The Best Episodes of American Playhouse Season 1

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

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   #1 - 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
2. 

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   #2 - 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
3. 

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   #3 - 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
4. 

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   #4 - 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
5. 

   9.0/10(1 votes)

   #5 - 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
6. 

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   #6 - 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
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7. 

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   #7 - 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
8. 

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   #8 - 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
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. 

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    #10 - 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
11. 

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    #11 - 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
12. 

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    #12 - 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
13. 

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    #13 - 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
14. 

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    #14 - 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
15. 

    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - 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
16. 

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    #16 - 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
17. 

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    #17 - 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
18. 

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    #18 - 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
19. 

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    #19 - Oppenheimer (2)

    S1:E195/18/1982

    Oppenheimer is now in charge of the top-secret Manhattan Project, but his left-wing politics mean that he is constantly watched by the FBI and others.

    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince

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    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince
20. 

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    #20 - Oppenheimer (3)

    S1:E205/25/1982

    Oppenheimer's extramarital relationship with the neurotic Jean Tatlock comes to a tragic end.

    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince

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    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince
21. 

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    #21 - Oppenheimer (4)

    S1:E216/1/1982

    With the death of President Roosevelt, the future of the Manhattan Project seems doubtful. Oppenheimer finds himself more and more at loggerheads with Teller.

    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince

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    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince
22. 

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    #22 - Oppenheimer (5)

    S1:E226/8/1982

    The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bring the war to an end, but Oppenheimer's new status as a national hero is short-lived.

    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince

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    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince
23. 

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    #23 - Oppenheimer (6)

    S1:E236/15/1982

    A few years after the war, Oppenheimer finds himself regarded as a security risk, and must face a committee.

    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince

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    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince
24. 

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    #24 - Oppenheimer (7)

    S1:E246/22/1982

    Oppenheimer's examination by the committee proves disastrous and his career with the AEC is finished, whilst that of his rival Teller flourishes.

    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince

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    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Peter Prince
25. 

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    #25 - The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez

    S1:E256/29/1982

    In 1901, Mexican American farmer Gregorio Cortez is forced on the run from Texas Rangers, evading a massive manhunt on horseback for days following a heated misunderstanding leads to the death of a lawman.

    Director:Robert M. Young

    Writers:Robert M. Young, Victor Villaseñor

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    Director:Robert M. Young

    Writers:Robert M. Young, Victor Villaseñor