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The Best Episodes of Profiler

Genres:CrimeDrama
Network:NBC

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

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...
Episodes
83
Avg. Rating
7.4
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3
7.3
7.6
7.1
7.5
6.0
7.5
7.4
7.5
7.0
7.7
7.4
6.4

Filter By Season (4)

  • Otis, California
    8.4/10(80)
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    #1 - Otis, California

    Season 3 Episode 14

    Aired 2/20/1999

    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: N/A

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    0
  • Every Five Minutes
    8.2/10(92)
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    #2 - Every Five Minutes

    Season 2 Episode 14

    Aired 3/21/1998

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • The Root of All Evil (1)
    8.2/10(87)
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    #3 - The Root of All Evil (1)

    Season 2 Episode 19

    Aired 5/9/1998

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Grand Master (2)
    8.1/10(97)
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    #4 - Grand Master (2)

    Season 3 Episode 19

    Aired 5/8/1999

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Modus Operandi
    8.0/10(1)
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    #5 - Modus Operandi

    Season 1 Episode 6

    Aired 11/9/1996

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Night Dreams
    8.0/10(1)
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    #6 - Night Dreams

    Season 1 Episode 7

    Aired 11/16/1996

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
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  • Shattered Silence
    8.0/10(1)
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    #7 - Shattered Silence

    Season 1 Episode 10

    Aired 1/11/1997

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

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    0
  • Learning from the Masters
    8.0/10(1)
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    #8 - Learning from the Masters

    Season 1 Episode 12

    Aired 2/1/1997

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

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    0
  • The House That Jack Built
    8.0/10(1)
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    #9 - The House That Jack Built

    Season 1 Episode 13

    Aired 2/8/1997

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Shadow of Angels (1) (a.k.a. Noblesse Oblige)
    8.0/10(1)
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    #10 - Shadow of Angels (1) (a.k.a. Noblesse Oblige)

    Season 1 Episode 14

    Aired 2/15/1997

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

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  • Shadow of Angels (2) (a.k.a. Gestalt)
    8.0/10(1)
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    #11 - Shadow of Angels (2) (a.k.a. Gestalt)

    Season 1 Episode 15

    Aired 2/15/1997

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Film at 11
    8.0/10(1)
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    #12 - Film at 11

    Season 1 Episode 16

    Aired 3/8/1997

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Blue Highway
    8.0/10(1)
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    #13 - Blue Highway

    Season 1 Episode 18

    Aired 4/5/1997

    Sam and the VCTF investigate a series of fatal hit-and-run auto accidents on remote highways where the only clues are abandoned car hulks, a pattern which leads Sam to suspect a trucker (guest star Jim Wilky) who is reliving a traumatic accident from his childhood. Elsewhere: George is mugged and nearly killed in a video store holdup; Bailey feels responsible for his wayward teenaged daughter (guest star Heather McComb) when she hangs out with a rough crowd; Angel is very appreciative when John speaks to her art class

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • FTX: Field Training Exercise
    8.0/10(1)
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    #14 - FTX: Field Training Exercise

    Season 1 Episode 19

    Aired 4/12/1997

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Venom (1)
    8.0/10(1)
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    #15 - Venom (1)

    Season 1 Episode 21

    Aired 5/10/1997

    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: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Venom (2)
    8.0/10(1)
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    #16 - Venom (2)

    Season 1 Episode 22

    Aired 5/10/1997

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • The Root of All Evil (2)
    8.0/10(1)
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    #17 - The Root of All Evil (2)

    Season 2 Episode 20

    Aired 5/9/1998

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

    0
  • Second Best
    7.9/10(86)
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    #18 - Second Best

    Season 2 Episode 4

    Aired 11/22/1997

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

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  • Clean Sweep (2)
    7.9/10(140)
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    #19 - Clean Sweep (2)

    Season 4 Episode 10

    Aired 2/5/2000

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

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  • It Cuts Both Ways
    7.7/10(84)
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    #20 - It Cuts Both Ways

    Season 2 Episode 3

    Aired 11/15/1997

    Jack's back and he's wreaking havoc with his new lethal protégé, Sharon Lesher (Traci Lords). The VCTF is summoned to New Orleans when the murder of a research librarian has the earmarkings of a Jack kill. Once on the scene, Sam (Ally Walker) is perplexed by what appears to be inconsistencies with Jack's prior modus operandi. Though certain Jack is responsible for the murder, she considers rethinking her profile of him. To that end, she consults one of her old professors to get a fresh perspective on the case. Sam and the professor agree that Jack is beginning a new chapter in his obsession with Sam. Two more murders occur in rapid succession and it becomes clear Jack is sending clues as to what this new chapter will entail. Bailey (Robert Davi) receives a call from his fugitive daughter, Francis (Heather McComb), who refuses to heed her father's pleas to return to Atlanta. George (Peter Frechette) is confronted by his past misdeeds when a corrupt attorney asks him to use his computer

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

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  • Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick
    7.7/10(82)
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    #21 - Jack Be Nimble, Jack Be Quick

    Season 2 Episode 7

    Aired 1/3/1998

    Once the prime suspect in the 'Old Acquaintance' murder mystery is found dead, Sam (Ally Walker) determines that one of her friends, Greg or Monica , is the likely killer. With the VCTF hot on his trail, a mortally wounded Jack escapes to his lair to recuperate from being shot by Sam. In attempting to pursue Jack, as well as the killer of her friends, Sam begins to wonder if it's all becoming a bit too overwhelming. Frances (Heather McComb) attempts to give herself a birthday 'present' by seducing John (Julian McMahon). The plan fails and John calls Sam to take the ever rebellious teen home to her father. This leads to Sam and Frances having a heart to heart in which the young woman shares a painful memory from her early upbringing. Bailey (Robert Davi) asks Marcus Peyton (Shiek Mahmud-Bey) to join the VCTF team and he accepts, to John's dismay. Sam uncovers evidence that points to Greg as the 'old Acquaintance' killer and she and Bailey apprehend him just as he tries to leave town. Ba

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

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  • Shoot to Kill
    7.7/10(84)
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    #22 - Shoot to Kill

    Season 2 Episode 12

    Aired 3/7/1998

    AKA Textbook Ohio's cities are being terrorized by a seemingly random sniper. Everyday citizens as well as police officers are being attacked. The state's governor summons the VCTF. Once on the scene, Sam, Bailey and the rest of the team are perplexed by the sniper's ability to shoot from increasingly longer distances. This ability reminds Bailey of an elite task force he encountered while serving in Vietnam. Bailey obtains from Casper, his intelligence source, the names of the task force members. Meanwhile, Sam uses clues left at the crime scenes to put together a profile that suggests the sniper is trying to create his own mythology, much like the Archer in Greek literature. George comes up with a suspect once he merges Casper's list and Sam's profile. Bailey, haunted by memories of the atrocities committed by the sniper task force, sets out to take down the killer and does so in the episode's exciting climax. John, George and Bailey look into Lou Handleman who has tried to dis

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

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  • Las Brisas
    7.7/10(81)
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    #23 - Las Brisas

    Season 3 Episode 20

    Aired 5/15/1999

    Donald Lucas' trial begins as the team heads out to Mexico where in the small town of Las Brisas, women have been vanishing without a trace for the past year, and some corpses have been discovered. But their investigation is hampered on both sides of the border by the corrupt police chief, Miguel Villalobos, whom is under the thumb of a U.S sheriff, J.D. Tollman, whom try to derail the VCTF's investigation when the murders lead to a powerful U.S. businessman, named James Lofton, running a textile factory in Las Brisas and has been in the company of local prostitutes, some of whom ended up as victims. While assisting Marta Fernandez, a loyal policewoman with the investigation, Sam and the group commute back and forth to Atlanta for Lucas' trial with testimony from her, Bailey, George, against Lucas. Also testifying on Sam's behalf is Sheriff Ed Post from Otis, California whom, unknown to everyone, is actually the real Jack-of-All-Trades whom has been in hiding all this time and is usi

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

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  • Ambition in the Blood
    7.6/10(85)
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    #24 - Ambition in the Blood

    Season 2 Episode 1

    Aired 11/1/1997

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

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  • Cycle of Violence
    7.6/10(83)
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    #25 - Cycle of Violence

    Season 2 Episode 17

    Aired 4/11/1998

    A vigilante's series of murders leads the team to an eccentric cartoonist, whose work has influenced the killer. Sam receives an award from the American Association of Women in Law Enforcement.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

    Comments

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Best Episodes Summary

"Otis, California" is the best rated episode of "Profiler". It scored 8.4/10 based on 80 votes. Directed by Richard Compton and written by N/A, it aired on 2/20/1999. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Every Five Minutes".