7.8/1050 votes#1 - The Golden Cage
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/11/1974
A rich trophy wife gets accused of murder when she tries to leave her powerful controlling husband.
Director: Joseph Pevney, James Sheldon
Writer: William Kelley
8.0/1049 votes#2 - Music to Die By
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/18/1974
A singer hires Petrocelli to defend him when his career is jeopardized by a homicide accusation.
Director: Paul Stanley, Irving J. Moore
Writer: Oliver Crawford, Daniel B. Ullman
6.5/1049 votes#3 - By Reason of Madness
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 9/25/1974
Petrocelli defends a wife accused of killing her husband. She knows she killed him but says she didn't know she was doing it. Petrocelli soon realizes she was mentally ill and has to prove her not guilty by reason of insanity.
Director: Allen Reisner
Writer: William Kelley
8.2/1056 votes#4 - Edge of Evil
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/2/1974
The threatened revelation of damaging ecological information results in a murder that Petrocelli must solve.
Director: Irving J. Moore
Writer: Mel Goldberg
7.2/1041 votes#5 - A Life for a Life
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/9/1974
Petrocelli's defense of a young transient accused of arson and murder is complicated when the only witness who could help the accused refuses to testify.
Director: Herb Wallerstein, Allen Reisner
Writer: Robert C. Dennis
7.5/1043 votes#6 - Death in High Places
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/23/1974
Petrocelli defends a spoiled heiress accused of planting a grenade in her father's airplane to speed up her inheritance.
Director: Irving J. Moore, Richard Donner
Writer: Leonard Katzman
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7.4/1036 votes#7 - Double Negative
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 10/30/1974
Petrocelli unravels a murder mystery rooted in blackmail.
Director: Paul Stanley
Writer: Leonard Katzman
8.0/1038 votes#8 - Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/6/1974
Although witnesses swear they saw her leave a murder victim's apartment minutes after shots were fired, Petrocelli's client insists she was at home at the time of the crime.
Director: Irving J. Moore
Writer: N/A
7.1/1031 votes#9 - An Act of Love
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/13/1974
Petrocelli defends a man accused of killing a woman with whom he spent the night in her home, waking to find her dead.
Director: Paul Stanley, James Sheldon
Writer: Edward J. Lakso
7.5/1036 votes#10 - A Very Lonely Lady
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/27/1974
Petrocelli defends a hitchhiker accused of murdering a woman who had given him a ride and an amorous invitation.
Director: Richard Donner, Vincent McEveety, Herschel Daugherty
Writer: N/A
7.4/1031 votes#11 - Counterplay
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/4/1974
Petrocelli's client, a cop, claims he didn't kill his wife's lover, even though he was found over the body with a service revolver.
Director: Irving J. Moore
Writer: William Kelley
7.8/1028 votes#12 - A Covenant with Evil
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/18/1974
Petrocelli defends a man accused of murder after he is found cradling the body of a woman who was raped and killed.
Director: Herb Wallerstein
Writer: Leonard Katzman
7.3/1035 votes#13 - The Sleep of Reason
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/15/1974
An argument over hypnosis theory leads to the murder of a professor and Petrocelli's client, a teaching assistant accused of the crime, can't recall the shooting.
Director: Herschel Daugherty
Writer: Leonard Katzman
7.6/1029 votes#14 - A Fallen Idol
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/22/1974
Petrocelli's high school idol, a boxer now over the hill, is accused of beating his new manager to death.
Director: N/A
Writer: Robert C. Dennis
7.3/1031 votes#15 - Once Upon a Victim
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 1/29/1974
Petrocelli's client, a physician, is found with a scalpel in hand, standing over the body of the woman who founded his clinic.
Director: N/A
Writer: Leonard Katzman
7.1/1030 votes#16 - The Kidnapping
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/5/1974
Petrocelli defends a woman who kidnapped her son from her father-in-law.
Director: Irving J. Moore
Writer: Leonard Katzman
7.8/1030 votes#17 - A Lonely Victim
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 2/19/1974
A romantic triangle comes to a violent end when Petrocelli's client, a divorcee, is found kneeling over the body of her married boss with a fireplace poker in her hand.
Director: Irving J. Moore
Writer: N/A
8.1/1030 votes#18 - The Outsiders
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 2/26/1974
Petrocelli defends a penniless young crop picker who was captured fleeing a drugstore where he inadvertently left his fingerprints on a pair of scissors used to stab the owner.
Director: Irving J. Moore
Writer: N/A
7.3/1024 votes#19 - Vengeance in White
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 3/5/1974
Petrocelli defends an evangelist's wife, who is accused of killing the mercenary manager who had been working her husband to the point of collapse.
Director: Leonard Katzman
Writer: N/A
7.1/1025 votes#20 - Four the Hard Way
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 3/13/1974
Three old codgers hire Petrocelli to defend the fourth member of their pinochle club, a man charged with killing his son-in-law.
Director: Joseph Pevney
Writer: N/A
7.7/1029 votes#21 - Death in Small Doses
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 3/27/1975
Petrocelli defends a pharmacist accused of deliberately poisoning a customer.
Director: Don Taylor
Writer: N/A
7.7/1037 votes#22 - A Night of Terror
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 4/2/1975
Petrocelli defends a woman who, after being knocked unconscious in a fight with her boyfriend, awakened to find him dead and the murder gun in her hand.
Director: Bernard McEveety
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Petrocelli Season 1
Every episode of Petrocelli Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Petrocelli Season 1!
Petrocelli is an American legal drama which ran for two seasons on NBC from September 11, 1974 to March 31, 1976.
Tony Petrocelli is an Italian-American...
Genre:Drama
Network:NBC
Episodes
22
Avg. Rating
7.5
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3
7.8
8.0
6.5
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"The Golden Cage" is the best rated episode of "Petrocelli" season 1. It scored 7.8/10 based on 50 votes. Directed by Joseph Pevney, James Sheldon and written by William Kelley, it aired on 9/11/1974. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "Music to Die By".
