7.6/10118 votes#1 - Promised Land
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1985
Spenser is hired to find the runaway wife of a wealthy businessman. Based on a story by Spenser novelist Robert B. Parker.
Director: Lee H. Katzin
Writer: N/A
7.6/10101 votes#2 - No Room at the Inn
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/1985
Spenser's apartment burns down, but he's allowed to move into an old fire station as thanks for saving a firefighter's life. Meanwhile, Spenser and Hawk are hired to protect the life of grand jury witness. When it starts to look like someone on the inside might be trying to have the witness killed, and that the witness may not be who she says she is, things get convoluted.
Director: Lee H. Katzin
Writer: N/A
- 7.7/1090 votes
#3 - The Choice
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/1985
A old man whom Spenser and Hawk knows is shot. They discover that the killer are a couple who comes from an affluent background, which they hide behind. It turns into a cat and mouse game for Spenser and Hawk, who are determined to take them down.
Director: William Wiard
Writer: N/A
- 6.7/1073 votes
#4 - Children of a Tempest Storm
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/1985
Spenser kills a would-be thief in the course of thwarting a robbery. He and Susan take in the man's two children while investigating his past. Susan discovers she's pregnant.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.2/1070 votes
#5 - Original Sin
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/1985
Spenser investigates the apparent suicide of a young nun, and stumbles onto a corrupt landlord.
Director: Harvey Hart
Writer: N/A
- 7.3/1062 votes
#6 - Discord in A Minor
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/25/1985
Spenser's been hired by a conductor to find his daughter who ran away with her boyfriend. When he finds them, she tells him that her father has been molesting her. Spenser then tells her father what she said which he denies. After Spenser leaves, he calls Hawk, who once did a job for him, to do something for him.
Director: Harvey Hart, Don Chaffey
Writer: N/A
- 7.1/1055 votes
#7 - The Killer Within
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/12/1985
Spenser is hired to protect a woman's identical twin sister from assassins, only to discover his employer suffers from a split personality.
Director: Don Chaffey
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/1052 votes
#8 - Autumn Thieves
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/19/1985
Spenser stumbles onto a ring of thieves while investigating a relic stolen from a museum.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/1047 votes
#9 - Blood Money
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/26/1985
The wife of a kidnapped oil tycoon hires Spenser to deliver $1 million in ransom money to a ring of terrorists while police have the drop-off area surrounded.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/1051 votes
#10 - Resurrection
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/3/1985
Spenser investigates a crooked vice cop involved in the mugging of one of Susan's friends.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/1049 votes
#11 - Internal Affairs
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/17/1985
Marital infidelity and suspected involvement in a gambling ring lead to Lt. Quirk's suspension. Belson is shot during a raid. Spenser works to clear Quirk's name and catch Belson's would-be killer.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.1/1043 votes
#12 - Death By Design
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/7/1986
Spenser and Hawk blame themselves for failing to protect their respective clients from the clutches of the underworld, and vow to settle the score with a big-time racketeer and his henchmen.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/1045 votes
#13 - A Day's Wages
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/14/1986
A young ex-con named Louis Harper steals from his boss, John Brady. Brady hires Spenser to prove it and Harper hires Hawk to protect him from leg-breakers. Spenser and Hawk team up to solve Louis' murder.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.8/1047 votes
#14 - A Madness Most Discreet
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/21/1986
Spenser tries to protect a former Russian ballerina, when she hires him to help her find stolen papers, but he gets more than he bargained for once he discovers that she is a person of interest to dueling government agents employed by American and Russian forces.
Director: Ray Austin
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/1044 votes
#15 - Brother to Dragons
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/4/1986
Spenser is going skiing with Susan, but when he picks her up at Smithfield High School where she works, he finds out one of her students died of a heroin overdose. Spenser gets hired by the superintendent and goes undercover as a teacher at her school to find out where the drugs are coming from. He obviously gets into it with the dealers.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 6.8/1045 votes
#16 - When Silence Speaks
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/11/1986
A deaf woman hires Spenser to find a man she had been corresponding with who had gone missing. As Spenser investigates, he realizes that the missing man is somehow involved with a gang of thieves who are trying to kill Spenser in revenge for busting up their diamond heist.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.2/1047 votes
#17 - In a Safe Place
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 2/14/1986
Spenser searches for the father of an undocumented boy killed by an unhinged unemployed man. The trail leads Spenser into a conspiracy involving the exploitation of undocumented workers on the waterfront.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.0/1046 votes
#18 - Angel of Desolation
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 3/4/1986
Spenser is hired by the fashion model wife of a rich bank owner who says her life is in danger. After multiple attempted murders and one successful murder, Spenser realizes that the wife is not the target. When the wife's past comes to light, the investigation takes a whole new direction.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/1042 votes
#19 - She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 3/11/1986
Detective Belson's ex-partner is murdered during his daughter's wedding reception. The dead cop is suspected of being involved in criminal activities, so Lt. Quirk asks Spenser to investigate the dead man and find out if Belson is dirty too.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/1046 votes
#20 - At the River's Edge
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 3/25/1986
Spenser witnesses an ex convict murder a 19 year girl then kill himself. The girl's wealthy younger sister hires Spenser to find out why her sister was killed. Clues lead Spenser to a crusading preacher that had a secret relationship with the 19 year old.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.5/1045 votes
#21 - Rage
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 4/1/1986
When Spenser is trying to locate a runaway. The girl meets a psychotic man but Spenser saves her but the man escapes. He then wants to get back at Spenser and he starts by holding Susan hostage.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.6/1043 votes
#22 - Hell Hath No Fury
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 4/8/1986
Partnering with an attractive TV news reporter, Spenser investigates the reason a newly constructed building collapsed killing a boy. He suspects the building company after data samples show suspect concrete core strength results.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Spenser: For Hire Season 1
Every episode of Spenser: For Hire Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Spenser: For Hire Season 1!
Mystery and suspense series based on Robert Parker's "Spenser" novels. Spenser, a private investigator living in Boston, gets involved in a new murder mystery each...
Genres:DramaCrimeMystery
Network:ABC
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Promised Land" is the best rated episode of "Spenser: For Hire" season 1. It scored 7.6/10 based on 118 votes. Directed by Lee H. Katzin and written by N/A, it aired on 9/20/1985. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "No Room at the Inn".