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Frontline Season 4 Episodes
Season 4 Episode Guide
31 Episodes 1986 - 1986
Episode 1
Hostage in Iran
Tue, Jan 21, 1986
While the whole world watched, 52 Americans were held hostage in Iran by Islamic revolutionaries for 444 days. On the fifth anniversary of their release, using never-before-seen footage from inside the American embassy compound in Tehran, the hostages tell the story of their long ordeal.
Episode 2
Sue the Doctor?
Tue, Jan 28, 1986
For many doctors, practicing medicine has become a nightmare. Today, one out of every six American doctors faces a malpractice suit.
Episode 3
Growing Up Poor
Tue, Feb 4, 1986
One-hour documentary for Frontline about children growing up in Chester, Pennsylvania, a once prosperous manufacturing city that has fallen into poverty.
Episode 4
Russia: Love it or Leave it
Tue, Feb 11, 1986
A unique look at Soviet Union through eyes of Americans as they attempt to escape confines of a carefully managed Russian tour.
Episode 5
Tobacco on Trial
Tue, Feb 18, 1986
Life-long smokers who say their health has been destroyed by cigarettes are suing tobacco companies.
Episode 6
Divorce Wars
Tue, Feb 25, 1986
Half of all American marriages end in divorce. Using unique access to mediation and court proceedings, Frontline profiles couples, lawyers, judges, and most poignantly, children caught between parents.
Episode 7
Who's Running this War?
Tue, Mar 18, 1986
Eight months before Iran-contra scandal broke, Frontline investigated contras, probed legality of private aid,.
Episode 8
AIDS: A National Inquiry
Tue, Mar 25, 1986
Fabian Bridges, a homosexual prostitute, bragged he had sex with six partners a night.
Episode 9
Standoff in Mexico
Tue, Apr 1, 1986
Political violence is breaking out in northern Mexico. Frontline documents growing unrest in Mexico caused by fixed elections, corruption, violence,.
Episode 10
Inside the Jury Room
Tue, Apr 8, 1986
For first time on American television, Frontline cameras move inside a jury room to record deliberations in a Wisconsin criminal trial.
Episode 11
Taxes Behind Closed Doors
Tue, Apr 15, 1986
For more than a year, Frontline has been behind scenes with congressmen and lobbyists covering deals, dollars, and politics of tax reform.
Episode 12
The Disillusionment of David Stockman
Sun, Apr 20, 1986
Former budget director David Stockman gives an exclusive interview to correspondent William Greider on what has been called 'greatest free lunch fiscal policy' in modern times.
Episode 13
Visions of Star Wars
Tue, Apr 22, 1986
Frontline and Nova combine resources for first time to explore Strategic Defense Initiative.
Episode 14
Hollywood Dreams
Tue, May 13, 1986
Hollywood is called an industry, a place, a state of mind. But making it in Hollywood,.
Episode 15
The Bloods of 'Nam
Tue, May 20, 1986
A high percentage of men on frontlines in Vietnam were young, poor, undereducated, and black.
Episode 16
A Matter of the Mind
Tue, May 27, 1986
The documentary visits Central Manor, a halfway house in St. Paul. Many of the residents there have been hospitalized. Some have been in the halfway house for months, others for years. Mr. Thurber gives us a cross section. He also sneaks up, in a way, on the illnesses. In the beginning, we don't know the extent of the problems. Thus the tone of the documentary is matter-of-fact. Nancy, a sweet-tempered woman, sits in her room, surrounded by rows of dolls. She collects them, she says, because they are pretty. Mike, a young father of three, plays with his small son in the day room. What does Mike want? ''I want to be like you guys,'' he says. ''I want to be out there in the world and experiencing normal things and normal behavior.''
Episode 17
Holy War, Holy Terror
Tue, Jun 3, 1986
Frontline correspondent John Laurence examines background of Islamic Revolution, roots of radical Shiism.
Episode 18
Will There Always Be an England?
Tue, Jun 10, 1986
England is a country divided. One in five workers in northern England is unemployed.
Episode 19
Assault on Affirmative Action
Tue, Jun 17, 1986
The Supreme Court ruled against a Memphis firefighter who successfully fought for an affirmative action plan for hiring of fellow firefighters in 1984.
Episode 20
Comrades I: The Education of Rita
Tue, Jul 1, 1986
Rita Tikhonova, 21, is a model Russian citizen. The lifestyle and ambitions of an outstanding Young Communist League member in Moscow are depicted.
Episode 21
Comrades II: Hunter and Son
Tue, Jul 8, 1986
For four months every year, Mikhail Kuzakov and his son, Yuri, leave comforts of home for Siberian wilderness.
Episode 22
Comrades III: All that Jazz
Tue, Jul 15, 1986
Sergei Kuryokhin is a popular Russian jazz and rock musician who is disapproved of by state because his music is difficult to control.
Episode 23
Comrades IV: The Trial of Tamara Russo
Tue, Jul 22, 1986
Frontline examines differences in Soviet and Western justice systems as it contrasts lives of Tamara Russo.
Episode 24
Comrades V: Master of Samarkand
Tue, Jul 29, 1986
Abdugaffar Khakkulov is a master craftsman of Uzbek heritage who for 35 years has been restoring great Islamic mosques in Samarkand.
Episode 25
Comrades VI: Pacific Outpost
Tue, Aug 5, 1986
Frontline gained unique access in filming inner workings of local government system in Nakhodka.
Episode 26
Comrades VII: Steel Mill Soccer
Tue, Aug 12, 1986
Frontline profiles lives of players on a factory soccer team in southern Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan.
Episode 27
Comrades VIII: Doctor in Moscow
Tue, Aug 19, 1986
Svyatoslav Nilolaevich Fyodorov is an outspoken and provocative eye surgeon whose surgical technique for correcting nearsightedness has made him famous.
Episode 28
Comrades IX: Baltic Chic
Tue, Aug 26, 1986
Fashion-conscious Estonians living on Gulf of Finland are inspired by Western styles of Dallas and Dynasty.
Episode 29
Comrades X: Soldier Boy
Tue, Aug 26, 1986
For first time on Western television, Frontline details a recruit's life inside a Soviet Army barracks.
Episode 30
Comrades XI: October Harvest
Tue, Sep 2, 1986
The Kulinich family lives and works on a collective farm in southern Russia. Frontline follows Kulinichs.
Episode 31
Comrades XII: Leningrad Movie
Tue, Sep 9, 1986
Soviet film directors have one advantage over Westerners: state takes care of budget.