The Best Episodes of Z-Cars Season 3

An attempted burglary and a hit-and-run accident - PC Lynch sees the connection first. Proving it is a job for the whole of Victor Division.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Hopkins

Two arrests, two court cases - and also two people, in one of whom Fancy Smith takes a personal interest.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Hopkins

Chief Inspector Barlow is known locally as something of a gourmet, but not even the chef believes that he is interested only in food.

Director: Shaun Sutton

Writer: Elwyn Jones

The bang is loud in the night. The conspiracy of silence which follows is more sinister. When an explosion destroys Bill Webster's betting shop CID runs up against a blank wall. No clues and there is nobody willing to talk. Webster himself stubbornly maintains it was an accident, but Barlow is convinced there is a connection between the explosion and the fact that Webster intends to compete with his rivals by opening more shops in the area.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Hopkins

PCs Lynch and Graham find that a quiet night can be just as busy as any other, but for some of the people they encounter it is also a night of tragedy.

Director: N/A

Writer: Alan Plater

A slight collision between two cars, a bad-tempered blow, and a young man finds himself involved in serious trouble - both for himself and for those close to him.

Director: N/A

Writer: Allan Prior

A young rookie constable cannot hold his liquor. In his cups he reveals the whereabouts of a 'safe house' holding a vital witness, with disastrous consequences.

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

An outbreak of thefts from offertory boxes, a flood of dud cheques - and Victor Division's crime figures begin to soar. Barlow and Watt try to identify a petty criminal with an interest in churches.

Director: N/A

Writer: Allan Prior

Lynch and Graham investigate a domestic tragedy. And for Barlow there's the urgent problem of saving a man's life.

Director: Bill Hays

Writer: John Hopkins

Complaints about a fast-moving, fast-talking door-to-door salesman give Weir and Smith a busy day, while Sgt. Watt prepares the trap.

Director: Michael Leeston-Smith

Writer: John Hopkins

When a Newtown pillar box begins to belch smoke Graham's first reaction is that someone has been posting red hot love letters. But by the time thirteen pillar boxes have been burned out he and Lynch are on the trail of an unusual kind of pyromaniac. Meanwhile Sgt. Watt is keeping an eye on Oliver Snow, a visitor from London who goes out of his way to be offensive.

Director: Shaun Sutton

Writer: N/A

Freddy Milligan is servinga prison sentence for robbery with violence. With six weeks of his sentence to run, he is given compassionate parole to attend his wife's funeral. He fails to report back, and the Newtown police get the job of bringing him in.

Director: Shaun Sutton

Writer: N/A

A report of breaking and entering at Mallory Hall and soon Lord Tenterden's home is swarming with policemen from the ACC right down to Fancy Smith. The thieves have taken something far more valuable than the money they were after. Is espionage involved?

Director: N/A

Writer: John Hopkins

A case of shoplifting, the disappearance of 3,000 bricks and some unbuilt houses give Barlow and the boys in Z-Victor One a busy day.

Director: N/A

Writer: Alan Plater

Dave Graham is used to sorting out the problems of other people, but only as a policeman. He finds it much more difficult to cope with a crisis in his own home.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Hopkins

Some crimes are solved by logic. Barlow finds one but Smith and Weir look like upsetting him in their persistent search for a stolen purse.

Director: Terence Dudley

Writer: N/A

On Christmas Eve Lynch and Graham are as full of goodwill to all men as any police officers can be - with a garage robbery to deal with and other people's celebrations getting in the way.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Hopkins

The revelry of New Year's Eve has its normal problems for the Newtown police and its special opportunities for a lone marauder in the streets. Sgt. Blackitt, leaving PC Sweet on the desk, is on the beat himself for a change. Down by the canal is a nurse from the Cottage Hospital and she is out on a cold night without a cloak over her uniform.

Director: Christopher Morahan

Writer: John Hopkins

When a happy-go-lucky thief refuses to confess to a simple breaking and entering job Barlow continues enquiries. This starts an avalanche of evidence and soon Barlow fears that everyone in Newtown is implicated somewhere along the line.

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

It can't possibly be blackmail - the old lady seems much too innocent and can have nothing to hide. But Lynch and Graham are sure that something has happened and Barlow decides to set a trap.

Director: N/A

Writer: Alan Plater

Weir finds that being a policeman doesn't stop when he goes off duty, particularly as his girl friend Sally has shady connections.

Director: N/A

Writer: John Hopkins

A chance encounter is soon forgotten by Lynch and Graham. But remembering a face becomes vital when Barlow orders a search for missing money - and a missing man.

Director: N/A

Writer: N/A

Barlow loses a case against a known criminal. He believes the man is guilty but he is ordered to re-investigate the crime and finds a problem he doesn't want to face.

Director: Michael Hayes

Writer: N/A

A mysterious meeting at a sports pavilion attracts the attention of Z-Victor Two. John Watt investigates. When a sharp warning to a friend is unheeded Watt finds himself at the centre of hostilities.

Director: Ken Loach

Writer: John Hopkins

Barlow's attendance at a police conference starts a spring cleaning at Newtown station. But the arrest of an elderly drunk by Smith and Weir upsets the efficiency drive.

Director: Shaun Sutton

Writer: Alan Plater