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The Best Episodes of Profiler

Every episode of Profiler ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Profiler!

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Rachel Burke is a criminal profiler, one of the best, actually. She, along with a sophisticated team of specialists on the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force in Atlanta, investigates crimes throughout the country. Together, they solve the

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  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Profiler Season 3 Episode 14 - Otis, California
    8.6/10(46 votes)

    #1 - Otis, California

    S3:E14

    When Donald Lucas, the imprisoned Jack-of-All Trades killer, managed to hack onto the Internet, Bailey fears that he is communicating with a disciple. The investigation leads the VCTF to a small northern California town, named Otis, which is plagued by supersition and a series of Jack-of-All-Trade murders. With the assistance of the friendly but eccentric Sheriff Ed Post, Sam, Bailey and the team try to find the suspect. But George gets abducted by the suspect, whom is connected to a reclusive, wheelchair-bound professor, named Philip Mendez, whom is later found murdered. The search leads to an underground lab where Sam discovers her father once worked there for his government-sponsored mind-control experiments that Lucas had also worked on.

    Director:Richard Compton
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Profiler Season 1 Episode 6 - Modus Operandi
    8.4/10(68 votes)

    #2 - Modus Operandi

    S1:E6

    When the twisted serial killer known as Jack-of-all-trades murders a kindly neighborhood fix-it man (Don Keefer), Sam discovers a pattern -- her tormentor is leaving messages to her through his victims, all of whom had some connection to her. As Sam agonizes over her slain acquaintances, her beau Cooper (guest star A. Martinez, from ""LA Law"") and Bailey try to comfort and protect her, but they can't watch her all the time -- unlike Jack.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Profiler Season 1 Episode 12 - Learning from the Masters
    8.3/10(54 votes)

    #3 - Learning from the Masters

    S1:E12

    When a series of murder victims are found arranged in elaborately staged tableaux, Sam deduces that the cold-blooded killer is replicating famous artworks with their lifeless forms. Her investigation plunges her into the avant-garde art world until she accidentally strays into the killer's lair, where he takes her hostage -- and prepares to use her for his latest three-dimensional ""masterpiece."" Meanwhile, Bailey gets chills when he discovers that clever serial killer Jack of All Trades has compromised the team's vital computer system. Julian McMahon co-stars.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Profiler Season 1 Episode 13 - The House That Jack Built
    8.3/10(54 votes)

    #4 - The House That Jack Built

    S1:E13

    When Jack of All Trades, the inventive but frighteningly elusive serial murderer stalking Sam continues to toy with members of the VCTF team and their families, Bailey orders everyone into the task force's bunker-like command center as they scramble to devise a trap to ensnare Jack. Since their technologically brilliant quarry delights in eavesdropping and seeing them almost everywhere, the frustrated team uses Sam and Agent Grant as bait to flush Jack out into the open.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Profiler Season 2 Episode 14 - Every Five Minutes
    8.3/10(60 votes)

    #5 - Every Five Minutes

    S2:E14

    A serial rapist is terrorizing women in the Florida Panhandle. Sam and the VCTF are called in to investigate. The victims are able to provide the team with a number of clues which Sam uses to form her profile of the assailant. In the midst of the investigation, Sam butts heads with a local female sheriff. The woman continuously criticizes the VCTF's handling of the case and more importantly, their handling of the victims. In an emotional scene, Sam confronts the deputy and eventually learns the woman was once a rape victim herself. The two bond when they realize they both know what it is like to be the object of a deranged man's obsession. Meanwhile back in Atlanta, John and Marcus get a hot tip on the fugitive, Sharon Lesher. Desperate for cash, she has made it know on the street that she is looking for one of her old partners in crime. The episode concludes with the team springing a trap for Jack's ""Jill."" Sam corners Sharon as she tries to escape and momentarily wrestles with the id

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Profiler Season 2 Episode 19 - The Root of All Evil (1)
    8.3/10(51 votes)

    #6 - The Root of All Evil (1)

    S2:E19

    The team tries to catch a diabolical killer determined to take revenge on people who are so blinded by their love of money that they can't see the repercussions their actions have on the other side of the world, starting the with the setting off of incendiary car bombs outside a wealthy business office. The game between Jack and VCTF begins with Sharon as bait to lure Jack to the prison so they can catch him. But Jack has other plans. Meanwhile, Sam pays a visit to her long estranged father for the first time in 10 years. As she struggles to both deal with her father and the elusive avenging killer still committing bombings across the country, she soon makes the final connection to the killer in order to catch him.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Profiler

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  7. Profiler Season 1 Episode 9 - The Sorcerer's Apprentice
    8.2/10(60 votes)

    #7 - The Sorcerer's Apprentice

    S1:E9

    When Native American chiefs are ritually murdered on the reservation, Sam and the team tiptoe around local suspicions and superstitions as the locals blame a 1,000-year-old spirit -- the Nacazanti -- and a perplexed Sam consults a tribal wise man (guest star Russell Means) to narrow the list of suspects. Back in the city, serial killer Jack-of-all-trades has an extra trump card after stealing Bailey's all-access FBI identification card.

    Director:Lewis Teague
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Profiler Season 1 Episode 10 - Shattered Silence
    8.2/10(52 votes)

    #8 - Shattered Silence

    S1:E10

    The separate kidnappings of two high-profile doctors (guest stars Scott Koes, Buddy Farmer) and the evidence left behind leads Sam to believe that the prime suspect is a patient with an incurable medical condition who is driven to take desperate measures. Meanwhile, Bailey is riddled with guilt when he develops a mutual attraction with the wife (guest star Patricia Charbonneau) of one the missing men. In addition, serial killer Jack-of-all-trades continues his quest to isolate Sam by terrorizing Agent Nathan Brubaker. Morag Dickson guest-stars.

    Director:Sarah Pia Anderson
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Profiler Season 1 Episode 22 - Venom (2)
    8.2/10(51 votes)

    #9 - Venom (2)

    S1:E22

    Sam (Ally Walker) and the VCTF team are taunted by a diabolical serial killer (guest star Lori Petty, ""Free Willy"") who prefers to use a variety of exotic poisonous spiders and animals to kill her victims, while providing her pursuers with cryptic clues to her next murder. A frustrated Bailey (Robert Davi) is further irritated by a sexy private investigator (guest star Joan Severance, ""Wiseguy"") who tries to aid the VCTF, but it's the unit's chief nemesis--a jealous Jack of All Trades--who ironically can help the most. Elsewhere, Bailey asks Cooper (A Martinez) to replace John (Julian McMahon) on the team, and later takes drastic measures to curb his carousing daughter (Heather McComb).

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Profiler Season 3 Episode 19 - Grand Master (2)
    8.2/10(63 votes)

    #10 - Grand Master (2)

    S3:E19

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Profiler Season 1 Episode 4 - I'll Be Watching You
    8.1/10(61 votes)

    #11 - I'll Be Watching You

    S1:E4

    Dr. Sam Waters and the Violent Crimes Task Force must find a twisted assassin (Jason Rainwater) before he kills a celebrated political candidate (Casey Biggs), but Sam is distracted by new evidence that could locate her murderous stalker, known as ""Jack-of-all-trades."" Relying on audio clues from a recording, the hopeful FBI agents zero in on a Baltimore church which they believe to be Jack's lair. Robert Davi co-stars as Bailey Malone. .

    Director:John Harrison
    Writer:Lawrence Hertzog

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  12. Profiler Season 2 Episode 4 - Second Best
    8.1/10(50 votes)

    #12 - Second Best

    S2:E4

    When a hospital is the target of a bombing attack, the VCTF is called in to investigate. It's clear once the team arrives that this is no random attack. They are dealing with a highly skilled explosives expert who obviously has an agenda in mind. Bailey (Robert Davi) summons Coop (A Martinez) to Atlanta to assist with the case. His return is awkward for he and Sam (Ally Walker) as they have previously ended their romantic relationship. The bomber continues his lethal campaign by killing seemingly unrelated individuals. Sam and the team race to establish a relationship between the victims. Meanwhile, Bailey must deal with Frances's (Heather McComb) legal problems. The DA sees her case as a stepping stone for political office and is bound and determined to see her do time for shooting her father and fleeing prosecution. George (Peter Frechette) also faces difficulties as he continues to be pressured by an old acquaintance to embezzle funds from a local bank. This ""pressure"" becomes threa

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Profiler Season 4 Episode 10 - Clean Sweep (2)
    8.1/10(56 votes)

    #13 - Clean Sweep (2)

    S4:E10

    Jarod and Rachel Burke discover that the two dirty Secret Service agents, who are their most direct link to the killers of a fellow agent, are found slain, forcing them to begin their investigation all over again. However, while romantic sparks fly between the pair, Jarod suddenly disappears and is tortured by the murderer, who is on a crazed mission to eliminate everyone he thinks is involved in the agency's corruption. The crossover starts on The Pretender S04E10 Spin Doctor (I).

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Profiler Season 1 Episode 11 - Doppelganger
    8.0/10(54 votes)

    #14 - Doppelganger

    S1:E11

    Sam confronts inmate Arthur deRhodes (guest star Edward Albert, ""Beauty and the Beast""), a former adversary and serial slayer whom she helped put in a prison for the criminally insane years before, over a recent murder that bears striking similarities to his modus operandi. However, when another ritualistic murder occurs, Sam wonders whether the culprit could possibly be the clever deRhodes -- or a copycat killer. All bets are off when deRhodes eventually escapes, and no one is safe -- especially Sam. Robert Davi also stars.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Profiler Season 1 Episode 21 - Venom (1)
    8.0/10(57 votes)

    #15 - Venom (1)

    S1:E21

    Sam (Ally Walker) and the VCTF team are taunted by a diabolical serial killer (guest star Lori Petty, ""Free Willy"") who prefers to use a variety of exotic poisonous spiders and animals to kill her victims, while providing her pursuers with cryptic clues to her next murder. A frustrated Bailey (Robert Davi) is further irritated by a sexy private investigator (guest star Joan Severance, ""Wiseguy"") who tries to aid the VCTF, but it's the unit's chief nemesis--a jealous Jack of All Trades--who ironically can help the most. Elsewhere, Bailey asks Cooper (A Martinez) to replace John (Julian McMahon) on the team, and later takes drastic measures to curb his carousing daughter (Heather McComb).

    Director:James Whitmore Jr.
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Profiler Season 2 Episode 20 - The Root of All Evil (2)
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - The Root of All Evil (2)

    S2:E20

    The team tries to catch a diabolical killer determined to take revenge on people who are so blinded by their love of money that they can't see the repercussions their actions have on the other side of the world, starting the with the setting off of incendiary car bombs outside a wealthy business office. The game between Jack and VCTF begins with Sharon as bait to lure Jack to the prison so they can catch him. But Jack has other plans. Meanwhile, Sam pays a visit to her long estranged father for the first time in 10 years. As she struggles to both deal with her father and the elusive avenging killer still committing bombings across the country, she soon makes the final connection to the killer in order to catch him.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Profiler Season 1 Episode 1 - Insight
    7.9/10(100 votes)

    #17 - Insight

    S1:E1

    Ally Walker (""While You Were Sleeping"") stars in this stylish, hour-long suspense-thriller as Dr. Sam Waters, a brilliant female forensic psychologist with a unique gift for understanding the criminal mind. Sam was a fast-track forensic psychologist with a special skill which enabled her to ""think"" in pictures and visualize a crime through the eyes of both the victim and the killer, until ""Jack,"" an admiring serial slayer, murdered her husband three years ago, leaving her devastated. Guilt-ridden, Sam retired and retreated with her young daughter, Chloe (Caitlin Wachs), to live an anonymous life at a friend's (Erica Gimpel) in the country. She is coaxed out of self-imposed isolation by her old friend Bailey Malone (Robert Davi), head of the FBI Investigative Support Unit, to assist in solving a baffling spate of weekend serial killings that have claimed the lives of several single women in Atlanta, GA. Julian McMahon co-stars.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Profiler Season 1 Episode 2 - Ring of Fire
    7.9/10(79 votes)

    #18 - Ring of Fire

    S1:E2

    Dr. Sam Waters (Ally Walker) joins the newly formed Violent Crimes Task Force, led by her mentor, Bailey Malone (Robert Davi), to probe a string of well-publicized arson fires in the South, until her anonymity is shattered -- providing Jack-of-all-trades, her murderous stalker, more clues to her whereabouts. As a result, Sam is forced to move with her daughter (Caitlin Wachs) and her best friend, Angel (Erica Gimpel), while she uses her skills to compose a profile of the self-destructive arsonist (Seth Peterson). John Diehl guest-stars

    Director:Peter O'Fallon
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Profiler Season 1 Episode 5 - Unsoiled Sovereignty
    7.9/10(64 votes)

    #19 - Unsoiled Sovereignty

    S1:E5

    A series of bomb blasts at power plants draw Dr. Sam Waters and the task force to Pittsburgh, where Sam meets a charming bomb squad dismantler (guest star A. Martinez, ""LA Law""), and the flirtatious pair quickly form a romantic bond. Even so, their primary focus remains on targeting a deranged man (guest star Ron LaBelle), with an obsessive fetish for cleanliness, whose masterwork blast is timed to poison the city's water supply in just hours. Robert Davi co-stars.

    Director:Sarah Pia Anderson
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Profiler Season 1 Episode 8 - Cruel and Unusual
    7.9/10(60 votes)

    #20 - Cruel and Unusual

    S1:E8

    Sam and the team investigate a series of bizarre slayings whose victims were connected to the trial of a charming murderer (guest star Gary Stretch) sentenced to die within days. One of her prime suspects is a lovestruck protester (guest star Kim Darby) who leads a candlelight watch outside the prison while appeals are filed to halt the execution. Elsewhere, the serial killer known as Jack-of-all-trades assembles a roulette wheel with pictures of the entire VCTF unit -- and one spin will determine his next victim.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Profiler Season 1 Episode 14 - Shadow of Angels (1) (a.k.a. Noblesse Oblige)
    7.9/10(53 votes)

    #21 - Shadow of Angels (1) (a.k.a. Noblesse Oblige)

    S1:E14

    In this 2-hour episode, Dr. Sam Waters and the VCTF team investigate a series of bizarre murders where the victims -- including a U.S. Senator -- are either crushed or strangled with silver coins. The investigation leads them to Charles Vanderhorn (guest star James Coburn, ""The Magnificent Seven"" and ""Our Man Flint""), an aloof but powerful billionaire heading a well-connected aristocratic family. Also joining the probe is Nick Cooper (new series regular A Martinez, ""L.A. Law""), a terrorist and explosives expert who is romantically attracted to Sam. As the VCTF learns that the tightly knit killers are on a unified mission to punish the corrupt and overextravagant, they face a more primary case in their pursuit of the serial slayer Jack of All Trades -- which leads to a Costa Rican hideout where he is cornered at last.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Profiler Season 1 Episode 16 - Film at 11
    7.9/10(50 votes)

    #22 - Film at 11

    S1:E16

    Sam and the task force probe a series of ghastly murders which are carefully videotaped and sent to TV newsrooms by the vigilante slayer (guest star Ron Kuhlman) who announces that the crimes are righteous retribution against guilty people who slip through the judicial system. When a young woman (guest star Sherri Howard) is kidnapped and thought to still be alive, the accelerated investigation narrows to former law students with strong opinions about crime and punishment.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Profiler Season 1 Episode 7 - Night Dreams
    7.8/10(61 votes)

    #23 - Night Dreams

    S1:E7

    Sam and Bailey race the clock to track a serial kidnapper (guest star Stephen Lee) who curiously abducts a wide range of women from a college coed to a senior citizen -- and based on his ritualistic clues, Sam deduces that they have only hours before the victims are executed. While in pursuit, Agent Grant is wounded, and the trail cools off until Sam gets an unlikely break when she finds a stripper (guest star Debi A. Monahan) who survived an attempted kidnapping.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Profiler Season 1 Episode 19 - FTX: Field Training Exercise
    7.8/10(49 votes)

    #24 - FTX: Field Training Exercise

    S1:E19

    The task force comes under intense scrutiny when the FBI suspects that an insider is selling covert information, so a reluctant Bailey agrees to a mock field training exercise designed to root out the mole -- but he learns too late that one of the agents (guest star Michael Gaston) has a personal grudge against him. When one senior investigator (guest star Jack Conley) is found murdered in the command center, Sam tries to profile which one of the team's edgy members might benefit the most from trading FBI secrets. Meanwhile, Grace goes public with some personal news, and Nathan stands at the crossroads of the future of his bumpy marriage.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Profiler Season 2 Episode 1 - Ambition in the Blood
    7.8/10(50 votes)

    #25 - Ambition in the Blood

    S2:E1

    AKA The Protean Man As Bailey (Robert Davi) clings to life in an Atlanta hospital, Sam and the team are forced to take on a high profile case involving an international serial killer. The murderer, named Ashok Dupree, has escaped from an Indian prison and come to the U.S. for the purpose of killing a celebrity, so that he too can become world renown. While working to bring the killer to justice, Sam (Ally Walker) must convince herself and the Atlanta PD that she is innocent of the murder that Jack actually committed in the finale of last season. Also, John (Julian McMahon) decides to return to the VCTF, and Bailey's daughter, Frances (Heather McComb), now on the run, contacts John to check on her father's condition.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Otis, California" is the best rated episode of "Profiler". It scored 8.6/10 based on 46 votes. Directed by Richard Compton and written by Unknown, it aired on 2/20/1999. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Modus Operandi".