What are the best episodes of Play for Today?

The best rated episodes of Play for Today are: Just a Boy's Game - S10E5 rated 10.0, Comedians - S10E3 rated 10.0, Sunset Across the Bay - S5E12 rated 10.0, The Fishing Party - S2E19 rated 10.0, The Spongers - S8E14 rated 9.5, King - S14E9 rated 9.0, The Flipside of Dominick Hide - S11E8 rated 9.0, Waterloo Sunset - S9E13 rated 9.0, The Price of Coal (2) - S7E15 rated 9.0, The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil - S4E19 rated 9.0

What are the worst episodes of Play for Today?

The lowest rated episodes of Play for Today are: The Long Distance Piano Player - S1E1 rated 3.0, A Matter of Choice for Billy - S13E17 rated 4.0, Don't Be Silly - S9E21 rated 5.0, A Hole in Babylon - S10E7 rated 5.0, The Rank and File - S1E21 rated 6.0, The Kiss of Death - S7E9 rated 6.0, Gotcha - S7E16 rated 6.0, Coming Out - S9E20 rated 6.0, Country - S12E1 rated 6.5, Nuts in May - S6E12 rated 6.7

Play for Today Episode Rating Graph

Oct 1970 - Aug 1984

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Play for Today Episode Rating Graph poster

Browse episode ratings trends for Play for Today. Simply click on the interactive rating graph to explore the best and worst of Play for Today's 309 episodes.

Best Episodes of Play for Today

Just a Boy's Game
S10 Ep5
10.0
8th Nov 1979
In Glasgow, a young man's sole aim is to be as tough as his dying grandfather once was
Comedians
S10 Ep3
10.0
25th Oct 1979
Budding comedians take an evening class taught by a retired performer and, for their final exam, must perform for an impresario in a nightclub.
Sunset Across the Bay
S5 Ep12
10.0
20th Feb 1975
A elderly couple become disillusioned when they retire to their favorite holiday resort.
The Fishing Party
S2 Ep19
10.0
1st Jun 1972
The adventures of three Derbyshire miners going fishing
The Spongers
S8 Ep14
9.5
24th Jan 1978
The story of a single mother of four living on welfare
King
S14 Ep9
9.0
3rd Apr 1984
A man who has had a good life in England wants to retire to Jamaica, but the celebration with his daughters doesn't go as expected.
The Flipside of Dominick Hide
S11 Ep8
9.0
9th Dec 1980
Dominick Hide, a time traveller from London in the year 2130, is studying the city's transport system of 1980. Breaking the rules, he lands his craft to seek out his great-grandfather. Compared to his anaesthetised home, 80s London is filthy and polluted...and yet...it exudes an excitement that soon draws him in.
Waterloo Sunset
S9 Ep13
9.0
23rd Jan 1979
A young man and an old woman try to fit in when their neighborhood goes West Indian
The Price of Coal (2)
S7 Ep15
9.0
5th Apr 1977
A pair of plays, broadcast over two weeks, about mining life: ""Meet the People,"" about a coal mining community preparing for a royal visit, and ""Back to Reality,"" about a coal mining disaster that brings tragedy to a community.
The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil
S4 Ep19
9.0
6th Jun 1974
The exploitation of the Scottish land and its people from the 18th century to the present
Too Late to Talk to Billy
S12 Ep16
8.0
16th Feb 1982
A family in Belfast deals with life after the death of the mother from cancer
Even Solomon
S10 Ep4
8.0
1st Nov 1979
Stephen Piper is a quiet young man. A virgin, he shows no interest in sex, and is cruelly scorned by an aggressive female neighbour when he rebuffs her advances. He lives with his mother, an overbearing woman who mocks him for being wet. But Stephen has a secret. An accurate and heartfelt depiction of the challenges he faces and a fascinating glimpse at the gender politics of the day.
Red Shift
S8 Ep13
8.0
17th Jan 1978
A stone axehead links three couples living at different times in the same place in Wales.

Worst Episodes of Play for Today

The Long Distance Piano Player
S1 Ep1
3.0
15th Oct 1970
A man tries to break the world's record for nonstop piano playing
A Matter of Choice for Billy
S13 Ep17
4.0
10th May 1983
When his father leaves Belfast to seek work in England, a young man looks after his sister
Don't Be Silly
S9 Ep21
5.0
24th Jul 1979
A young wife tries to cope with her abusive husband.
A Hole in Babylon
S10 Ep7
5.0
29th Nov 1979
Exploration of the events leading up to 1975 Spaghetti House siege in London and the motivation of its three protagonists, T-Bone Wilson, Archie Pool, and Trevor Thomas.
The Rank and File
S1 Ep21
6.0
20th May 1971
The story of the Pilkington glass workers strike of 1970
The Kiss of Death
S7 Ep9
6.0
11th Jan 1977
A young man's chances at romance are thwarted by his own shyness.
Gotcha
S7 Ep16
6.0
12th Apr 1977
A student holds his teacher hostage in the classroom on the last day of school.
Coming Out
S9 Ep20
6.0
10th Apr 1979
A closeted homosexual writer is content to lead a double life
Country
S12 Ep1
6.5
20th Oct 1981
The story of the disintegration of an aristocratic country estate after World War II
Nuts in May
S6 Ep12
6.7
13th Jan 1976
Smug married couple Keith and Candice Marie “keen exponents of their belief in organic health food, exercise and the environment” are on a camping holiday, where they find that it is not always easy to be tolerant of others when they don't share the same enthusiasms.
The Lie
S1 Ep3
7.0
29th Oct 1970
""The Lie"" refers to the 8-year marriage of a couple who are constantly hurting each other.
Traitor
S2 Ep1
7.0
14th Oct 1971
A British aristocrat turned Russian spy is visited in Moscow by Western journalists
Shakespeare or Bust
S3 Ep11
7.0
8th Jan 1973
The adventures of three Derbyshire miners going to Stratford-upon-Avon on a barge

Play for Today Episode Guide

The Long Distance Piano Player
S1 Ep1
3.0
15th Oct 1970
A man tries to break the world's record for nonstop piano playing
The Right Prospectus
S1 Ep2
8.0
22nd Oct 1970
A couple look for the proper school, not for their children but for themselves.
The Lie
S1 Ep3
7.0
29th Oct 1970
""The Lie"" refers to the 8-year marriage of a couple who are constantly hurting each other.
Angels Are So Few
S1 Ep4
5th Nov 1970
A man claiming to be an angel enters the household of a bored housewife and teaches the family a few lessons.
The Write-Off
S1 Ep5
12th Nov 1970
A man is made redundant but can't bring himself to let anyone know, plunging into a web of deceit as he keeps up the charade he is still in work.
I Can't See My Little Willie
S1 Ep6
19th Nov 1970
A man has a mid-life crisis in his brother's pub where sees life as a game show
Hearts and Flowers
S1 Ep8
3rd Dec 1970
A TV host and his architect brother attend their father's funeral
Robin Redbreast
S1 Ep9
10th Dec 1970
A woman living in a country cottage thinks that someone is trying to get her.
The Hallelujah Handshake
S1 Ep10
17th Dec 1970
A petty thief and social misfit finagles his way into a church congregation
Alma Mater
S1 Ep11
7th Jan 1971
A civil servant working abroad revisits his old school
The Piano
S1 Ep14
28th Jan 1971
An old couple refuse to move when they find out that they can't take their piano with them
The Rainbirds
S1 Ep16
11th Feb 1971
A man who attempted suicide by jumping out a window is saved only to live in a coma, in which he has fantasies about his relatives and nightmare creatures.
Reddick
S1 Ep17
18th Feb 1971
Charges that the Rev 'Red' Reddick is exploiting his youth club members leads to an explosive confrontation.
The Foxtrot
S1 Ep18
29th Apr 1971
An odd menage a trois results when a woman and her lover are visited by her long-lost husband
When the Bough Breaks
S1 Ep19
6th May 1971
When an injured baby arrives at the hospital, a social worker looks for the parents
Orkney
S1 Ep20
13th May 1971
A trilogy of plays--A Time to Keep, The Whaler's Return, and Celia--exploring the life of the islanders in the past and present
The Rank and File
S1 Ep21
6.0
20th May 1971
The story of the Pilkington glass workers strike of 1970
The Man in the Sidecar
S1 Ep22
27th May 1971
A succesful novelist Edith lives with her husband and his friend, but she decides to ask the friend to leave.
Everybody Say Cheese
S1 Ep23
3rd Jun 1971
The story of a disintegrating marriage told through family photos