Picket Fences Episode Rating Graph
Sep 1992 - Jun 1996
Sep 1992 - Jun 1996
7.2
Browse episode ratings trends for Picket Fences. Simply click on the interactive rating graph to explore the best and worst of Picket Fences's 88 episodes.
S2 Ep1
9.1
22nd Oct 1993
Mayor Pugen kills a carjacker after the carjacker drops his weapon and Sheriff Brock must decide whether to press murder charges. When he does, the new district attorney has to choose how to prosecute the case.
S2 Ep5
8.9
12th Nov 1993
Jill and Zack are among the hostages taken by a group of bank robbers led by a deaf woman (Marlee Matlin) who calls herself "the Dancing Bandit." Jimmy works with the FBI to stop the standoff, but the group proves far craftier than anyone expected.
S1 Ep22
8.8
6th May 1993
Max delivers a baby and begins adoption procedures when the natural mother disappears. Jill transplants a pig's liver into a blues vocalist after the woman collapses on stage. Guest star: Della Reese.
S4 Ep10
8.8
5th Jan 1996
The skeleton of a Nazi sympathizer is found and suspicion falls on Jacob Levine, the son of a Jewish butcher who was persecuted by the dead man. Wambaugh rises to Levine's defense only to find himself facing an unexpected prosecuting attorney — his son David, from whom he has been estranged for many years.
S4 Ep8
8.8
8th Dec 1995
Kimberly is arrested for protesting pig-wrestling at the town fair.
S2 Ep15
8.8
11th Feb 1994
A 25-year-old softcore pornographic video of Mayor Rachel Harris surfaces. The town clergy lead a movement to remove her from office. Howard Buss, as senior member of the town council, becomes acting mayor.
S2 Ep13
8.7
28th Jan 1994
Howard Buss's son Kevin will die without a heart transplant so Howard, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, seeks a court order to allow him the right to assisted suicide so he can give his heart to his son. Frank the Potato Man sues the town for a place to live, claiming an implied social contract.
S3 Ep22
8.7
12th May 1995
After Father Gary Barrett is shot and killed during a robbery at the church, Mayor Bey proposes holding a spring musical pageant to help pull the community out of its somber mood
S2 Ep2
8.7
28th Oct 1993
Douglas Wambaugh appeals Mayor Pugen's murder conviction but the mayor spontaneously combusts. A Catholic couple who carry the genes for Hurler syndrome are tormented by the church's prohibition on contraception. Max's therapist attempts to manipulate her into a sexual relationship and she has him arrested.
S2 Ep11
8.6
14th Jan 1994
Matthew's attempts to get revenge for a humiliation by some high-school bullies by threatening them with a gun takes an unexpected turn, which lands one of them in the hospital and Matthew in jail for attempted murder. Meanwhile, Mayor Harris' decision to roll back deputy salaries inspires a round of "blue flu" with Kenny and Maxine.
S1 Ep21
8.6
29th Apr 1993
Kimberly and her best female friend exchange a few kisses during a sleepover, leading to rumors that Kimberly is a lesbian. She turns to her birth mother, who had a lesbian affair in college, for advice.
S1 Ep18
8.6
1st Apr 1993
Jill enlists her former fiancé to perform a fetal transplant on a patient with Parkinson's disease over the objections of the town hospital. Jimmy feels threatened when he catches Jill and her former fiancé exchanging a kiss
S3 Ep13
8.6
20th Jan 1995
Jimmy Brock's ex-wife, Lydia, visits unexpectedly and brings with her an unusual request — she wants to have another baby, and she wants Jimmy to father it.
S2 Ep6
8.6
26th Nov 1993
The town is divided when Jill and the Mayor back a sexy model to be the town's "Dairy Queen," but Sheriff Brock is more interested in the woman's apparently abusive husband and manager. Kimberly and Matthew work on a documentary called "A Day in the Life of a C-Cup," but Kimberly finds herself considering drastic options after seeing how people treat her.
S3 Ep2
8.5
30th Sep 1994
District Attorney Littleton and defense lawyer Douglas Wambaugh prepare for the upcoming murder trial of Brian Latham. Littleton is concerned that his case will be hampered by the absence of hard evidence.
S3 Ep18
8.5
31st Mar 1995
Jimmy consults Jill when a terminal cancer patient dies of a morphine overdose.
S3 Ep16
8.5
3rd Mar 1995
The hearing impaired Dancing Bandit is arrested when she visits Zach on his birthday. Federal authorities want her trial to be set in Rome, where the jury reaches a surprising verdict.
S3 Ep12
8.5
13th Jan 1995
The Frog Man's son tires of his father and goes to court for emancipation. Meanwhile, Zach is injured in a terrible accident and Jill overreacts, striking Matthew for accidentally hurting Zach.
S3 Ep3
8.5
7th Oct 1994
A Wisconsin Federal judge orders that 400 black students from the Green Bay ghetto be bused to Rome's schools, prompting panic among Sheriff Brock and the parents, knowing that a good number of them are lowlifes and drug dealers that come from that neighborhood. Meanwhile, Wambaugh gets a surprising response to his appeal of the Brian Latham murder conviction to go the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington DC. Also, Maxine makes a mess of her relationship with Littleton.
S2 Ep19
8.5
8th Apr 1994
Max arrests Jill's father. The Brocks invite her to dinner in hopes of smoothing things over but end up confronting their own issues with each other as well.
S2 Ep12
8.4
21st Jan 1994
Littleton and Wambaugh go head to head again in the courtroom as Wambaugh argues that his latest client, Timmy Hendricks, was predisposed to violence because of his exposure to television and movies. Meanwhile, Sheriff Brock reacts with anger against Mayor Harris' attempts to impose a strong police presence in Rome, including fingerprinting all the citizens and random searches of vehicles for weapons.
S1 Ep13
8.4
8th Jan 1993
Kenny is seriously wounded by the Frog Man, a burglar who leaves live frogs at the site of his crimes.
S3 Ep9
8.4
2nd Dec 1994
While Brian Latham continues to proclaim his innocence, Kenny and Max review the evidence of the case and begin to believe he is telling the truth. Jimmy turns 55 and suffers a midlife crisis.
S1 Ep17
8.4
12th Feb 1993
Deputy Max goes undercover when a response to her personal ad leads her to believe that she is being targeted by a serial killer known as "Cupid."
S4 Ep15
8.4
16th Feb 1996
Jill's emotions take control as the family celebrates Zack's 13th birthday.
S4 Ep14
8.4
9th Feb 1996
Zack inserts his teacher's face in a pornographic video and his friend uploads it to the Internet. Maxine meets an online friend in person.
S4 Ep3
7.1
6th Oct 1995
A former talk show host, Dr. Joanna "Joey" Diamond (Amy Aquino) joins Jill's medical practice. Kenny begins using a dating service.
S4 Ep18
7.2
12th Jun 1996
When Wambaugh learns that Miriam has a new man in her life, he suspects that the man must have an ulterior motive.
S1 Ep1
7.2
18th Sep 1992
A beloved local man is killed during a stage production of The Wizard of Oz. Suspicion initially falls on the town pharmacist when the sheriff learns the dead man was having an affair with the pharmacist's daughter. The dead man's wife confesses but her confession is suppressed in court. She is then murdered and the Sheriff's department discovers that she and the pharmacist conspired to kill her husband and then the pharmacist killed her.
S4 Ep1
7.3
22nd Sep 1995
Kimberly surprises her parents with her plans to attend medical school out of state. Carter Pike's house catches fire after he had taken some sedatives, leaving Jill Brock to suspect a suicide attempt.
S1 Ep6
7.4
26th Oct 1992
When a catatonic housemaid utters the word "murder" after a decade of not speaking, the Sheriff's department learns that the "suicide" of a beloved town figure a decade prior was actually a homicide.
S1 Ep12
7.4
18th Dec 1992
When the Brock family inadvertently finds Kimberly having sex with her 19-year-old boyfriend on Christmas Eve, Jimmy wants to prosecute him for statutory rape. A man claiming to be Santa Claus takes Max and dispatcher Ginny hostage and Jimmy tries to talk him down.
S2 Ep7
7.4
3rd Dec 1993
A young woman in a coma following a car accident is found to be four months' pregnant, despite being a virgin. When her father seeks an abortion to try to save her life, the town's Catholic and Protestant clergy intervene, citing possible divine causation. Matthew tells Zack that there is no Santa Claus.
S3 Ep10
7.4
16th Dec 1994
Carter Pike suspects that bizarre genetic experiments are being carried out on cows at a remote farm. This episode was originally planned as a crossover with The X-Files.
S3 Ep15
7.5
24th Feb 1995
When a child molester moves to Rome after spending 16 years in prison it causes big problems for the local residents, especially with Jill and Jimmy, who are struggling to reconcile parental concerns with their professional duties.
S4 Ep2
7.5
29th Sep 1995
The Wambaughs have an argument on their 50th anniversary as a tornado threatens the town. Jimmy and Jill worry about Kimberly who is away at college. Meanwhile, Carter meets an interesting new woman while buying quilting supplies.
S4 Ep6
7.5
27th Oct 1995
It is Saturday night in Rome, and the townspeople are looking at various ways to spend the evening. Matthew cruises the town with his friends. Jimmy and Jill make an attempt at romance. Judge Bone and Wambaugh play poker, but one of the men in their group drops dead. Note- In 1997 TV Guide ranked this episode number 96 on it's '100 Greatest Episodes of All Time' list.
S1 Ep11
7.5
11th Dec 1992
A rabbi seeks to block the town from staging a religiously-themed Christmas pageant on public property. The town is shocked to learn that beloved teacher Louise Talbot, scheduled to play the Virgin Mary in the pageant, is a post-operative transsexual.
S4 Ep7
7.6
3rd Nov 1995
Jill considers tubal ligation. Brock must dance the polka with the Mayor for charity. Haunted by the death of his brother, Littleton returns to Chicago.
S4 Ep4
7.7
13th Oct 1995
District Attorney John Littleton's convict brother escapes from prison and makes his way to Rome.
S2 Ep21
7.7
6th May 1994
The parents of a boy dying of leukemia seek a court order to allow them to place the child in cryonic suspension.
S1 Ep5
7.7
23rd Oct 1992
A rash of break-ins leads to an investigation of a "serial bather". Suspicion initially centers on "Frank the Potato Man", a vagrant who, it is learned, was tried for aggravated rape 15 years earlier.
S1 Ep9
7.7
13th Nov 1992
Jill's father arrives in Rome with his new 26-year-old girlfriend. Wambaugh finds his wife in bed with another man.
S1 Ep19
7.8
8th Apr 1993
Carter believes a sheriff who mysteriously disappeared 38 years earlier may have been killed by radiation emitted by an Unidentified Flying Object.
S4 Ep13
7.8
26th Jan 1996
After being struck by a falling power line, Carter sees his deceased grandfather Bob while he is clinically dead for three minutes. This experience causes him to reevaluate his relationship with God and with his girlfriend Sue. Judge Bone meets an old flame of 50 years ago while Zack gets a crush on a young cello prodigy who is visiting for a musical competition. Unfortunately, the girl only has eyes for Matthew.
S4 Ep21
7.8
24th Apr 1996
It is the christening of Mayor Bey's baby, Michael, but the Rome residents are flabbergasted when Laurie announces that she had the baby for her brother Jerry and his lover Gordy, who plan to raise the baby in the town. The Beys' estranged mother Christine, who turned her back on her children because she was deaf and he was gay, turns up and announces she is taking them all to court to get custody of her grandson. Tension brews in Rome as the people take sides on the issue and a campaign begins to have Laurie removed as Mayor, resulting in Jerry and Gordy being attacked at the supermarket by a vicious homophobic gang. Despite attempts by the prosecution to discredit the men and prove their lifestyle is unsuitable to raise a child in, Judge Bone ultimately rules in their favor and allows them to keep baby Michael, saying he does not feel they pose a threat to the boy. The court case over, Mrs. Bey leaves Rome again under a cloud, and Laurie is emotional as she leaves the baby in the care of his two dads.
S3 Ep7
7.9
11th Nov 1994
Wambaugh accompanies Jill Brock to Chicago where he receives a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at Chicago Hope Hospital in this series crossover episode. Jill clashes with Dr. Jeffrey Geiger (Mandy Patinkin) who, she feels, looks down on her as a small-town doctor.
S1 Ep2
7.9
25th Sep 1992
After a child brings a severed human hand to school for show and tell, the Sheriff's department teams with the FBI to pursue a serial kidnapper, the "Green Bay Chopper", who severs the right hands of his victims.
S1 Ep8
7.9
6th Nov 1992
An elderly patient is murdered at a nursing home. A "singing serial mercy-killing" nun is arrested, sparking controversy over the ethics and legality of euthanasia.
S1 Ep7
8.0
30th Oct 1992
Town doctor Jill Brock, fed up with the mayor's failure to address women's issues, declares herself a write-in candidate in the upcoming mayoral election. Deputy Kenny Lakos arrests a former boxing world champion and convinces him to engage in a charity match before extradition to New Jersey.
S1 Ep10
8.0
4th Dec 1992
Max, Brock, and Kenny investigate the mysterious death of a woman who may or may not have committed suicide.
S2 Ep4
8.0
5th Nov 1993
Max lets a drunk driver continue the short distance to her home, but the woman is involved in an accident that leaves the other drive paralyzed. The situation is complicated by Wambaugh's advice to the drunk driver to drink some Scotch to "calm her nerves," and Max's relationship with her therapist. The mayor accuses Jimmy of having problems with having a woman as his boss.
S1 Ep1
7.2
18th Sep 1992
A beloved local man is killed during a stage production of The Wizard of Oz. Suspicion initially falls on the town pharmacist when the sheriff learns the dead man was having an affair with the pharmacist's daughter. The dead man's wife confesses but her confession is suppressed in court. She is then murdered and the Sheriff's department discovers that she and the pharmacist conspired to kill her husband and then the pharmacist killed her.
S1 Ep2
7.9
25th Sep 1992
After a child brings a severed human hand to school for show and tell, the Sheriff's department teams with the FBI to pursue a serial kidnapper, the "Green Bay Chopper", who severs the right hands of his victims.
S1 Ep3
8.2
2nd Oct 1992
Max falls for a dwarf who rides into town on an elephant, which the dwarf says was being abused at a circus. Jill tells Kimberly's favorite teacher, Mr. Pankow, that he has a brain tumor.
S1 Ep4
8.1
16th Oct 1992
The candidates in the upcoming mayoral election are using such outrageous smear campaigns that Sheriff Brock considers running for Mayor himself.
S1 Ep5
7.7
23rd Oct 1992
A rash of break-ins leads to an investigation of a "serial bather". Suspicion initially centers on "Frank the Potato Man", a vagrant who, it is learned, was tried for aggravated rape 15 years earlier.
S1 Ep6
7.4
26th Oct 1992
When a catatonic housemaid utters the word "murder" after a decade of not speaking, the Sheriff's department learns that the "suicide" of a beloved town figure a decade prior was actually a homicide.
S1 Ep7
8.0
30th Oct 1992
Town doctor Jill Brock, fed up with the mayor's failure to address women's issues, declares herself a write-in candidate in the upcoming mayoral election. Deputy Kenny Lakos arrests a former boxing world champion and convinces him to engage in a charity match before extradition to New Jersey.
S1 Ep8
7.9
6th Nov 1992
An elderly patient is murdered at a nursing home. A "singing serial mercy-killing" nun is arrested, sparking controversy over the ethics and legality of euthanasia.
S1 Ep9
7.7
13th Nov 1992
Jill's father arrives in Rome with his new 26-year-old girlfriend. Wambaugh finds his wife in bed with another man.
S1 Ep10
8.0
4th Dec 1992
Max, Brock, and Kenny investigate the mysterious death of a woman who may or may not have committed suicide.
S1 Ep11
7.5
11th Dec 1992
A rabbi seeks to block the town from staging a religiously-themed Christmas pageant on public property. The town is shocked to learn that beloved teacher Louise Talbot, scheduled to play the Virgin Mary in the pageant, is a post-operative transsexual.
S1 Ep12
7.4
18th Dec 1992
When the Brock family inadvertently finds Kimberly having sex with her 19-year-old boyfriend on Christmas Eve, Jimmy wants to prosecute him for statutory rape. A man claiming to be Santa Claus takes Max and dispatcher Ginny hostage and Jimmy tries to talk him down.
S1 Ep13
8.4
8th Jan 1993
Kenny is seriously wounded by the Frog Man, a burglar who leaves live frogs at the site of his crimes.
S1 Ep14
8.3
15th Jan 1993
When Alice Freeman is charged with murder in the death of her husband, Wambaugh defends her by claiming insanity as the result of menopause. Brock's son, Matthew, begins to experience puberty.
S1 Ep15
8.3
22nd Jan 1993
When her friend becomes pregnant, Kimberly fears that she is the victim of incest. However, the man purporting to be her father is actually her husband and they are involved in a polygamous relationship. Max investigates a religious sect that engages in animal sacrifice. Guest Stars: Liz and Jean Sagal
S1 Ep16
8.3
5th Feb 1993
A fugitive doctor seeks a court order to allow him to keep his brain-dead wife on life support to allow her to bring her pregnancy to term. The mayor fires the town dentist for refusing to disclose that he is HIV-positive. Guest Stars: Liz and Jean Sagal
S1 Ep17
8.4
12th Feb 1993
Deputy Max goes undercover when a response to her personal ad leads her to believe that she is being targeted by a serial killer known as "Cupid."
S1 Ep18
8.6
1st Apr 1993
Jill enlists her former fiancé to perform a fetal transplant on a patient with Parkinson's disease over the objections of the town hospital. Jimmy feels threatened when he catches Jill and her former fiancé exchanging a kiss
S1 Ep19
7.8
8th Apr 1993
Carter believes a sheriff who mysteriously disappeared 38 years earlier may have been killed by radiation emitted by an Unidentified Flying Object.
S1 Ep20
8.3
15th Apr 1993
A group of heavily armed Chippewa Indians declares war on Rome, seizes, and barricades the courthouse. Ginny stages a protest when Jill begins administering growth hormones to a short boy. Matthew takes on the school bully.
S1 Ep21
8.6
29th Apr 1993
Kimberly and her best female friend exchange a few kisses during a sleepover, leading to rumors that Kimberly is a lesbian. She turns to her birth mother, who had a lesbian affair in college, for advice.
S1 Ep22
8.8
6th May 1993
Max delivers a baby and begins adoption procedures when the natural mother disappears. Jill transplants a pig's liver into a blues vocalist after the woman collapses on stage. Guest star: Della Reese.
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The first episode of Picket Fences aired on September 18, 1992.
The last episode of Picket Fences aired on June 26, 1996.
There are 88 episodes of Picket Fences.
There are 4 seasons of Picket Fences.
No.
Picket Fences has ended.