9.3/1019 votesLoading...#1 - Dead Heat
Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 12/2/1975
Chris and Terry have their patrol car stolen by teenage vandals while investigating a major robbery in a department store and three heavily armed killers trap them there.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 9.2/1027 votesLoading...
#2 - The Late Mr. Brent
Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 1/28/1974
Mike and Jill Danko's marriage is strained by Mike's protective interest in the widow of a man Mike was forced to kill in the line of duty.
Director: Gene Nelson, Barry Shear
Writer: N/A
- 9.0/1020 votesLoading...
#3 - Something Less Than a Man
Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 2/18/1974
An old friend of Ryker's, once a good policeman and now a pathetic drunk, is framed for the murder of a gangster who has terrorized the neighborhood. To gain favor from his daughter and neighbors, he pleads guilty, but Lt. Ryker, with the help of the rookies, finds a better way to give the man back his dignity.
Director: Philip Leacock
Writer: N/A
- 9.0/1020 votesLoading...
#4 - From Out of the Darkness
Season 4 Episode 19 - Aired 1/20/1976
Terry vows to find the murderer of Dan Kennedy, a retired cop turned security guard. Dan was the father of a blind girl, Terry's former girlfriend.
Director: Randal Kleiser
Writer: N/A
- 8.9/1030 votesLoading...
#5 - Three Hours to Kill
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 2/12/1973
An extremely ill young boy is desperately waiting for a suitable bone marrow donor; without a bone marrow transplant, he will die shortly. However, the biggest obstacle is that the boy's father, who has compatible marrow and is the only possible donor, is currently on the run. He is trying to evade the police as well as the syndicate.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.9/1025 votesLoading...
#6 - Down Home Boy
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 11/19/1973
A telethon featuring an extremely famous country western singer requests of the police department extra protection. The rookies are assigned to the event. Their placement on this assignment results in their protecting the singer from a couple of bitter and unforgiving country folk from Tennessee. The hillbillies hold the singer responsible for the death of their sister, who died while she was giving birth.
Director: Leonard Horn
Writer: Paul Savage
- 8.9/1032 votesLoading...
#7 - Eyewitness
Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 2/11/1974
A young man with a Jekyll - Hyde personality becomes a puzzle for Terry and Willie when he gives them a description of a suspected cop-killer. But for Mike and Ryker he poses a different problem: extreme danger.
Director: Barry Shear
Writer: N/A
- 8.8/1022 votesLoading...
#8 - Snow Job
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 1/29/1973
An old friend of Terry Webster's unleashes an attack on a patrol car officer. Webster investigates further to try and discover the logic behind the seemingly nonsensical incident.
Director: Gene Nelson, Ralph Senensky
Writer: William Douglas Lansford
- 8.8/1024 votesLoading...
#9 - A Matter of Justice (a.k.a.) Justice for Jill Danko
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 10/22/1973
Jill Danko is seriously wounded by a seemingly demented gunman while dining with her husband Mike. Later, they find out that the gunman is unable to be prosecuted in court, because he is suffering from a brain tumor which appears to be the cause of his action. The rookies take it upon themselves to prove the man is dangerous and can place society in jeopardy.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.8/1026 votesLoading...
#10 - Legacy of Death
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 9/30/1974
Chris is partnered with a patrolman who gets involved in suicidal situations so that he might be killed in the line of duty and his family would be secure with financial compensation.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.8/1024 votesLoading...
#11 - The Shield
Season 3 Episode 19 - Aired 2/10/1975
The rookies are involved in a case of mistaken identity when they charge the wrong man with the murder of a policeman.
Director: Fernando Lamas
Writer: N/A
- 8.8/1021 votesLoading...
#12 - S.W.A.T. (1)
Season 3 Episode 20 - Aired 2/17/1975
Harrelson is the head of the Special Weapons and Tactics team, a unit trained to handle unusually volatile situations. His hard-nosed attitude about police work irks rookie Terry Webster. (This Rookies episode served as the pilot for the S.W.A.T. series).
Director: N/A
Writer: Robert Hamner
- 8.7/1026 votesLoading...
#13 - Easy Money
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 3/19/1973
No description available
Director: Lou Antonio
Writer: N/A
- 8.7/1029 votesLoading...
#14 - Code 261
Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 11/5/1973
A young nurse suffers a terrifying ordeal when she is raped in the underground garage of Memorial Hospital. The rookies attempt to help the woman by offering support. They offer encouragement and assistance as the woman proceeds through the legal formalities which often are unsympathetic to the rape victim, and sometimes humiliate her.
Director: William Claxton
Writer: N/A
- 8.6/1033 votesLoading...
#15 - Rabbits on the Runway
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 12/25/1972
Gillis enters a tough situation when he is presented with a boy who is trapped in a police car which is on fire. He chooses to shoot the boy, promptly catching the internal affairs division's attention. They launch an investigation into the event and Gillis to see if he has committed a mercy killing, and to try to get closure in the case.
Director: Gene Nelson
Writer: N/A
- 8.6/1028 votesLoading...
#16 - A Farewell Tree from Marly
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 3/5/1973
The rookies may be confronted with a problem worse than the nurse who holds a grudge against all police officers: they discover that her younger brother is associating with thugs who are the organizers of a current neighborhood protection scandal.
Director: Harry Falk, Lou Antonio
Writer: N/A
- 8.6/1017 votesLoading...
#17 - Time Lock
Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 3/4/1974
A brilliant young felon holds Terry and three women, one of whom is pregnant, hostage in a bank vault in order to free his partner from jail.
Director: Lee Philips
Writer: Daniel B. Ullman
- 8.6/1038 votesLoading...
#18 - A Deadly Image
Season 3 Episode 22 - Aired 2/24/1975
A look into Lt. Ryker's more sensetive side has him befriending a young, mixed-up girl who reminds him of the daughter he was forced to give up for adoption. The girl's boyfriend persuades her to use her friendship with Ryker for his criminal gain.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.6/1026 votesLoading...
#19 - Ladies Day (a.k.a.) Ladies Kill, Too
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 10/7/1975
Jill is working in a womens prison, fighting an outbreak of diphtheria. In order to protest for better food and working conditions, inmates take Jill Danko and Dr. Malcolm hostage.
Director: Fernando Lamas
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1038 votesLoading...
#20 - To Taste of Terror
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/20/1972
The rookies are given the task of protecting a controversial Army General who has recently returned to the country after serving in Vietnam. The rookies must deal with mob control, as well as actively track down a sniper who hits the General. The rookies most valuable clue is an old army rifle, used in the General's shooting, whose owner the rookies must uncover.
Director: Ralph Senensky, Jerry Jameson
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1027 votesLoading...
#21 - A Bloody Shade of Blue
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/11/1972
Easy Wyatt is a cop with many years behind him on the force. His ranch has recently been the target of destruction in a new plan to build a freeway. Wyatt is becoming mentally unstable, and his instability is slowly spiraling deeper and deeper. Once the best officer in the squad, Wyatt's shaky state is evident when he attempts to prevent the bulldozers from digging by holding them at gunpoint.
Director: William Claxton
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1022 votesLoading...
#22 - Deadly Cage
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 9/24/1973
Webster is asked to play the role of a prisoner at the State Prison. He disguises himself as an inmate, in an effort to aid the issue of prison reform. However, when the other prisoners discover that Webster is merely pretending to be a fellow inmate, pandemonium results.
Director: Leonard Horn
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1020 votesLoading...
#23 - Blood Brother
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 10/29/1973
Like many Vietnam veterans returning home after the war, Jimmy Webster is angry at society for treating him as if he was an outsider, and not openly accepting him. He is unable to find employment and is left with an important decision to make: either he can fall back on his cousin, Terry Webster, and turn to him for support, or he can join a robbery operation and make a large amount of money.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1022 votesLoading...
#24 - Prayers Unanswered, Prayers Unheard
Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 11/12/1973
Lieutenant Ryker is selected to be personally in charge of an important investigation. A priest is murdered and a nun is badly beaten in a destitute neighborhood, and the community worries that religious restlessness with arise. As the investigation progresses, the rookies uncover a completely different motive.
Director: Leonard Horn
Writer: William Blinn
- 8.5/1024 votesLoading...
#25 - Lots of Trees and a Running Stream
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 12/2/1973
Jill is confronted by her past when a former lover of hers appears at her home. Mike is currently out of town. The unanticipated visitor gives the impression that he is fatally ill, thereby luring Jill into becoming involved with him, despite her uncertainty. Only after a period of time does Jill realize the great lengths this former lover will go to try to get her back and claim her as his own.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of The Rookies
Every episode of The Rookies ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Rookies!
The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers...
Genres:DramaCrime
Network:ABC
Best Episodes Summary
"Dead Heat" is the best rated episode of "The Rookies". It scored 9.3/10 based on 19 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 12/2/1975. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Late Mr. Brent".