8.0/1031 votes#1 - Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 10/18/1973
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
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#2 - Her Majesty's Pleasure
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 10/25/1973
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 5.8/1013 votes
#3 - Jack Point
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 11/1/1973
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: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#4 - The Emergency Channel
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 11/8/1973
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: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#5 - Mummy and Daddy
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 11/15/1973
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#6 - Private Practice
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 11/22/1973
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: N/A
- 7.4/1012 votes
#7 - Shutdown
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 11/29/1973
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: N/A
- 5.8/108 votes
#8 - Baby Blues
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 12/6/1973
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#9 - Jingle Bells
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 12/13/1973
Family Christmas, presents, drink, Christmas Eve at the club, Boxing Day football - but, among the celebrations, some hard home-truths.
Director: Claude Whatham
Writer: N/A
- 7.1/1014 votes
#10 - The Lonely Man's Lover
Season 4 Episode 10 - Aired 1/17/1974
A young farmgirl begins a romance with an artist
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.3/1026 votes#11 - All Good Men
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 1/31/1974
An elderly politician looks back over his career while being interviewed by a TV producer.
Director: Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Writer: Trevor Griffiths
7.3/1041 votes#12 - Joe's Ark
Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 2/14/1974
A pet shop owner forsakes his religious beliefs when his daughter gets cancer
Director: Alan Bridges
Writer: Dennis Potter
- NaN/100 votes
#13 - Hot Fat
Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 2/21/1974
Sauna baths are supposed to relax you, but it rather depends who you meet in there.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 6.8/109 votes
#14 - Easy Go
Season 4 Episode 14 - Aired 3/7/1974
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: N/A
- 5.7/1015 votes
#15 - Headmaster
Season 4 Episode 15 - Aired 3/14/1974
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: N/A
- 7.1/10921 votes
#16 - Penda's Fen
Season 4 Episode 16 - Aired 3/21/1974
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
- 5.8/109 votes
#17 - Pigeon--Hawk or Dove?
Season 4 Episode 17 - Aired 3/28/1974
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: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#18 - Three for the Fancy
Season 4 Episode 18 - Aired 4/11/1974
Further adventures of three Derbyshire miners
Director: Michael Simpson
Writer: N/A
8.6/1044 votes#19 - The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil
Season 4 Episode 19 - Aired 6/6/1974
The exploitation of the Scottish land and its people from the 18th century to the present
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/1069 votes#20 - Schmoedipus
Season 4 Episode 20 - Aired 6/20/1974
A young man persuades a woman that he is her son.
Director: N/A
Writer: Dennis Potter
- 7.8/1027 votes
#21 - The Childhood Friend
Season 4 Episode 21 - Aired 6/27/1974
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: N/A
- 6.7/1069 votes
#22 - A Follower for Emily
Season 4 Episode 22 - Aired 7/4/1974
The friendship of two residents of a retirement home ends up in marriage
Director: Alan Clarke
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Play for Today Season 4
Every episode of Play for Today Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Play for Today Season 4!
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 4 Ratings Summary
"Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" is the best rated episode of "Play for Today" season 4. It scored 8/10 based on 31 votes. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and written by N/A, it aired on 10/18/1973. This episode is rated NaN points higher than the second-best, "Her Majesty's Pleasure".