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The Best Episodes of American Playhouse Season 5

Every episode of American Playhouse Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of American Playhouse Season 5!

Binge this in 1d 0h•Peaking at 9.0/10

American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 15 - Painting Churches
    9.0/10(13 votes)

    S5:E15

    Gardner and Fanny Church prepare to move out of their Beacon Hill home to their summer cottage on Cape Cod. Once a famous poet, the now-retired Gardner slips in and out of senility as his wife valiantly tries to keep them both afloat. They've asked their daughter, Mags, to come home and help them move. Mags agrees, for she hopes as well to finally paint their portrait. She is now on the verge of artistic celebrity herself and hopes, by painting her parents, to reconcile.

    Director:Jack O'Brien
    Writer:Tina Howe

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  2. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 19 - Sunday in the Park with George
    8.3/10(1051 votes)

    S5:E19

    The days leading up to the completion of his most famous painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat is struggling to make meaningful art and maintaining a relationship with his lover, Dot. Amid the scorn of the artistic community, Seurat's artistic ability thrives while his love diminishes. A century later, Seurat's descendant – named George and also an artist – finds himself burnt out and in search of what artistic path to follow, but he finds the answer to his future in the past.

    Director:Terry Hughes
    Writers:Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine

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  3. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 5 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (2)
    7.5/10(20 votes)

    S5:E5

    Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

    Director:Peter H. Hunt
    Writer:Guy Gallo

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  4. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 16 - Roanoak (1)
    7.5/10(34 votes)

    S5:E16

    In 1584, a small band of Englishmen reached Roanoak Island off the coast of North Carolina, set up camp, and make contact with the residing Native Americans, calling on them for help in an attempt to live peacefully as they trade for the profit of both sides.

    Director:Jan Egleson
    Writers:James K. McCarthy, Dina Harris

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  5. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 7 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (4)
    7.2/10(18 votes)

    S5:E7

    Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

    Director:Peter H. Hunt
    Writer:Guy Gallo

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  6. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 1 - The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket
    7.1/10(66 votes)

    S5:E1

    A young boy is ridiculed by his schoolmates for his eccentric behavior and assertions that he can fly. Little do they know...

    Director:Emile Ardolino
    Writer:Peter Parnell

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  7. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 6 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (3)
    7.1/10(17 votes)

    S5:E6

    Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

    Director:Peter H. Hunt
    Writer:Guy Gallo

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  8. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 4 - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1)
    7.0/10(252 votes)

    S5:E4

    Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

    Director:Peter H. Hunt
    Writer:Guy Gallo

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  9. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 13 - Rocket to the Moon
    7.0/10(62 votes)

    S5:E13

    In 1938 New York, a dentist finds his business failing and his marriage on the rocks. Turning 40, he's a henpecked husband with little drive left for success. That is, until he starts getting involved with his lively assistant, a free spirit with a penchant for tall tales and a hidden loneliness. Receiving encouragement from his own father-in-law, the two find comfort in each other's attention.

    Director:John Jacobs
    Writers:Clifford Odets, Wesley Moore

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  10. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 2 - The Roommate
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S5:E2

    In 1952, two polar opposites at Northwestern University are assigned to the same dorm room.

    Director:Nell Cox
    Writer:Neal Miller

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  11. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 3 - Valentine's Revenge
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S5:E3

    A convict serving five years writes stories under the name 'O. Henry'. He encounters a convicted safecracker and is inspired to write the story of Jimmy Valentine, a man invincible in the art of cracking safes.

    Director:Paul Saltzman
    Writer:Paul Lally

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  12. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 8 - Tell Me a Riddle
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S5:E8

    Aging couple David and Eva have lost the spark that once infused their marriage. After nearly four decades together, the elderly duo is feel disconnected and lost. When they discover that Eva is sick, they decide to travel across the country to stay with their granddaughter in San Francisco. On the trip, with Eva's possible death looming, the couple rediscovers the passion and love that had been missing from their lives.

    Director:Lee Grant
    Writers:Alev Lytle, Joyce Eliason

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  13. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 9 - The Little Sister
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S5:E9

    A Boston probation officer tries to help a troubled teenager from a rich Boston family.

    Director:Jan Egleson
    Writer:Jan Egleson

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  14. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 10 - The House of Ramon Iglesia
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S5:E10

    Ramón Iglesias plans to retire from his janitorial job, sell his house in a Long Island suburb and return to Puerto Rico with his wife and three sons. Unfortunately, he doesn't hold the deed to his house which was purchased through a verbal agreement, harping back to a different cultural tradition involving codes of honor and community.

    Director:Luis Soto
    Writer:Jose Rivera

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  15. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 11 - A Flash of Green
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S5:E11

    Jimmy Wing is a Florida journalist and long-time friend of Elmo Bliss, a local businessman and politician involved in real-estate development. Bliss reveals his ruthless side, threatening Wing when the reporter becomes close to beautiful wildlife conservationist Kat Hubble, one of a group of ecologists that stands in the way of a new landfill. While Wing clashes with Bliss, his life complicates further as his romance with Hubble progresses.

    Director:Victor Nuñez
    Writer:Victor Nuñez

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  16. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 12 - Damien
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S5:E12

    Father Damien de Vuester, a 19th-century Roman Catholic priest who worked with lepers confined to the island of Molokai, discusses his experiences.

    Director:Nino J. Martin
    Writer:Aldyth Morris

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  17. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 14 - A Case of Libel
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S5:E14

    A former World War II reporter gets a lawyer and takes a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist to court.

    Director:Eric Till
    Writers:Louis Nizer, Henry Denker

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  18. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 17 - Roanoak (2)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S5:E17

    In 1584, a small band of Englishmen reached Roanoak Island off the coast of North Carolina, set up camp, and make contact with the residing Native Americans, calling on them for help in an attempt to live peacefully as they trade for the profit of both sides.

    Director:Jan Egleson
    Writers:James K. McCarthy, Dina Harris

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  19. American Playhouse Season 5 Episode 18 - Roanoak (3)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S5:E18

    In 1584, a small band of Englishmen reached Roanoak Island off the coast of North Carolina, set up camp, and make contact with the residing Native Americans, calling on them for help in an attempt to live peacefully as they trade for the profit of both sides.

    Director:Jan Egleson
    Writers:James K. McCarthy, Dina Harris

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Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Painting Churches" is the best rated episode of "American Playhouse" season 5. It scored 9/10 based on 13 votes. Directed by Jack O'Brien and written by Tina Howe, it aired on 5/19/1986. This episode is rated 0.7 points higher than the second-best, "Sunday in the Park with George".