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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!

Binge this in 1d 3h•Peaking at 8.5/10

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 4 Episode 19 - The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil
    8.5/10(71 votes)

    S4:E19

    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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  2. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 1 - Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
    8.1/10(38 votes)

    S4:E1

    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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  3. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 21 - The Childhood Friend
    7.8/10(30 votes)

    S4:E21

    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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  4. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 10 - The Lonely Man's Lover
    7.4/10(15 votes)

    S4:E10

    A young farmgirl begins a romance with an artist

    Director:Brian Parker
    Writer:Barry Collins

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  5. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 11 - All Good Men
    7.3/10(27 votes)

    S4:E11

    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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  6. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 12 - Joe's Ark
    7.3/10(41 votes)

    S4:E12

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

    Director:Alan Bridges
    Writer:Dennis Potter

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  7. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 14 - Easy Go
    7.3/10(11 votes)

    S4:E14

    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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  8. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 20 - Schmoedipus
    7.3/10(117 votes)

    S4:E20

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

    Director:Barry Davis
    Writer:Dennis Potter

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  9. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 7 - Shutdown
    7.2/10(16 votes)

    S4:E7

    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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  10. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 16 - Penda's Fen
    7.1/10(1266 votes)

    S4:E16

    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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  11. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 22 - A Follower for Emily
    6.8/10(74 votes)

    S4:E22

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

    Director:Alan Clarke
    Writer:Brian Clark

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  12. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 17 - Pigeon--Hawk or Dove?
    6.5/10(9 votes)

    S4:E17

    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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  13. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 15 - Headmaster
    6.1/10(17 votes)

    S4:E15

    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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  14. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 3 - Jack Point
    6.0/10(14 votes)

    S4:E3

    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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  15. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 8 - Baby Blues
    5.5/10(11 votes)

    S4:E8

    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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  16. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 2 - Her Majesty's Pleasure
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S4:E2

    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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  17. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 4 - The Emergency Channel
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S4:E4

    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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  18. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 5 - Mummy and Daddy
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S4:E5

    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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  19. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 6 - Private Practice
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S4:E6

    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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  20. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 9 - Jingle Bells
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S4:E9

    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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  21. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 13 - Hot Fat
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S4:E13

    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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  22. Play for Today Season 4 Episode 18 - Three for the Fancy
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S4:E18

    Further adventures of three Derbyshire miners

    Directors:Michael Simpson, Matthew Robinson
    Writer:Peter Terson

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Season 4 Ratings Summary

"The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil" is the best rated episode of "Play for Today" season 4. It scored 8.5/10 based on 71 votes. Directed by John Mackenzie and written by John McGrath, it aired on 6/6/1974. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont".