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The Best Episodes of Jake and the Fatman Season 1

Every episode of Jake and the Fatman Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Jake and the Fatman Season 1!

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Jake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 1 - Happy Days Are Here Again
    8.1/10(69 votes)

    #1 - Happy Days Are Here Again

    S1:E1

    Senator candidate Kyle Williams' lover is killed after she threatens to reveal their affair. His speechwriter admits to him that he was the murderer, but threatens to frame him unless he cooperates.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 2 - Fatal Attraction (1)
    7.3/10(183 votes)

    #2 - Fatal Attraction (1)

    S1:E2

    Carson Warfield is having an affair with his stepmother, and together they kill his father and frame a thief who used to work for them. When things don't add up McCabe gets suspicious, and starts nosing around.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 3 - Fatal Attraction (2)
    7.9/10(53 votes)

    #3 - Fatal Attraction (2)

    S1:E3

    Carson Warfield is having an affair with his stepmother, and together they kill his father and frame a thief who used to work for them. When things don't add up McCabe gets suspicious, and starts nosing around.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 4 - Laura
    8.2/10(50 votes)

    #4 - Laura

    S1:E4

    Jake's former partner is killed by his fiancée in an alley. She blames the murder on a Latin kid she saw stealing a VCR just before she pulled the trigger.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 5 - The Man That Got Away
    7.4/10(47 votes)

    #5 - The Man That Got Away

    S1:E5

    A wealthy lawyer kills his ex-wife's new man and frames her for the murder. She is arrested, and he takes the job of being her lawyer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 6 - Love for Sale
    7.2/10(46 votes)

    #6 - Love for Sale

    S1:E6

    A call girl discovers that her pimp uses her to smuggle drugs. She contacts McCabe, but is killed just as they meet.

    Director:Christopher Hibler
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 7 - Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
    7.2/10(46 votes)

    #7 - Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

    S1:E7

    For some time David Thompson has gone out and killed bums, so that the police believe a serial killer is loose. Then when he lures his brother to an alley and kills him the same way, he won't be a suspect.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 8 - Body and Soul
    8.2/10(45 votes)

    #8 - Body and Soul

    S1:E8

    ""Mad"" Marvin Michaels, the owner of an electronics store, is killed, and ex-con Bradford Long is the main suspect. McCabe assigns the case to the cop Karen Stetson, whose father was killed by Long.

    Director:Jerry Jameson
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 9 - The Man I Love
    7.8/10(44 votes)

    #9 - The Man I Love

    S1:E9

    Glen Latimer pushes his newly married rich wife Nancy of their boat, but she survives and is brought to a hospital. She is unsure if it was just an accident, so Jake goes befriends Glen posing as Nancy's brother.

    Director:Michael Lange
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 10 - Love Me Or Leave Me
    8.1/10(41 votes)

    #10 - Love Me Or Leave Me

    S1:E10

    Ed Galvin escapes while he is being transported to prison, after threatening the life of McCabe and Andy Harmon (the cop who arrested him) during his trial.

    Director:Michael Preece
    Writer:Paul Robert Coyle

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  11. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 11 - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
    7.5/10(42 votes)

    #11 - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

    S1:E11

    A burglar kills a woman and blinds her nurse before fleeing. The police catch him, but have to let him go because the nurse can't identify him. When she is scheduled for an operation that could restore her eyesight, they fear he'll try to kill her.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Paul Robert Coyle

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  12. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 12 - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
    7.6/10(42 votes)

    #12 - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

    S1:E12

    One of the deputy DAs finally gets her first murder case when a man she was investigating for skipping alimony payments turns up dead.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 13 - After You've Gone
    7.9/10(43 votes)

    #13 - After You've Gone

    S1:E13

    Jake spots the hit man Sagittarius at the airport and follows him, but he spots Jake and is fatally wounded in the following gunfight. Jake takes his place to try to find out who the target was.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Paul Robert Coyle

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  14. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 14 - It Had to Be You
    7.8/10(44 votes)

    #14 - It Had to Be You

    S1:E14

    Leslie Randall, a former PR manager for McCabe is raped. The rapist, a psychiatrist, frames one of his patients with an anonymous tip to the police.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Paul Robert Coyle

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  15. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 15 - But Not for Me
    7.7/10(39 votes)

    #15 - But Not for Me

    S1:E15

    A known mob man is killed in the home of star reporter Candace Morgan. She says he was shot through the window while she was interviewing him, but McCabe gets suspicious when there is one too many bullets.

    Director:Michael Lange
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 16 - What Is This Thing Called Love?
    7.8/10(41 votes)

    #16 - What Is This Thing Called Love?

    S1:E16

    A man takes a courtroom hostage - with Derek and McCabe in it.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 17 - Lady, Be Good
    7.5/10(38 votes)

    #17 - Lady, Be Good

    S1:E17

    A friend of McCabe is murdered just as he is about to fake his own death so his wife can collect a 4.5 million-dollar life insurance.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 18 - I'll Be Seeing You
    7.5/10(40 votes)

    #18 - I'll Be Seeing You

    S1:E18

    A small time crook comes to McCabe offering to testify against the crime boss O'Rourke, after laying low for ten years. McCabe is suspicious, but is more than willing to go along with anything that can get O'Rourke behind bars.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 19 - Babyface
    7.8/10(43 votes)

    #19 - Babyface

    S1:E19

    The daughter of the wealthy Amos Banning arranges her own kidnapping, and murders her accomplice once she has the ransom.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Dick Nelson

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  20. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 20 - Blues in the Night
    8.2/10(45 votes)

    #20 - Blues in the Night

    S1:E20

    Jennifer Wilding gets a surprise when her identical twin sister turns up wanting to resume their previous partnership - one steals jewelry and the other provides an alibi.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 21 - How Long Has This Thing Been Going On?
    7.8/10(41 votes)

    #21 - How Long Has This Thing Been Going On?

    S1:E21

    A friend of Jake, Matthew Hammond, is having an affair with a rich lady. They decide to marry, but when she asks her husband for a divorce, he kills her and frames Hammond.

    Director:Christian I. Nyby II
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 22 - I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plans
    7.8/10(38 votes)

    #22 - I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plans

    S1:E22

    A former cop who is now a crime writer commits a clever murder so that he can write a book about it that is likely to become a best seller.

    Director:Michael Lange
    Writer:Paul Robert Coyle

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  23. Jake and the Fatman Season 1 Episode 23 - Rhapsody in Blue
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #23 - Rhapsody in Blue

    S1:E23

    Ned Covington and his wife plan to kill his boss, Phil Duncan, when he is passed over for promotion, but they kill another employee by mistake. Realizing this they try to frame Duncan for the murder.

    Director:Michael Lange
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Happy Days Are Here Again" is the best rated episode of "Jake and the Fatman" season 1. It scored 8.1/10 based on 69 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 9/26/1987. This episode is rated 0.8 points higher than the second-best, "Fatal Attraction (1)".