6.6/1012 votes#1 - The Reporters
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 10/9/1972
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
- NaN/100 votes
#2 - A Life Is for Ever
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 10/16/1972
The story of a man serving a 30-year prison sentence for killing a cop
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 6.2/1013 votes
#3 - Carson Country
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 10/23/1972
A story about the origin of the Stormont state
Director: Piers Haggard
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#4 - Man Friday
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 10/30/1972
The story of Robinson Crusoe from Man Friday's viewpoint
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#5 - Triple Exposure
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 11/6/1972
A hippie breaks into the house of a middle-aged couple and forms a relationship with them
Director: Alan Cooke
Writer: David Halliwell
- NaN/100 votes
#6 - Better than the Movies
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 11/13/1972
A man celebrating his birthday comes to appreciate the difference between media fantasy and mundane reality.
Director: N/A
Writer: John Elliot
- 7.7/1031 votes
#7 - The General's Day
Season 3 Episode 7 - Aired 11/20/1972
An elderly general woos a shy school teacher.
Director: John Gorrie
Writer: N/A
- 5.7/1011 votes
#8 - The Bankrupt
Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 11/27/1972
A washed-up executive is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Director: Christopher Morahan
Writer: David Mercer
- 7.3/1031 votes
#9 - Just Your Luck
Season 3 Episode 9 - Aired 12/4/1972
A pregnant teenager sets about wooing a sailor in a sectarian council estate in Greenock.
Director: Mike Newell
Writer: N/A
- 6.6/109 votes
#10 - The Bouncing Boy
Season 3 Episode 10 - Aired 12/11/1972
A young couple have a baby boy. However, the new father doesn't take to his new position quite as well as expected.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.9/1048 votes
#11 - Shakespeare or Bust
Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 1/8/1973
The adventures of three Derbyshire miners going to Stratford-upon-Avon on a barge
Director: Michael Simpson
Writer: N/A
- 7.7/1033 votes
#12 - Land of Green Ginger
Season 3 Episode 12 - Aired 1/15/1973
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10110 votes#13 - Kisses at Fifty
Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 1/22/1973
A long-married husband leaves his family for a barmaid.
Director: Michael Apted
Writer: Colin Welland
- NaN/100 votes
#14 - Highway Robbery
Season 3 Episode 14 - Aired 1/29/1973
A man fights council plans to demolish his home to make way for a new bypass.
Director: Michael Apted
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/1011 votes
#15 - Song at Twilight
Season 3 Episode 15 - Aired 2/5/1973
The story of a defiant football manager in terminal decline
Director: Herbert Wise
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/1021 votes
#16 - Only Make Believe
Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 2/12/1973
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
- NaN/100 votes
#17 - For Sylvia or The Air Show
Season 3 Episode 17 - Aired 2/19/1973
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/1014 votes
#18 - The Operation
Season 3 Episode 18 - Aired 2/26/1973
David Adler is an operator. He strips assets, other men's wives, and his oldest friend's soul - anything for a cool million.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.0/1017 votes
#19 - Access to the Children
Season 3 Episode 19 - Aired 3/5/1973
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: N/A
- 7.3/10418 votes
#20 - Hard Labour
Season 3 Episode 20 - Aired 3/12/1973
The trials of an overworked and underappreciated housecleaner
Director: Mike Leigh
Writer: Mike Leigh
- NaN/100 votes
#21 - Man Above Men
Season 3 Episode 21 - Aired 3/19/1973
"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: N/A
- 6.5/1012 votes
#22 - Speech Day
Season 3 Episode 22 - Aired 3/26/1973
Three underachievers have fun at a school speech day
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#23 - Steps Back
Season 3 Episode 23 - Aired 5/14/1973
"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: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#24 - Three's One
Season 3 Episode 24 - Aired 6/4/1973
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#25 - Edward G.--Like the Film Star
Season 3 Episode 25 - Aired 6/11/1973
Edward G. is nothing like a film star; his life has been ordinary - until now. But he's just had a shattering experience. This edition is missing from the BBC archives.
Director: James Ferman
Writer: N/A
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!
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 3 Ratings Summary
"The Reporters" is the best rated episode of "Play for Today" season 3. It scored 6.6/10 based on 12 votes. Directed by Michael Apted and written by Arthur Hopcraft, it aired on 10/9/1972. This episode is rated NaN points higher than the second-best, "A Life Is for Ever".