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The Best Episodes of American Playhouse Season 6

Every episode of American Playhouse Season 6 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of American Playhouse Season 6!

Binge this in 15h 54m•Peaking at 9.6/10

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 6 Episode 5 - A Mistaken Charity
    9.6/10(17 votes)

    S6:E5

    Two elderly, impoverished women are forced from the family farm by well-meaning neighbors. Ensconced and miserable at a Home for Elderly Ladies, the duo begin their journey back home.

    Director:Chuck Portz
    Writers:Chuck Portz, Lawrence DuKore

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  2. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 7 - Eleanor: In Her Own Words
    9.3/10(28 votes)

    S6:E7

    A one-woman show featuring Lee Remick as former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who gives forth with her views — many controversial at the time and which infuriated the right wing of both parties, as they still do today — on integration, women's rights, communism, and other important subjects of the day.

    Director:Mark Cullingham
    Writer:Russell Vandenbroucke

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  3. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 9 - Story of a Marriage: Courtship
    8.9/10(18 votes)

    S6:E9

    In the early 1900s, a young couple in love struggle with their deeply divided families. Elizabeth Vaughn hails from a wealthy, strict Methodist household. Horace Robedaux is viewed by her family as having poor prospects, as he has been largely on his own since age 12, works humble jobs, and is an Episcopalian who enjoys dancing.

    Director:Howard Cummings
    Writer:Horton Foote

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  4. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 3 - The Wide Net
    8.8/10(15 votes)

    S6:E3

    William Wallace searches for his pregnant wife, Hazel, who has withdrawn from him, using a net in the Pearl River during the vernal equinox, a ritualistic search that delves into the mysteries of relationships and the feminine.

    Director:Anthony Herrera
    Writer:Anthony Herrera

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  5. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 8 - The Innocents Abroad
    8.2/10(141 votes)

    S6:E8

    Reporter Mark Twain tours Europe and the Holy Land for a San Francisco newspaper in 1867.

    Director:Peter H. Hunt
    Writer:Mark Twain

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  6. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 2 - The Prodigious Hickey
    7.9/10(130 votes)

    S6:E2

    In 1905, at the prestigious Lawrenceville School, chief prankster William 'Hickey' Hicks comes up with a scheme to make his shy, unpopular roommate a legend.

    Director:Robert Iscove
    Writer:Jan Jaffe Kahn

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  7. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 1 - All My Sons
    7.6/10(191 votes)

    S6:E1

    Two families, related by friendship and love, face up to the consequences of greed and avarice in the post-war years. Love and death play equal roles in determining the outcome of events.

    Director:Jack O'Brien
    Writer:Arthur Miller

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  8. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 10 - Story of a Marriage: On Valentine's Day
    7.6/10(14 votes)

    S6:E10

    When Elizabeth and Horace elope, the resulting familial estrangement establish independent life, build a marriage, and navigate early parenthood.

    Director:Ken Harrison
    Writer:Horton Foote

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  9. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 4 - Smooth Talk
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S6:E4

    Bored with family life, 15-year-old Connie spends her summer at the mall and with friends, but her carefree attitude is shattered by a dangerous encounter with a menacing stranger who shows up at her home.

    Director:Joyce Chopra
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 6 - Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S6:E6

    A widowed mother, convinced by a fortune teller she will die soon, pressures her youngest daughter to marry, while the daughter feels guilty about leaving her alone, creating a subtle conflict and bonding experience.

    Director:Wayne Wang
    Writer:Terrel Seltzer

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  11. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 11 - Story of a Marriage: 1918
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S6:E11

    During the height of World War I, Horace faces immense pressure to enlist, all while the deadly Spanish Influenza outbreak descends on the small Texas community.

    Director:Ken Harrison
    Writer:Horton Foote

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  12. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 12 - Charley's Aunt
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S6:E12

    Charley Wyckham and Jack Chesney pressure fellow student Fancourt Babberly to pose as Charley's Brazilian Aunt Donna Lucia. Their purpose is to have a chaperone for their amorous visits with Amy and Kitty, niece and ward of crusty Stephen Spettigue. Complications begin when Fancourt, in drag, becomes the desire of old Spettigue and Sir Francis Chesney.

    Director:William Asher
    Writer:Ron Friedman

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  13. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 13 - Gal Young 'Un
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S6:E13

    In 1930s rural Florida, a middle-aged widow marries a younger, charming bootlegger who uses her for her money and property, leading to a story of exploitation and resilience as she confronts him and his young mistress.

    Director:Victor Nuñez
    Writer:Victor Nuñez

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  14. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 14 - The House of Blue Leaves
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S6:E14

    Zoo attendant Artie Shaughnessy dreams of being a successful songwriter. What his mistress, Bunny Flingus, who lives downstairs from his Queens apartment won't tell him — and what his insane wife, Bananas, tries to get through to him — is that Artie's songs stink.

    Director:Kirk Browning
    Writer:John Guare

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  15. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 15 - Blue Window
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S6:E15

    In an affluent area of downtown New York City, a Sunday evening dinner party is hosted by Libby, an insecure thirty-something widow who lost her husband in an unfortunate accident. Her guest of honor is downstairs neighbor Alice, a successful novelist, and Alice's lesbian lover, Boo, a family therapist. The other guests are Griever, Libby's best friend from group therapy; Norbert, Libby's gentle skydiving instructor; Tom, an old high-school boyfriend of Libby's now working as a jazz musician and composer, and Emily, Tom's current live-in girlfriend.

    Director:Norman René
    Writer:Craig Lucas

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  16. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 16 - Dottie
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S6:E16

    Middle-aged recluse Dottie McCann, suffering from agoraphobia, is forced to confront her illness when she must make the difficult journey to travel to see her estranged sister, who is dying of leukemia.

    Director:David Gelfand
    Writer:Bruce Gelfand

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  17. American Playhouse Season 6 Episode 17 - Waiting for the Moon
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S6:E17

    A fictionalized portrait of one of history's great literary couples, Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas. During a 1930s summer in France, Alice tends to ailing Gertrude; they visit Fernande Olivier, Guillaume Apollinaire, and others; and Hemingway pops in.

    Director:Jill Godmilow
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 6 Ratings Summary

"A Mistaken Charity" is the best rated episode of "American Playhouse" season 6. It scored 9.6/10 based on 17 votes. Directed by Chuck Portz and written by Chuck Portz, Lawrence DuKore, it aired on 2/16/1987. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "Eleanor: In Her Own Words".