The Best Episodes of American Playhouse

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
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   10.0/10(1 votes)

   #1 - Weekend

   S1:E154/20/1982

   A drifting, affluent couple spend a weekend at their country home, where the husband cheats on his complacent wife as they host guests for their son's first birthday.

   Director:Paul Bogart

   Writer:Ann Beattie

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   Director:Paul Bogart

   Writer:Ann Beattie
2. 

   10.0/10(1 votes)

   #2 - The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket

   S5:E11/20/1986

   A young boy is ridiculed by his schoolmates for his eccentric behavior and assertions that he can fly. Little do they know...

   Director:Emile Ardolino

   Writer:Peter Parnell

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   Director:Emile Ardolino

   Writer:Peter Parnell
3. 

   9.0/10(1 votes)

   #3 - Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby Is a Friend of Mine

   S1:E52/9/1982

   The arrival in a small town of a stranger who calls himself 'Charles Dickens' makes a magical and lasting change in the lives of an imaginative 12-year-old boy and a loving young woman.

   Director:Ralph Rosenblum

   Writer:Mary Trimble

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   Director:Ralph Rosenblum

   Writer:Mary Trimble
4. 

   8.0/10(1 votes)

   #4 - The Ghost Writer

   S3:E11/17/1984

   Aspiring writer Nathan Zuckerman visits the secluded home of his literary idol, E.I. Lonoff. While there, Zuckerman becomes entangled in the author's complex domestic life and becomes captivated by a mysterious young woman.

   Director:Tristram Powell

   Writers:Philip Roth, Tristram Powell

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   Director:Tristram Powell

   Writers:Philip Roth, Tristram Powell
5. 

   7.0/10(1 votes)

   #5 - The Skin of Our Teeth

   S2:E11/18/1983

   The Antrobus family and their housekeeper Lilly Sabina face various global disasters, including a new ice age, a great flood, and a devastating war.

   Director:Jack O'Brien

   Writer:Thornton Wilder

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   Director:Jack O'Brien

   Writer:Thornton Wilder
6. 

   7.0/10(1 votes)

   #6 - Miss Lonelyhearts

   S2:E21/25/1983

   A young Depression-era reporter is assigned to write his newspaper's advice column on the insistence of his mocking editor. Unhappy in the demeaning assignment, he begins to take an interest in one of the readers sending letters.

   Director:Michael Dinner

   Writers:Michael Dinner, Robert E. Bailey

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   Director:Michael Dinner

   Writers:Michael Dinner, Robert E. Bailey
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7. 

   7.0/10(1 votes)

   #7 - A Matter of Principle

   S4:E212/3/1984

   Flag Purdy, a 'man of many principles', must learn the hard lesson of compromisation in order to keep his wife and children. The 'final straw' comes when the family bring a Christmas tree into his house.

   Director:Gwen Arner

   Writers:Neal Miller, Nancy Miller

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   Director:Gwen Arner

   Writers:Neal Miller, Nancy Miller
8. 

   7.0/10(1 votes)

   #8 - The Joy That Kills

   S4:E71/28/1985

   Louise dreams of traveling the world, but her weak heart and husband Brently's overbearing concern prevent her from doing so. However, news of a train accident changes everything.

   Director:Tina Rathborne

   Writers:Tina Rathborne, Nancy Dyer

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   Director:Tina Rathborne

   Writers:Tina Rathborne, Nancy Dyer
9. 

   4.8/10(4 votes)

   #9 - Fifth of July

   S1:E93/9/1982

   Ken Talley is 32, strong, goodlooking and a Vietnam vet with both legs shot off seven years earlier. His lover Jed is bigger and stronger, a gardner, a good listener. On Independence Day 1977, Ken's home in Lebanon Missouri is visted by his army buddies. Much of their past relationships, pre- and post-Vietnam, must be pulled up and examined before any of them can decide their future.

   Directors:Kirk Browning, Marshall W. Mason

   Writer:Lanford Wilson

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   Directors:Kirk Browning, Marshall W. Mason

   Writer:Lanford Wilson
10. 

    4.0/10(3 votes)

    #10 - Andre's Mother

    S9:E63/7/1990

    Katherine Gerard has lost her son Andre to AIDS. At his memorial service, we follow Katherine confronting the death of her son, the anguish of his lover Cal Porter, and, in flashbacks, the key moments of denial and miscommunication with those closest to her.

    Director:Deborah Reinisch

    Writer:Terrence McNally

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    Director:Deborah Reinisch

    Writer:Terrence McNally
11. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - The Shady Hill Kidnapping

    S1:E11/12/1982

    John Cheever's comedy of a supposedly kidnapped five-year-old boy. At first, the police aren't interested until a ransom note is discovered. Then the town goes into action to support the finding of Toby.

    Director:Paul Bogart

    Writer:John Cheever

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    Director:Paul Bogart

    Writer:John Cheever
12. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - King of America

    S1:E21/19/1982

    Hot-tempered Greek immigrant Andreas arrives in 1915 America, and finds work on a railroad. However, after giving his corrupt foreman Mekakis a savage beating, Andreas flees and makes his way west.

    Director:Dezsö Magyar

    Writer:B. J. Merholz

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    Director:Dezsö Magyar

    Writer:B. J. Merholz
13. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Seguin

    S1:E31/26/1982

    In 19th-century Texas, soldier Juan Nepomuceno Seguin fought at the Alamo and became a highly respected politician to insure better living conditions for his people. Frustration arose when American ranchers move into the flatlands bringing prejudice and bigotry against the Mexican populations.

    Director:Jesús Salvador Treviño

    Writer:Jesús Salvador Treviño

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    Director:Jesús Salvador Treviño

    Writer:Jesús Salvador Treviño
14. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Who Am I This Time?

    S1:E42/2/1982

    Shy hardware store employee Harry Nash decides to step out of his comfort zone, and takes part in a local amateur theatre troupe, where he becomes the character he plays—literally. Helene Shaw is new in town, a lonely itinerant telephonist. On a whim, she auditions for and gets the part of Stella in the troupe's production of A Streetcar Named Desire, opposite Harry's Stanley. Before anyone realizes the growing affection between the two, Helene falls in love with the charming brute, unaware of the man Harry really is.

    Director:Jonathan Demme

    Writer:Neal Miller

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    Director:Jonathan Demme

    Writer:Neal Miller
15. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Come Along with Me

    S1:E62/16/1982

    Recently widowed Mabel Lederer sells all her belongings and leaves home to start a new life. Mabel believes she has powers to see into the future and to conduct seances. She changes her name to 'Angela Motorman' and moves into a boarding house where she interacts with the strange residents.

    Director:Joanne Woodward

    Writers:Neal Miller, June Finfer, Joanne Woodward

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    Director:Joanne Woodward

    Writers:Neal Miller, June Finfer, Joanne Woodward
16. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - For colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf

    S1:E72/23/1982

    Nameless women identified by color (e.g., Lady in Red, Lady in Blue) share their experiences with racism, sexism, abuse, and abandonment, ultimately finding strength and sisterhood.

    Director:Oz Scott

    Writer:Ntozake Shange

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    Director:Oz Scott

    Writer:Ntozake Shange
17. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Echoes and Silences

    S1:E83/2/1982

    In search of Carl Sandburg, actor John Cullum travels to the poet's native home, Galesburg, IL, speaking with close friends and family. Through a remarkable recently discovered trove of period photographs of Galesburg, the small-town America of Sandburg's childhood – the horse carriages, the ice-man delivering ice, a Fourth of July celebration – is revived in vivid detail.

    Director:Perry Miller Adato

    Writer:Paul Shyre

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    Director:Perry Miller Adato

    Writer:Paul Shyre
18. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters

    S1:E103/16/1982

    Teenage Ralph recounts the Fourth of July and similar chaoses with his family and friends. Based on the writings of Jean Shepherd.

    Director:Richard Bartlett

    Writer:Jean Shepherd

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    Director:Richard Bartlett

    Writer:Jean Shepherd
19. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Pilgrim, Farewell

    S1:E113/23/1982

    A woman suffering from terminal cancer determines to resolve several relationships in her life, especially with her daughter.

    Director:Michael Roemer

    Writer:Michael Roemer

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    Director:Michael Roemer

    Writer:Michael Roemer
20. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Northern Lights

    S1:E123/30/1982

    On a North Dakota wheat farm at the turn of the 20th century, Ray Sorenson builds his world around childhood sweetheart Inga. Then Ray sees his plans come apart when the bank forecloses on his family's farm.

    Directors:Rob Nilsson, John Hanson

    Writers:Rob Nilsson, John Hanson

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    Directors:Rob Nilsson, John Hanson

    Writers:Rob Nilsson, John Hanson
21. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Medal of Honor Rag

    S1:E134/6/1982

    A Medal of Honor-winning Vietnam vet has difficulty readjusting to civilian life, and turns to a psychiatrist for help when he finds himself descending to robbery.

    Director:Lloyd Richards

    Writer:Tom Cole

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    Director:Lloyd Richards

    Writer:Tom Cole
22. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Working

    S1:E144/13/1982

    A musical following American workers from diverse backgrounds, from gravediggers to studio heads, exploring their feelings, frustrations, and search for meaning in their jobs.

    Directors:Kirk Browning, Stephen Schwartz

    Writers:Stephen Schwartz, Nina Faso

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    Directors:Kirk Browning, Stephen Schwartz

    Writers:Stephen Schwartz, Nina Faso
23. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Private Contentment

    S1:E164/27/1982

    A young soldier attends his mother's funeral just before he's shipped out to serve in World War II.

    Director:Vivian Matalon

    Writer:Reynolds Price

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    Director:Vivian Matalon

    Writer:Reynolds Price
24. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - My Palikari

    S1:E175/4/1982

    A middle-aged Greek immigrant visits his native village, with his American-born son in tow. The elder finds that the place he remembered as paradise on Earth now seems like a desolate wasteland, while the son, who has mede this journey reluctantly, falls in love with his ancestral homeland.

    Director:Charles S. Dubin

    Writers:George Kirgo, Leon Capetanos

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    Director:Charles S. Dubin

    Writers:George Kirgo, Leon Capetanos
25. 

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    #25 - Oppenheimer (1)

    S1:E185/11/1982

    Robert Oppenheimer meets and decides to marry the hard-drinking, much-divorced Kitty, although his friends and relatives dislike her.

    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince

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    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince