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The Best Episodes of Z-Cars Season 1

Every episode of Z-Cars Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Z-Cars Season 1!

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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 on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 1 - Four of a Kind
    6.9/10(41 votes)

    #1 - Four of a Kind

    S1:E1

    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

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  2. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 2 - The Limping Rabbit
    6.8/10(24 votes)

    #2 - The Limping Rabbit

    S1:E2

    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

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  3. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 3 - Handle With Care
    7.4/10(31 votes)

    #3 - Handle With Care

    S1:E3

    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

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  4. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 4 - Stab In The Dark
    6.7/10(21 votes)

    #4 - Stab In The Dark

    S1:E4

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 5 - Big Catch
    6.8/10(25 votes)

    #5 - Big Catch

    S1:E5

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

    Directors:Morris Barry, John McGrath
    Writer:Allan Prior

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  6. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 6 - Friday Night
    7.5/10(20 votes)

    #6 - Friday Night

    S1:E6

    ""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:Unknown

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  7. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 7 - Suspended
    6.8/10(17 votes)

    #7 - Suspended

    S1:E7

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Allan Prior

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  8. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 8 - Family Feud
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Family Feud

    S1:E8

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 9 - Fire!
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Fire!

    S1:E9

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

    Director:Morris Barry
    Writer:Allan Prior

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  10. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 10 - Threats And Menaces
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Threats And Menaces

    S1:E10

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Allan Prior

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  11. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 11 - Jail Break
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Jail Break

    S1:E11

    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:Unknown

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  12. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 12 - What Kind Of Hero?
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - What Kind Of Hero?

    S1:E12

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 13 - Sudden Death
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Sudden Death

    S1:E13

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 14 - Found Abandoned
    7.1/10(22 votes)

    #14 - Found Abandoned

    S1:E14

    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

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  15. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 15 - The Best Days
    6.6/10(12 votes)

    #15 - The Best Days

    S1:E15

    Lynch and Steele have their hands full when a gang of boys break into a school and smash up the headmaster's study. But the hooliganism doesn't stop there. When they are disturbed by the caretaker the oldest member of the gang attacks him and leaves him seriously injured.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:John Hopkins

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  16. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 16 - Invisible Enemy
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Invisible Enemy

    S1:E16

    When a gas meter is broken into in a big block of flats Weir and Smith think their hunt is only for a petty thief. What they encounter, though, is someone much more dangerous.

    Director:John McGrath
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 17 - Down And Out
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Down And Out

    S1:E17

    A drunk causes a disturbance, two thieves break into a pet shop - and Steele and Lynch end the night at knife-point.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 18 - Further Enquiries
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Further Enquiries

    S1:E18

    Weir stops a car driving without lights, the first event in a night which brings 'important' people in the county to Newtown police station.

    Director:Herbert Wise
    Writer:John Hopkins

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  19. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 19 - Winner Takes All
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Winner Takes All

    S1:E19

    A race track tout forgets to pay his alimony, and Steele and Lynch discover an ingenious fraud to beat the bookies.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Allan Prior

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  20. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 20 - People's Property
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - People's Property

    S1:E20

    It's a busy night for Smith, Weir and Sergeant Watt when burglary is rife.

    Director:John McGrath
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 21 - Hi-Jack!
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Hi-Jack!

    S1:E21

    At Pete's Caff Steele and Lynch report ""off watch for refreshments"". While they are eating and talking to Steele's friend Les Fielding his lorry is hi-jacked.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Allan Prior

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  22. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 22 - Incident Reported
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Incident Reported

    S1:E22

    Fancy Smith first meets Stan Carron in the Tabernacle pub where Carron is causing a disturbance. They have an argument. The second time they meet Carron is in no state to argue and Smith starts a long night's work.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:John Hopkins

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  23. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 23 - Never On Wednesday
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Never On Wednesday

    S1:E23

    For two years Barlow has been trying to catch a Newtown thief. When DCS Robins takes a personal interest the pressure is on for everyone - particularly Steele and Lynch.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 24 - Day Trip
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Day Trip

    S1:E24

    A charabanc outing, a halt at a pub and an exponent of the three-card trick: this is how a day at the seaside begins. It ends in violence.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Allan Prior

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  25. Z-Cars Season 1 Episode 25 - Affray
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Affray

    S1:E25

    Two men claim the same prize and trouble begins. When Lynch and Steele are called there is an unexpected development and a policeman dies.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:John Hopkins

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Four of a Kind" is the best rated episode of "Z-Cars" season 1. It scored 6.9/10 based on 41 votes. Directed by John McGrath and written by Troy Kennedy Martin, it aired on 1/2/1962. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Limping Rabbit".