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The Best Episodes of Z-Cars

Every episode of Z-Cars ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Z-Cars!

Z-Cars or Z Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based...
Genre:Drama
Network:BBC One

Best Episodes Summary

"Inspector Lynch" is the best rated episode of "Z-Cars". It scored 9.4/10 based on 8 votes. Directed by N/A and written by Leslie Duxbury, it aired on 10/22/1973. This episode scored 1.4 points higher than the second highest rated, "Nuisance".

  • Inspector Lynch
    9.4/108 votes
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    #1 - Inspector Lynch

    Season 8 Episode 1 - Aired 10/22/1973

    Bert Lynch has been promoted to Inspector. But is he still one of the lads?

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Leslie Duxbury

  • Nuisance
    8.0/107 votes
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    #2 - Nuisance

    Season 8 Episode 2 - Aired 10/29/1973

    Alexandra is always complaining to an already overworked police force about her next door neighbour Percy. But is she just a nuisance? Or should Inspector Lynch take her complaints seriously?

    Director: Julia Smith

    Writer: N/A

  • House To House
    7.9/1014 votes
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    #3 - House To House

    Season 9 Episode 14 - Aired 12/16/1974

    A full-scale house to house enquiry fails to produce a witness until a mysterious night prowler and two criminals lay their own freedom on the line.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Bob Baker, Dave Martin

  • Pieces
    7.7/109 votes
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    #4 - Pieces

    Season 8 Episode 6 - Aired 12/3/1973

    A house is broken into and Skinner grabs at the opportunity to improve his record. But he grabs too hard and a man suffers.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Handle With Care
    7.5/109 votes
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    #5 - Handle With Care

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 1/16/1962

    An explosion in a quarry disturbs two lovers. It also disturbs Detective Sergeant John Watt when he finds out what caused it.

    Director: Shaun Sutton

    Writer: Allan Prior

  • Friday Night
    7.4/108 votes
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    #6 - Friday Night

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 2/6/1962

    ""It's going to be one of those nights"", pronounced Sgt. Percy Twentyman, and he wasn't far wrong. Steele and Lynch have to cope with the aftermath of a traffic accident in which a drunken driver has killed a motor cyclist and his pillion passenger. Small time felon Grandpa Maddigan blows up the safe in the Gas Company office, Watt and DCS Robins are hot on the trail of the notorious Comber gang, and Twentyman himself gets more than he bargained for when he tries to break up a free-for-all in the Tabernacle pub.

    Director: John McGrath

    Writer: N/A

  • Error of Judgement
    7.0/1011 votes
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    #7 - Error of Judgement

    Season 4 Episode 40 - Aired 6/9/1965

    PC Foster, helped by ex-boxer Len Phillips, breaks up a gang of youngsters blocking the pavement. His unnecessarily rough treatment of the rowdies comes to the attention of Sgt. Blackitt, who sets about putting his house in order.

    Director: Ridley Scott

    Writer: Alan Plater

  • Have You Seen This Child
    6.7/1015 votes
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    #8 - Have You Seen This Child

    Season 9 Episode 10 - Aired 11/18/1974

    Colin Williams haunts Inspector Lynch, and Sergeant Moffatt haunts a thief called Mulligan.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Squatters
    6.6/107 votes
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    #9 - Squatters

    Season 9 Episode 22 - Aired 2/24/1975

    No description available

    Director: Paddy Russell

    Writer: N/A

  • Boy In Blue
    6.5/108 votes
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    #10 - Boy In Blue

    Season 9 Episode 15 - Aired 1/6/1975

    The men at Newtown question their own stability when the past catches up with a lady called Gwen Newcombe.

    Director: Michael Hayes

    Writer: N/A

  • Four of a Kind
    6.4/1020 votes
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    #11 - Four of a Kind

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 1/2/1962

    The search is on for four young men to ""crew"" the new cars in the tough and troubled district of Newtown, a North of England overspill estate. A mixed community, displaced from the larger towns by slum clearance, has been brought together and housed on an estate without amenities.

    Director: John McGrath

    Writer: Troy Kennedy Martin

  • Snouts
    6.1/109 votes
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    #12 - Snouts

    Season 9 Episode 21 - Aired 2/17/1975

    Jack Melish is walking down a deserted street near the docks to keep a secret appointment with Inspector Lynch. Suddenly a car pulls up alongside him and he is bundled into the back seat. The car races off...

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Quiet As The Grave
    5.9/1013 votes
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    #13 - Quiet As The Grave

    Season 9 Episode 8 - Aired 11/4/1974

    Sunday night duty is traditionally quiet, but on this occasion it's too quiet for Miller's comfort.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Bob Baker, Dave Martin

  • Unnecessary Force
    4.9/1015 votes
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    #14 - Unnecessary Force

    Season 9 Episode 12 - Aired 12/2/1974

    How did a man like Derek Murphy get beaten up by his best friend, a man half his size? A puzzle for Miller, Yates and Skinner.

    Director: Christopher Barry

    Writer: N/A

  • The Limping Rabbit
    NaN/100 votes
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    #15 - The Limping Rabbit

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 1/9/1962

    A girl disappears, and Steele and Lynch are faced by a conspiracy of silence in her broken family.

    Director: Morris Barry

    Writer: Troy Kennedy Martin

  • Stab In The Dark
    NaN/100 votes
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    #16 - Stab In The Dark

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 1/23/1962

    A wounding case brings top brass into Victor Division to investigate. Lynch and Steele work overtime to find the villain.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Big Catch
    NaN/100 votes
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    #17 - Big Catch

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 1/30/1962

    When the whalers hit Seaport after a good season Smith and Weir have their work cut out to keep trouble to a minimum.

    Director: John McGrath, Morris Barry

    Writer: Allan Prior

  • Suspended
    NaN/100 votes
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    #18 - Suspended

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 2/13/1962

    The crew of Z-Victor One waste no time in arriving at the scene of a burglary. Their reward is to be suspected of theft themselves.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Allan Prior

  • Family Feud
    NaN/100 votes
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    #19 - Family Feud

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 2/20/1962

    When two feuding families go to war Lynch and Steele find themselves in the front line.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Fire!
    NaN/100 votes
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    #20 - Fire!

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 2/27/1962

    The report of a burning barn takes Smith and Weir into the country, searching for a fire-raiser.

    Director: Morris Barry

    Writer: Allan Prior

  • Threats And Menaces
    NaN/100 votes
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    #21 - Threats And Menaces

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 3/6/1962

    In Victor Division the police often live next door to unruly members of the community. Bob and Janey Steele find that this can have unpleasant, even dangerous, consequences.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Allan Prior

  • Jail Break
    NaN/100 votes
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    #22 - Jail Break

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 3/13/1962

    What is a mysterious stranger from Soho doing in Victor Division? John Watt would like to know, and keeps a close watch on him. Smith and Weir are heavily involved in the tracking down of money previously stolen in a mailbag robbery. Both events are triggered by a successful jail break.

    Director: John Llewellyn Moxey

    Writer: N/A

  • What Kind Of Hero?
    NaN/100 votes
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    #23 - What Kind Of Hero?

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 3/20/1962

    A young man risks his life to save that of an accident victim trapped under an overturned road tanker, then disappears quietly. One of the bystanders, a retired army officer, pesters Barlow to trace the man and see that he gets the recognition he deserves. Barlow eventually finds the reluctant hero, only to discover that he is an army deserter wanted by the Military Police!

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Sudden Death
    NaN/100 votes
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    #24 - Sudden Death

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 3/27/1962

    When a case of murder is reported Lynch and Steele are the first policemen on the scene. But the main responsibility for organising the hunt for the killer falls on Barlow, whose toughness is backed by vast experience and an intuitive mind.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Found Abandoned
    NaN/100 votes
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    #25 - Found Abandoned

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 4/3/1962

    Smith and Weir answer a call and find an abandoned baby. They bring it along to the station, where Inspector Dunn is in charge in Barlow's absence.

    Director: John Llewellyn Moxey

    Writer: John Hopkins