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The Best Episodes of The Sweeney

Every episode of The Sweeney ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Sweeney!

Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.
Genres:Action & AdventureDramaCrime
Network:ITV1
Episodes
53
Avg. Rating
7.7
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3
7.8
8.1
7.6
8.2
7.5
7.8
7.8
7.8
7.1
7.4
7.3
7.2

Best Episodes Summary

"Jack or Knave" is the best rated episode of "The Sweeney". It scored 8.4/10 based on 140 votes. Directed by Tom Clegg and written by Ted Childs, it aired on 12/28/1978. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Bait".

  • Jack or Knave
    8.4/10140 votes

    #1 - Jack or Knave

    Season 4 Episode 14 - Aired 12/28/1978

    Regan finds himself in deep trouble when an allegation of corruption is made by the Police Complaints Department. A security van is robbed, and a guard identifies one of the robbers.

    Director: Tom Clegg

    Writer: Ted Childs

  • Bait
    8.3/10144 votes

    #2 - Bait

    Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 10/19/1978

    Regan is determined to nail a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde.

    Director: Sid Roberson

    Writer: Trevor Preston

  • Abduction
    8.2/10151 votes

    #3 - Abduction

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 3/27/1975

    After Regan gets a tip about an upcoming robbery from a trusted informant, the gang kidnaps his daughter to blackmail him into inaction.

    Director: Tom Clegg

    Writer: Trevor Preston

  • Poppy
    8.2/10148 votes

    #4 - Poppy

    Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 10/20/1975

    Violent criminal Vic Labbett returns to England to recover the proceeds of an earlier robbery, and Regan and Carter must stop him before he can get his hands on the loot.

    Director: Tom Clegg

    Writer: Trevor Preston

  • Messenger of the Gods
    8.2/10157 votes

    #5 - Messenger of the Gods

    Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 9/7/1978

    Regan and Carter have a suspect in mind for the theft of a consignment of mercury, but he has an alibi.

    Director: Terry Green

    Writer: Trevor Preston

  • Chalk and Cheese
    8.1/10161 votes

    #6 - Chalk and Cheese

    Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 9/1/1975

    Giles Nunn and Carrie Selhurst are an upper crust couple who, partly for kicks and for the profits, commit highway robbery in lonely country lanes, along with the lower class boy Tommy Garret, whose dad is a friend of George Carter. Regan is on to them and Carrie gets arrested, but her unwillingness to cooperate leads to the death of the next victim.

    Director: Terry Green

    Writer: Trevor Preston

  • Hit and Run
    8.1/10158 votes

    #7 - Hit and Run

    Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 9/29/1975

    A case of mistaken identity provides tragic circumstances when a hit goes wrong; Regan and Carter manage to break the hit-and-run ring, and then try to stop another accident.

    Director: Mike Vardy

    Writer: Roger Marshall

  • Stay Lucky, Eh?
    8.1/10141 votes

    #8 - Stay Lucky, Eh?

    Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 10/27/1975

    Regan and Carter are on the case when a pair of robbers are themselves robbed at gunpoint.

    Director: Douglas Camfield

    Writer: Trevor Preston

  • Thou Shalt Not Kill!
    8.1/10149 votes

    #9 - Thou Shalt Not Kill!

    Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 11/24/1975

    Regan and Carter are called to a siege at a bank, where two armed robbers are holding hostages.

    Director: Douglas Camfield

    Writer: Ranald Graham

  • Taste of Fear
    8.1/10143 votes

    #10 - Taste of Fear

    Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 10/4/1976

    How will new recruit Bob Hargreaves cope with an investigation into a violent burglary?

    Director: David Wickes

    Writer: Roger Marshall

  • Golden Fleece
    8.0/10151 votes

    #11 - Golden Fleece

    Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 10/13/1975

    Chief Inspector Haskins is framed for corruption while Regan and Carter investigate a spate of break-ins. Is there a connection ?

    Director: David Wickes

    Writer: Roger Marshall

  • Country Boy
    8.0/10131 votes

    #12 - Country Boy

    Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 11/17/1975

    Regan and Carter are called in when alarm bells start ringing all over their patch. Who is setting them off - and why?

    Director: Jim Goddard

    Writer: Andrew Wilson

  • On the Run
    8.0/10131 votes

    #13 - On the Run

    Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 12/20/1976

    An armed robber is sprung from jail and comes looking for Regan.

    Director: David Wickes

    Writer: Roger Marshall

  • Night Out
    7.9/10181 votes

    #14 - Night Out

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 2/6/1975

    When the Superintendent finds out that there is a bank robbery in progress on a Saturday afternoon, he assigns Regan to visit an old girlfriend whose apartment is adjacent.

    Director: David Wickes

    Writer: Troy Kennedy Martin

  • The Placer
    7.9/10164 votes

    #15 - The Placer

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 2/13/1975

    Regan adopts a new identity as an ex-con and goes undercover as a truck driver to expose a hijacking ring.

    Director: Ted Childs

    Writer: Trevor Preston

  • Contact Breaker
    7.9/10157 votes

    #16 - Contact Breaker

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 3/20/1975

    After Danny Keever, a convict on weekend release and due for parole, is framed in a bank robbery, Regan works to clear him.

    Director: William Brayne

    Writer: Robert Banks Stewart

  • Trojan Bus
    7.9/10153 votes

    #17 - Trojan Bus

    Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 11/3/1975

    Regan and Carter investigate an art deal that is more than it seems, and ends up in a wasteground shoot out.

    Director: Ted Childs

    Writer: Roger Marshall

  • Tomorrow Man
    7.9/10148 votes

    #18 - Tomorrow Man

    Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 9/27/1976

    Regan is assigned to ensure the safe shipment of a gold bullion consignment.

    Director: David Wickes

    Writer: Andrew Wilson

  • Money, Money, Money
    7.9/10126 votes

    #19 - Money, Money, Money

    Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 10/12/1978

    Regan and Carter try to catch a man trying to blackmail a pools winner about the part he played in a robbery.

    Director: Sid Roberson

    Writer: Trevor Preston

  • Ringer
    7.8/10257 votes

    #20 - Ringer

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 1/2/1975

    After Regan’s car is stolen with invaluable surveillance photos from a stakeout, the thief gives a heads-up to Sweeney’s target.

    Director: Terry Green

    Writer: Trevor Preston

  • Stoppo Driver
    7.8/10159 votes

    #21 - Stoppo Driver

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 3/6/1975

    After their own getaway driver is killed fleeing police, a gang blackmails a young policeman into being their driver by kidnapping his bride.

    Director: Terry Green

    Writer: Allan Prior

  • Faces
    7.8/10133 votes

    #22 - Faces

    Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 9/8/1975

    When a gang hijack an armoured security truck, Regan, Carter and the Flying Squad set up an ambush to catch the crooks. But who's the informer ?

    Director: William Brayne

    Writer: Murray Smith

  • In from the Cold
    7.8/10132 votes

    #23 - In from the Cold

    Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 9/13/1976

    Regan and Carter go after Billy Medhurst, implicated in a robbery that resulted in a policeman being shot and crippled. But is the past clouding Regan's judgement?

    Director: Terry Green

    Writer: Tony Hoare

  • Bad Apple
    7.8/10122 votes

    #24 - Bad Apple

    Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 10/11/1976

    Regan and Carter go undercover to assess corruption charges made against CID officers.

    Director: Douglas Camfield

    Writer: Roger Marshall

  • Sweet Smell of Succession
    7.8/10134 votes

    #25 - Sweet Smell of Succession

    Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 11/8/1976

    Regan gets involved in gangland warfare following the death of one of London’s leading villains.

    Director: William Brayne

    Writer: Peter Hill