9.2/10125 votes#1 - Rape
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 10/24/1989
After being released by his captors, the chief discovers that his abduction is part of a plot to assassinate a visiting civil rights leader.
Director: Harry Harris, Paul Lynch
Writer: N/A
7.7/1080 votes#2 - Fairest of Them All
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 10/31/1989
Virgil struggles to help Althea after she is raped by a fellow teacher.Darnell does not think they can get a conviction because the man's wife has given him an alibi.Virgil tries to control his anger - until the man returns to intimidate Althea.And Gillespie tries to convince the wife to tell the truth.
Director: Paul Lynch, Mario Philip Azzopardi
Writer: Nancy Bond
8.1/1082 votes#3 - Murder Most Ancient
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 11/7/1989
A beauty contest is marred by blackmail and the ambitious mother of a contestant.
Director: Winrich Kolbe, Mario Philip Azzopardi
Writer: N/A
8.7/10104 votes#4 - First Girl
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 11/14/1989
An unhappy wife asks her lover to place a bomb in her abusive husband's truck.
Director: Winrich Kolbe, Gene Reynolds
Writer: N/A
8.5/10127 votes#5 - Crackdown
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 11/21/1989
Sparta P.D. gets it's first black policewoman.
Director: Gene Reynolds
Writer: N/A
8.5/1079 votes#6 - Anniversary
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 11/28/1989
Someone is selling crack to teenagers and Sweet tries desperately to save a young addict.
Director: Harry Harris
Writer: Nancy Bond
7.7/1074 votes#7 - Time of the Stranger
Season 3 Episode 7 - Aired 12/5/1989
After a private investigator searching for a missing child is found dead, the evidence points to a local dance teacher - a neighbor that Parker has become very fond of.
Director: Ivan Dixon
Writer: N/A
8.6/1086 votes#8 - Vengeance
Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 12/12/1989
An outlaw family seeks revenge against Bubba after he is forced to shoot one of them during a holdup.The chief wants him to stay out of sight until they are arrested - a suggestion that does not set well with Bubba.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/1075 votes#9 - My Name is Hank
Season 3 Episode 9 - Aired 12/19/1989
A young refugee claims to be the son of a Sparta cop who died in the war.But quickly becomes a suspect in a murder/robbery after he accepts a ride with the criminals who actually committed the crime.Gillespie looks into his story, while Virgil and the boys track down the shooter.Meanwhile, the young mans presence triggers a surprisingly bitter reaction from Parker, who views him as a painful reminder of the war.
Director: Harry Harris
Writer: N/A
7.0/1063 votes#10 - King's Ransom
Season 3 Episode 10 - Aired 1/2/1990
The F.B.I. tries to talk an ex-boxer into testifying against a mobster he once worked for, but the fighter sees the situation as an opportunity for blackmail.
Director: Jeffrey Hayden
Writer: N/A
7.5/1073 votes#11 - Epitaph for a Lady
Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 1/16/1990
A long time friend of the Chief makes threats against a doctor he believes is responsible for his wife's death .When the doctor is killed he becomes the prime suspect.But Gillespie doubts his guilt - even after he confesses.
Director: Vincent McEveety
Writer: N/A
8.0/1087 votes#12 - Triangle
Season 3 Episode 12 - Aired 1/23/1990
A man murders his wife and her lover after he catches them together,then flees to a remote cabin with his daughter who does not know what he has done.The chief and the boys hope to talk him into surrendering without resorting to violence.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.4/1095 votes#13 - Hello in There
Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 1/30/1990
Bubba refuses to believe that a former teamate embezzled funds from the bank where he worked.And sets out to prove that his friend was framed and murdered.Harriet hopes that art therapy can help the man's traumatized son,who becomes a target himself when the killer realizes he witnessed the crime.
Director: Vincent McEveety
Writer: N/A
8.1/1088 votes#14 - December Days
Season 3 Episode 14 - Aired 2/13/1990
The Sparta police investigate a suspicious death in a nursing home.
Director: Vincent McEveety
Writer: Kim Friese
7.9/1086 votes#15 - A Loss of Innocence
Season 3 Episode 15 - Aired 2/20/1990
Darnell plans on indicting a teenager for murder after her father is found in the basement and her mother turns up missing.But Gillespie and his men don't believe she is guilty.
Director: Paul Lynch
Writer: N/A
8.3/1089 votes#16 - Bubba's Baby
Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 2/27/1990
Someone abandons a baby at Bubba's door.
Director: Jeffrey Hayden
Writer: N/A
7.5/1071 votes#17 - Home is Where The Heart Is
Season 3 Episode 17 - Aired 3/6/1990
Maybelle the madam returns to Sparta with her "" nieces "".And sets up shop just out of Gillespie's jurisdiction.Her return is not without controversy and soon one of her most vocal critics is found murdered.
Director: Leo Penn
Writer: N/A
7.6/1065 votes#18 - An Angry Woman
Season 3 Episode 18 - Aired 3/13/1990
First the mother,then the father of two young children are murdered.Althea takes responsibility for the children. The killings appear to be related to a shady trucking firm.
Director: Winrich Kolbe
Writer: N/A
8.4/1081 votes#19 - Indiscretions
Season 3 Episode 19 - Aired 3/20/1990
Althea does not realize that an old friend from Philly is hiding a dark secret, nor does Sweet who has fallen in love with the woman.
Director: Vince Edwards
Writer: N/A
8.4/1067 votes#20 - Night of the Killing
Season 3 Episode 20 - Aired 3/27/1990
Racial tensions run high when a white cabbie is murdered in the bottoms.
Director: Chuck Bowman
Writer: N/A
8.4/1078 votes#21 - Citizen Trundel (1)
Season 3 Episode 21 - Aired 5/1/1990
Harriet's sister is murdered on the orders of the wealthy white man who fathered her child.
Director: Leo Penn
Writer: N/A
8.7/1092 votes#22 - Citizen Trundel (2)
Season 3 Episode 22 - Aired 5/8/1990
Harriet's efforts to bring V.J. Trundel to trial are fruitless.The Chief does not believe they will ever get enough evidence to get an indictment,so he tries another method to bring Trundel to justice.
Director: Harry Harris
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of In the Heat of the Night Season 3
Every episode of In the Heat of the Night Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of In the Heat of the Night Season 3!
In the Heat of the Night is an American television series based on the motion picture and novel of the same name starring Carroll O'Connor...
Genres:CrimeDrama
Network:CBS
Season 3 Ratings Summary
"Rape" is the best rated episode of "In the Heat of the Night" season 3. It scored 9.2/10 based on 125 votes. Directed by Harry Harris, Paul Lynch and written by N/A, it aired on 10/24/1989. This episode is rated 1.5 points higher than the second-best, "Fairest of Them All".