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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 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...

Seasons4

  1. Background image for The Authentic Death of Billy Stomper
    9.2/10(28 votes)

    #1 - The Authentic Death of Billy Stomper

    S2:E16

    A college girl from Jamaica witnesses the murder of a notorious drug pusher and Terry Webster is assigned to get her testimony in the days that follow, they fall in love, but the girl is tracked down by the murderer and killed. Terry uses himself as a decoy to trap the killers.

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    Director:Gene Nelson
  2. Background image for Dead Heat
    9.2/10(20 votes)

    #2 - Dead Heat

    S4:E13

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Three Hours to Kill
    8.9/10(31 votes)

    #3 - Three Hours to Kill

    S1:E19

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Down Home Boy
    8.9/10(28 votes)

    #4 - Down Home Boy

    S2:E11

    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.

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    Director:Leonard Horn
  5. Background image for The Teacher
    8.9/10(34 votes)

    #5 - The Teacher

    S2:E18

    The rookies must contend with 'The Teacher' an ex-convict who masterminds several well executed robberies using the young boys who are in the city looking for excitement.

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    Director:Gene Nelson
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Eyewitness
    8.9/10(21 votes)

    #6 - Eyewitness

    S2:E19

    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.

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    Director:Barry Shear
    Writer:Unknown
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    The 20 WORST Episodes of The Rookies

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  8. Background image for From Out of the Darkness
    8.9/10(21 votes)

    #7 - From Out of the Darkness

    S4:E19

    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.

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    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Code 261
    8.7/10(32 votes)

    #8 - Code 261

    S2:E9

    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.

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    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for A Bloody Shade of Blue
    8.6/10(29 votes)

    #9 - A Bloody Shade of Blue

    S1:E12

    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.

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    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Snow Job
    8.6/10(24 votes)

    #10 - Snow Job

    S1:E17

    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.

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  12. Background image for A Farewell Tree from Marly
    8.6/10(31 votes)

    #11 - A Farewell Tree from Marly

    S1:E22

    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.

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    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Easy Money
    8.6/10(28 votes)

    #12 - Easy Money

    S1:E23

    No description available

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    Director:Lou Antonio
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for A Matter of Justice (a.k.a.) Justice for Jill Danko
    8.6/10(26 votes)

    #13 - A Matter of Justice (a.k.a.) Justice for Jill Danko

    S2:E7

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Lots of Trees and a Running Stream
    8.6/10(26 votes)

    #14 - Lots of Trees and a Running Stream

    S2:E12

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for To Taste of Terror
    8.5/10(39 votes)

    #15 - To Taste of Terror

    S1:E10

    In an effort to prove he's no 'old man', Officer Danko chases down a fleeing criminal. While he succeeds in apprehending the thief, his partners Webster and Gillis fail to catch the criminal's brother, who is also running from the law. Danko testifies in court against the criminal he caught, thereby infuriating the brother who is unassumingly observing in the courtroom.

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  17. Background image for Rabbits on the Runway
    8.5/10(34 votes)

    #16 - Rabbits on the Runway

    S1:E14

    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.

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    Director:Gene Nelson
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Blood Brother
    8.5/10(23 votes)

    #17 - Blood Brother

    S2:E8

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Prayers Unanswered, Prayers Unheard
    8.5/10(25 votes)

    #18 - Prayers Unanswered, Prayers Unheard

    S2:E10

    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.

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  20. Background image for Ladies Day (a.k.a.) Ladies Kill, Too
    8.5/10(28 votes)

    #19 - Ladies Day (a.k.a.) Ladies Kill, Too

    S4:E5

    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.

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    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Margin for Error
    8.4/10(30 votes)

    #20 - Margin for Error

    S2:E2

    While performing their routine patrol, Gillis and Danko unexpectedly stumble upon a robbery that is taking place. They radio for additional support and a veteran police team arrive at the crime scene. One of the veteran policeman is killed in the midst of the robbery, and his partner places fault on Danko. The veteran policeman makes the suggestion that Danko be appointed to ride with him, a suggestion that turns out to have almost catastrophic results.

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    Director:Harry Falk
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Deadly Cage
    8.4/10(23 votes)

    #21 - Deadly Cage

    S2:E3

    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.

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    Director:Leonard Horn
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Sound of Silence
    8.4/10(26 votes)

    #22 - Sound of Silence

    S2:E14

    One of Willie's young female friends is desperately afraid when she discovers that she is afflicted with diabetes. After she makes the realization, the young woman flees to a drug rehabilitation center, to be around the other young people whom she trusts. However, she neglects to bring her insulin.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for Rolling Thunder
    8.4/10(18 votes)

    #23 - Rolling Thunder

    S2:E21

    The Ludlow precinct institutes a Police Cadet Program. One of the boys involved becomes overzealous and is kidnapped, along with Terry, by his sister's boyfriend who is a fugitive.

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  25. Background image for Someone Who Cares
    8.4/10(26 votes)

    #24 - Someone Who Cares

    S4:E4

    An unidentified nine-year-old girl is accidentally hit by a car after two hedonistic ""swinging single"" men spike her lunch with narcotics. Before she dies, she begs Terry for help. Terry, reluctant to let her die a Jane Doe, investigates.

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    Director:Ivan Dixon
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for The Code Five Affair
    8.4/10(24 votes)

    #25 - The Code Five Affair

    S4:E15

    The rookies stake out an abandoned factory where a heroin deal is about to take place, and are able to seize the drugs and arrest all but one man. This man must get the heroin back from the police.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Best Episodes Summary

"The Authentic Death of Billy Stomper" is the best rated episode of "The Rookies". It scored 9.2/10 based on 28 votes. Directed by Gene Nelson and written by William Blinn, it aired on 1/14/1974. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Dead Heat".