The Best Episodes of Burke's Law Season 1

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Fan Favorite
   

   8.5/10(90 votes)

   #1 - Who Killed Holly Howard?

   S1:E19/20/1963

   A top fashion model is found at a construction site, apparently shot to death. When it is discovered that she was drowned before she was shot, Burke tracks the case back to her ditzy landlady, and then to the heads of the ad agency she was modeling for and the artist who was painting her likeness for a giant ad campaign. Getting involved with another model, Burke soon discovers a plush hideaway owned by three Texas millionaires who ""entertain"" gorgeous young women poolside (where the murder may have taken place). Even though he uncovers a blackmailing butler and information that an older admirer had paid for cosmetic surgery for the model, Burke is suddenly stumped when it is revealed that the water in the dead girl's lungs had orange blossom bath salts in it and not chlorine from the pool.

   Director:Hy Averback

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Hy Averback

   Writer:Unknown
2. 

   8.1/10(82 votes)

   #2 - Who Killed Mr. X?

   S1:E29/27/1963

   When a body is discovered dumped alongside the merry-go-round at an amusement park, clues (including a phone number on an old matchbook cover) lead back to the elusive millionaire Emory Flood. Burke is thwarted in his attempts to speak to Flood by the top three men in the Flood empire. Meanwhile, Burke and Tim come to the aid of an elderly woman who is also trying to see Flood, and interview three lovely starlets who are being ""supported"" by Flood (two of whom hate the man, while the third definitely strikes romantic sparks with Burke). Until Burke can identify the dead man, discover the true scene of the crime and locate Flood, he can't find the killer. A photo of Robert Mitchum reveals the clue which proves that the crime was based on a case of mistaken identity.

   Director:Don Weis

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Don Weis

   Writer:Unknown
3. 

   7.8/10(84 votes)

   #3 - Who Killed Cable Roberts?

   S1:E310/4/1963

   When big-game hunter Cable Roberts is found shot by one of his own rifles and ""mounted"" in his trophy room, the suspects include both Roberts' current wife (a predatory animal herself), his ex, an angry taxidermist, another hunter, Roberts' secretary, and his extremely sexy maid. Tim notices an interesting point - that Roberts was killed in the same way in which he killed his big game. After two false confessions, Burke discovers that one of the suspects has a more complex relationship to Roberts than first appeared.

   Director:Jeffrey Hayden

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Jeffrey Hayden

   Writer:Unknown
4. 

   8.2/10(69 votes)

   #4 - Who Killed Harris Crown?

   S1:E410/11/1963

   Promoter Harris Crown is killed when the car he is driving goes off a cliff. Burke soon discovers that all the brake fluid had been drained and that the car belonged to Crown's wife (a race car enthusiast) who is involved in a charity benefit and ""involved"" with the benefit's choreographer, who in turn is being kept by a wealthy (and jealous) society matron. Other suspects include Crown's strapped-for-cash brother and his greedy wife, and Crown's current mistress. Burke is assisted in his search for the killer by a gossip columnist and a shop owner (who takes a sudden shine to Burke, until she finds that he's a ""poor"" cop).

   Director:Don Weis

   Writer:John Meredyth Lucas

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   Director:Don Weis

   Writer:John Meredyth Lucas
5. 

   7.7/10(62 votes)

   #5 - Who Killed Julian Buck?

   S1:E510/18/1963

   Hemingwayesque novelist Julian Buck is found dead and Burke checks out the guests at his funeral: his publisher, a former boxer, an ex-lover (who he ""traded"" for a plot), a bartender, a crippled university professor, and a glamorous blonde, all of whom have been used in the past by Buck as fodder for his plots. The manuscript of his latest novel (also based on facts from Buck's life) probably will contain the vital clue that will lead to the murderer.

   Director:Don Weis

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Don Weis

   Writer:Unknown
6. 

   7.6/10(59 votes)

   #6 - Who Killed Alex Debbs?

   S1:E610/25/1963

   At the opening of The Debonair Key Club, a Playboy-like nightclub/restaurant, Debonair Magazine founder Alex Debbs is found stabbed. The suspects are all connected in some way with the Debonair empire, both the club and the magazine: Debbs' main business partner, an embittered cartoonist, a swinging joke writer, a blackmailed princess, a folk guitarist, one of the Key Club girls, and a reclusive heiress. After an attack on Tim, another murder and the breaking of ""unbreakable"" alibis, Burke solves the case.

   Director:Don Weis

   Writer:Harlan Ellison

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   Director:Don Weis

   Writer:Harlan Ellison
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7. 

   8.1/10(75 votes)

   #7 - Who Killed Sweet Betsy?

   S1:E711/1/1963

   Betsy Richards drinks a lethal martini and Burke investigates the Richards mansion, Betsy's three identical sisters (who may look alike, but who have decidedly different personalities), her wheelchair-bound (and possibly psychotic) aunt, her current beach bum lover (who might have been about to leave Betsy for another sister), her alcoholic brother-in-law, and a slightly demented professor of psychiatry. An attempt is made on the life of another sister and, after a second death, the dark secret of the Richards family is finally revealed.

   Director:Hy Averback

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Hy Averback

   Writer:Unknown
8. 

   7.4/10(63 votes)

   #8 - Who Killed Billy Jo?

   S1:E811/8/1963

   Pop recording star Billy Jo Tate is slain in front of all his guests at a party celebrating his latest hit. A ""good-ol' boy"", Billy Jo is surrounded by users and people he used - his agent, his ""best buddy"", a smarmy astrologer, a jive arranger, Tate's showgirl sister, the woman who discovered him, and a female (and married) admirer. When Tim spots a shady character at Billy Jo's funeral, Burke confronts the man and learns what prompted the singer's murder.

   Director:Hy Averback

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Hy Averback

   Writer:Unknown
9. 

   7.8/10(58 votes)

   #9 - Who Killed Wade Walker?

   S1:E911/15/1963

   When millionaire Wade Walker's plane explodes mid-air, Burke confronts Walker's business partner, secretary (whom Tim has an eye for), and the four women in his life (a model and beauty pageant queen, a society horse breeder, a starchy, sex-obsessed nurse, and a nightclub singer), one of whom Walker may have proposed to just before he died. All of Burke's theories go up in smoke when it is discovered that Walker died of an overdose of morphine before the plane blew up.

   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown

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   Director:Unknown

   Writer:Unknown
10. 

    7.7/10(69 votes)

    #10 - Who Killed the Kind Doctor?

    S1:E1011/29/1963

    Psychiatrist Eric Techman calls Burke to report that he fears one of his patients is a homicidal maniac who plans to kill him. Before he can identify the person in question, he is shot in the back. Burke convinces both Techman's secretary and his wife to not reveal the fact of the kind doctor's murder until Burke can question the five most likely patients: a stripper, a movie starlet, a Texas oil millionairess and her wild son, and a ski instructor (and sometime kleptomaniac).

    Director:Don Taylor

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Don Taylor

    Writer:Unknown
11. 

    8.0/10(74 votes)

    #11 - Who Killed Purity Mather?

    S1:E1112/6/1963

    A self-proclaimed witch sends Burke a record predicting her murder, along with a list of suspects. When her body is discovered after a fire, she has been disfigured by acid, leaving only a clue of a tattoo. The design of the tattoo matches that of an amulet carried by her pet raven. For likely suspects, Burke has to choose between a less-than-imposing ""vampire"", the head of a nudist colony, the ""reincarnation"" of the Goddess of Love, a wealthy man obsessed with spiritualism and his compliant companion, and a con artist/fakir. Before the case is solved, Tim saves Burke from a ""brush"" with death!

    Director:Walter Grauman

    Writer:Harlan Ellison

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    Director:Walter Grauman

    Writer:Harlan Ellison
12. 

    7.6/10(46 votes)

    #12 - Who Killed Cynthia Royal?

    S1:E1212/13/1963

    A missing Siamese cat named Deborah is Burke's prime clue to the killing of Cynthia Royal. The murder victim had just arrived in town from Chicago trying to reunite with her estranged husband. The husband had been wooing a nightclub singer, which leads Burke also to suspect the nightclub's owner/comic and his attorney. When Burke and an elderly acquaintance stumble across another body, the trail eventually leads to two beatniks, the return of Deborah and the solution of the case.

    Director:Charles F. Haas

    Writer:Jameson Brewer

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    Director:Charles F. Haas

    Writer:Jameson Brewer
13. 

    8.0/10(58 votes)

    #13 - Who Killed Eleanora Davis?

    S1:E1312/20/1963

    When an unidentified brunette is discovered in a fake electric chair at a run-down amusement park/sideshow run by ""Professor"" Kingston, Burke has to track several elusive clues back to a modeling agency and the three somewhat odd people who run it, a blackmail scheme, eloping tennis players, and a feisty old Irish landlady. With the help of a vital piece of information gathered by Burke's girlfriend Juliet and the assistance of three young boys, the case is solved.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
14. 

    7.7/10(53 votes)

    #14 - Who Killed Beau Sparrow?

    S1:E1412/27/1963

    Burke is attending a pool party at tycoon Victor Haggerty's mansion when dashing Beau Sparrow is thrown into the pool by a faulty diving apparatus and dies. The apparatus doesn't seem to have been tampered with and George McLeod can't determine the cause of death. Was it murder? If so, who's the killer: the tycoon, his spoiled pampered wife, her paid companion, the countess who was Beau's current flame, the tough-as-nails secretary, or the blowhard businessman? As soon as Burke figures out who the culprit is, he has to rush to prevent another death.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:John Meredyth Lucas

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:John Meredyth Lucas
15. 

    7.3/10(81 votes)

    #15 - Who Killed Jason Shaw?

    S1:E151/3/1964

    When a shady businessman is found dead, fully clothed, in a hotel shower, surrounded by burned thousand dollar bills, Burke is confronted with a group of men who seem to have absolutely nothing in common - a shipbuilder with a musical hobby, a haughty wine connoisseur, a loud-mouthed used-car salesman, and a man who breeds carnivorous plants. The dizzy blonde who discovered the body (and who seems to always be hungry) may or may not be just a pawn in a scheme. While Tim becomes interested in the dead man's secretary, Burke has his eye on a lovely sculptor, who may be trying to steer him away from her father, one of the suspects.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
16. 

    7.7/10(51 votes)

    #16 - Who Killed Snookie Martinelli?

    S1:E161/10/1964

    At a jet-set party, it appears to Tim and Les that the victim of a fatal shooting is - - - - Burke! Was Burke really the victim and who was the shooter among the party guests: a wrestler, a racecar driver, a nightclub pianist, a professional ""houseguest"", or a sexy barefoot ""angel""? Or was it a playboy's glamorous wife, who has a ""perfect alibi""? After the killer takes another shot, the question becomes - was the actual victim the intended victim?

    Director:Robert Ellis Miller

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Robert Ellis Miller

    Writer:Unknown
17. 

    7.7/10(70 votes)

    #17 - Who Killed What's His Name?

    S1:E171/17/1964

    When the president of a bank is shot during a robbery, the only description Burke can get of the killer is that he was ""just ordinary"". Burke interviews a man who passed out during the robbery, and hunts for clues with a local bookie. After the two other bank robbers are slain, Burke investigates the bank president's wife and son, his very flirtatious secretary, his business partner and his accountant, and a beautiful B-movie star. Just as Burke is about to arrest the man who shot the bank president, the killer is himself slain - but by whom? And why?

    Director:Don Taylor

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Don Taylor

    Writer:Unknown
18. 

    7.2/10(52 votes)

    #18 - Who Killed Madison Cooper?

    S1:E181/24/1964

    Hotshot lawyer Madison Cooper calls Burke as he dies in a seedy part of town of stab wounds inflicted elsewhere. He had just put a large amount of cash into a newspaper vending booth and Burke finds that Cooper was dying and had been trying to contact former clients whom he had wronged in the past. With the help of Cooper's executive secretary, Burke investigates the old cases, including a murder trial, an prison sentence that resulted in death, embezzlement, and a paternity scandal.

    Director:Jeffrey Hayden

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Jeffrey Hayden

    Writer:Unknown
19. 

    7.8/10(54 votes)

    #19 - Who Killed April?

    S1:E191/31/1964

    Tim's mother is in town for a visit and provides several vital clues that solve the murder of April Adams. Tracking the victim to a carhop-style restaurant, Burke narrows the suspects to April's erratic brother, her cousin, her psychiatrist, the drive-in restaurant's manager, and a hockey star and his wife. Empty sugar packets from the drive-in and several bankbooks provide Burke with the link to a drug deal.

    Director:Lewis Allen

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Lewis Allen

    Writer:Unknown
20. 

    7.4/10(56 votes)

    #20 - Who Killed Carrie Cornell?

    S1:E202/14/1964

    A group of ""junior cadets"" discover the body of a bikini-clad girl wrapped in chains, lying in the surf. The victim, a singer and sometime ""model"", has been linked to a oil tycoon, who is away on business, according to his alcoholic wife. While the tycoon is busy with young girls, his wife is supporting male artists. One of these, a sculptor, comes under suspicion, along with his studio mate, a health freak. Other suspects include the owner of a beachfront club, a guitar maker and a folk singer. Two more bodies turn up before Burke can solve the case.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Jay Dratler

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Jay Dratler
21. 

    8.4/10(56 votes)

    #21 - Who Killed His Royal Highness?

    S1:E212/21/1964

    The Grand Duke, Maximilian Karol Alexandrei Kadarian, collapses at a banquet. The Grand Duke was famous locally as phony royalty, who owned a fabulous emerald necklace, now missing. The suspects include his former wife, his secretary, the owners of the banquet hall (two former vaudevillians), the ghostwriter of his autobiography, a ""reformed"" safecracker, another Russian noble now working as a director, and the mysterious and elusive ""Charlie Prince"".

    Director:Don Weis

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Don Weis

    Writer:Unknown
22. 

    7.9/10(54 votes)

    #22 - Who Killed Marty Kelso?

    S1:E222/28/1964

    After a party celebrating his marriage to an Italian movie starlet, producer Marty Kelso falls down a flight of stairs and gets a letter opener stuck in his neck. His bodyguard/manservant calls the police and informs Burke that Kelso's three ex-wives (a former Olympic star, a screenwriter and a failed actress) were at the party, along with the Olympic star's surly husband and a film director. Clues pop up at the oddest times and in the most curious places. Les and George each claim the other overlooked vital information. Several people had good motives to murder Kelso, but Burke knows that just because a suspect seems obvious doesn't mean there might not be a set-up in the works.

    Director:Don Taylor

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Don Taylor

    Writer:Unknown
23. 

    7.2/10(46 votes)

    #23 - Who Killed Avery Lord?

    S1:E233/6/1964

    Burke follows a mournful song, an odd-looking key and an elusive young girl in white, after industrial designer Avery Lord is stabbed to death. The suspects are all his current clients: a playgirl whose compact is found at the crime scene, a hot-headed health food producer, a dishonest building contractor, and an auto manufacturer who dotes on his ""ferocious"" pet. Burke is knocked unconscious while chasing the girl in white through the fog one night outside Lord's mansion, or did he just imagine her? A distinctive piece of jewelry helps solve the case.

    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown

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    Director:Unknown

    Writer:Unknown
24. 

    7.7/10(58 votes)

    #24 - Who Killed Andy Zygmunt?

    S1:E243/13/1964

    When pop artist Andy Zygmunt is discovered impaled on one of his works, Burke finds that several of Zygmunt's paintings contain materials used in a blackmail scheme. A vicious practical joker, the victim was hated by one and all: his sexy assistant, a former girlfriend (and fellow artist), the nasty host of a kiddie show, the head of a fashionable dog grooming salon, the scion of a wealthy family, and the arrogant owner of the art gallery (who also stars in a TV cop show that Burke despises).

    Director:Don Taylor

    Writer:Harlan Ellison

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    Director:Don Taylor

    Writer:Harlan Ellison
25. 

    8.0/10(53 votes)

    #25 - Who Killed the Paper Dragon?

    S1:E253/20/1964

    During Chinese New Year celebrations, a car crashes into a street full of revelers. After the Chinese woman behind the wheel flees the scene with a little girl, leaving behind her shoe, a tourist discovers a dead body in the trunk. Tracking the case to the nearby nightclub The Paper Dragon, run by Burke's old friend (of ""very mixed"" Chinese and Irish extraction), Burke tries to discover if the club's dancer is the killer or the next victim. A local drunk ventriloquist, the dead man's wife, and a shifty promoter round out the suspects.

    Director:Marc Daniels

    Writer:Jameson Brewer

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    Director:Marc Daniels

    Writer:Jameson Brewer