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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!

The Best Episodes of Play for Today Season 1

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,...
  1. Background image for The Long Distance Piano Player
    6.5/10(33 votes)

    #1 - The Long Distance Piano Player

    S1:E1

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

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    Writer:Alan Sharp
  2. Background image for The Right Prospectus
    6.2/10(21 votes)

    #2 - The Right Prospectus

    S1:E2

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

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    Director:Alan Cooke
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for The Lie
    7.2/10(91 votes)

    #3 - The Lie

    S1:E3

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

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  4. Background image for Angels Are So Few
    7.9/10(50 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.

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  5. Background image for The Write-Off
    NaN/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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for I Can't See My Little Willie
    NaN/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

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    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for A Distant Thunder
    NaN/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.

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    Director:James Ferman
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Hearts and Flowers
    6.8/10(41 votes)

    #8 - Hearts and Flowers

    S1:E8

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

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  10. Background image for Robin Redbreast
    7.2/10(596 votes)

    #9 - Robin Redbreast

    S1:E9

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for The Hallelujah Handshake
    7.4/10(94 votes)

    #10 - The Hallelujah Handshake

    S1:E10

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

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    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Alma Mater
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Alma Mater

    S1:E11

    A civil servant working abroad revisits his old school

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    Director:James Ferman
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Circle Line
    NaN/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.

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    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Hell's Angel
    NaN/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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for The Piano
    7.8/10(18 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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Billy's Last Stand
    NaN/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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for The Rainbirds
    5.4/10(19 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.

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  18. Background image for Reddick
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Reddick

    S1:E17

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for The Foxtrot
    5.6/10(16 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

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    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for 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

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    Director:James Ferman
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for 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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for The Rank and File
    6.9/10(82 votes)

    #21 - The Rank and File

    S1:E21

    The story of the Pilkington glass workers strike of 1970

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    Director:Ken Loach
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for The Man in the Sidecar
    NaN/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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for Everybody Say Cheese
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Everybody Say Cheese

    S1:E23

    The story of a disintegrating marriage told through family photos

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    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for The Cellar and the Almond Tree
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #24 - The Cellar and the Almond Tree

    S1:E24

    No description available

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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 33 votes. Directed by Philip Saville and written by Alan Sharp, it aired on 10/15/1970. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "The Right Prospectus".