The WORST episodes of Boston Public

Every episode of Boston Public ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Boston Public!

Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place. It featured a large ensemble cast and focused on the work and private lives of the various teachers, students, and administrators at the school. It aired from October 2000 to January 2004. Its slogan was "Every day is a fight. For respect. For dignity. For sanity."

Last Updated: 12/10/2024Network: FOXStatus: Ended
star
5.25
4 votes

#1 - Chapter Sixty-Nine

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/3/2003

A female student files a serious sexual-harassment charge against Danny; a classroom debate over the U.S. involvement in Iraq turns violent; the tension between Harper and Guber over Marylin reaches the boiling point.

Directors: Mike Listo
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star
6.53
15 votes

#2 - Chapter Nineteen

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/30/2001

While heading to work, Lauren's car breaks downs. She gets so frustrated with it that she starts jumping up and down on it and smashing the windows with a baseball bat. Suddenly, an old student of hers appears named Daniel Evans who thanks her for changing his life. He shows her a history text book he has written and she is very impressed. He asks her out for a drink, and she immediately says yes. After, they head to her place and have a night of passion. The next day she tells Marilyn, who finds it a little immoral. Lauren cannot get past how great the sex was. Lauren admits she finds it a total turn on when Daniel calls her Ms. Davis. Marilyn is dealing with a boy named Jeremy who throws up after an anxiety attack related to his mom not being able to accept his mark of a B+. He goes to the nurse, where Marilyn notices a huge bruise on him. He says he got it playing basketball. When Jeremy's mom shows up, she says he must of got it on his scooter. Marilyn suspects abuse.

Directors: Sheldon Larry
Watch Now:Amazon
star
6.71
14 votes

#3 - Chapter Twelve

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/5/2001

As Senate approaches the school grounds, he saves a student from being attacked by gang members. After numerous attempts, Harry finally manages to get the boy to reveal that he is a member of the Crips and is attempting to leave the group because he killed a rival gang member. However, Senate is unable to help because he gave his word that he wouldn't discuss the situation with the authorities. Prevented from taking action, he reluctantly hides the truth from Lauren, his co-workers and the police. Meanwhile, Harper grows even more suspicious about Lisa and Buttle's deepening friendship, so Guber takes the reins and alerts Lisa's parents about their daughter's rumored affair. Thoroughly panicked, Milton tries to break it off, but Lisa pushes him to have sex one last time and her father catches them in the act. Buttle is immediately fired and the news rocks the halls of Winslow High. But when Riley attempts to soften the blow for Milton, Guber fires him as well for withholding informatio

Directors: Alex Graves
Watch Now:Amazon
star
6.85
13 votes

#4 - Chapter Twenty-Two

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/21/2001

Lauren gets a gun to protect herself from Daniel. Jeremy won't tell Marilyn what happened to his mother. Scott gives Winslow High's first student to get accepted to Harvard an F.

Directors: Jonathan Pontell
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star
6.86
7 votes

#5 - Chapter Seventy-Nine

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/30/2004

Henry gives bad advice to a brainiac student who wants to become an artist; Marla has a miscarriage; Rainy is thrown out of her foster home.

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star
6.87
53 votes

#6 - Chapter Three

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/6/2000

Principal Harper's job is in jeopardy and an impending school board meeting has him on edge. Still, he can't help but get involved when Anthony Ward is found hanging upside down from the roof. It turns out the entire soccer team has ganged up on little Anthony since he thwarted their attempts to download answers for a test. Harper's decision to suspend the entire team, and thereby forfeit the soccer season, only adds fuel to Superintendent Marla Shinn's fire. Meanwhile, Harry Senate confesses to kissing Dana Poole and explains her blackmail scheme. Guber sends a shocked Dana to Bob ""Big Boy"" Lick for counseling but Harper does not suspend Senate. Coach Riley, on the other hand, is dealing with a football team who has marked one of their teammates as gay and will not shower with him. Plus, Lauren is left to defend herself when Superintendent Shinn questions the topic of cannibalism being taught in Lauren's classroom. At the school board meeting, things come to a head when all of the fa

Directors: Mel Damski
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star
6.91
11 votes

#7 - Chapter Thirty

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/7/2002

A revelation concerning Jeremy fractures the relationship between his mother and Guber; a plea from a death-row inmate troubles Harper; a student's ADD affliction disquiets Ronnie.

Directors: Michael Schultz
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star
6.92
13 votes

#8 - Chapter Twenty-Seven

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/26/2001

Hanson is arrested after a domestic dispute, causing Harper to seriously consider firing him. Lauren is skeptical when a student decides to drop out because a record company wants to sign her, and Harper is livid when he discovers that someone close to him has been anonymously dispensing sex advice in the student newspaper.

Directors: Jack Bender
Watch Now:Amazon
star
6.98
41 votes

#9 - Chapter Twenty

Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/7/2001

Lauren continues her realtionship with Daniel. Marilyn finds out that Jeremy's mother is locking her son in the basement for punishment. Steven can't date a student's mother. Kevin punches an opponent ina debate.

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star
6.98
46 votes

#10 - Chapter Sixteen

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/26/2001

Security tapes of the girls' shower room are missing... with footage of Lauren on them. Marla sends her entire class to the principal's office. Anthony's hit list is found. Lauren and Harry break up.

Directors: Joe Napolitano
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star
7.00
7 votes

#11 - Chapter Seventy-Two

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/31/2003

A student discovers Harper and Marilyn have been secretly dating and threatens to go to the school board; Hanson and Claire try to assist a student who is having trouble with his dad.

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star
7.00
11 votes

#12 - Chapter Thirty-Nine

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/18/2002

Ronnie catches a student performing a crime; two female students tell Marylin about their sexual conversations online with an older man.

Directors: Mark Harmon
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star
7.00
8 votes

#13 - Chapter Twenty-Five

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/12/2001

Senate is outraged when he learns that one of his prized students was admitted to Williams College because he bought his college application essay over the Internet. Also, Lipschultz calls a student a derogatory term and new teacher Danny Hanson wants him held accountable, but Harper refuses. Hanson goes to Ronnie for legal help, and his class decides to sue Lipschultz in court for defamation of character.

Directors: Sheldon Larry
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.00
15 votes

#14 - Chapter Twenty-Three

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/29/2001

A wealthy attorney decides to become a teacher at the school—quickly stirring things up between her fellow teachers and the students. Meanwhile, Lipshultz gets into trouble after giving a student the wrong name and Marla is enlisted to sponsor a club of female students, which causes her to examine her own insecurity.

Directors: Jonathan Pontell
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.02
46 votes

#15 - Chapter Fifteen

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/26/2001

Harry advises Tyronn to leave town when he is shot at. Harvey sends Scott on a two-hour drive for a non-existing conducting opportunity. A student accuses the cheerleading teacher of touching her in inappropriate ways.

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star
7.04
47 votes

#16 - Chapter Six

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/27/2000

A popular and beloved teacher, Mr. McMahon, has a heart attack and dies at school. A close friend of the deceased, Principal Harper overcomes his own grief to help his students cope with the loss. To make matters worse, it appears that McMahon had been having an affair with a female senior, Karen Fitzgerald. While Harper struggles to deal with the incident's aftermath and maintain status quo, the students and faculty begin to fall apart. A defiant pupil, Webster, spits on Lauren and she vows to have him expelled. The case becomes more complex, however, when Harper learns that Webster was close to Mr. McMahon and is extremely upset over his death. A disciplinary hearing is held and it's decided that Webster will only be suspended, much to Lauren's disgust. Meanwhile, the distraught students hold an assembly to deal with their confusion. The kids quickly embrace God as the answer and their meeting turns into a mass prayer rally. Eventually, Harper and Guber look into McMahon's alleged af

Directors: Jonathan Pontell
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.04
45 votes

#17 - Chapter Thirteen (2)

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/12/2001

Jimmy Berluti and Ellenor Frutt cross over from THE PRACTICE to try to get Kevin's job back, after he was fired for keeping the student teacher affair of Milton and Lisa a secret. Scott Guber and Steven Harper fight each other over personal issues. Marla starts a petition to support Kevin. Lauren is mad at Harry when she finds out about his past. (Crossover event - The Practice - 5x14 - The Day After (1))

Directors: Jonathan Pontell
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.07
45 votes

#18 - Chapter Eleven

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/22/2001

Coach Riley has a serious crush on Marylin Sudor but is nervous about asking her out due to their racial differences. But when he and Buttle ask Ms. Sudor how she and Ms. Hendricks feel about dating white men, Marylin mistakenly assumes Coach wants to ask Marla out. Riley's ""infatuation"" with Marla appears on Sheryl Holt's Web site and Ms. Hendricks becomes extremely excited about the prospect of dating Coach. Eventually, Kevin tells Marylin the truth and she is forced to break the news to Marla, who is deeply hurt. While Kevin and Marylin do make plans to eventually go out, they decide to wait until Marla has gotten over her disappointment. Meanwhile, Harper is concerned about the cheerleading squad. They have been rehearsing for an important competition, but their new routine is extremely sexual. The choreographer argues that it's impossible to tone down the program, so Harper cancels the meet. Regardless of the consequences, Lisa and Buttle continue to tempt fate and continue their

Directors: Alan Myerson
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.08
12 votes

#19 - Chapter Thirty-Eight

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/11/2002

Mikki, an 18-year-old Winslow student, tricks Harper and the administration into allowing Barely 18, a racy Maxim-like magazine to come to the school to shoot provocative photos of her. Ronnie, who stumbles upon the shoot, pleads with Mikki not to pose for the magazine, saying it is a decision she will regret for the rest of her life. Ronnie confides in Mikki that she was approached in college to pose for a pictorial, but thankfully decided against it. Later, Ronnie reveals to Senate that she actually went through with the shoot, but the photos were never published. Ronnie and Senate share a moment, but nothing materializes from it. Meanwhile, back at school, a student approaches Guber with information that Meredith hit her with her prosthesis during an argument. After some investigating, Guber reluctantly admits that he believes the student and fires Meredith. As a result, Guber and Meredith's relationship seems to be terminated as well. Also at the school, one of Lauren's students ha

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star
7.09
68 votes

#20 - Chapter One

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/23/2000

Another school year is off to a booming start at Winslow High School -- an urban high school outside of Boston. Principal Steven Harper spends his days putting out fires, defending his faculty and just trying to keep it together. Lauren Davis, the idealistic head of the social studies department, and Harry Senate, a geology teacher with buried secrets, are embroiled in controversy for failing the star running back before a huge game with the cross-town rivals. But they both have bigger personal problems. Lauren has been asked out on a date by the icy vice principal and Harry has been put on probation for wielding a gun in one of his classes. When he's not dodging the star running back's lawyer or pulling a bully off the class geek, Principal Harper is trying to calm Ms. Hendricks. She left her class after scrawling ""Gone to kill myself, hope you're happy"" on the chalkboard. Meanwhile, English teacher Milton Buttle has become the star attraction on student Sheryl Holt's Web site. His un

Directors: Thomas Schlamme
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star
7.09
44 votes

#21 - Chapter Eight

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/11/2000

Buttle encounters a beautiful college sophomore, Lisa, who shares his passion for Shakespeare. Intrigued by his knowledge of the bard, Lisa decides to sleep with Buttle and the two engage in an afternoon of earth-shattering sex. Back at Winslow High, Senate learns that Juan Figgis' mother has been convicted on drug charges and is going to jail. Determined to provide for his family, Juan ignores Senate's pleas to finish his education and drops out of school to support them. Meanwhile, Lipschultz collapses in class and is rushed to the hospital. A student, Kelly O'Toole, comes forward and confesses that she slipped ecstasy into his coffee as a joke. Harper decides to play hardball - he calls the cops, who take Kelly away in handcuffs, and then proceed to search the lockers. Senate struggles to do the right thing concerning Juan and calls Social Services, who break up the family. Realizing that he did more damage than good, Senate begins a foundation to raise money to keep Figgis in schoo

Directors: David Semel
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.13
8 votes

#22 - Chapter Fifty-Six

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/3/2003

Guber's speech team star has an issue, Russell decides on a college, while mixed signals rattle Colin as his affair comes to a close.

Directors: Mike Listo
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.13
15 votes

#23 - Chapter Eighteen

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/23/2001

Scott fires an art teacher twice. Christine Banks dies of a heart attack after winning a wrestling match. Harry finds out Dana Poole has become a stripper. Marla insults janitors and she finds one of her student's father is a janitor.

Directors: Elodie Keene
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star
7.13
45 votes

#24 - Chapter Nine

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/8/2001

The first day back at school has barely begun when the police show up looking for a murder suspect. A botched robbery has gone down a few blocks away and the panicked assailant, wearing a Winslow High letterman's jacket, shot and killed a man before heading towards school grounds. The police think the suspect is a student who is hiding on campus and demand to begin the search at once. Meanwhile, oblivious to the tense situation, Lisa and Buttle decide to have sex in the deserted boiler room. Unfortunately, Riley and an officer stumble upon the couple during the investigation and catch them in the act. Riley agrees to keep quiet about the affair for now, but urges Buttle to break it off before he loses his job…or worse. As the hunt continues, it becomes a code red condition, locking both teachers and students in their classrooms. Eventually, Lauren realizes that a pupil in her class might be the suspect but before she can take action, the desperate student whips out his gun and takes La

Directors: Arlene Sanford
Watch Now:Amazon
star
7.14
44 votes

#25 - Chapter Twenty-One

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/14/2001

Steven's remarks prevent Scott from getting a job as a headmaster. Lauren finds out Daniel is stalking her. Marla worries when a convicted sex offender asks a younger girl to the senior prom. Marilyn suspects Jeremy has done something to his mother.

Directors: Michael Zinberg
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