While it may be regarded as one of the best TV horror anthologies of all time, not every trip into “The Twilight Zone” produced an enduring, timeless classic. According to IMDb, one of the worst episodes to ever come out of Rod Serling’s classic series was the Season 4 finale, “The Bard.”
Despite its abysmal reputation, the creative misfire still remains a fascinating watch for one major reason: It features the late Burt Reynolds years before he broke out as a bona fide Hollywood star. “The Bard” — which aired on May 23, 1963 — follows Julius Moomer (Jack Weston), a bumbling, hack television writer who resorts to black magic to conjure the ghost of William Shakespeare (John Williams) to ghostwrite his scripts. Fresh off starting his regular run as Quint Asper on “Gunsmoke” — one of the best western TV shows of all time — Reynolds co-starred as Rocky Rhodes, an ego-driven leading man who was clearly depicted as a direct parody of screen legend Marlon Brando.
With its meager 5.6 score on IMDb, the hour-long entry stands as the second worst-rated episode in the franchise’s history. Although fan reception mostly leans on the negative side, the episode still gets the occasional mixed reviews, and even some slightly positive impression, with a few IMDb reviewers often highlighting Reynolds’ satire as the one bright spot.
Burt Reynolds’ Marlon Brando impression is the only reason to watch the Season 4 finale
Despite the episode’s reputation, Reynolds’ performance has garnered (some) praise with some fans, with one user praising his “spoof” of Brando and calling it “effective.” In their IMDb review, user classicsoncall seemed to be at a loss for words over the bizarre spectacle that was watching “Burt Reynolds doing Marlon Brando,” while user 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 mixed reception towards the episode these days also carries over to social media where, on Reddit, a discussion broke out about the series’ worst episodes. One fan bluntly declared, “The Bard was awful,” while another user firmly called it “unwatchable,” and a third described it as “boring and confusing.” There was one Redditor who defended it, though, declaring that “The Bard” was “awesome,” adding, “I don’t understand the hate. Episodes like ‘Four O’Clock’ or ‘The Big Tall Wish’ are much, much worse.”
As for Reynolds, his “Twilight Zone” excursion was merely a bump on his road to superstardom. After finishing up his tenure on “Gunsmoke” in 1965, he eventually made the big leap from the small screen to the big screen, with 1970s blockbusters like “Deliverance” and “Smokey and the Bandit” officially establishing him as one of the biggest stars of that era.
