Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone was one of the great TV horror anthologies of its time. But not every episode landed. The Season 4 finale, “The Bard,” starring Burt Reynolds, now ranks as one of the show’s worst outings on IMDb.
The episode aired on May 23, 1963. It follows Julius Moomer, a bumbling television writer played by Jack Weston, who turns to black magic to summon the ghost of William Shakespeare, portrayed by John Williams. The writer wants Shakespeare to ghostwrite his scripts. Into this mess steps Burt Reynolds as Rocky Rhodes, a leading man whose ego and behavior clearly mimic Marlon Brando.
IMDb’s Ranking
According to IMDb, “The Bard” holds a 5.6 score, making it one of the lowest-rated episodes in the franchise’s history. The episode’s poor reception has stuck. Fans tend to lean negative, with complaints ranging from boredom to confusion.
Reynolds as Brando
Reynolds had just started his regular run as Quint Asper on “Gunsmoke,” one of the best western TV shows of all time. In “The Bard,” his role as Rocky Rhodes is a direct parody of Marlon Brando.
The performance has gotten some of the episode’s rare praise. One user on IMDb called Reynolds’ “spoof” of Brando “effective.” Another reviewer, classicsoncall, seemed at a loss for words over the spectacle of “Burt Reynolds doing Marlon Brando.”
BA Harrison wrote that “about the only thing that this one has going for it is the amusing pastiche of Marlon Brando by a young pre-fame Burt Reynolds, who mocks the pretentiousness of method acting.”
The Reddit Backlash
The episode’s reputation extends beyond IMDb into social media. On Reddit, a discussion broke out about the series’ worst episodes.
- One fan called “The Bard” “awful.”
- Another called it “unwatchable.”
- A third described it as “boring and confusing.”
- A fourth defended it, saying “The Bard” was “awesome” and that episodes like “Four O’Clock” or “The Big Tall Wish” were “much, much worse.”
The split is telling. Some viewers see the episode as a failure. Others see it as a curio, worth watching for the early Reynolds performance alone.
The Road to Stardom
For Reynolds, the “Twilight Zone” appearance was a bump on the road to superstardom. He finished up his tenure on “Gunsmoke” in 1965 and eventually made the leap from television to film.
His breakthrough came in the 1970s with blockbusters like “Deliverance” and “Smokey and the Bandit.” Those films officially established him as one of the biggest stars of that era.
The Quote
BA Harrison’s assessment is worth quoting in full:
“about the only thing that this one has going for it is the amusing pastiche of Marlon Brando by a young pre-fame Burt Reynolds, who mocks the pretentiousness of method acting.”
The episode’s defenders have a point. The performance that makes the episode worth watching is precisely the one bright spot they cite.
Source material: “Burt Reynolds Starred In One Of The Twilight Zone's Worst Episodes,” TVLine.
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