Play for Today
Series 3
1972
E1 · 75 min
The Reporters
Two provincial newspaper reporters - one a young idealist starting out on his career, the other an embittered man who previously wrote for a failed national daily - swap views.
E2 · 75 min
A Life Is for Ever
The story of a man serving a 30-year prison sentence for killing a cop
E3 · 75 min
Carson Country
A story about the origin of the Stormont state
E4 · 75 min
Man Friday
The story of Robinson Crusoe from Man Friday's viewpoint
E5 · 75 min
Triple Exposure
A hippie breaks into the house of a middle-aged couple and forms a relationship with them
E6 · 75 min
Better than the Movies
A man celebrating his birthday comes to appreciate the difference between media fantasy and mundane reality.
E7 · 75 min
The General's Day
An elderly general woos a shy school teacher.
E8 · 75 min
The Bankrupt
A washed-up executive is on the verge of bankruptcy.
E9 · 75 min
Just Your Luck
A pregnant teenager sets about wooing a sailor in a sectarian council estate in Greenock.
E10 · 75 min
The Bouncing Boy
A young couple have a baby boy. However, the new father doesn't take to his new position quite as well as expected.
E11 · 75 min
Shakespeare or Bust
The adventures of three Derbyshire miners going to Stratford-upon-Avon on a barge
E12 · 75 min
Land of Green Ginger
Faced with the prospect of being sent to work abroad, Sally Brown returns home from London to Hull, to see if she still feels the same attachment for her home town - and for her old boyfriend Mike Thurlow. Will she decide to take the job abroad or return to live with Mike in Hull?
E13 · 69 min
Kisses at Fifty
A long-married husband leaves his family for a barmaid.
E14 · 75 min
Highway Robbery
A man fights council plans to demolish his home to make way for a new bypass.
E15 · 75 min
Song at Twilight
The story of a defiant football manager in terminal decline
E16 · 75 min
Only Make Believe
As a playwright dictates notes about his newest play to his secretary, scenes from the play are acted out.
E17 · 75 min
For Sylvia or The Air Show
Was this the finest hour? Sifting the truth and fiction about the Battle of Britain, Burrows and Harding give their own account of how the nation sees its heroes - and itself.
E18 · 75 min
The Operation
David Adler is an operator. He strips assets, other men's wives, and his oldest friend's soul - anything for a cool million.
E19 · 75 min
Access to the Children
Malcolmson spends every Sunday taking his children to the zoo, reflecting on the breakdown of his marriage and the events that brought about his divorce. Is there a chance the family can be brought back together?
E20 · 75 min
Hard Labour
The trials of an overworked and underappreciated housecleaner
E21 · 75 min
Man Above Men
"I'm the judge's daughter - I think he's a monstrous old man. I think all men who say 'I'm only doing my job' are monstrous. I've despaired of changing him. But I'd stop short of killing him."
E22 · 75 min
Speech Day
Three underachievers have fun at a school speech day
E23 · 75 min
Steps Back
"Fifteen years since I was forced t' leave, forced t' leave me roots, the territory of me heart." When Gerry takes his fiancée Nita home to Brighouse, what will they find?
E24 · 75 min
Three's One
Are Maggie and Tony using each other as a means of communicating with Dr Leafer? Or are they using Dr Leafer as a means of communicating with each other?
E25 · 75 min
Edward G.--Like the Film Star
Edward G. is nothing like a film star; his life has been ordinary - until now. But he's just had a shattering experience. This edition is missing from the BBC archives.
E26 · 75 min
Blooming Youth
The problems of four people sharing an apartment
E27 · 75 min
The Stretch
Everyone always looked after Maureen. But her husband comes home after two years in prison and finds she has grown up and he's not ready for the change.
E28 · 75 min
Making the Play
They no longer live together because, after 11 years, the marriage is over. So why is she always turning up to see him at the most embarrassing times? And why doesn't he send her away?