The Best Episodes of Play for Today Season 4

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

   8.1/10(37 votes)

   #1 - Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

   S4:E110/18/1973

   Mrs Palfrey tries hard to be accepted by the other residents at the Claremont. But then she meets Ludo and a real friendship begins.

   Director:Michael Lindsay-Hogg

   Writers:Ray Lawler, Elizabeth Taylor

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   Director:Michael Lindsay-Hogg

   Writers:Ray Lawler, Elizabeth Taylor
2. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #2 - Her Majesty's Pleasure

   S4:E210/25/1973

   They are all 'in' for life so the pleasures are sparse, and strictly of their own making. Their really big event is the Christmas pantomime, only this year they have lost their star. Mother Bear has escaped. Still, there is some consolation. The new arrival looks a likely Goldilocks. 'There's one or two who'll be after him,' says Woodbine - and he knows all their weaknesses.

   Director:Barry Davis

   Writer:Jimmy O'Connor

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   Director:Barry Davis

   Writer:Jimmy O'Connor
3. 

   6.0/10(14 votes)

   #3 - Jack Point

   S4:E311/1/1973

   An amateur operatic society is preparing a Gilbert and Sullivan production, and someone new is needed for the role of Jack Point - but who will break this to the veteran who's always done it?

   Director:Michael Apted

   Writer:Colin Welland

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   Director:Michael Apted

   Writer:Colin Welland
4. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #4 - The Emergency Channel

   S4:E411/8/1973

   Dean has a rare talent. He can be made happy. He exudes happiness and confidence like a rare blossom. Both Sarah in the past, and Julia now, could do this for him. But where are they now that he is alone in Battersea Park with two suitcases and no memory?

   Director:Robert Knights

   Writer:John Bowen

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   Director:Robert Knights

   Writer:John Bowen
5. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #5 - Mummy and Daddy

   S4:E511/15/1973

   An early retirement and a seaside bungalow-for Arthur and Marion it's not a chance to miss, especially since their son is buying the bungalow. Arthur's full of plans - GCE, garden, beach-not to mention his own "bit of an interesting diversion." But after a year the delight is beginning to tarnish.

   Director:Barry Davis

   Writer:Douglas Livingstone

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   Director:Barry Davis

   Writer:Douglas Livingstone
6. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #6 - Private Practice

   S4:E611/22/1973

   Why does Sylvia Payne , with her successful husband and luxurious home, get in such a flap about her daughter's school friend coming to visit?

   Director:Peter Cregeen

   Writer:Peter Hankin

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   Director:Peter Cregeen

   Writer:Peter Hankin
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7. 

   7.2/10(16 votes)

   #7 - Shutdown

   S4:E711/29/1973

   Bernie gets a temporary job as an electrician during a factory's annual minimal workforce period. But what secrets is Bernie hiding, and is he really all he claims?

   Director:John Mackenzie

   Writer:Tony Perrin

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   Director:John Mackenzie

   Writer:Tony Perrin
8. 

   5.5/10(11 votes)

   #8 - Baby Blues

   S4:E812/6/1973

   After ten years of trying, Lavinia, and a large team of medics, finally manage to produce a live baby. She should now be able to start living her dream, but what happens next is not at all the paradise she has been looking forward to.

   Director:James MacTaggart

   Writer:Nemone Lethbridge

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   Director:James MacTaggart

   Writer:Nemone Lethbridge
9. 

   0.0/10(0 votes)

   #9 - Jingle Bells

   S4:E912/13/1973

   Family Christmas, presents, drink, Christmas Eve at the club, Boxing Day football - but, among the celebrations, some hard home-truths.

   Director:Claude Whatham

   Writer:Arthur Hopcraft

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   Director:Claude Whatham

   Writer:Arthur Hopcraft
10. 

    7.4/10(15 votes)

    #10 - The Lonely Man's Lover

    S4:E101/17/1974

    A young farmgirl begins a romance with an artist

    Director:Brian Parker

    Writer:Barry Collins

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    Director:Brian Parker

    Writer:Barry Collins
11. 

    7.3/10(26 votes)

    #11 - All Good Men

    S4:E111/31/1974

    An elderly politician looks back over his career while being interviewed by a TV producer.

    Director:Michael Lindsay-Hogg

    Writer:Trevor Griffiths

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    Director:Michael Lindsay-Hogg

    Writer:Trevor Griffiths
12. 

    7.3/10(41 votes)

    #12 - Joe's Ark

    S4:E122/14/1974

    A pet shop owner forsakes his religious beliefs when his daughter gets cancer

    Director:Alan Bridges

    Writer:Dennis Potter

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    Director:Alan Bridges

    Writer:Dennis Potter
13. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Hot Fat

    S4:E132/21/1974

    Sauna baths are supposed to relax you, but it rather depends who you meet in there.

    Director:Derek Bennett

    Writer:Jack Rosenthal

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    Director:Derek Bennett

    Writer:Jack Rosenthal
14. 

    7.3/10(11 votes)

    #14 - Easy Go

    S4:E143/7/1974

    A group of Deptford youngsters hang about by the River Thames on a hot day. When they and some nearby dockers spot a valuable copper boiler floating in the river the two rival factions try to get at it first. The youngsters succeed, but on their way to the totter's yard they are waylaid by the adults, who take the copper off them.

    Director:Michael Tuchner

    Writer:Brian Clark

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    Director:Michael Tuchner

    Writer:Brian Clark
15. 

    6.1/10(17 votes)

    #15 - Headmaster

    S4:E153/14/1974

    Fisher is good at his job but in new circumstances that isn't enough: he has to face the risks of competition for something bigger.

    Director:Anthony Page

    Writer:John Challen

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    Director:Anthony Page

    Writer:John Challen
16. 

    7.1/10(1241 votes)

    #16 - Penda's Fen

    S4:E163/21/1974

    Summer 1955, and pastor's son Stephen must come to terms with his own identity amid societal pressure, religious guilt and his own imaginings. Penda's Fen is a British television play which was written by David Rudkin and directed by Alan Clarke. Commissioned by BBC producer David Rose, it was transmitted as part of the corporation's Play for Today series.

    Director:Alan Clarke

    Writer:David Rudkin

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    Director:Alan Clarke

    Writer:David Rudkin
17. 

    6.5/10(9 votes)

    #17 - Pigeon--Hawk or Dove?

    S4:E173/28/1974

    At the climax of the School Sports something went drastically wrong. Now, Wallace Pidgeon faces the contradictory demands of the bird-watching headmaster, his pupils, his pork-magnate father-in-law and his "child bride."

    Director:David Rose

    Writer:Michael Sadler

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    Director:David Rose

    Writer:Michael Sadler
18. 

    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Three for the Fancy

    S4:E184/11/1974

    Further adventures of three Derbyshire miners

    Directors:Michael Simpson, Matthew Robinson

    Writer:Peter Terson

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    Directors:Michael Simpson, Matthew Robinson

    Writer:Peter Terson
19. 

    8.6/10(67 votes)

    #19 - The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil

    S4:E196/6/1974

    The exploitation of the Scottish land and its people from the 18th century to the present

    Director:John Mackenzie

    Writer:John McGrath

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    Director:John Mackenzie

    Writer:John McGrath
20. 

    8.2/10(85 votes)

    #20 - Schmoedipus

    S4:E206/20/1974

    A young man persuades a woman that he is her son.

    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Dennis Potter

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    Director:Barry Davis

    Writer:Dennis Potter
21. 

    7.8/10(30 votes)

    #21 - The Childhood Friend

    S4:E216/27/1974

    On holiday, with his family, nothing to do and his wife ill, Sasha is only too pleased to meet again the girl he loved at 17.

    Director:Mike Newell

    Writer:Piers Paul Read

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    Director:Mike Newell

    Writer:Piers Paul Read
22. 

    6.8/10(74 votes)

    #22 - A Follower for Emily

    S4:E227/4/1974

    The friendship of two residents of a retirement home ends up in marriage

    Director:Alan Clarke

    Writer:Brian Clark

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    Director:Alan Clarke

    Writer:Brian Clark