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Bill

 Bill
type
TVTItem
 Bill
label
Bill
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page
Bill
 Bill
comment
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })A 2015 British comedy film about William Shakespeare and the first big screen project by Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond — the comedy troupe who got their start in Horrible Histories and went on to create Yonderland and are often referred to as The Six Idiots. Written by Rickard and Willbond, directed by Richard Bracewell and starring the whole troupe plus Helen McCrory and Damian Lewis.William "Bill" Shakespeare of Stratford is kicked out of a lute-playing band and, rather than getting a sensible job, decides to try his hand at writing plays, much to his wife Anne's annoyance. As stage plays just aren't viable in Stratford, Bill heads off to London, only to find out from playwright Christopher Marlowe that it's in the grip of plague and all the theatres have been shut as a precaution.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })Meanwhile, King Philip II of Spain recruits a team of "specialists" and heads off to London himself with a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. Teaming up with Elizabeth's disloyal courtier the Earl of Croydon, Philip decides to stage a play as a means of smuggling gunpowder into the palace to blow up the queen.Bill is rescued from his and Christopher's temporary job of handing out leaflets in a giant tomato costume to provide the play, but soon discovers he's the patsy in the scheme and, pursued by the Queen's loyal but incompetent agent Sir Francis Walsingham, must clear his name, uncover the plot and save the day.
 Bill
fetched
2022-09-06T21:42:55Z
 Bill
parsed
2022-09-06T21:42:55Z
 Bill
processingComment
Dropped link to HistoricalDomainCharacter: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 Bill
processingComment
Dropped link to YourMum: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 Bill
processingUnknown
YourMum
 Bill
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Bill / int_11459bd4
type
OffScreenTeleportation
 Bill / int_11459bd4
comment
Offscreen Teleportation: A skill of Walsingham's.
 Bill / int_11459bd4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_11459bd4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_11459bd4
 Bill / int_135c6de7
type
Cannot Tell a Joke
 Bill / int_135c6de7
comment
Cannot Tell a Joke: Christopher Marlowe doesn't really get comedy and spends much of the movie attempting to tell a Your Mom joke after Shakespeare introduces him to the concept. And failing.
 Bill / int_135c6de7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_135c6de7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_135c6de7
 Bill / int_1d3d3c32
type
Welcome to the Big City
 Bill / int_1d3d3c32
comment
Welcome to the Big City: As Bill walks through London for the first time, people are coughing and vomiting from plague, a brutal stabbing takes place in an alley just behind him and a thief swipes his luggage.
 Bill / int_1d3d3c32
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_1d3d3c32
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1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_1d3d3c32
 Bill / int_1edfa2c7
type
Royals Who Actually Do Something
 Bill / int_1edfa2c7
comment
Royals Who Actually Do Something: King Philip is a hands-on villain, leading the team himself and doing much of the brain work. And, although he doesn't get into a fight onscreen, the practice with the oranges shows he's also a proficient swordsman.
 Bill / int_1edfa2c7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_1edfa2c7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_1edfa2c7
 Bill / int_2311e2de
type
Accidental Aiming Skills
 Bill / int_2311e2de
comment
Accidental Aiming Skills: Juan impresses Philip by killing a Red Shirt servant with a projectile weapon, then admits he was aiming for the pillar.
 Bill / int_2311e2de
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_2311e2de
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_2311e2de
 Bill / int_259d5879
type
Anachronism Stew
 Bill / int_259d5879
comment
Anachronism Stew: Most of the script is in modern English but slips into Shakespearean when Bill is writing. Handing out leaflets dressed in giant meat and vegetable costumes is clearly not an Elizabethan idea. The bad guys wear outfits made of modern black leather and call Philip "boss" rather than something more period-accurate for a king. Juan practices his cockney accent by referring to English dishes such as fish & chips which is a Victorian creation. And finally, there's the fact that whilst Elizabeth I is in her 60s, King Philip is a Mr. Fanservice who seems no older than his 40s when historically he was older than her.
 Bill / int_259d5879
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_259d5879
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_259d5879
 Bill / int_2a7e7af1
type
Limited Wardrobe
 Bill / int_2a7e7af1
comment
Limited Wardrobe: Everyone seems to have one outfit each, even Elizabeth I. Probably to make it easier to tell which character someone's currently playing.
 Bill / int_2a7e7af1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_2a7e7af1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_2a7e7af1
 Bill / int_3bbecc8b
type
Hell-Bent for Leather
 Bill / int_3bbecc8b
comment
Hell-Bent for Leather: Philip and his henchmen.
 Bill / int_3bbecc8b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_3bbecc8b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_3bbecc8b
 Bill / int_3bc88a7f
type
Foregone Conclusion
 Bill / int_3bc88a7f
comment
Foregone Conclusion: We know Bill will fulfill his dreams, make it as a writer and become famous, and we know King Philip's plan to assassinate Elizabeth I will fail. If you've done the research, you'll also know Christopher Marlowe will die after being stabbed in a pub.
 Bill / int_3bc88a7f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_3bc88a7f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_3bc88a7f
 Bill / int_40cbee83
type
Wretched Hive
 Bill / int_40cbee83
comment
Wretched Hive: London, full of crime and plague.
 Bill / int_40cbee83
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_40cbee83
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_40cbee83
 Bill / int_4583a262
type
Shirtless Scene
 Bill / int_4583a262
comment
Shirtless Scene: Philip gets one, whilst practicing his sword-fighting no less. And then squeezes orange juice all over himself.
 Bill / int_4583a262
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_4583a262
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_4583a262
 Bill / int_47fea76b
type
Butt-Monkey
 Bill / int_47fea76b
comment
Butt-Monkey: The Earl of Croydon to the other courtiers, which is why he decides to take revenge.
 Bill / int_47fea76b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_47fea76b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_47fea76b
 Bill / int_48b9731f
type
Paper-Thin Disguise
 Bill / int_48b9731f
comment
Paper-Thin Disguise: Philip disguises himself by wearing a false moustache, over the top of his real one. It fools everyone.
 Bill / int_48b9731f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_48b9731f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_48b9731f
 Bill / int_4b08a5f0
type
Plank Gag
 Bill / int_4b08a5f0
comment
Plank Gag: Bill whacks Ian over the head with a stick he has over his shoulder as he wanders through the London market.
 Bill / int_4b08a5f0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_4b08a5f0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_4b08a5f0
 Bill / int_557838d1
type
Adaptational Attractiveness
 Bill / int_557838d1
comment
Adaptational Attractiveness / Historical Beauty Update: Everyone who isn't fictional is either slightly better looking or a lot better looking than in reality, given that the whole cast are pretty easy on the eye. They made some attempt to uglify Helen McCrory as Elizabeth I, who was supposed to be in her 60s, but it didn't really work.
 Bill / int_557838d1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_557838d1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_557838d1
 Bill / int_588d766f
type
BlackAndGreyMorality
 Bill / int_588d766f
comment
Black-and-Grey Morality: King Philip is the obvious bad guy, he's prepared to blow up a room full of innocent people to get his target, the Queen; threatens to set his violent, torture-happy dragon on Bill, holds Anne hostage and outright murders Christopher Marlowe. But his opponent is Queen Elizabeth who is engaged in Catholic persecution and has her own courtiers beheaded if she's "displeased".
 Bill / int_588d766f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_588d766f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_588d766f
 Bill / int_617f0563
type
Heel–Face Turn
 Bill / int_617f0563
comment
Heel–Face Turn: Gabriel, who abandons Philip's team to rescue Bill after Bill is the only person to be nice to him/her.
 Bill / int_617f0563
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_617f0563
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_617f0563
 Bill / int_6201e8b0
type
I Have Your Wife
 Bill / int_6201e8b0
comment
I Have Your Wife: When the first play goes missing, the bad guys capture Anne in order to coerce Bill into writing a replacement.
 Bill / int_6201e8b0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_6201e8b0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_6201e8b0
 Bill / int_6bf93fc7
type
FanService
 Bill / int_6bf93fc7
comment
Fanservice: King Philip's shirtless scene practicing his sword work with the oranges, plus a brief shot of Larry Rickard with no trousers on.
 Bill / int_6bf93fc7
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_6bf93fc7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_6bf93fc7
 Bill / int_722b3319
type
Camp Gay
 Bill / int_722b3319
comment
Camp Gay: The party planner who thinks Bill is flirting with him.
 Bill / int_722b3319
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_722b3319
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_722b3319
 Bill / int_7464705c
type
Arc Words
 Bill / int_7464705c
comment
Arc Words: "Hide in plain sight."
 Bill / int_7464705c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_7464705c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_7464705c
 Bill / int_8cd3d091
type
Repetitive Name
 Bill / int_8cd3d091
comment
Repetitive Name: Lope Lopez.
 Bill / int_8cd3d091
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_8cd3d091
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_8cd3d091
 Bill / int_970c790a
type
Big Bad
 Bill / int_970c790a
comment
Big Bad: King Philip of Spain.
 Bill / int_970c790a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_970c790a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_970c790a
 Bill / int_9ebca7d9
type
Mr. Smith
 Bill / int_9ebca7d9
comment
Mr. Smith: A disguised King Philip improvises the pseudonym "Geoff" (a name used in the troupe's works often enough to be a Running Gag) followed by "Smith".
 Bill / int_9ebca7d9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_9ebca7d9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_9ebca7d9
 Bill / int_a03a3bd4
type
Eye Am Watching You
 Bill / int_a03a3bd4
comment
Eye Am Watching You: Lope to Elizabeth's entire court on his way out the door.
 Bill / int_a03a3bd4
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_a03a3bd4
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_a03a3bd4
 Bill / int_a20ff0b5
type
Bindle Stick
 Bill / int_a20ff0b5
comment
Bindle Stick: Bill takes one to London, it gets stolen off of the stick without him noticing.
 Bill / int_a20ff0b5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_a20ff0b5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_a20ff0b5
 Bill / int_a41f13e5
type
Bad Job, Worse Uniform
 Bill / int_a41f13e5
comment
Bad Job, Worse Uniform: Shakespeare and Marlowe take a job where they have to dress as a tomato and a cucumber and hand out flyers advertising vegetables.
 Bill / int_a41f13e5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_a41f13e5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_a41f13e5
 Bill / int_a60e3252
type
Rule of Funny
 Bill / int_a60e3252
comment
Rule of Funny: Anything anachronistic, plus the fact that King Philip's accent is less 16th Century Spanish Monarch and more South American Drug Baron.
 Bill / int_a60e3252
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_a60e3252
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_a60e3252
 Bill / int_a70223
type
Karma Houdini
 Bill / int_a70223
comment
Karma Houdini: King Philip, Juan and even Lope get off scott free, despite being responsible for several deaths. When their plot is revealed, they just walk out of Elizabeth's court and go home to Spain. The Earl of Croydon is the only villain to be executed and he's the one who arguably deserves it the least.
 Bill / int_a70223
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_a70223
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_a70223
 Bill / int_a7601fd0
type
Big Ol' Unibrow
 Bill / int_a7601fd0
comment
Big Ol' Unibrow: Sported by Lope.
 Bill / int_a7601fd0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_a7601fd0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_a7601fd0
 Bill / int_af616e40
type
Accidental Misnaming
 Bill / int_af616e40
comment
Accidental Misnaming: The Earl of Croydon is frequently mistaken for being the Earl of Crawley. Bill is called "Phil" more than once and Anne is called "Jan" by King Philip.
 Bill / int_af616e40
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_af616e40
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_af616e40
 Bill / int_b41acf08
type
AxeCrazy
 Bill / int_b41acf08
comment
Axe-Crazy: Lope, from detailing his preferred and extremely gory way to commit murder in a bug-eyed, spitting rage to punching their co-conspirator’s servant in the face for no reason.
 Bill / int_b41acf08
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_b41acf08
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_b41acf08
 Bill / int_bec0417c
type
Happily Married
 Bill / int_bec0417c
comment
Happily Married: Bill and Anne, though they go through a rough patch for a while.
 Bill / int_bec0417c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_bec0417c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_bec0417c
 Bill / int_c1832fcb
type
Feet of Clay
 Bill / int_c1832fcb
comment
Feet of Clay: Sir Francis Walsingham, agent of the queen. He thinks he's The Ace but spends most of the film chasing after the wrong person and is repeatedly knocked down and trampled over by his own men.
 Bill / int_c1832fcb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_c1832fcb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_c1832fcb
 Bill / int_c36cba70
type
Mooks
 Bill / int_c36cba70
comment
Mooks: The rest of Philip's henchmen, the ones who aren't played by members of the main troupe.
 Bill / int_c36cba70
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_c36cba70
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_c36cba70
 Bill / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Bill / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: As ever, there's a few Star Wars references. Christopher Marlowe's ghost is obviously based on Obi-Wan's ghost and Croydon claims, "Poor people are easily startled, but they'll be back and in greater numbers".
 Bill / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_c75df49a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_c75df49a
 Bill / int_c868a42a
type
Freudian Excuse
 Bill / int_c868a42a
comment
Freudian Excuse: Apparently Lope's violent sociopathy stems from some kind of issues with his father.
 Bill / int_c868a42a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_c868a42a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_c868a42a
 Bill / int_cb70651c
type
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane
 Bill / int_cb70651c
comment
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's not clear if Marlowe's ghost is real or if Bill is imagining him.
 Bill / int_cb70651c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_cb70651c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_cb70651c
 Bill / int_cd336741
type
"Wanted!" Poster
 Bill / int_cd336741
comment
"Wanted!" Poster: For Bill after he's mistaken for a Catholic conspirator.
 Bill / int_cd336741
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_cd336741
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_cd336741
 Bill / int_db38d6ca
type
Torture Technician
 Bill / int_db38d6ca
comment
Torture Technician: Lope or, at least, he wants to be one.
 Bill / int_db38d6ca
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_db38d6ca
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_db38d6ca
 Bill / int_dc3d72e6
type
Something We Forgot
 Bill / int_dc3d72e6
comment
Something We Forgot: Philip forgets that he has Sir Richard Hawkins in his dungeons till Elizabeth reminds him. The credits show that he is still there at the end of the movie.
 Bill / int_dc3d72e6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_dc3d72e6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_dc3d72e6
 Bill / int_e37f19
type
Disguised in Drag
 Bill / int_e37f19
comment
Disguised in Drag: One of the henchmen seems to really enjoy doing this, even when the plan isn't supposed to require it. It soon becomes clear that said henchman is actually transgender and fully transitions to a woman by the end of the film.
 Bill / int_e37f19
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_e37f19
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_e37f19
 Bill / int_e4b69188
type
Very Loosely Based on a True Story
 Bill / int_e4b69188
comment
Very Loosely Based on a True Story: William Shakespeare of Stratford travels to London and makes it as an actor and writer during the last years of the reign of Elizabeth I. Other than that, it's all fictional.
 Bill / int_e4b69188
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_e4b69188
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_e4b69188
 Bill / int_e4f5affb
type
The Chew Toy
 Bill / int_e4f5affb
comment
The Chew Toy: Ian. Every time he appears onscreen, he gets injured.
 Bill / int_e4f5affb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_e4f5affb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_e4f5affb
 Bill / int_e9a97564
type
Evil Wears Black
 Bill / int_e9a97564
comment
Evil Wears Black: Philip and his henchmen all wear black and even have black hair. As the same actors play multiple parts, it also counts as Color-Coded for Your Convenience as it makes it easier to tell when they're playing the bad guys.
 Bill / int_e9a97564
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_e9a97564
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_e9a97564
 Bill / int_f165cf2c
type
Last-Second Word Swap
 Bill / int_f165cf2c
comment
Last-Second Word Swap: Molly, a lady-in-waiting of Queen Elizabeth's, almost insults Elizabeth in front of Walsingham and then realises.
 Bill / int_f165cf2c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Bill / int_f165cf2c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bill
hasFeature
Bill / int_f165cf2c
 Bill / int_name
type
ItemName
 Bill / int_name
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 Bill / int_name
featureApplicability
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 Bill / int_name
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 Bill
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itemName
Bill

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Bill
hasFeature
Bad Job, Worse Uniform / int_b368b281
 Bill
hasFeature
Bindle Stick / int_b368b281
 Bill
hasFeature
Cannot Tell a Joke / int_b368b281
 Bill
hasFeature
Disguised in Drag / int_b368b281
 Bill
hasFeature
Films of 2015–2019 / int_b368b281
 Bill
hasFeature
High-Class Fan / int_b368b281
 Bill
hasFeature
Mr. Smith / int_b368b281
 Bill
hasFeature
Shakespeare in Fiction / int_b368b281
 Bill
hasFeature
Something We Forgot / int_b368b281
 Bill
hasFeature
Welcome to the Big City / int_b368b281
 Bill
hasFeature
Plank Gag / int_b368b281