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The Worst Episodes of Spenser: For Hire

Every episode of Spenser: For Hire ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Spenser: For Hire!

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
Episodes
65
Avg. Rating
7.5
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3
7.6
7.4
7.8
7.6
8.0
7.9
7.7
7.5
8.2

Worst Episodes Summary

"Play it Again, Sammy" is the worst rated episode of "Spenser: For Hire". It scored 5.9/10 based on 43 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 1/30/1988. This episode scored 0.6 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Big Fight".

  • Play it Again, Sammy
    5.9/10(43)
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    #1 - Play it Again, Sammy

    Season 3 Episode 14

    Aired 1/30/1988

    Sammy Backlin calls Spenser for protection when he's being hunted by a 'vicious horde of bloodthirsty assassins'.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Big Fight
    6.5/10(35)
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    #2 - The Big Fight

    Season 3 Episode 15

    Aired 2/6/1988

    One of Spenser's old trainers lures Spenser to a deserted warehouse where Spenser is supposed to be killed, to get out from under a gambling debt. Spenser survives, then turns around and protects his trainer from the goons now after him.

    Director: Winrich Kolbe

    Writer: N/A

  • Children of a Tempest Storm
    6.7/10(74)
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    #3 - 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

  • When Silence Speaks
    6.8/10(45)
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    #4 - 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

  • The Killer Within
    7.0/10(56)
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    #5 - 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

  • Death By Design
    7.1/10(44)
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    #6 - 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

  • Shadowsight
    7.1/10(39)
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    #7 - Shadowsight

    Season 2 Episode 9

    Aired 12/13/1986

    A girl who apparently has the unique ability to 'see' through both space and time, enlists Spenser's help to solve a rash of arsons.

    Director: Cliff Bole

    Writer: N/A

  • The Siege
    7.1/10(39)
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    #8 - The Siege

    Season 3 Episode 11

    Aired 1/10/1988

    Hawk and Susan along with other people are held captive in a post office. Richard Brooks later seen on Law and Order during Season's 1 & 2 plays one of the hostage takers.

    Director: Bill Duke

    Writer: N/A

  • Original Sin
    7.2/10(72)
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    #9 - 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

  • Discord in A Minor
    7.2/10(63)
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    #10 - 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

  • In a Safe Place
    7.2/10(48)
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    #11 - 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

  • A Day's Wages
    7.3/10(46)
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    #12 - 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

  • The Hopes and Fears
    7.3/10(44)
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    #13 - The Hopes and Fears

    Season 2 Episode 10

    Aired 12/20/1986

    With the help of Hawk, a disgusted Spenser is determined to get rid of thugs who are terrorizing his Boston neighborhood.

    Director: Harry Harris

    Writer: N/A

  • Thanksgiving
    7.3/10(35)
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    #14 - Thanksgiving

    Season 3 Episode 7

    Aired 11/29/1987

    Spenser runs into an old friend while visiting a recreation of a Puritan village. Spenser does everything in his power to exonerate said friend when he's accused of a brutal slaying. As he uncovers more and more, Spenser begins to think it might be hard to clear the name of a guilty man.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • To the End of the Line
    7.3/10(37)
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    #15 - To the End of the Line

    Season 3 Episode 13

    Aired 1/23/1988

    When Frank's niece dies of a drug overdose, Spenser and Frank go after the men responsible.

    Director: Harry Harris

    Writer: N/A

  • Brother to Dragons
    7.4/10(44)
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    #16 - 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

  • An Eye for an Eye
    7.4/10(44)
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    #17 - An Eye for an Eye

    Season 2 Episode 1

    Aired 9/27/1986

    New District Attorney Rita Fiori tries to prosecute Spenser for blackmail.

    Director: William Wiard

    Writer: N/A

  • Rockabye Baby
    7.4/10(49)
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    #18 - Rockabye Baby

    Season 2 Episode 4

    Aired 10/25/1986

    A mobster's pregnant teenage girlfriend tries to keep her unborn son from his father.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Long Hunt
    7.4/10(38)
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    #19 - The Long Hunt

    Season 2 Episode 6

    Aired 11/8/1986

    A young criminal's father attacks a bus transporting convicts to the state prison.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Murder and Acquisitions
    7.4/10(34)
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    #20 - Murder and Acquisitions

    Season 2 Episode 13

    Aired 1/24/1987

    Spenser investigates the apparent suicide of a philandering financier about to turn state's evidence to bring down insider trading. Rita has problems of her own when an old boyfriend shows up. Belson hires Spenser to find his missing wallet containing a winning lottery ticket.

    Director: Harry Harris

    Writer: N/A

  • Mary Hamilton
    7.4/10(44)
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    #21 - Mary Hamilton

    Season 2 Episode 15

    Aired 2/14/1987

    A girl comes to Boston looking for her estranged father. Spenser decides to help her.

    Director: Winrich Kolbe

    Writer: N/A

  • If You Knew Sammy
    7.4/10(39)
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    #22 - If You Knew Sammy

    Season 2 Episode 20

    Aired 4/4/1987

    NRA poster-boy Sammy Backlin breezes into town for a book signing, unwittingly involving Spenser in a shoot out. Spenser agrees to protect Sammy from gangland thugs.

    Director: Bruce Bilson

    Writer: N/A

  • McAllister
    7.4/10(46)
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    #23 - McAllister

    Season 3 Episode 20

    Aired 4/30/1988

    Spenser assists a lawyer in proving the innocence of his client, a Navy seaman accused of murdering the captain's daughter. The only witness is a missing Polish sailor.

    Director: Harvey Hart

    Writer: N/A

  • Blood Money
    7.5/10(48)
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    #24 - 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

  • Internal Affairs
    7.5/10(50)
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    #25 - 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