American Playhouse
Season 5
198619 episodes
Episode 1
The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket
Jan 20, 19861h 24m
TMDB rating 10.0TMDB
A young boy is ridiculed by his schoolmates for his eccentric behavior and assertions that he can fly. Little do they know...
Episode 2
The Roommate
Jan 27, 19861h
In 1952, two polar opposites at Northwestern University are assigned to the same dorm room.
Episode 3
Valentine's Revenge
Feb 3, 19861h
A convict serving five years writes stories under the name 'O. Henry'. He encounters a convicted safecracker and is inspired to write the story of Jimmy Valentine, a man invincible in the art of cracking safes.
Episode 4
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1)
Feb 10, 198652m
Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.
Episode 5
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (2)
Feb 17, 198652m
Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.
Episode 6
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (3)
Feb 24, 198652m
Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.
Episode 7
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (4)
Mar 3, 198652m
Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.
Episode 8
Tell Me a Riddle
Mar 17, 19861h 30m
Aging couple David and Eva have lost the spark that once infused their marriage. After nearly four decades together, the elderly duo is feel disconnected and lost. When they discover that Eva is sick, they decide to travel across the country to stay with their granddaughter in San Francisco. On the trip, with Eva's possible death looming, the couple rediscovers the passion and love that had been missing from their lives.
Episode 9
The Little Sister
Apr 7, 19861h 43m
A Boston probation officer tries to help a troubled teenager from a rich Boston family.
Episode 10
The House of Ramon Iglesia
Apr 14, 198656m
Ramón Iglesias plans to retire from his janitorial job, sell his house in a Long Island suburb and return to Puerto Rico with his wife and three sons. Unfortunately, he doesn't hold the deed to his house which was purchased through a verbal agreement, harping back to a different cultural tradition involving codes of honor and community.
Episode 11
A Flash of Green
Apr 21, 19862h 2m
Jimmy Wing is a Florida journalist and long-time friend of Elmo Bliss, a local businessman and politician involved in real-estate development. Bliss reveals his ruthless side, threatening Wing when the reporter becomes close to beautiful wildlife conservationist Kat Hubble, one of a group of ecologists that stands in the way of a new landfill. While Wing clashes with Bliss, his life complicates further as his romance with Hubble progresses.
Episode 12
Damien
Apr 28, 19861h
Father Damien de Vuester, a 19th-century Roman Catholic priest who worked with lepers confined to the island of Molokai, discusses his experiences.
Episode 13
Rocket to the Moon
May 5, 19861h 58m
In 1938 New York, a dentist finds his business failing and his marriage on the rocks. Turning 40, he's a henpecked husband with little drive left for success. That is, until he starts getting involved with his lively assistant, a free spirit with a penchant for tall tales and a hidden loneliness. Receiving encouragement from his own father-in-law, the two find comfort in each other's attention.
Episode 14
A Case of Libel
May 12, 19861h 28m
A former World War II reporter gets a lawyer and takes a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist to court.
Episode 15
Painting Churches
May 19, 19861h 30m
Gardner and Fanny Church prepare to move out of their Beacon Hill home to their summer cottage on Cape Cod. Once a famous poet, the now-retired Gardner slips in and out of senility as his wife valiantly tries to keep them both afloat. They've asked their daughter, Mags, to come home and help them move. Mags agrees, for she hopes as well to finally paint their portrait. She is now on the verge of artistic celebrity herself and hopes, by painting her parents, to reconcile.
Episode 16
Roanoak (1)
May 26, 19861h
In 1584, a small band of Englishmen reached Roanoak Island off the coast of North Carolina, set up camp, and make contact with the residing Native Americans, calling on them for help in an attempt to live peacefully as they trade for the profit of both sides.
Episode 17
Roanoak (2)
Jun 2, 19861h
In 1584, a small band of Englishmen reached Roanoak Island off the coast of North Carolina, set up camp, and make contact with the residing Native Americans, calling on them for help in an attempt to live peacefully as they trade for the profit of both sides.
Episode 18
Roanoak (3)
Jun 9, 19861h
In 1584, a small band of Englishmen reached Roanoak Island off the coast of North Carolina, set up camp, and make contact with the residing Native Americans, calling on them for help in an attempt to live peacefully as they trade for the profit of both sides.
Episode 19
Sunday in the Park with George
Jun 16, 19862h 25m
The days leading up to the completion of his most famous painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat is struggling to make meaningful art and maintaining a relationship with his lover, Dot. Amid the scorn of the artistic community, Seurat's artistic ability thrives while his love diminishes. A century later, Seurat's descendant – named George and also an artist – finds himself burnt out and in search of what artistic path to follow, but he finds the answer to his future in the past.