Hamlet in Third Rock from the Sun

“Body and Soul and Dick.” By Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner. Perf. John Lithgow, Kristen Johnston, French Stewart, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Jane Curtin. Dir. Robert Berlinger. 3rd Rock from the Sun. Season 1, episode 8. NBC. 27 February 1996. DVD. Mill Creek Entertainment, 2011.

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Shamefacedly, I admit that I know next to nothing about this show. However, avid Bardfilm reader and Twitter user @GtThee2ANunnery called my attention to its use of Shakespeare.

To me, the most significant parts of the clip below are (1) the quotation's starting point—instead of the now-cliché opening of Hamlet's best-known soliloquy, the quote starts in the middle, increasing its effectiveness; and (2) the assumed route by which these aliens (did I mention that the characters are aliens who have taken on human form for some reason or another?) learned their Shakespeare. To them, this isn't Hamlet: It's simply something the dreamy Mel Gibson said in one of his movies. The assumption is that these characters are undiscerning—they get their knowledge of the culture from whatever source happens to be handy. And that's exactly how it often happens!

And the "Yorick as Apple" idea is pretty brilliant. "He poured a flagon of cider on my head once!"

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Links: The Episode at IMDB.

Click below to purchase all six seasons from amazon.com
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).

Prince of the Himalayas at the Rubin Museum of Art

Prince of the Himalayas [Ban dao yin xiang; a.k.a. Ximalaya wangzi]. Dir. Sherwood Hu. Perf. Purba Rgyal, Dobrgyal, Zomskyid, Sonamdolgar, Lobden, and Lopsang. Hus Entertainment, Shanghai Film Studios. 20 October 2006.

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Starting on Friday, December 23, and running periodically through mid-January, the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City will be screening the astonishing Tibetan derivative version of Hamlet entitled Prince of the Himalays.

I've written before on this masterful film (for which, q.v.—but watch out for spoilers), and I'm currently developing a critical article on the subject.

If you're anywhere near New York City, go see this film. You will be astonished, terrified, delighted, and challenged.

The Rubin has put together a trailer composed of images from the film:

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Links: Screening Dates at the Rubin.

The Film's Official Web Site.

The Film at IMDB.

The Film at Moviefindr.com.

Thomas Middleton's Burial Record

Dyce, Alexander, ed. The Works of Thomas Middleton: Now first collected, with some account of the author and notes by the Reverend Alexander Dyce. By Thomas Middleton. Vol. 1. London: Edward Lumley, 1840. 5 vols.

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In an attempt to address the mistaken idea that Shakespeare's burial record is odd in not indicating his poetic abilities (for which, q.v.), I started on a quest to find contemporary burial records of other poets and dramatists. The work, despite the help of several excellent research librarians, has been slow.

But success has arrived in the form of an 1840 edition of Middleton's works that cites Thomas Middleton's burial record. Middleton was one of Shakespeare's best-known and most prolific contemporaries—one with whom he may have collaborated on Macbeth (the silly witches' songs are Middleton's) and other plays. If we expect Shakespeare's burial record to mention his literary ability, we also expect Middleton's to mention his.

It doesn't. Middleton gets the title "Mr."—and that's all.

In Julye 1627
Mr. Thomas Middleton was buried the . . . . 4[th]. (Dyce xxxviii)

That's all. "Mr." Not "Thomas Middleton, prolific composer of plays, masques, and prose works" or "Thomas Middleton, Poet" or "Thomas Middleton, Dramatist" or even "Thomas Middleton, Author." An author who wrote or collaborated on approximately thirty plays is given the bare title "Mr." Shakespeare's "gent." would look effusive in comparison if it wasn't simply an indication of his social standing.

Consider this to be another small addition to the evidence about Shakespeare's contemporaries and their burial records. The particular benefit is its specificity. B. Roland Lewis, in The Shakespeare Documents: Facsimiles, Transliterations, Translations, and Commentary (ed. and trans. B. Roland Lewis, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1940), deals more generally with the subject:

It is to be noted that the entry [for Shakespeare's burial] very definitely accords Shakespeare social rating. "Gent," "Mr," "Knt," were the social ratings ordinarily used in Parish Registers; virtually never was there any reference to such matters as literary or dramatic prowess. (525)

The specificity of Middleton's burial record helps support the general claim that parish registers were not places to record a person's occupation or reputation.

Enormous thanks are due to the research librarians who helped with this project over the past year. Thank you very much!

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