Summary

"The First Part of King Henry the Fourth with the Life and Death of Henry Surnamed Hotspur" is the worst rated episode of "The BBC Television Shakespeare". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 12/9/1979. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth containing his Death: and the Coronation of King Henry the Fift".