The Best Episodes of American Playhouse Season 5

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

   10.0/10(1 votes)

   #1 - 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

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Emile Ardolino

   Writer:Peter Parnell
2. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #2 - The Roommate

   S5:E21/27/1986

   In 1952, two polar opposites at Northwestern University are assigned to the same dorm room.

   Director:Nell Cox

   Writer:Neal Miller

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Nell Cox

   Writer:Neal Miller
3. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #3 - Valentine's Revenge

   S5:E32/3/1986

   A convict serving five years writes stories under the name 'O. Henry'. He encounters a convicted safecracker and is inspired to write the story of Jimmy Valentine, a man invincible in the art of cracking safes.

   Director:Paul Saltzman

   Writer:Paul Lally

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Paul Saltzman

   Writer:Paul Lally
4. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #4 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1)

   S5:E42/10/1986

   Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

   Director:Peter H. Hunt

   Writer:Guy Gallo

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Peter H. Hunt

   Writer:Guy Gallo
5. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #5 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (2)

   S5:E52/17/1986

   Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

   Director:Peter H. Hunt

   Writer:Guy Gallo

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Peter H. Hunt

   Writer:Guy Gallo
6. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #6 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (3)

   S5:E62/24/1986

   Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

   Director:Peter H. Hunt

   Writer:Guy Gallo

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Peter H. Hunt

   Writer:Guy Gallo
TRENDING NOW
The 20 BEST Episodes of American Playhouse
READ
7. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #7 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (4)

   S5:E73/3/1986

   Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

   Director:Peter H. Hunt

   Writer:Guy Gallo

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Peter H. Hunt

   Writer:Guy Gallo
8. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #8 - Tell Me a Riddle

   S5:E83/17/1986

   Aging couple David and Eva have lost the spark that once infused their marriage. After nearly four decades together, the elderly duo is feel disconnected and lost. When they discover that Eva is sick, they decide to travel across the country to stay with their granddaughter in San Francisco. On the trip, with Eva's possible death looming, the couple rediscovers the passion and love that had been missing from their lives.

   Director:Lee Grant

   Writers:Alev Lytle, Joyce Eliason

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Lee Grant

   Writers:Alev Lytle, Joyce Eliason
9. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #9 - The Little Sister

   S5:E94/7/1986

   A Boston probation officer tries to help a troubled teenager from a rich Boston family.

   Director:Jan Egleson

   Writer:Jan Egleson

   Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

   Director:Jan Egleson

   Writer:Jan Egleson
10. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - The House of Ramon Iglesia

    S5:E104/14/1986

    Ramón Iglesias plans to retire from his janitorial job, sell his house in a Long Island suburb and return to Puerto Rico with his wife and three sons. Unfortunately, he doesn't hold the deed to his house which was purchased through a verbal agreement, harping back to a different cultural tradition involving codes of honor and community.

    Director:Luis Soto

    Writer:Jose Rivera

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Luis Soto

    Writer:Jose Rivera
11. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - A Flash of Green

    S5:E114/21/1986

    Jimmy Wing is a Florida journalist and long-time friend of Elmo Bliss, a local businessman and politician involved in real-estate development. Bliss reveals his ruthless side, threatening Wing when the reporter becomes close to beautiful wildlife conservationist Kat Hubble, one of a group of ecologists that stands in the way of a new landfill. While Wing clashes with Bliss, his life complicates further as his romance with Hubble progresses.

    Director:Victor Nuñez

    Writer:Victor Nuñez

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Victor Nuñez

    Writer:Victor Nuñez
12. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Damien

    S5:E124/28/1986

    Father Damien de Vuester, a 19th-century Roman Catholic priest who worked with lepers confined to the island of Molokai, discusses his experiences.

    Director:Nino J. Martin

    Writer:Aldyth Morris

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Nino J. Martin

    Writer:Aldyth Morris
13. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Rocket to the Moon

    S5:E135/5/1986

    In 1938 New York, a dentist finds his business failing and his marriage on the rocks. Turning 40, he's a henpecked husband with little drive left for success. That is, until he starts getting involved with his lively assistant, a free spirit with a penchant for tall tales and a hidden loneliness. Receiving encouragement from his own father-in-law, the two find comfort in each other's attention.

    Director:John Jacobs

    Writers:Clifford Odets, Wesley Moore

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:John Jacobs

    Writers:Clifford Odets, Wesley Moore
14. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - A Case of Libel

    S5:E145/12/1986

    A former World War II reporter gets a lawyer and takes a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist to court.

    Director:Eric Till

    Writers:Louis Nizer, Henry Denker

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Eric Till

    Writers:Louis Nizer, Henry Denker
15. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Painting Churches

    S5:E155/19/1986

    Gardner and Fanny Church prepare to move out of their Beacon Hill home to their summer cottage on Cape Cod. Once a famous poet, the now-retired Gardner slips in and out of senility as his wife valiantly tries to keep them both afloat. They've asked their daughter, Mags, to come home and help them move. Mags agrees, for she hopes as well to finally paint their portrait. She is now on the verge of artistic celebrity herself and hopes, by painting her parents, to reconcile.

    Director:Jack O'Brien

    Writer:Tina Howe

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Jack O'Brien

    Writer:Tina Howe
16. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Roanoak (1)

    S5:E165/26/1986

    In 1584, a small band of Englishmen reached Roanoak Island off the coast of North Carolina, set up camp, and make contact with the residing Native Americans, calling on them for help in an attempt to live peacefully as they trade for the profit of both sides.

    Director:Jan Egleson

    Writers:James K. McCarthy, Dina Harris

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Jan Egleson

    Writers:James K. McCarthy, Dina Harris
17. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Roanoak (2)

    S5:E176/2/1986

    In 1584, a small band of Englishmen reached Roanoak Island off the coast of North Carolina, set up camp, and make contact with the residing Native Americans, calling on them for help in an attempt to live peacefully as they trade for the profit of both sides.

    Director:Jan Egleson

    Writers:James K. McCarthy, Dina Harris

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Jan Egleson

    Writers:James K. McCarthy, Dina Harris
18. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Roanoak (3)

    S5:E186/9/1986

    In 1584, a small band of Englishmen reached Roanoak Island off the coast of North Carolina, set up camp, and make contact with the residing Native Americans, calling on them for help in an attempt to live peacefully as they trade for the profit of both sides.

    Director:Jan Egleson

    Writers:James K. McCarthy, Dina Harris

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Jan Egleson

    Writers:James K. McCarthy, Dina Harris
19. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Sunday in the Park with George

    S5:E196/16/1986

    The days leading up to the completion of his most famous painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat is struggling to make meaningful art and maintaining a relationship with his lover, Dot. Amid the scorn of the artistic community, Seurat's artistic ability thrives while his love diminishes. A century later, Seurat's descendant – named George and also an artist – finds himself burnt out and in search of what artistic path to follow, but he finds the answer to his future in the past.

    Director:Terry Hughes

    Writers:Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    Director:Terry Hughes

    Writers:Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine