AllMovie

This 5-part Masterpiece Theatre TV presentation was adapted from several short stories by Noel Coward. Though the personnel and settings change from week to week, the episodes are linked (sometimes very tenuously) by their relationship to the world of Theatre and the Performing Arts. In the first hour, a playwright (Peter Chisholm) is forced to cast a temperamental movie star (Susannah York) in his debut production. In the second, a married couple (Ian Holm and Judi Dench) do their "patriotic duty" by serving as the official British citizens in a faraway South Pacific isle. Episode number three finds an ageing homosexual musical comedy star (Tom Courtney) recalling his one romantic fling with a woman. The fourth installment is about a self-effacing old lady (Patricia Hayes) who dislikes being center of attention on her birthday. And the final playlet is set on a luxury cruise, where a playboy (Nigel Havers) has a tete-a-tete with an inquiring journalist (Judy Parfit). Star Quality was originally shown on PBS from March 29 through April 26, 1987.