Episodes
- 1
1. Country
20 Oct 1981 · 75 min
The story of the disintegration of an aristocratic country estate after World War II
- 2
2. London Is Drowning
27 Oct 1981 · 75 min
A docudrama about what would happen if London was hit by severe flooding
- 3
3. A Room for the Winter
3 Nov 1981 · 75 min
James, an expatriate South African anti-apartheid fighter, deals with his nightmares and his complaining landlady in a run-down area of London, while dreaming of his lover Stephen, left behind.
- 4
4. No Visible Scar
17 Nov 1981 · 75 min
A nurse is subjected to an interrogation after giving medical treatment to a terrorist leader.
- 5
5. Iris in the Traffic, Ruby in the Rain
24 Nov 1981 · 75 min
In Belfast, Ruby has a cold and is caught in the rain while Iris is looking for work and gets caught in traffic
- 6
6. Protest
1 Dec 1981 · 75 min
In an adaptation of Václav Havel's play, a dissident, newly released from prison for political reasons, attempts to get his well-connected friend to sign a protest. In this one man play, both the roles are played by Nigel Hawthorne.
- 7
7. United Kingdom
8 Dec 1981 · 75 min
Two men on a local council fight the system when forced with massive spending cuts.
- 8
8. PQ17
15 Dec 1981 · 75 min
During World War II, a British officer is ordered to abandon a Russian convoy.
- 9
9. The Factory
22 Dec 1981 · 75 min
A manager, a foreman, and two workers are all that remains of a factory yet labor relations stay the same
- 10
10. England's Green and Pleasant Land
5 Jan 1982 · 75 min
A planning decision must be made, and the motorway extension must go through on either the Golf Course or the Allotments - will the greens survive or the peasant lands?
- 11
11. A Cotswold Death
12 Jan 1982 · 75 min
A police inspector investigates the murder of an Arab sheik who had become a village's Lord of the Manor.
- 12
12. Under the Skin
19 Jan 1982 · 75 min
Three women involved in different ways in the women's movement.
- 13
13. Commitments
26 Jan 1982 · 75 min
Politics and relationships during the last years of the Heath government
- 14
14. Life After Death
2 Feb 1982 · 75 min
Meg: We were so close, we loved each other, we made a whole together. I feel cut in half.
- 15
15. The Silly Season
9 Feb 1982 · 75 min
Malcolm goes through life hating the mundanity of his existence as a factory worker and an unloved husband. But when students take up summer jobs at the factory, it reawakens both his passion for political feeling and romantic urges.
16. Too Late to Talk to Billy
16 Feb 1982 · 75 min
A family in Belfast deals with life after the death of the mother from cancer
- 17
17. Willie's Last Stand
23 Feb 1982 · 75 min
Willie and his friends notice the passage of time around them, and how society is changing as their marriages stagnate. Can Willie prove to himself that he still has it, by being able to cheat on his wife just once?
- 18
18. Tishoo
9 Mar 1982 · 75 min
Frank has dedicated 19 years to researching a cure for the common cold, and is almost ready to publish a paper. Yet budget cuts and his own inability to form real relationships with those around him threaten to derail the project.
19. Home Sweet Home
16 Mar 1982 · 88 min · 6.4/10
Three postal workers and their dysfunctional families interact over cups of tea and Sunday dinner. Home Sweet Home is a 1982 television film devised and directed by Mike Leigh, for BBC TV, 'about postmen, parenthood, social workers and sex.' It was Leigh's second collaboration with Play for Today producer Louis Marks, and cinematographer Remi Adefarasin, and with composer Carl Davis—the music score featured a quartet of basses. The film was shot on location in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
20. A Sudden Wrench
23 Mar 1982 · 75 min
"My life is over - and I just didn't notice it passing." A call to a radio helpline leads to depressed housewife Christine finding a new direction in life.
- 21
21. Eve Set the Balls of Corruption Going
30 Mar 1982 · 75 min
Adolescents will always be obsessed by the same old subject, even when they are educated by nuns. Six ex-Classmates meet for the first time in 12 years and hilarious memories change into highly emotional situations.
- 22
22. Whistling Wally
6 Apr 1982 · 75 min
While Wally was happy there wasn't much wrong with the world, and pints seemed a small price to pay for what he gave us. But don't forget what we gave him. We gave him the knowledge he was important, at least to us.
Play for Today Series 12: quick answers
How many episodes are in Play for Today Series 12?
Series 12 of Play for Today has 22 episodes, about 28 hours in total.
When did Play for Today Series 12 come out?
Series 12 premiered on 19 Oct 1981.
What is the best episode of Play for Today Series 12?
By viewer score, episode 19, “Home Sweet Home”, at 6.4/10.