6.5/1033 votes#1 - The Long Distance Piano Player
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 10/15/1970
A man tries to break the world's record for nonstop piano playing
Director: Philip Saville
Writer: Alan Sharp
- 6.2/1021 votes
#2 - The Right Prospectus
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 10/22/1970
A couple look for the proper school, not for their children but for themselves.
Director: Alan Cooke
Writer: N/A
- 7.2/1088 votes
#3 - The Lie
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/29/1970
""The Lie"" refers to the 8-year marriage of a couple who are constantly hurting each other.
Director: Alan Bridges
Writer: Ingmar Bergman
8.1/1048 votes#4 - Angels Are So Few
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 11/5/1970
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
- NaN/100 votes
#5 - The Write-Off
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 11/12/1970
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#6 - I Can't See My Little Willie
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/19/1970
A man has a mid-life crisis in his brother's pub where sees life as a game show
Director: Alan Clarke
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#7 - A Distant Thunder
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/26/1970
A newly-appointed knight finds his celebrations cut short by someone who was witness to his treachery during the war.
Director: James Ferman
Writer: N/A
- 6.9/1039 votes
#8 - Hearts and Flowers
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 12/3/1970
A TV host and his architect brother attend their father's funeral
Director: Christopher Morahan
Writer: N/A
- 7.2/10557 votes
#9 - Robin Redbreast
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 12/10/1970
A woman living in a country cottage thinks that someone is trying to get her.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/1088 votes
#10 - The Hallelujah Handshake
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/17/1970
A petty thief and social misfit finagles his way into a church congregation
Director: Alan Clarke
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#11 - Alma Mater
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 1/7/1971
A civil servant working abroad revisits his old school
Director: James Ferman
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#12 - Circle Line
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/14/1971
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: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#13 - Hell's Angel
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/21/1971
A couple are distressed by the changes in their adopted teenage son when he joins a biker gang.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/1014 votes
#14 - The Piano
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/28/1971
An old couple refuse to move when they find out that they can't take their piano with them
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#15 - Billy's Last Stand
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/4/1971
Billy, a self-employed coal-shoveller, gains a seedy business partner and competition in the form of a rival coal-shoveller.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 5.3/1018 votes
#16 - The Rainbirds
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/11/1971
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
- NaN/100 votes
#17 - Reddick
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 2/18/1971
Charges that the Rev 'Red' Reddick is exploiting his youth club members leads to an explosive confrontation.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 5.6/1016 votes
#18 - The Foxtrot
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 4/29/1971
An odd menage a trois results when a woman and her lover are visited by her long-lost husband
Director: Philip Saville
Writer: N/A
- 7.8/1017 votes
#19 - When the Bough Breaks
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 5/6/1971
When an injured baby arrives at the hospital, a social worker looks for the parents
Director: James Ferman
Writer: N/A
- 6.9/1014 votes
#20 - Orkney
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 5/13/1971
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 6.9/1079 votes
#21 - The Rank and File
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 5/20/1971
The story of the Pilkington glass workers strike of 1970
Director: Ken Loach
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#22 - The Man in the Sidecar
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 5/27/1971
A succesful novelist Edith lives with her husband and his friend, but she decides to ask the friend to leave.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#23 - Everybody Say Cheese
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 6/3/1971
The story of a disintegrating marriage told through family photos
Director: Alan Clarke
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#24 - The Cellar and the Almond Tree
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 6/10/1971
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
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!
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,...
Genre:Drama
Network:BBC One
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".