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The Best Episodes of Play for Today Season 3

Every episode of Play for Today Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Play for Today Season 3!

Binge this in 1d 7h•Peaking at 7.9/10

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 3 Episode 11 - Shakespeare or Bust
    7.9/10(52 votes)

    S3:E11

    The adventures of three Derbyshire miners going to Stratford-upon-Avon on a barge

    Director:Brian Parker
    Writer:Peter Terson

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  2. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 18 - The Operation
    7.9/10(15 votes)

    S3:E18

    David Adler is an operator. He strips assets, other men's wives, and his oldest friend's soul - anything for a cool million.

    Director:Roy Battersby
    Writer:Roger Smith

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  3. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 7 - The General's Day
    7.7/10(32 votes)

    S3:E7

    An elderly general woos a shy school teacher.

    Director:John Gorrie
    Writer:William Trevor

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  4. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 15 - Song at Twilight
    7.7/10(10 votes)

    S3:E15

    The story of a defiant football manager in terminal decline

    Director:Herbert Wise
    Writers:Willis Hall, Noël Coward

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  5. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 9 - Just Your Luck
    7.6/10(34 votes)

    S3:E9

    A pregnant teenager sets about wooing a sailor in a sectarian council estate in Greenock.

    Director:Mike Newell
    Writer:Peter McDougall

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  6. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 12 - Land of Green Ginger
    7.5/10(38 votes)

    S3:E12

    Faced with the prospect of being sent to work abroad, Sally Brown returns home from London to Hull, to see if she still feels the same attachment for her home town - and for her old boyfriend Mike Thurlow. Will she decide to take the job abroad or return to live with Mike in Hull?

    Director:Brian Parker
    Writer:Alan Plater

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  7. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 16 - Only Make Believe
    7.5/10(21 votes)

    S3:E16

    As a playwright dictates notes about his newest play to his secretary, scenes from the play are acted out.

    Director:Robert Knights
    Writer:Dennis Potter

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  8. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 13 - Kisses at Fifty
    7.4/10(116 votes)

    S3:E13

    A long-married husband leaves his family for a barmaid.

    Director:Michael Apted
    Writer:Colin Welland

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  9. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 20 - Hard Labour
    7.3/10(457 votes)

    S3:E20

    The trials of an overworked and underappreciated housecleaner

    Director:Mike Leigh
    Writer:Mike Leigh

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  10. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 1 - The Reporters
    7.0/10(14 votes)

    S3:E1

    Two provincial newspaper reporters - one a young idealist starting out on his career, the other an embittered man who previously wrote for a failed national daily - swap views.

    Director:Michael Apted
    Writer:Arthur Hopcraft

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  11. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 19 - Access to the Children
    7.0/10(19 votes)

    S3:E19

    Malcolmson spends every Sunday taking his children to the zoo, reflecting on the breakdown of his marriage and the events that brought about his divorce. Is there a chance the family can be brought back together?

    Director:Philip Saville
    Writer:William Trevor

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  12. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 26 - Blooming Youth
    6.9/10(19 votes)

    S3:E26

    The problems of four people sharing an apartment

    Director:Les Blair
    Writer:Les Blair

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  13. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 10 - The Bouncing Boy
    6.8/10(9 votes)

    S3:E10

    A young couple have a baby boy. However, the new father doesn't take to his new position quite as well as expected.

    Director:Maurice Hatton
    Writer:John McGrath

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  14. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 22 - Speech Day
    6.8/10(14 votes)

    S3:E22

    Three underachievers have fun at a school speech day

    Director:John Goldschmidt
    Writer:Barry Hines

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  15. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 3 - Carson Country
    6.7/10(13 votes)

    S3:E3

    A story about the origin of the Stormont state

    Director:Piers Haggard
    Writer:Dominic Behan

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  16. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 8 - The Bankrupt
    5.2/10(12 votes)

    S3:E8

    A washed-up executive is on the verge of bankruptcy.

    Director:Christopher Morahan
    Writer:David Mercer

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  17. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 2 - A Life Is for Ever
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S3:E2

    The story of a man serving a 30-year prison sentence for killing a cop

    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Tony Parker

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  18. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 4 - Man Friday
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S3:E4

    The story of Robinson Crusoe from Man Friday's viewpoint

    Director:James MacTaggart
    Writer:Adrian Mitchell

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  19. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 5 - Triple Exposure
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S3:E5

    A hippie breaks into the house of a middle-aged couple and forms a relationship with them

    Director:Alan Cooke
    Writer:David Halliwell

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  20. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 6 - Better than the Movies
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S3:E6

    A man celebrating his birthday comes to appreciate the difference between media fantasy and mundane reality.

    Director:Roy Battersby
    Writer:John Elliot

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  21. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 14 - Highway Robbery
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S3:E14

    A man fights council plans to demolish his home to make way for a new bypass.

    Director:Michael Apted
    Writers:Jeremy Seabrook, Michael O'Neill

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  22. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 17 - For Sylvia or The Air Show
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S3:E17

    Was this the finest hour? Sifting the truth and fiction about the Battle of Britain, Burrows and Harding give their own account of how the nation sees its heroes - and itself.

    Director:Barry Davis
    Writers:John Harding, John Burrows

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  23. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 21 - Man Above Men
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S3:E21

    "I'm the judge's daughter - I think he's a monstrous old man. I think all men who say 'I'm only doing my job' are monstrous. I've despaired of changing him. But I'd stop short of killing him."

    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:David Hare

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  24. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 23 - Steps Back
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S3:E23

    "Fifteen years since I was forced t' leave, forced t' leave me roots, the territory of me heart." When Gerry takes his fiancée Nita home to Brighouse, what will they find?

    Director:Brian Parker
    Writer:David Halliwell

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  25. Play for Today Season 3 Episode 24 - Three's One
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S3:E24

    Are Maggie and Tony using each other as a means of communicating with Dr Leafer? Or are they using Dr Leafer as a means of communicating with each other?

    Director:Alastair Reid
    Writer:Penelope Mortimer

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Season 3 Ratings Summary

"Shakespeare or Bust" is the best rated episode of "Play for Today" season 3. It scored 7.9/10 based on 52 votes. Directed by Brian Parker and written by Peter Terson, it aired on 1/8/1973. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "The Operation".