American Playhouse (Season 4)

Testament (Episode 1)

Writer: John Sacret Young

Air date: 1984-11-26

Runtime: 90 min

Overview: It's just another day in the small town of Hamlin until something disastrous happens. Suddenly, news breaks that a series of nuclear warheads has been dropped along the Eastern Seaboard and, more locally, in California. As people begin coping with the devastating aftermath of the attacks — many suffer radiation poisoning — the Wetherly family tries to survive.

A Matter of Principle (Episode 2) 7.0

Writer: Neal Miller

Air date: 1984-12-03

Runtime: 60 min

Overview: Flag Purdy, a 'man of many principles', must learn the hard lesson of compromisation in order to keep his wife and children. The 'final straw' comes when the family bring a Christmas tree into his house.

Solomon Northup's Odyssey (Episode 3)

Writer: Lou Potter

Air date: 1984-12-10

Runtime: 115 min

Overview: A free Black man from New York is tricked, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in the South, where he endures twelve years of brutal servitude before finding a way to contact his family and secure his freedom.

Tomorrow (Episode 4)

Air date: 1984-12-17

Runtime: 103 min

Overview: A lonely farmer takes in a pregnant woman and looks after her. After she gives birth, tragedy strikes.

Go Tell It on the Mountain (Episode 5)

Writer: Leslie Lee

Air date: 1985-01-14

Runtime: 96 min

Overview: Over a single, pivotal Saturday in 1930s Harlem, 14-year-old John Grimes wrestles with his religious calling and his fraught relationship with his abusive, hypocritical stepfather, Gabriel. Extended flashbacks explore the oppressive Southern past and personal histories of John's mother, his aunt, and Gabriel, ultimately illuminating the generational trauma and complex family secrets that shape his life.

Noon Wine (Episode 6)

Writer: Michael Fields

Air date: 1985-01-21

Runtime: 81 min

Overview: On a hot day in 1890s Texas, a stranger arrives at the small dairy farm of Royal and Ellie Thompson, seeking work. A taciturn, English-speaking Swede from North Dakota, Olaf Helton is competent, strong, and good at farm work. As years pass, the farm flourishes. Then one day, a second stranger also from North Dakota, Homer Hatch, changes lives in ways no one could have imagined.

The Joy That Kills (Episode 7) 7.0

Writer: Tina Rathborne

Air date: 1985-01-28

Runtime: 56 min

Overview: Louise dreams of traveling the world, but her weak heart and husband Brently's overbearing concern prevent her from doing so. However, news of a train accident changes everything.

Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (Episode 8)

Writer: Corinne Jacker

Air date: 1985-02-04

Runtime: 83 min

Overview: Computer programmer Aram Fingal's virtual vacation in the classic film Casablanca is removed by a totalitarian government and accidentally trapped in the virtual reality simulation. He must find a way out before he expires.

The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski (Episode 9)

Writer: Jean Shepherd

Air date: 1985-02-11

Runtime: 56 min

Overview: Ralph Parker navigates his first serious romance with his new Polish neighbor, Josephine Cosnowski, during a Thanksgiving setting.

Some Men Need Help (Episode 10)

Writer: John Ford Noonan

Air date: 1985-02-18

Runtime: 77 min

Overview: An oddball Good Samaritan parable as ex Mafioso tries to save his drunk neighbor from himself.

Charlotte Forten's Mission: Experiment in Freedom (Episode 11)

Writer: Samm-Art Williams

Air date: 1985-02-25

Runtime: 113 min

Overview: Charlotte Forten is a young Black woman who became an integral part of President Lincoln's 'Great Experiment'. During the Civil War, Southern troops were forced off the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia, which left 8,000 slaves as free. Miss Forten's mission was to journey south to Sea Island and lead those slaves in the transition from slavery to freedom, where she sought to give newly freed black children a decent education and chance for a better life.

Breakfast with Les and Bess (Episode 12)

Writer: Lee Kalcheim

Air date: 1985-03-11

Runtime: 90 min

Overview: An eccentric couple broadcast their morning radio talk show from their New York apartment in the 1960s.

Nightsongs (Episode 13)

Writer: Marva Nabili

Air date: 1985-04-15

Runtime: 116 min

Overview: A Chinese refugee from Vietnam emigrates to America, where she prepares to meet several relatives for the first time.

Under the Biltmore Clock (Episode 14)

Writer: Neal Miller

Air date: 1985-04-25

Runtime: 79 min

Overview: In 1915 Chicago, 21-year-old Myra Harper sets her sights on the wealthy and reserved Knowleton Whitney. All goes well, but later when Myra meets his wacky parents, it turns out to be much harder for Myra than simply landing the man of her dreams.

Displaced Person (Episode 15)

Writer: Fred Barron

Air date: 1985-05-06

Runtime: 60 min

Overview: A young Black boy comes of age in an all-white German orphanage run by white nuns. Townspeople tease him that his father is an American GI named Joe Louis. Told of a 'sighting' of the alleged father, the boy sets out to find the soldier.

The Europeans (Episode 16)

Writer: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Air date: 1985-05-15

Runtime: 60 min

Overview: The Countess Eugenia and her brother Robert, expatriate Americans who have grown up in Europe, return to prosperous relatives in New England. Eugenia hopes to make an advantageous marriage with a wealthy cousin. As Eugenia encounters obstacles, Robert finds his suit bearing fruit.

El Norte (Episode 17)

Writer: Gregory Nava

Air date: 1985-05-20

Runtime: 141 min

Overview: Indigenous Guatemalan siblings Rosa and Enrique flee their village after a government massacre and undertake a perilous journey to the United States ('El Norte') seeking a new life, only to face new hardships as undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles.

Three Sovereigns for Sarah (1) (Episode 18)

Writer: Victor Pisano

Air date: 1985-05-27

Runtime: 57 min

Overview: In 1703 Salem, accused witch Sarah Cloyce, seeking justice for her sisters, recounts the events leading up to the trials, focusing on feuding neighbors and the girls' accusations, including those by Abigail Williams.

Three Sovereigns for Sarah (2) (Episode 19)

Writer: Victor Pisano

Air date: 1985-06-03

Runtime: 57 min

Overview: In 1703 Salem, accused witch Sarah Cloyce, seeking justice for her sisters, recounts the events leading up to the trials, focusing on feuding neighbors and the girls' accusations, including those by Abigail Williams.

Three Sovereigns for Sarah (3) (Episode 20)

Writer: Victor Pisano

Air date: 1985-06-10

Runtime: 57 min

Overview: In 1703 Salem, accused witch Sarah Cloyce, seeking justice for her sisters, recounts the events leading up to the trials, focusing on feuding neighbors and the girls' accusations, including those by Abigail Williams.

Paper Angels (Episode 21)

Writer: Genny Lim

Air date: 1985-06-15

Runtime: 60 min

Overview: Chinese immigrants are detained on Angel Island in 1915 during the Chinese Exclusion era. The new arrivals express their hopes and anxieties as they try to reconcile their Chinese heritage with their new lives in California.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Episode 22)

Writer: Tennessee Williams

Air date: 1985-06-24

Runtime: 144 min

Overview: An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.