The Taming of the Two

Bart Rathbone wants some class for the Electric Palace, so when actor Malcolm Lear proposes a Shakespeare festival - free of charge - Bart signs on the spot. There's just one problem: the festival lands in Edwin Blackgaard's theater, and when Edwin's tour falls through, he comes home to find his old rival running the show. Soon the two actors are barking orders at Bart and battling over who gets to perform Hamlet's famous speech. Meanwhile, Nick and Xavier cook up a hilarious sword-fight act to win a stack of computer games... until Nick tries to run everything himself and the partnership falls apart. On festival night, Nick flops alone, Xavier leaps onstage with a science-fiction twist, and the reunited friends bring down the house. Malcolm and Edwin try performing Hamlet at the same time - and their squabbling hands the prize to two boys who've learned that the act only works when nobody's the boss.

Found on In Hot Pursuit Album 41 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0522 All Things to All People An overeager teen's foolproof formula for winning converts turns every conversation into a comedy of errors, forcing Aubrey to question whether faith can be shared by following a script.

1 of 3 0523 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? While a major life decision looms for Mitch and Connie, Whit is pulled into a baffling case of stolen identity that hits closer to home than anyone expects.

2 of 3 0524 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? With his name off the case but his friend's name on the line, a determined young investigator keeps digging into a fraud scheme - while the biggest question of his life waits for an answer.

3 of 3 0525 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? With a mysterious warning telling him to stop investigating, Mitch must decide whether solving the warehouse fraud is worth the risk - while Connie weighs an answer that could change both their lives.

0526 Seeing Red When pride threatens three very different relationships in Odyssey, everyone insists the other person should apologize first.

0527 Black Clouds A stormy detour strands Connie and Joanne at a lonely roadside diner, where a runaway girl is convinced she carries bad luck wherever she goes.

0528 The Taming of the Two When two pompous rival actors seize control of a small-town Shakespeare festival, two young friends must decide whether winning is worth more than their partnership.

0529 The Mailman Cometh When two young siblings scheme to prove they deserve the same freedoms as their older cousin, they learn that privileges come with a price.

0530 Silver Lining A stranger's daring river rescue leaves Connie questioning whether the escaped convict everyone has written off might be telling the truth.

0531 Teacher's Pest A prank-loving class clown and the straight-A student he torments are forced to team up on a biology project, and learning to work together may be harder than the assignment itself.

0532 Pink is Not My Color While staying with an FBI agent's family, Connie befriends his tomboy daughter and begins to suspect the girl is hiding who she really is - all while Connie's own long-awaited reunion keeps slipping away.

1 of 2 0533 Something Blue With Mitch's FBI career pulling him toward an elite overseas opportunity, Connie scrambles to prove she has what it takes to share the demanding life of an agent's wife.

2 of 2 0534 Something Blue With her wedding just days away, Connie must scramble to plan a ceremony while nagging doubts - and a bizarre kidnapping - force her to confront what marrying an FBI agent really means.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 1 more roles

1 supporting role

Malcolm Lear James Bray

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Nathan Hoobler Writer · Director Jonathan Crowe Sound Designer · Producer Bob Hoose Producer Marshal Younger Producer Paul McCusker Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Bart Rathbone wants the Electric Palace to seem more sophisticated than a rival electronics store, so he asks Edwin Blackgaard to become the voice of his advertisements. Edwin refuses because he and his dog, Shakespeare, are leaving on a New England performance tour. Bart wonders where he can find another grand-sounding actor just as Malcolm Lear arrives to answer Bart's newspaper advertisement.

Malcolm argues that polished commercials are not enough to improve Bart's reputation. He proposes a Shakespeare festival sponsored by the Electric Palace and offers to organize and headline it without a fee. Bart eagerly signs a contract without objecting to the artistic, managerial, and financial control it gives Malcolm.

Nick Mulligan and Xavier notice that the festival's best act will win an item from the Electric Palace. They want a collection of computer games but know nothing about Shakespeare. Whit introduces them to the sword fight between Romeo and Tybalt and suggests that they perform the same scene in several different styles, such as a western, mystery, superhero adventure, or sports movie.

Malcolm plans to hold the festival in Edwin's Harlequin Theater, which Bart enters with a key Edwin has hidden outside. Edwin returns unexpectedly because his tour has been canceled and is furious to find his old rival Malcolm taking charge of a performance in his theater. He permits the festival only after insisting that he must appear in it too.

The two actors immediately begin ordering Bart in opposite directions and quarreling over control. Their worst dispute concerns Hamlet's famous soliloquy, which each intends to perform. They ask Whit to judge who delivers it better, but Malcolm constantly interrupts Edwin's audition with corrections and insults. Whit suggests that they choose separate speeches, yet their rivalry soon brings them back to arguing over which one will perform Hamlet.

Nick and Xavier develop several funny versions of their scene, but Nick wants to revise every detail and make himself the central character. Xavier grows tired of surrendering every creative choice. Their partnership collapses, and each believes he can win without the other.

Whit listens to Nick's solo version and speaks honestly: the act's charm came from the two friends performing together, and it is no longer nearly as funny. Nick does not immediately accept the advice, even though the festival is only a day away.

On the night of the show, both Malcolm and Edwin claim they must rest their voices, leaving an unprepared Bart to serve as host. Nick begins the Romeo and Tybalt scene alone, but it falls flat. Xavier calls out with an idea for a science-fiction version and joins him onstage. Working together again, the boys delight the audience.

Malcolm and Edwin then try to perform the Hamlet speech at the same time. Each interrupts, corrects, and mocks the other until the audience laughs at their disastrous rivalry. Nick and Xavier win the festival and the computer games because they have rediscovered how much better their act is when neither tries to control it alone.

Edwin and Malcolm refuse Bart's renewed invitation to make commercials, but Nick and Xavier improvise a Shakespearean advertisement for the Electric Palace. Bart finally gets the sophisticated promotion he wanted from the two young performers who have learned to cooperate.