The BEST episodes of Father Dowling Mysteries
Every episode of Father Dowling Mysteries ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Father Dowling Mysteries!
The show began as an NBC Made for TV Movie in 1987 and the show was to have begun weekly in 1988 though because of a writer's strike in 1988 it didn't begin weekly until 1989. After it's 1st season the show left NBC and ABC took the show from 1990 until 1991. First Telecast: November 30, 1987 Last Telecast: May 2, 1991 Episodes: 1 TV Movie, 42 Episodes
#1 - The Reasonable Doubt Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/15/1990
Father Dowling does his duty, jury duty, in a murder case that should have been open and shut. Father Dowling is not so sure and his claim of reasonable doubt ends in a deadlocked jury. While the DA angrily works toward a retrial, Father Dowling and Sister Steve conduct an investigation of their own, at the center of which is the testimony of an eyewitness who seems to keep company with some unusual sorts.
#2 - The Missing Body Mystery (2)
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/20/1989
Father Dowling lands on the wrong side of the FBI after a dying man falls dead at his feet. Father Dowling puts the church in a bad light when he insists on tracking down the killer. While doing so, he seems to have helped botch a FBI sting operation!
#3 - The Exotic Dancer Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/11/1990
Sister Steve heads undercover as a crooked card dealer at a high stakes poker game. It turns out the game is really nothing more than a ploy to cover up a robbery. Meanwhile, Father Dowling has his work cut out for him. He has to expose the crime, solve the murder of the exotic dancer and rescue Sister Steve before the card sharks find out her true identity.
#4 - The Perfect Couple Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/8/1990
Talk about security clearance. Father Dowling and Sister Steve find themselves smack dab in the middle of a top secret security investigation when one of the parishioners is suspected of stealing confidential documents. The case revolves around a spy who really isn't a spy, a mistress who never was and a cheating husband who didn't. Add to the mix a FBI headquarters that never existed and you've got a case that's about as clear as Irish Stew.
#5 - The Visiting Priest Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/4/1990
Father Dowling and Sister Steve are taken in by a fake priest. It turns out "Father" Damon is actually a hit man sent to kill aging gang-leader, Victor Malko. Father Dowling tries to warn Malko, but he won't take Dowling's warnings seriously. And now the real Father's life might be in jeopardy.
#6 - The Solid Gold Headache Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/29/1990
Sister Steve knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why would anyone name her as administrator of a six million dollar trust fund? And if you think she is puzzled, the family of the dearly departed are just a tad upset themselves. In fact they are willing to do just about anything to keep Sister Steve away from the fund. And just to show they are serious, they've kidnapped Father Dowling's trusty housekeeper. They've offered to let her go, as soon as someone coughs up mere six million dollars.
#7 - The Moving Target Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/7/1991
A hired killer has a change of heart when he discovers that Father Dowling is his intended victim. He warns the priest that someone else is certain to accept the contract. Now it's up to Father Dowling to figure out who, and why, someone is out to get him.
#9 - The Consulting Detective Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/25/1991
It is difficult to tell who is consulting with whom when Sherlock Holmes comes to the aid of Father Dowling. The pair prove to be an unbeatable team as they put their powers of deduction to the supreme test as eyewitnesses to multiple murders. There's only one hitch: No one other than Dowling can actually see Mr. Holmes!
#10 - The Murder Weekend Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/8/1990
It's man against machine when a hired killer uses computer technology to conceal his crime during a weekend retreat for mystery writers. A series of traps further complicate the investigation and one of them almost costs Sister Steve her life.
#11 - The Movie Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/1990
Everyone is enjoying the slice of Hollywood as a movie crew uses St. Michael's as a location, until a series of unexplained, and life-threatening, accidents put a damper on the mood. Father Dowling and Sister Steve are enlisted to assist in the investigation while Father Prestwick decides to make his screen debut...as a stand in.
#12 - The Sanctuary Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/18/1990
Sister, Father and a brother find themselves in a life and death situation when Sister Steve's younger brother, Mark, finds himself in the middle of a street gang battle. Someone ends up dead and Mark is the one charged with murder. He points the finger at the real killer, Police Captain Edward Hayton, and then finds himself leading candidate in the role of next potential victim. Father Dowling throws his hat into the ring and finds a case that involves not only murder, but smugglers trafficking in precious gems.
#13 - The Medical Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/1990
The local hospital is the scene of some 'extra' deaths when Father Dowling and Sister Steve uncover a string of mystery murders. Father Prestwick insists on helping out and almost becomes the next victim.
#14 - The Devil & the Deep Blue Sea Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/1990
When most people look at Harry Deil they see one of the most powerful men in underworld crime. Father Dowling sees something else, something even more sinister: The devil. Now Father Dowling must beat him at his own game in order to save Sister Steve.
#15 - The Christmas Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/13/1990
There's a murder attempt on a woman who has left her son in the temporary care of St. Michael's and the search for the culprit leads to a department store on Christmas Eve.
#16 - The Prodigal Son Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/31/1991
A blast from the past rocks Father Dowling's world when a man he's never met shows up claiming to be his son. The man disappears before Father Dowling can question him. And then his would-be son is charged with murder.
#17 - The Hardboiled Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/28/1991
An author who used Dowling and Steve as characters in his murder mystery dies before its completion.
#18 - The Mummy's Curse Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/21/1991
While visiting the Chicago Museum to take in a Pharaoh's burial chamber, Father Dowling and Sister Steve encounter an ancient Egyptian curse. Father Prestwick almost becomes a victim himself when he attempts to uncover the tomb's deadly secrets.
#19 - The Priest Killer Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/14/1991
When a rooftop sniper almost kills Father Dowling, Sister Steve goes undercover as a cab driver, hoping the flush out the would-be priest-killer.
#20 - The Missing Witness Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/24/1991
Sister Steve has disguised herself as a trashy lady-of-the-evening in order to track down a witness who can clear the name of a young businessman charged with murder. But was he really framed or is he actually guilty? Father Dowling is not certain.
#21 - The Undercover Nun Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/1/1990
Sister Steve's return to her Mother's house to celebrate the convent's Silver Jubilee ceremonies should be a time of great joy for everyone. But shortly after arriving the Sister discovers a nun with a gun. Not quite what she expected. And her worst fears are indeed realized when another visiting nun is murdered.
#22 - The Royal Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1990
It looks like a royal mess when Sister Steve find herself trapped in a Royal scandal. The Sister trades places with a frisky British noblewoman in order to infiltrate a trade delegation. Father Dowling has his hands full riding shotgun, trying to keep an eye open for the Sister's Royal killer.
#23 - The Blind Man's Bluff Mystery
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/15/1990
Sister Steve has always been a trusting soul. It's part of her job, of course. So it is no surprise when she opens her heart to a blind man who seems to be in need of assistance. But she soon discovers that she has become an unwitting accomplice in a scheme to blackmail a prominent parishioner.
#24 - What Do You Call a Call Girl Mystery
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/27/1989
Father Dowling comes to the aid of a man when his fiancée is murdered just as she was about to confess to being a prostitute. A search leads to three powerful clients, none of whom want to be involved in a scandal. And even the police are trying to discourage Father Dowling from continuing his investigation.
#25 - The Vanishing Victim Mystery
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/29/1990
Father Dowling stumbles into a kidnapping plot when he befriends a young woman who is about to disappear. Fearing the worst, Sister Steve signs on as the family's new maid to try and find out what happened to the girl.