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The Best Episodes of Play for Today Season 1

Every episode of Play for Today Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Play for Today Season 1!

Binge this in 1d 4h•Peaking at 7.8/10

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Play for Today Season 1 Episode 1 - The Long Distance Piano Player
    6.5/10(34 votes)

    #1 - The Long Distance Piano Player

    S1:E1

    A man tries to break the world's record for nonstop piano playing

    Director:Philip Saville
    Writer:Alan Sharp

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  2. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 2 - The Right Prospectus
    6.3/10(23 votes)

    #2 - The Right Prospectus

    S1:E2

    A couple look for the proper school, not for their children but for themselves.

    Director:Alan Cooke
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 3 - The Lie
    7.3/10(93 votes)

    #3 - The Lie

    S1:E3

    ""The Lie"" refers to the 8-year marriage of a couple who are constantly hurting each other.

    Director:Alan Bridges
    Writer:Ingmar Bergman

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  4. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 4 - Angels Are So Few
    7.8/10(52 votes)

    #4 - Angels Are So Few

    S1:E4

    A man claiming to be an angel enters the household of a bored housewife and teaches the family a few lessons.

    Director:Gareth Davies
    Writer:Dennis Potter

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  5. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 5 - The Write-Off
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #5 - The Write-Off

    S1:E5

    A man is made redundant but can't bring himself to let anyone know, plunging into a web of deceit as he keeps up the charade he is still in work.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 6 - I Can't See My Little Willie
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #6 - I Can't See My Little Willie

    S1:E6

    A man has a mid-life crisis in his brother's pub where sees life as a game show

    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 7 - A Distant Thunder
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - A Distant Thunder

    S1:E7

    A newly-appointed knight finds his celebrations cut short by someone who was witness to his treachery during the war.

    Director:James Ferman
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 8 - Hearts and Flowers
    6.8/10(43 votes)

    #8 - Hearts and Flowers

    S1:E8

    A TV host and his architect brother attend their father's funeral

    Director:Christopher Morahan
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 9 - Robin Redbreast
    7.2/10(652 votes)

    #9 - Robin Redbreast

    S1:E9

    A woman living in a country cottage thinks that someone is trying to get her.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 10 - The Hallelujah Handshake
    7.4/10(97 votes)

    #10 - The Hallelujah Handshake

    S1:E10

    A petty thief and social misfit finagles his way into a church congregation

    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 11 - Alma Mater
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Alma Mater

    S1:E11

    A civil servant working abroad revisits his old school

    Director:James Ferman
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 12 - Circle Line
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Circle Line

    S1:E12

    A cynical student has a radically different view of life from his landlady, leading to conflict. Matters come to a head when he sleeps with her fourteen-year-old brother.

    Director:Claude Whatham
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 13 - Hell's Angel
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Hell's Angel

    S1:E13

    A couple are distressed by the changes in their adopted teenage son when he joins a biker gang.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 14 - The Piano
    7.6/10(19 votes)

    #14 - The Piano

    S1:E14

    An old couple refuse to move when they find out that they can't take their piano with them

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 15 - Billy's Last Stand
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Billy's Last Stand

    S1:E15

    Billy, a self-employed coal-shoveller, gains a seedy business partner and competition in the form of a rival coal-shoveller.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 16 - The Rainbirds
    5.4/10(18 votes)

    #16 - The Rainbirds

    S1:E16

    A man who attempted suicide by jumping out a window is saved only to live in a coma, in which he has fantasies about his relatives and nightmare creatures.

    Director:Philip Saville
    Writer:Clive Exton

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  17. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 17 - Reddick
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Reddick

    S1:E17

    Charges that the Rev 'Red' Reddick is exploiting his youth club members leads to an explosive confrontation.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 18 - The Foxtrot
    5.6/10(15 votes)

    #18 - The Foxtrot

    S1:E18

    An odd menage a trois results when a woman and her lover are visited by her long-lost husband

    Director:Philip Saville
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 19 - When the Bough Breaks
    7.7/10(19 votes)

    #19 - When the Bough Breaks

    S1:E19

    When an injured baby arrives at the hospital, a social worker looks for the parents

    Director:James Ferman
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 20 - Orkney
    6.7/10(19 votes)

    #20 - Orkney

    S1:E20

    A trilogy of plays--A Time to Keep, The Whaler's Return, and Celia--exploring the life of the islanders in the past and present

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 21 - The Rank and File
    6.9/10(83 votes)

    #21 - The Rank and File

    S1:E21

    The story of the Pilkington glass workers strike of 1970

    Director:Ken Loach
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 22 - The Man in the Sidecar
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - The Man in the Sidecar

    S1:E22

    A succesful novelist Edith lives with her husband and his friend, but she decides to ask the friend to leave.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 23 - Everybody Say Cheese
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Everybody Say Cheese

    S1:E23

    The story of a disintegrating marriage told through family photos

    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Play for Today Season 1 Episode 24 - The Cellar and the Almond Tree
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - The Cellar and the Almond Tree

    S1:E24

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"The Long Distance Piano Player" is the best rated episode of "Play for Today" season 1. It scored 6.5/10 based on 34 votes. Directed by Philip Saville and written by Alan Sharp, it aired on 10/15/1970. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "The Right Prospectus".