Episodes
Pasmore
October 21, 1980
Colin Pasmore tests his strength against his family ties but finds them stronger than he ever imagined.
C2H5OH
October 28, 1980
"In heaven there is no drama - drama depends on failure and conflict. My trade is a scrutiny of hell. For any proud dramatist his style is his prejudice."
The Adventures of Frank: Everybody's Fiddling Something
November 4, 1980
Writer-director John McGrath deliberately shies away from naturalism in an experiment that mixes blue screen, songs, and characters realising they're acting within a play. This first of two parts sees Frank travel to a hostile London.
The Adventures of Frank: Seeds of Ice
November 11, 1980
Minor Complications
November 18, 1980
Kay Gilbert goes into hospital for a minor operation which goes badly wrong. This play tells the story of her fight for compensation.
Number on End
November 25, 1980
What could Steve Jackson's documentary film expose that must be concealed from the African leaders meeting in Brussels? Steve Jackson is on the run and the wrong decision could prove fatal.
Jude
December 2, 1980
Twelve-year-old Jude has never met Dick, his father. One Sunday afternoon Dick impulsively engineers a meeting, which has distressing consequences.
The Flipside of Dominick Hide
December 9, 1980
Dominick Hide, a time traveller from London in the year 2130, is studying the city's transport system of 1980. Breaking the rules, he lands his craft to seek out his great-grandfather. Compared to his anaesthetised home, 80s London is filthy and polluted...and yet...it exudes an excitement that soon draws him in.
Name for the Day
December 16, 1980
Clive admits himself to a psychiatric hospital after undergoing a breakdown. His wife wants him back home, but in order for Clive to be released, he has to want to be cured.
Jessie
December 23, 1980
In Victorian times, a nanny cares for a mute boy, who becomes overly attached to her.
Beyond the Pale
January 6, 1981
A vacation at a seaside hotel in Ireland changes the lives of four friends.
The Muscle Market
January 13, 1981
The problems of an owner of a building contractor company in Liverpool
A Brush with Mr. Porter on the Road to El Dorado
January 20, 1981
"They're nice affable gobblers and we're in the nice affable gobbling business." Tom and Gwen soon find that their gastronomical retreat from the rat race is anything but an escape when the Porters come to dine.
Dear Brutus
January 27, 1981
"They say that in the wood you get what nearly everybody here is longing for - a second chance." J. M. Barrie's fantasy play, depicting alternative realities for its characters and their eventual return to real life.
The Cause
February 3, 1981
A confused industrial dispute at a London hospital triggers off in trade unionist George Harley's mind memories of his days fighting in the Spanish Civil War, when the issues seemed so much clearer.
Beloved Enemy
February 10, 1981
The head of a multinational corporation wants to do business with the Soviets
The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner
February 17, 1981
A group of men hold a reunion dinner in Tokyo
The Union
February 24, 1981
You know the nuts and bolts of our policy? To penetrate the unions. To use all sorts of stratagems, manoeuvres, illegal measures, evasions, subterfuges, to carry on Communist activities inside them at all cost.
Sorry
March 3, 1981
Two very different women share an office, a common enemy, and a sense of humour.
Shai Mãlã Khani: The Garland
March 10, 1981
When her 17-year-old son Roy falls in love with a Muslim girl, and a Bangladeshi butcher seeks help from her husband Raji, Leela realizes that the tears and romance of Indian cinema are closer to her own life than she has ever imagined.
The Sin Bin
March 17, 1981
Six lifers living in an experimental self-rehabilitation unit attached to an ordinary prison participate in a group therapy session. All of them have spent many years in prison and have little chance of ever getting out.
Before Water Lillies
March 24, 1981
An evening with the Parent-Teacher Association gets out of hand.
Bavarian Night
March 31, 1981
When the dynamic young head-master of St Peter's Primary School decides to liven up a parents' fund-raising social by hiring a Bavarian band, he little suspects the hidden passions that are about to be unleashed.
The Good Time Girls
April 7, 1981
Nancy and Ella are two bored housewives starved of affection when their husbands are away on the oil rigs. The rules are simple: have some fun, just make sure nobody finds out, and you don't get emotionally involved.
Baby Talk
April 14, 1981
It's such a simple, natural thing to have a baby, thinks Mary. But she and husband Paul are preoccupied with their careers. Can their young neighbour Tessa help - or are the emotions around a new baby more complex than anyone had expected?
A Turn for the Worse
April 28, 1981
Soldiers are subjected to a brutal and sadistic kind of psychological training exercise
Psy-Warriors
May 12, 1981
Soldiers are captured and interrogated by terrorists: but is it real or only a sadistic form of psychological training exercise?
