The Best Episodes of American Playhouse Season 4

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #1 - Testament

   S4:E111/26/1984

   It's just another day in the small town of Hamlin until something disastrous happens. Suddenly, news breaks that a series of nuclear warheads has been dropped along the Eastern Seaboard and, more locally, in California. As people begin coping with the devastating aftermath of the attacks — many suffer radiation poisoning — the Wetherly family tries to survive.

   Director:Lynne Littman

   Writer:John Sacret Young

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Lynne Littman

   Writer:John Sacret Young
2. 

   7.0/10(1 votes)

   #2 - 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

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Gwen Arner

   Writers:Neal Miller, Nancy Miller
3. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #3 - Solomon Northup's Odyssey

   S4:E312/10/1984

   A free Black man from New York is tricked, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in the South, where he endures twelve years of brutal servitude before finding a way to contact his family and secure his freedom.

   Director:Gordon Parks

   Writers:Lou Potter, Samm-Art Williams

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Gordon Parks

   Writers:Lou Potter, Samm-Art Williams
4. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #4 - Tomorrow

   S4:E412/17/1984

   A lonely farmer takes in a pregnant woman and looks after her. After she gives birth, tragedy strikes.

   Director:Joseph Anthony

   Writer:Unknown

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Joseph Anthony

   Writer:Unknown
5. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #5 - Go Tell It on the Mountain

   S4:E51/14/1985

   Over a single, pivotal Saturday in 1930s Harlem, 14-year-old John Grimes wrestles with his religious calling and his fraught relationship with his abusive, hypocritical stepfather, Gabriel. Extended flashbacks explore the oppressive Southern past and personal histories of John's mother, his aunt, and Gabriel, ultimately illuminating the generational trauma and complex family secrets that shape his life.

   Director:Stan Lathan

   Writers:Leslie Lee, Gus Edwards

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Stan Lathan

   Writers:Leslie Lee, Gus Edwards
6. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #6 - Noon Wine

   S4:E61/21/1985

   On a hot day in 1890s Texas, a stranger arrives at the small dairy farm of Royal and Ellie Thompson, seeking work. A taciturn, English-speaking Swede from North Dakota, Olaf Helton is competent, strong, and good at farm work. As years pass, the farm flourishes. Then one day, a second stranger also from North Dakota, Homer Hatch, changes lives in ways no one could have imagined.

   Director:Michael Fields

   Writer:Michael Fields

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Michael Fields

   Writer:Michael Fields
TRENDING NOW
The 20 BEST Episodes of American Playhouse
READ
7. 

   7.0/10(1 votes)

   #7 - 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

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Tina Rathborne

   Writers:Tina Rathborne, Nancy Dyer
8. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #8 - Overdrawn at the Memory Bank

   S4:E82/4/1985

   Computer programmer Aram Fingal's virtual vacation in the classic film Casablanca is removed by a totalitarian government and accidentally trapped in the virtual reality simulation. He must find a way out before he expires.

   Director:Douglas Williams

   Writer:Corinne Jacker

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Douglas Williams

   Writer:Corinne Jacker
9. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #9 - The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski

   S4:E92/11/1985

   Ralph Parker navigates his first serious romance with his new Polish neighbor, Josephine Cosnowski, during a Thanksgiving setting.

   Director:Fred Barzyk

   Writer:Jean Shepherd

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Fred Barzyk

   Writer:Jean Shepherd
10. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Some Men Need Help

    S4:E102/18/1985

    An oddball Good Samaritan parable as ex Mafioso tries to save his drunk neighbor from himself.

    Director:Allan A. Goldstein

    Writer:John Ford Noonan

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Allan A. Goldstein

    Writer:John Ford Noonan
11. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in Freedom

    S4:E112/25/1985

    Charlotte Forten is a young Black woman who became an integral part of President Lincoln's 'Great Experiment'. During the Civil War, Southern troops were forced off the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia, which left 8,000 slaves as free. Miss Forten's mission was to journey south to Sea Island and lead those slaves in the transition from slavery to freedom, where she sought to give newly freed black children a decent education and chance for a better life.

    Director:Barry Crane

    Writer:Samm-Art Williams

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Barry Crane

    Writer:Samm-Art Williams
12. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Breakfast with Les and Bess

    S4:E123/11/1985

    An eccentric couple broadcast their morning radio talk show from their New York apartment in the 1960s.

    Director:Perry Rosemond

    Writer:Lee Kalcheim

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Perry Rosemond

    Writer:Lee Kalcheim
13. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Nightsongs

    S4:E134/15/1985

    A Chinese refugee from Vietnam emigrates to America, where she prepares to meet several relatives for the first time.

    Director:Marva Nabili

    Writer:Marva Nabili

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Marva Nabili

    Writer:Marva Nabili
14. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Under the Biltmore Clock

    S4:E144/25/1985

    In 1915 Chicago, 21-year-old Myra Harper sets her sights on the wealthy and reserved Knowleton Whitney. All goes well, but later when Myra meets his wacky parents, it turns out to be much harder for Myra than simply landing the man of her dreams.

    Director:Neal Miller

    Writers:Neal Miller, Ilene Cooper

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Neal Miller

    Writers:Neal Miller, Ilene Cooper
15. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Displaced Person

    S4:E155/6/1985

    A young Black boy comes of age in an all-white German orphanage run by white nuns. Townspeople tease him that his father is an American GI named Joe Louis. Told of a 'sighting' of the alleged father, the boy sets out to find the soldier.

    Director:Alan Bridges

    Writer:Fred Barron

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Alan Bridges

    Writer:Fred Barron
16. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - The Europeans

    S4:E165/15/1985

    The Countess Eugenia and her brother Robert, expatriate Americans who have grown up in Europe, return to prosperous relatives in New England. Eugenia hopes to make an advantageous marriage with a wealthy cousin. As Eugenia encounters obstacles, Robert finds his suit bearing fruit.

    Director:James Ivory

    Writer:Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:James Ivory

    Writer:Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
17. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - El Norte

    S4:E175/20/1985

    Indigenous Guatemalan siblings Rosa and Enrique flee their village after a government massacre and undertake a perilous journey to the United States ('El Norte') seeking a new life, only to face new hardships as undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles.

    Director:Gregory Nava

    Writers:Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Gregory Nava

    Writers:Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas
18. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Three Sovereigns for Sarah (1)

    S4:E185/27/1985

    In 1703 Salem, accused witch Sarah Cloyce, seeking justice for her sisters, recounts the events leading up to the trials, focusing on feuding neighbors and the girls' accusations, including those by Abigail Williams.

    Director:Philip Leacock

    Writer:Victor Pisano

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Philip Leacock

    Writer:Victor Pisano
19. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Three Sovereigns for Sarah (2)

    S4:E196/3/1985

    In 1703 Salem, accused witch Sarah Cloyce, seeking justice for her sisters, recounts the events leading up to the trials, focusing on feuding neighbors and the girls' accusations, including those by Abigail Williams.

    Director:Philip Leacock

    Writer:Victor Pisano

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Philip Leacock

    Writer:Victor Pisano
20. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Three Sovereigns for Sarah (3)

    S4:E206/10/1985

    In 1703 Salem, accused witch Sarah Cloyce, seeking justice for her sisters, recounts the events leading up to the trials, focusing on feuding neighbors and the girls' accusations, including those by Abigail Williams.

    Director:Philip Leacock

    Writer:Victor Pisano

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Philip Leacock

    Writer:Victor Pisano
21. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Paper Angels

    S4:E216/15/1985

    Chinese immigrants are detained on Angel Island in 1915 during the Chinese Exclusion era. The new arrivals express their hopes and anxieties as they try to reconcile their Chinese heritage with their new lives in California.

    Director:John Lone

    Writer:Genny Lim

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:John Lone

    Writer:Genny Lim
22. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

    S4:E226/24/1985

    An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

    Director:Jack Hofsiss

    Writer:Tennessee Williams

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Jack Hofsiss

    Writer:Tennessee Williams