American Playhouse

Season 8

20 episodes · Feb 1, 1989

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  • S8E1

    A Raisin in the Sun

    Feb 1, 1989171m

    Walter Lee Younger is a young man struggling with his station in life. Sharing a tiny apartment with his wife, son, sister and mother, he seems like an imprisoned man. Until, that is, the family gets an unexpected financial windfall.

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  • S8E2

    Ask Me Again

    Feb 8, 1989121m

    Rebellious young literary editor Elizabeth Leopold clashes with her wealthy, snobbish mother over her life choices, including her job and a leftist boyfriend, as her mother tries to arrange a more 'suitable' marriage for her.

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  • S8E3

    Stacking

    Feb 15, 198996m

    After her father is injured, a teenager and an alcoholic employee struggle to save their financially troubled farm in 1954 Montana.

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  • S8E4

    My American Cousin

    Feb 22, 198990m

    Sandy Wilcox is a pre-teen girl in rural 1950s British Columbia whose longing to be treated as an adult is roused even further when her older American cousin, Butch Walker, comes for a visit.

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  • S8E5

    Love and Other Sorrows

    Mar 1, 198956m

    In St. Louis, circa 1950, Ben Griffin lives with his widowed mother and beautiful older sister, Dodie. The restoration of the family's affluence seems to hinge on Dodie's romances and hoped-for-marriage to a wealthy husband. But Dodie's ambivalence toward the rich and eligible Sonny confuses and upsets Ben. He wants to trust and believe in love, but worries that he may never find a girl to understand his romantic ideals.

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  • S8E6

    Stand and Deliver

    Mar 15, 1989103m

    Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a poor Hispanic neighborhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional methods to try and turn gang members and no-hopers into some of the country's top algebra and calculus students.

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  • S8E7

    The Silence at Bethany

    Mar 22, 198984m

    A young man, seeking meaning and focus in his life, returns to the Mennonite farm community where he was born.

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  • S8E8

    The Lawrenceville Stories, Part 3: The Beginning of the Firm

    Apr 5, 198955m

    Hickey and Tennessee Shad combine their mischievous talents to make life miserable for an insufferable freshman while staying one step ahead of the headmaster.

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  • S8E9

    Life Under Water

    Apr 12, 198956m

    Feeling alienated from the world and his mother, Kip enters a complicated relationship with two girls he meets on the beach.

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  • S8E10

    A Great Wall

    Apr 15, 1989102m

    When computer programmer Leo Fang is passed up for promotion, he feels it is because he is Chinese, and quits. He takes his Chinese-American family to Mainland China to visit his relatives, the Chao's, for a vacation. The clash of cultures, between the men, wives, and teenagers, leads to some confusion, and misunderstanding.

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  • S8E11

    The Diaries of Adam and Eve

    Apr 26, 198990m

    Explores the humorous conflicts and eventual partnership between the sexes, with Adam portrayed as a reclusive creature of habit and Eve as a curious, enthusiastic innovator who names the animals and discovers fire.

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  • S8E12

    The Meeting

    May 3, 198974m

    In 1965, at a hotel in Harlem, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X engage in a conversation.

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  • S8E13

    A Walk in the Woods

    May 10, 1989105m

    A true story about one US and one USSR delegate who, during 1982 talks in Geneva between USA and USSR on limiting medium-range nukes in Europe, met by accident in a nearby forest while on a stroll and informally started a key discussion.

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  • S8E14

    Big Time

    May 17, 198984m

    In the fast-paced materialistic world of the late 1980s, three morally ambiguous players navigate an unfulfilling corporate world, emphasizing themes of greed, ambition, and emotional detachment.

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  • S8E15

    The Thin Blue Line

    May 24, 1989103m

    An unorthodox investigation into the wrongful conviction of Randall Dale Adams for the 1976 murder of Dallas police officer Robert Wood. Using stylized reenactments and interviews with key figures, conflicting testimonies and evidence are presented to argue that Adams was framed by a corrupt justice system, ultimately leading to his exoneration.

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  • S8E16

    Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss

    May 31, 198989m

    Follows Ralphie's first summer job, his family's chaotic road trip to the 'Haven of Bliss', and the misadventures that ensue, including losing their dog, Fuzzhead.

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  • S8E17

    Imagining America

    Jun 7, 198960m

    An anthology consisting of four shorts with the central theme of life in the United States, including a surreal narrative about a man's search for his past in Los Angeles (This Ain't Bebop); an impressionistic look at American myths and rituals, featuring a large dance sequence (Tribe); a stylized portrait of the South Bronx (Reflections of a Native Son); and a delve into the history of Route 66 (Get Your Kicks on Route 66).

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  • S8E18

    Belizaire the Cajun

    Jun 14, 1989103m

    Belizaire Breaux, a charismatic herb doctor, becomes entangled in a struggle for his people's survival against prejudiced vigilantes, while also dealing with a romantic rivalry.

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  • S8E19

    Rachel River

    Jun 21, 198985m

    A divorced radio personality in a small Minnesota town returns to her roots and investigates the life of a reclusive, recently deceased woman.

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  • S8E20

    Thousand Pieces of Gold

    Nov 30, 1989105m

    In 1880s China, Lalu is sold into marriage by her impoverished father. Rather than becoming a bride, Lalu ends up in an Idaho gold-mining town, the property of a saloon owner renames her China Polly, with plans to sell her as entertainment for the locals. Refusing to become a whore, Lalu ultimately finds her own way in this strange country filled with white demons.

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