Bard, The

Synopsis: American television science fiction/fantasy series. An inept and hack screenwriter, Julius Bloomer, is in urgent need of first class scripts so he conjures up the spirit of Shakespeare by use of black magic. Shakespeare produces a brilliant screenplay (`The Tragic Cycle’), but is horrified by the rewrites demanded by the sponsor, the sponsor’s wife and the leading man. Eventually Shakespeare punches the leading man and walks out.
Series: Twilight Zone, The
Language: English
Country: United States
Medium: Television
Recording date: 23 May 1963
Transmission details: at 21:00 (Channel: CBS)
Duration: 60 mins

Director

David Butler

Writer

Rod Serling

Music

Fred Steiner

Cast

Production type: Television and Radio Drama
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Time Travel; Science fiction (television)

Notes: Available on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming.
General: An excerpt from Hal Erikson’s article ‘Censorship: Another Dimension Behind the Twilight Zone", published in the October 1985 edition of The Twilight Zone Magazine:

`When Serling wrote the opus "The Bard," he did so with the express purpose of ribbing those overcautious ad executives who’d disallowed photographs of the Chrysler Building in programs sponsored by American Motors, or who’d removed the words "American" and "Lucky" from programs sponsored by the Liggett and Meyers tobacco company. In "The Bard," William Shakespeare is reborn and enters the twentieth century TV-writers’ market, only to find that sponsorial demands have taken all the guts (or insides) out of his best works. Producer Herbert Hirschmann applauded Serling’s script, but suggested ever so discreetly that the character of Shakespeare’s sponsor (played by John McGiver) not be shown smoking a big black cigar, as Serling’s stage directions had required, "We might have a cigarette sponsor," explained Hirschmann’.
History: Episode 120; season 4.
Reviews: Lanier, Douglas Shakespeare and Modern Popular Culture (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 2002, pp. 110-42.

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