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The Best Episodes of T. J. Hooker

Every episode of T. J. Hooker ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of T. J. Hooker!

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Sergeant Thomas Jefferson Hooker is a tough-as-nails veteran police officer with the LCPD who turns his back on a gold badge and goes back to patrolling the streets and training recruits. Along with his young

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  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    T. J. Hooker Season 3 Episode 2 - Carnal Express
    7.8/10(103 votes)

    #1 - Carnal Express

    S3:E2

    When a young female singer, whom Hooker has got cleaned up on a drug reform programme, is kidnapped, Stacy goes to work undercover as an exotic dancer at the club that they suspect to be a front for a white slavery ring that is dealing in attractive young women.

    Director:Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
    Writer:Joe Viola

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  2. T. J. Hooker Season 4 Episode 13 - Trackdown
    7.7/10(87 votes)

    #2 - Trackdown

    S4:E13

    A parking attendant's suspicion leads to the discovery of a woman's body in the trunk of a car, sending Hooker and the team on the trail of a psychotic killer who is on a cross-country murder spree. Meanwhile, the deranged killer lures a young woman into his clutches and takes her hostage, leaving behind her husband and sick baby. Hooker persuades the Detective in charge of the case to let him place a trap to try and catch the killer and get the woman back safely, but it places Stacy in great danger.

    Director:Reza Badiyi
    Writer:Mark Rodgers

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  3. T. J. Hooker Season 5 Episode 11 - Nightmare
    7.7/10(67 votes)

    #3 - Nightmare

    S5:E11

    Pursuing a gang of robbers, Stacy receives a mild concussion in a shoot-out, and after being discharged from hospital, decides to take a break to go and visit her sister. But driving through a fierce thunderstorm and still in a slightly dazed state, she is involved in a minor road accident which leaves her with amnesia, and is taken in by a passing motorist who claims to be a local doctor. Meanwhile, Hooker and Corrigan become concerned at Stacy's sudden disappearance, and investigate a break out from a mental hospital where two dangerous patients have escaped - and unbeknown to them, one of the escapees is the man posing as the doctor who has taken in Stacy.

    Director:Reza Badiyi
    Writer:Rick Husky

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  4. T. J. Hooker Season 2 Episode 14 - The Decoy
    7.6/10(106 votes)

    #4 - The Decoy

    S2:E14

    The latest victim of a serial murderer known as the ""Surfside Killer"" turns out to be a police officer. Stacy, a close friend of the murdered girl, fits the description of each of the killer's victims - young blonde females, and volenteers herself to work undercover to try and draw out the murderer. But Hooker does not have faith in the way the operation has been organised, and vows to watch over and protect Stacy himself.

    Director:Leonard Nimoy
    Writer:Mark Rodgers

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  5. T. J. Hooker Season 2 Episode 16 - Vengeance is Mine
    7.6/10(142 votes)

    #5 - Vengeance is Mine

    S2:E16

    Hooker and Romano are just finishing working on a case with Lt. Paul McGuire, a close friend and colleague of Hooker's, when they respond to a reported rape - in which the victim turns out to be none other than McGuire's own daughter. The girl is certain that she knows the attacker and can identify him, but the attacker, a lawyer, uses legal loopholes to get off without charge. As Hooker tries to nail the attacker ""by the book"", McGuire becomes infuriated at the lack of action taken and takes matters into his own hands, endangering not only his job, but Hooker's case that will bring the attacker to justice in the proper way.

    Director:Phil Bondelli
    Writer:Allison Hock

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  6. T. J. Hooker Season 3 Episode 9 - Matter of Passion
    7.6/10(76 votes)

    #6 - Matter of Passion

    S3:E9

    While out for a jog on the beach, Hooker finds the body of a dead young woman in the surf. When the coroner's report is unable to identify the girl, and indications are that she was murdered, Hooker becomes personally concerned in finding the person responsible. An attractive painter and a small book of phone numbers found with the girl are the only leads in the hunt for the killer, but as Hooker investigates the killing, attempts are made on his own life, as the murderer tries to keep him away from unravelling the events behind the girl's death.

    Director:Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
    Writer:Dick Nelson

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of T. J. Hooker

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  7. T. J. Hooker Season 4 Episode 1 - Night Vigil
    7.6/10(81 votes)

    #7 - Night Vigil

    S4:E1

    On routine patrol with Corrigan, Stacy is shot when unwittingly walking in on an armed robbery, leaving her hospitalised in a coma and with a bullet lodged dangerously close to her heart. With Stacy facing precarious surgery, Hooker, Corrigan and Romano search out the robbers, who are armed with armour piercing bullets. But Hooker's determination to catch the thugs, no matter what, sees him putting his career on the line.

    Director:Winrich Kolbe
    Writer:Frank Telford

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  8. T. J. Hooker Season 4 Episode 4 - Hardcore Connection
    7.6/10(78 votes)

    #8 - Hardcore Connection

    S4:E4

    While on a prostitution sting, Hooker spots veteran vice officer Daniels' car parked outside a motel, and goes to investigate just as the officer is shot by an assassin. Both the gun-man and the prostitute Daniels was meeting with flee the scene, and the officer's superior reports that Daniels wasn't there on Police business, and what's more, was found with money suggesting that he'd been taking bribes. But Hooker is adamant that the veteran officer is innocent of the accusations, and has two days before the funeral to clear the officer's name and find out what he was really doing at the motel. The girl Daniels was meeting with holds the key to the true circumstances, and Hooker forces her ex-roommate, a reluctant, wise-cracking ex-prostitute, into helping him track the down. But the girl is hiding in fear from the dangerous porno producer who was involved with the officer's shooting.

    Director:Christian I. Nyby II
    Writer:Stephen Downing

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  9. T. J. Hooker Season 4 Episode 5 - Anatomy of a Killing
    7.6/10(63 votes)

    #9 - Anatomy of a Killing

    S4:E5

    Following an execution-style murder connected to a drug racket, Hooker joins forces with ex-partner and personal friend Jim Cody to solve the killing and put the drug ring out of business. But as they investigate the case, it becomes apparent that Cody's own daughter is a heroin addict and involved with key members of the drug ring.

    Director:Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
    Writer:Stephen Downing

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  10. T. J. Hooker Season 4 Episode 8 - A Kind of Rage
    7.6/10(68 votes)

    #10 - A Kind of Rage

    S4:E8

    While on a stake-out to capture a strangler who is killing homeless women, Corrigan receives a blow to the head while struggling with a suspect, leaving him with a concussion which triggers sudden, unexpected bouts of enraged behaviour. But the suspect Corrigan took on isn't in fact the strangler, and with the real killer still on the loose, Hooker and the team must track him down before he strikes again. Corrigan's refusal to acknowledge his condition doesn't exactly help matters.

    Director:Winrich Kolbe
    Writer:Rick Kelbaugh

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  11. T. J. Hooker Season 2 Episode 5 - Big Foot
    7.5/10(109 votes)

    #11 - Big Foot

    S2:E5

    When a man attacks and rapes a young female jogger, Hooker and Romano find themselves on the trail of a serial rapist who has left behind only one clue: a size 13 shoe-print.

    Director:Cliff Bole
    Writers:Dallas L. Barnes, JoAnne Barnes

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  12. T. J. Hooker Season 3 Episode 15 - Exercise in Murder
    7.5/10(83 votes)

    #12 - Exercise in Murder

    S3:E15

    In pursuit of a trio of diamond thieves, who escape via helicopter, Hooker is devastated when he accidentally shoots a 9-year-old boy, leaving the youngster critical in hospital. Meanwhile, Corrigan is concerned when his steady girlfriend Jill starts acting strangely before abruptly breaking off their relationship. The girl is actually being blackmailed by the trio of robbers; and when her body is found washed up from the ocean, Stacy goes undercover at the aerobics gym where Jill worked to try and get a lead, endangering herself in doing so.

    Director:Phil Bondelli
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. T. J. Hooker Season 3 Episode 22 - Deadlock
    7.5/10(76 votes)

    #13 - Deadlock

    S3:E22

    On night patrol, Hooker and Romano follow the trail of a pair of graffiti vandals to a department store, only to find the store guard dead and themselves unwittingly stumbling onto a gun robbery from the store's sports department. With their patrol car stolen by the graffiti vandals and the store's phones cut, the pair take on the thieves with no back-up, leading to a gun-fight with the trio of robbers which leaves Romano badly wounded by a gun-blast. Both sides trapped in the confines of the department store floor, the battle of wits climaxes with Hooker and the psychotic leader of the robbers trapped together in a store elevator, in a guns-drawn test of will.

    Director:Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
    Writers:Bruce Shelly, David Ketchum

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  14. T. J. Hooker Season 4 Episode 10 - Grand Theft Auto
    7.5/10(66 votes)

    #14 - Grand Theft Auto

    S4:E10

    Romano, celebrating his new Porsche sports car, takes Hooker out for a night at a dance club, but the car is stolen, hitting a gypsy king as it speeds away. The injured man and his 10-year-old niece have been tracking the thieves trying to recover stolen automobile parts, but they refuse to give any information to the Police. The next day, the man is murdered, but the niece once again refuses to talk. Hooker reluctantly releases the girl into the custody of her older sister, hoping that she might open up to her about the killing, but the young gypsy girl is determined to avenge her uncle's death.

    Director:Sidney Hayers
    Writer:B.W. Sandefur

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  15. T. J. Hooker Season 4 Episode 19 - Homecoming
    7.5/10(68 votes)

    #15 - Homecoming

    S4:E19

    Hooker's children come to visit their father, but the vacation is interrupted after Corrigan and another Officer unwittingly disrupt an armed race-track heist, which leaves Corrigan's fellow Officer dead. The robbers were under the pretence of being ambulance attendants, and Hooker has reason to believe that the robbery was an inside job; but the case means that his time with his cherished kids is limited.

    Director:Kenneth R. Koch
    Writer:Rick Husky

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  16. T. J. Hooker Season 5 Episode 9 - The Obsession
    7.5/10(73 votes)

    #16 - The Obsession

    S5:E9

    Corrigan and Stacy respond to a seemingly trivial call about an illegally parked vehicle, only to stumble onto an armed robbery of a check-cashing outlet. As Corrigan calls for back-up, Stacy intervenes in the robbery to stop a man from being shot, only to taken hostage by the trio of armed thieves. With Stacy held prisoner by the robbers, the head of the trio rapidly develops an ""obsession"" for her, much to the aggravation of his girl-friend, who is also one of the theives. As Hooker and Corrigan search for Stacy and the thieves, they risk taking on the might of City Hall when it becomes apparent that the father of one of the trio is involved in the Mayor's re-election campaign and is prepared to pull strings to keep the whole case quiet. Meanwhile, the trio's leader's obsession with Stacy continues to grow – and it is the only thing that is keeping her from being killed.

    Director:Phil Bondelli
    Writer:Karen Klein

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  17. T. J. Hooker Season 2 Episode 8 - Deadly Ambition
    7.4/10(93 votes)

    #17 - Deadly Ambition

    S2:E8

    After a security guard is shot down when trying to stop a diamond vault robbery, the investigating detective is determined to prove that the guard had taken a bribe from the robbers and wants to nail him for aiding the thieves. The guard is an old friend of Hooker's who knows that his friend wouldn't have been involved. As he and Romano investigate to find out the true circumstances it seems as if the detective is willing to go to any lengths, including blackmail, to see that he is covered in glory for his busts and quickly fly through the ranks.

    Director:Michael Preece
    Writer:Arthur Weingarten

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  18. T. J. Hooker Season 2 Episode 21 - Payday Pirates
    7.4/10(81 votes)

    #18 - Payday Pirates

    S2:E21

    On Stacy's first week of field training, Hooker assigns her to be partnered with tough veteran officer Jim Corrigan, who has low opinion of female cops after his former parter was killed while partnered with one. Meanwhile, Hooker has a personal concern in catching the culprits of a series of violent mini-mart robberies in a factory district, when his ex-wife Fran is badly wounded in a hold-up and is in danger of being left blind as a result.

    Director:Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
    Writer:Paul B. Margolis

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  19. T. J. Hooker Season 4 Episode 2 - The Two Faces of Betsy Morgan
    7.4/10(76 votes)

    #19 - The Two Faces of Betsy Morgan

    S4:E2

    Hooker and Romano by chance spot a van swerving dangerously over the road – in which a pair of teenage prostitutes are being held against their will by two men. When the van crashes off the road, they find one of the girls dead after being strangled – the latest victim in a series of killings by ""The Boulevard Strangler"" and his accomplice, who are prying on young runaways. Hooker finds that the surviving girl has run away after being abused at home, and leads a double life – a perfect high-school student, and as a prostitute. But now the girl is in danger with the killers after her, who are concerned that she can identify them in the murder of the other girl... Meanwhile, Corrigan considers leaving the force to take a job teaching.

    Director:Paul Krasny
    Writer:Robert Bielak

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  20. T. J. Hooker Season 4 Episode 7 - Model for Murder
    7.4/10(65 votes)

    #20 - Model for Murder

    S4:E7

    Investigating the killing of a fashion model, who had also been working as a high-class prostitute, Stacy's contact, another model, is too found murdered in similar circumstances. Stacy befriends the murdered girl's room-mate, and goes undercover as a model at the company that the girls belonged to, to try and root out the killer, who is using sale of the girls to ensure a large order of costumes. But Stacy's handling of the case causes some friction between Corrigan and herself.

    Director:Harry Falk
    Writer:Janis Hendler

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  21. T. J. Hooker Season 2 Episode 2 - King of the Hill
    7.3/10(115 votes)

    #21 - King of the Hill

    S2:E2

    The latest in a series of armed robberies on super-markets leaves a young cashier possibly paralysed when the thieves take her hostage and then push her from their speeding car to slow up the pursuing cops. The cars used by the robbers are specially modified "hill racers", leading to the local hill racing champion, an old friend of Hooker's, being wrongly arrested as the prime suspect. Hooker must prove his innocence by speeding after the real culprits.

    Director:Charlie Picerni
    Writer:Stephen Downing

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  22. T. J. Hooker Season 2 Episode 3 - The Empty Gun
    7.3/10(110 votes)

    #22 - The Empty Gun

    S2:E3

    Two armed juveniles rob a liquor store, and the ensuing Police pursuit results in an Officer being shot dead. Romano waits until the killer is out of bullets before he corners and apprehends him, resulting in a number of Officers being angry at Romano for not avenging their colleague's death. Hooker is torn as his partner is slated for going by the book and not taking the opportunity to shoot the cop-killer.

    Director:Cliff Bole
    Writer:Paul Savage

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  23. T. J. Hooker Season 2 Episode 12 - The Fast Lane
    7.3/10(101 votes)

    #23 - The Fast Lane

    S2:E12

    After a fatal drink-driving crash, Hooker and Romano set out to track down the gang who are making liquor robberies and then selling it to local youths. But Romano has a personal concern in the case when he finds out that the gifted son of a deceased friend from his time serving in Vietnam has fallen into the disreputable company of the gang.

    Director:Don Chaffey
    Writer:Jeffrey M. Hayes

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  24. T. J. Hooker Season 2 Episode 20 - The Hostages
    7.3/10(91 votes)

    #24 - The Hostages

    S2:E20

    After Hooker and Romano foil an armed robbery committed by a family of robbers, which leaves the father wounded in hospital and the daughter held in custody, the two sons take the hospital wing with their father on siege, holding Hooker's ex-wife Fran, Stacy, a little girl urgently needing heart surgery, and a whole floor of patients hostage.

    Director:Cliff Bole
    Writer:Robert Earll

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  25. T. J. Hooker Season 3 Episode 4 - The Cheerleader Murder
    7.3/10(88 votes)

    #25 - The Cheerleader Murder

    S3:E4

    Hooker and Romano, with Stacy and Corrigan, catch the thief of a freshly stolen car, but in the car's trunk, they find the body of a teenage girl. With the coroner's report revealing that the girl was a heavy cocaine user and had had a recent, crudely-operated abortion, they find themselves uncovering a racket that is getting young girls hooked on drugs and then leading them into making underage porn movies to pay for their addiction.

    Director:Cliff Bole
    Writer:Gerald Sanford

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Best Episodes Summary

"Carnal Express" is the best rated episode of "T. J. Hooker". It scored 7.8/10 based on 103 votes. Directed by Sigmund Neufeld Jr. and written by Joe Viola, it aired on 10/8/1983. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Trackdown".