7.0/1063 votesLoading...#1 - 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
7.2/1080 votesLoading...#2 - The Pig Woman of Sparta
Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 5/9/1989
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/1067 votesLoading...#3 - When the Music Stopped
Season 6 Episode 9 - Aired 12/16/1992
Singer Eddie Larran returns to Sparta for a concert,but not everyone is a fan.An angry man insists that Eddie owes him money.And their dispute soon ends in violence.
Director: Russ Mayberry
Writer: N/A
7.2/1054 votesLoading...#4 - The Rabbi
Season 7 Episode 18 - Aired 2/9/1994
A Rabbi returns to Sparta after many years.Racists vandalize his synagogue and soon after their Torah is stolen.Forbes investigates but the Rabbi refuses to trust Bill because of his inaction while investigating a hate crime many years ago.
Director: Winrich Kolbe
Writer: David O'Connor, Elsye O'Connor
7.5/1085 votesLoading...#5 - Hot Nights
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 12/27/1988
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.
Director: Harry Harris
Writer: Mark Edward Edens
7.5/1073 votesLoading...#6 - 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
7.5/1071 votesLoading...#7 - 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
7.5/1057 votesLoading...#8 - A Turning
Season 4 Episode 22 - Aired 4/30/1991
Althea thinks Virgil needs a new line of work after seeing the aftermath of a deadly shooting at a roadhouse.Virgil finds himself in danger when they arrest the man who committed the crime.
Director: N/A
Writer: Joe Gannon
7.5/1046 votesLoading...#9 - A Time to Trust
Season 5 Episode 16 - Aired 2/18/1992
Althea fears for one of her students after her mother's boyfriend is linked to a criminal operation that has resulted in the deaths of several truckers.
Director: Winrich Kolbe
Writer: N/A
7.5/1051 votesLoading...#10 - A Step Removed
Season 6 Episode 14 - Aired 2/10/1993
Parker's stepfather Roy threatens his former employer after an altercation.When the boss is murdered Roy is arrested.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/1058 votesLoading...
#11 - Incident at Brewer's Pond
Season 7 Episode 5 - Aired 9/30/1993
A night of revelry at a local pond turns deadly.
Director: Russ Mayberry
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/1054 votesLoading...
#12 - Your Own Kind
Season 7 Episode 12 - Aired 12/16/1993
No description available
Director: Dick Martin
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/10107 votesLoading...
#13 - Who Was Geli Bendl ?
Season 8 Episode 2 - Aired 12/9/1994
A famous Italian actress returns to Sparta to take care of some unfinished business and rescue her younger sister from a life of drugs and poverty.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/10126 votesLoading...
#14 - By Duty Bound
Season 8 Episode 3 - Aired 2/17/1995
Acting Sheriff Gillespie must decide whether he should run for sheriff or retire from law enforcement.It soon becomes apparent that the other candidate is corrupt and dangerous.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1078 votesLoading...#15 - Ladybug, Ladybug
Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 5/2/1989
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.
Director: Alexander Singer
Writer: N/A
7.6/1065 votesLoading...#16 - 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
7.6/1061 votesLoading...#17 - Family Matters
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 12/4/1990
Virgil's dream of a better relationship with his Aunt Ruda and her son is shattered when his cousin takes part in a string of burglaries that result in murder.
Director: Vincent McEveety
Writer: N/A
7.6/1052 votesLoading...#18 - No Other Road
Season 4 Episode 21 - Aired 3/26/1991
Harriet tries to keep Eugene from giving up when his father faces the death penalty.And the police search for three suspects in connection to a robbery/murder.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1056 votesLoading...#19 - The Landlord
Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 1/7/1992
A drug dealing slumlord is murdered by his accomplices.
Director: Larry Hagman
Writer: N/A
7.6/1060 votesLoading...#20 - Even Nice People
Season 6 Episode 20 - Aired 4/28/1993
Corrupt developers set their sights on Lana's farm. When she refuses to sell they enlist the services of an arsonist to force her out.
Director: Carroll O'Connor
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/1060 votesLoading...
#21 - Poor Relations
Season 7 Episode 21 - Aired 3/30/1994
Comedic episode in which Parker's ne'er-do-well stepfather returns to Sparta with a new wife, a stolen painting and two inept art thieves who are determined to steal the painting back.
Director: Reza Badiyi
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/10167 votesLoading...
#22 - In the Heat of the Night: A Matter of Justice
Season 8 Episode 1 - Aired 10/21/1994
In the Heat of the Night: A Matter of Justice is a film directed by Reza Badiyi released on Oct 21, 1994.
Director: Reza Badiyi
Writer: N/A
7.7/1080 votesLoading...#23 - 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
7.7/1074 votesLoading...#24 - 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
7.7/1075 votesLoading...#25 - 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
The Worst Episodes of In the Heat of the Night
Every episode of In the Heat of the Night ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of In the Heat of the Night!
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
Worst Episodes Summary
"King's Ransom" is the worst rated episode of "In the Heat of the Night". It scored 7/10 based on 63 votes. Directed by Jeffrey Hayden and written by N/A, it aired on 1/2/1990. This episode scored 0.2 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Pig Woman of Sparta".