Episodes
1. Don't Look Back (1)
December 4, 1988
60 min
A copycat recreates a shocking unsolved murder from the past.Gillespie feels threatened after Ted Marcus suggests that Virgil should become the Chief.The situation becomes more tense after Virgil criticizes Parker and Bubba's actions.
2. Don't Look Back (2)
December 4, 1988
60 min
Tibbs,Gillespie and Bubba pursue different leads in a bizarre murder case and the Chief realizes that the killer has plans for him.
3. Family Secret
December 6, 1988
60 min
The murder of well respected man turns up a shocking secret about his family.
4. The Hammer and the Glove
December 13, 1988
60 min
Virgil is delighted when Matthew his former partner from Philidelphia comes to visit.But he soon learns his friend has another purpose for coming to Sparta.Althea is uncomfortable because she and Matthew were romantically involved before she met Virgil and she realizes that he is unwilling to accept the fact that she chose Virgil over him.Meanwhile the F.B.I. enlist Sparta P.D.'s aid in hiding a witness.
Guest Stars:
Michael McClendon
5. Prisoners
December 20, 1988
60 min
Sweet risks his life to prove that the Sheriff of a neighboring county is guilty of the racially motivated murder of a young man that Sweet was friends with in high school.
6. Hot Nights
December 27, 1988
60 min
Bubba is seduced by an alluring writer who has more on her mind than romance.Bill and Virgil worry that he is in over his head.Bubba tries to protect her from her estranged husband, but things get complicated after she shoots someone.
7. Gunshots
January 3, 1989
60 min
Virgil is forced to shoot a suspect in an armed robbery.He has trouble dealing with the consequences of his actions, after he realizes the person he shot was a teenaged girl - and no one can locate the gun he believed she was pointing at him.
Guest Stars:
Afemo Omilami
8. Country Mouse, City Mouse
January 10, 1989
60 min
Virgil's visiting niece and Bubba's nephew team up in an effort to escape the boredom of small town life.But they get more excitement than they bargained for when they cross paths with a dangerous parolee.
Guest Stars:
Mitchell Anderson
9. Stranger in Town
January 17, 1989
60 min
Gillespie suspects that JoAnn's new cook is connected to the murder of a young prostitute.But Virgil suspects the culprit maybe a local pimp who has been intimidating the women.
10. Tear Down the Walls
January 31, 1989
60 min
A minister who was integrating his church(by inviting Virgil and Althea to attend services)is poisoned.
Guest Stars:
Roberts Blossom
11. A Trip Upstate
February 7, 1989
60 min
In this thought provoking episode.Gillespie is surprised when a man he arrested asks to see him on the eve of his execution.He must confront his feelings about the death penalty when the prisoner asks him to witness his death.
12. A.k.a Kelly Kay
February 14, 1989
60 min
The past comes back to haunt JoAnn in the form of an escaped convict.
14. Intruders
March 7, 1989
60 min
The police search for a burglar who preys on elderly women.And the prime suspect is the son of a city councilwoman.
Guest Stars:
Cynthia Windham
15. The Creek
March 14, 1989
60 min
The investigation of a possible assault brings back nightmarish and confusing childhood memories for Virgil.
Guest Stars:
Afemo Omilami
16. Sister, Sister
March 21, 1989
60 min
A vivacious socialites return to Sparta delights her ailing father and childhood friend Virgil, but her sister is less than thrilled at her homecoming.After their father is poisoned the jealous siblings become suspects in his murder.
17. Walkout
March 28, 1989
60 min
A bitter strike leads to a murder investigation on a snowy day in Sparta.
18. Accused
April 4, 1989
60 min
Bubba tries to rescue a woman from a rapist, but she mistakes him for her attacker.Gillespie tangles with an ambitious district attorney who plans to use the case to further his career.
19. Fifteen, Forever
April 25, 1989
60 min
Sparta grieves after a drunk driver causes a fatal crash with high school cheerleaders on their way home from a game.While the officers try to find other driver, Althea tries to help the victim's families deal with their loss. The accident brings back painful memories for retired officer Tom Dugan.Meanwhile, district attorney Dutton accuses the department of being inadequate.
20. Ladybug, Ladybug
May 2, 1989
60 min
With the Chief in Quantico Bubba and Virgil try to catch a serial arsonist.Things get complicated after a man dies in one of the fires.And Councilwoman White stirs things up by appointing Tom Dugan acting chief of police in Gillespie's absence.
21. The Pig Woman of Sparta
May 9, 1989
60 min
It seems that a serial killer has been burying his victims in a wooded area owned by a wealthy hermit that Virgil refers to as ""Sparta's Howard Hughes"". Suspicion immediately falls on an eccentric woman who lives in the woods with her pigs and chases away trespassers with a shotgun.The officers ask the landowner's disturbed son for help and Bubba is surprised to find that a woman he attended high school with is working as the man's ""nurse"".Also Parker and Sweet compete with one another to solve the case.
