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 Television. It was transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985 and spanned seven series. Development of the series began in 1975 when Messina saw that Glamis Castle would make a perfect location for an adaptation of Shakespeare's play As You Like It. On returning to London, he envisioned an entire series devoted exclusively to the dramatic works of Shakespeare. After encountering numerous problems trying to produce the series, Messina eventually pitched the idea to the BBC’s departmental heads and the series was greenlighted. The series as a whole received generally negative reviews from critics.


Aliases
  • Shakespeare Plays
  • The BBC Television Shakespeare
  • The Shakespeare Collection
English
Season From To Episodes
All Seasons
Specials October 2023 38
Season 1 December 1978 February 1979 6
Season 2 December 1979 February 1980 6
Season 3 October 1980 May 1981 6
Season 4 October 1981 December 1981 3
Season 5 September 1982 January 1983 6
Season 6 July 1983 April 1984 5
Season 7 November 1984 April 1985 5
Unassigned Episodes 0
Season From To Episodes
Unassigned Episodes 75
Absolute ordering places all episodes in a single ordered season. This is generally used for anime.
Season From To Episodes
Season 1 0
Unassigned Episodes 75
Name Number of Episodes Dates
William Shakespeare 37 12/03/1978 - 04/27/1985
Name Number of Episodes Dates
Jane Howell 6 02/08/1981 - 04/27/1985
Jonathan Miller 6 10/23/1980 - 09/19/1982
Elijah Moshinsky 5 01/04/1981 - 01/05/1985
David Giles 5 12/10/1978 - 11/24/1984
David Hugh Jones 2 12/28/1982 - 12/08/1984
Jack Gold 2 12/17/1980 - 11/05/1983
John Gorrie 2 01/06/1980 - 02/27/1980
James Cellan Jones 1 12/24/1983
Alvin Rakoff 1 12/03/1978
Herbert Wise 1 02/11/1979
Kevin Billington 1 02/25/1979
Rodney Bennett 1 02/27/1980
Stuart Burge 1 12/22/1984
Desmond Davis 1 02/18/1979
Don Taylor 1 12/27/1983
Basil Coleman 1 12/17/1978
Name Number of Episodes Dates
Cedric Messina 2 12/03/1978 - 12/10/1978

No lists.

No lists.

No lists.

Please log in to view notes.