Play for Today Season 4, Episode 20: Schmoedipus

1

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

Mrs Palfrey tries hard to be accepted by the other residents at the Claremont. But then she meets Ludo and a real friendship begins.

75 min

2

Her Majesty's Pleasure

They are all 'in' for life so the pleasures are sparse, and strictly of their own making. Their really big event is the Christmas pantomime, only this year they have lost their star. Mother Bear has escaped. Still, there is some consolation. The new arrival looks a likely Goldilocks. 'There's one or two who'll be after him,' says Woodbine - and he knows all their weaknesses.

75 min

3

Jack Point

An amateur operatic society is preparing a Gilbert and Sullivan production, and someone new is needed for the role of Jack Point - but who will break this to the veteran who's always done it?

75 min

4

The Emergency Channel

Dean has a rare talent. He can be made happy. He exudes happiness and confidence like a rare blossom. Both Sarah in the past, and Julia now, could do this for him. But where are they now that he is alone in Battersea Park with two suitcases and no memory?

75 min

5

Mummy and Daddy

An early retirement and a seaside bungalow-for Arthur and Marion it's not a chance to miss, especially since their son is buying the bungalow. Arthur's full of plans - GCE, garden, beach-not to mention his own "bit of an interesting diversion." But after a year the delight is beginning to tarnish.

75 min

6

Private Practice

Why does Sylvia Payne , with her successful husband and luxurious home, get in such a flap about her daughter's school friend coming to visit?

75 min

7

Shutdown

Bernie gets a temporary job as an electrician during a factory's annual minimal workforce period. But what secrets is Bernie hiding, and is he really all he claims?

75 min

8

Baby Blues

After ten years of trying, Lavinia, and a large team of medics, finally manage to produce a live baby. She should now be able to start living her dream, but what happens next is not at all the paradise she has been looking forward to.

75 min

9

Jingle Bells

Family Christmas, presents, drink, Christmas Eve at the club, Boxing Day football - but, among the celebrations, some hard home-truths.

75 min

10

The Lonely Man's Lover

A young farmgirl begins a romance with an artist

75 min

11

All Good Men

An elderly politician looks back over his career while being interviewed by a TV producer.

75 min

12

Joe's Ark

A pet shop owner forsakes his religious beliefs when his daughter gets cancer

75 min

13

Hot Fat

Sauna baths are supposed to relax you, but it rather depends who you meet in there.

75 min

14

Easy Go

A group of Deptford youngsters hang about by the River Thames on a hot day. When they and some nearby dockers spot a valuable copper boiler floating in the river the two rival factions try to get at it first. The youngsters succeed, but on their way to the totter's yard they are waylaid by the adults, who take the copper off them.

75 min

15

Headmaster

Fisher is good at his job but in new circumstances that isn't enough: he has to face the risks of competition for something bigger.

75 min

16

Penda's Fen

Summer 1955, and pastor's son Stephen must come to terms with his own identity amid societal pressure, religious guilt and his own imaginings. Penda's Fen is a British television play which was written by David Rudkin and directed by Alan Clarke. Commissioned by BBC producer David Rose, it was transmitted as part of the corporation's Play for Today series.

75 min

17

Pigeon--Hawk or Dove?

At the climax of the School Sports something went drastically wrong. Now, Wallace Pidgeon faces the contradictory demands of the bird-watching headmaster, his pupils, his pork-magnate father-in-law and his "child bride."

75 min

18

Three for the Fancy

Further adventures of three Derbyshire miners

75 min

19

The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil

The exploitation of the Scottish land and its people from the 18th century to the present

75 min

20

Schmoedipus

A young man persuades a woman that he is her son.

75 min

21

The Childhood Friend

On holiday, with his family, nothing to do and his wife ill, Sasha is only too pleased to meet again the girl he loved at 17.

75 min

22

A Follower for Emily

The friendship of two residents of a retirement home ends up in marriage

75 min