Play for Today
Series 10
197928 episodes
Episode 1
Long Distance Information
Oct 11, 19791h 15m
A fanatical Elvis Presley fan is working as a disc jockey when his idol dies
Episode 2
Cries from a Watchtower
Oct 18, 19791h 15m
A watchmaker finds his livelihood is threatened by cheaply imported digital watches.
Episode 3
Comedians
Oct 25, 19791h 15m
Budding comedians take an evening class taught by a retired performer and, for their final exam, must perform for an impresario in a nightclub.
Episode 4
Even Solomon
Nov 1, 19791h 15m
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.
Episode 5
Just a Boy's Game
Nov 8, 19791h 15m
In Glasgow, a young man's sole aim is to be as tough as his dying grandfather once was
Episode 6
Billy
Nov 15, 19791h 15m
A 4-year-old boy is abused by his father
Episode 7
A Hole in Babylon
Nov 29, 19791h 15m
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.
Episode 8
The Slab-Boys
Dec 6, 19791h 15m
The story of a young man who works in a carpet factory
Episode 9
Katie: The Year of a Child
Dec 13, 19791h 15m
A teenage girl from a family of Irish Travellers is left to look after her brothers and sisters while her father is away.
Episode 10
The Network
Dec 20, 19791h 15m
What do Rose from Devon and Christina from Stuttgart have in common? And in what way is their fate linked to that of wealthy Fiona Dunkerley?
Episode 11
Chance of a Lifetime
Jan 3, 19801h 15m
A young man quits school and joins the army.
Episode 12
Keep Smiling
Jan 10, 19801h 15m
Family picnics should not be like this: bugging devices, men with X-ray eyes. Mary doesn't understand what terrifies Simon, nor the bizarre events of the next six months.
Episode 13
Dreams of Leaving
Jan 17, 19801h 15m
A journalist moves to London and gets caught up in the big city and his romance with a rich debutante.
Episode 14
Thicker Than Water
Jan 24, 19801h 15m
Various characters have adventures on the way to a black pudding festival in Normandy.
Episode 15
Murder Rap
Jan 31, 19801h 15m
An Englishman's home is his castle, and Wally aims to prove it.
Episode 16
Instant Enlightenment Including VAT
Feb 7, 19801h 15m
Weekend enlightenment seminars serve as a form of brainwashing.
Episode 17
No Defence
Feb 14, 19801h 15m
Mr. Germanou arrives from Cyprus with his family to settle in England. But on his arrival he's arrested for an historical rape with seemingly no defence.
Episode 18
That Crazy Woman
Feb 21, 19801h 15m
Twenty years ago, at the age of 56, this extraordinary woman became a national hero by walking from John O'Groats to Land's End. One of the last great English eccentrics (even though she was Russian) in the last days of English innocence.
Episode 19
A Gift from Nessus
Feb 28, 19801h 15m
The marital and career problems of a middle-aged, middle-class man in Glasgow in the 1960s
Episode 20
Kate, the Good Neighbour
Mar 6, 19801h 15m
A compassionate elderly woman comes to the realization that she can no longer care for herself or others.
Episode 21
Buses
Mar 13, 19801h 15m
A story about the regulation of the bus industry in 1930
Episode 22
Shadows on Our Skin
Mar 20, 19801h 15m
The problems of an 11-year-old boy living in the Catholic part of Londonderry
Episode 23
Ladies
Mar 27, 19801h 15m
The A Shift at the MHS department store are organising a wedding gift presentation for Elaine. But what's on Miriam's mind, and why does she seem so out of sorts?
Episode 24
The Vanishing Army
Apr 3, 19801h 15m
A story about the highs and lows of peacetime army life
Episode 25
Not for the Likes of Us
Apr 10, 19801h 15m
"I dunno, years of putting up with it, waiting on you all, for what? Eh? To become a 14-stone invisible woman?"
Episode 26
The Executioner
Apr 17, 19801h 15m
Jan and Meg Citron are on holiday in Germany. Their car is stopped by the police. A simple traffic offence? But their seemingly innocent past is ripped open and life will never be the same again.
Episode 27
The Imitation Game
Apr 24, 19801h 15m
During World War II, an idealistic young woman joins the Army Transport Service
Episode 28
A Walk in the Forest
May 14, 19801h 15m
A writer gets involved with a Soviet dissident