The BEST episodes of Lou Grant

#1 - Hostages

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/1977

A gunman, upset with a story about his brother who was wrongfully shot by a store-owner during a robbery, holds the newspaper staff hostage demanding a new story.

#2 - Pack

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/27/1980

Billie is given a tough time when she tours with a political candidate to conduct an investigation.

#3 - Charlie

Season 5 - Episode 24 - Aired 9/13/1982

A bad day for Charlie involves firing misfits and dealing with static from reporters over their assignments; meanwhile, Donovan suspects his girlfriend is pregnant.

#4 - Hoax

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/1977

When Lou gets a tip from a friend who claims to know the whereabouts of a missing millionaire, members of the staff initially have doubts about following it and dismiss it as a hoax. The man begins to gain credibility when he is able to retrieve information that only the missing man would know.

#5 - Nazi

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/1977

While investigating a group of Nazis, Billie comes upon information that one of their leaders used to be Jewish.

#6 - Scoop

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/8/1977

Pressured to get the latest scoop at any cost, Lou ends up in hot water after running two of Rossi's exclusive stories which turn out to be false. So when Billie has information about a possible fake kidnapping, Lou is reluctant to run the story.

#7 - Psychout

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/22/1977

After Lou tells him that his stories are missing first-hand experience, Rossi checks into a mental institution as a patient under a made-up name to investigate reports of abuse. Lou clashes with a lawyer at the paper because he feels that censorship and fear of possible lawsuits are limiting what the paper can publish.

#8 - Henhouse

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/1977

#9 - Cophouse

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1977

After landing the city editor job at the Los Angeles Tribune, Lou Grant's first major story is a sex scandal concerning the LAPD and underage girls. However, in order to get it published he must deal with a reporter that is reluctant to bring down the police and Mrs. Pynchon who has a difference of opinion with him.

#10 - Unthinkable

Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/3/1982

As the Tribune covers the fate of a girl being treated in a burn unit, the possibility arises that a confrontation in the Middle East will lead to a nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and the burn unit is mobilized.

#11 - Housewarming

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/29/1977

Billie uses a battered woman as a source for a story on spousal abuse but has trouble following through with it when the women's husband finds out. She later finds out that a co-worker has a problem with spousal abuse.

#12 - Murder

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/30/1978

Billie is upset because her story, about a courageous black woman who is slain in her own apartment, is relegated to the back pages while Rossi's story, about an elderly white woman who fights off burglars, makes the front page.

#13 - Takeover

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/6/1977

Staff members become nervous when a multi-millionaire with a penchant for ruining the credibility of newspapers makes an attempt to take over the Tribune.

#14 - Schools

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/20/1978

Lou, Charlie, and Donovan interview students from an inner city school for the purpose of awarding a college scholarship to a journalism major. While Charlie and Donovan recommend a straight-A student, Lou pushes for a student who kicked a drug habit and got tutoring to improve his grades. Rossi and Billie uncover disturbing trends of violence at the same inner city school.

#15 - Spies

Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/27/1978

When the paper finds out about the son of a wealthy businessman being secretly detained by authorities, Lou decides to have Rossi investigate. However, when a CIA agent thwarts the investigation before it begins, everyone begins to suspect there is a CIA informant working at the paper.

#16 - Scandal

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/13/1978

Rossi gets upset when a new female reporter comes in and is given the story about a possibly corrupt politician that he had unsuccessfully been investigating.

#17 - Renewal

Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/30/1978

The paper does a story on a senior citizen whose apartment, decorated with art that reflects his life's work, is in danger of being torn down.

#18 - Hero

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/17/1978

When a man saves the governor's life and then flees the scene, the paper launches a campaign to find his identity. When they find him and write a story revealing that he has a criminal record, he blames the paper for hurting his business and ruining his engagement. Billie is upset at the lack of support for a halfway house that is on the verge of closing due to lack of funding.

#19 - Sports

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/10/1978

The paper faces a public backlash after Lou runs a story about an NCAA investigation into the possible recruiting violations by a popular local college football team.

#20 - Christmas

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/13/1977

Lou gets homesick with Christmas approaching. Billie does a story on a family that is homeless for the holidays and public donations begin to pour in. After Rossi improperly uses a quote, Lou punishes him by assigning him to a boring story that turns out to be a juicy story.

#21 - Barrio

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/1/1977

Surprised by the paper's lack of coverage on the shooting of a Hispanic woman by a gang, Lou allows Billie to go into the Hispanic community to write a story. While in the community, she meets the victim's son who is fueled with anger and seems headed down the wrong path.

#22 - Sect

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/6/1978

Charlie is devastated when his son joins a cult.

#23 - Poison

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/6/1978

After Rossi's friend reveals that he has damaging information about the unsafe conditions at a nuclear plant, he is "accidentally" struck and killed by a car. Eager to prove that it was no accident, Rossi continues the investigation into the nuclear plant.

#24 - Pills

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/1978

Rossi is handed records which prove that a doctor is illegally prescribing drugs. When the story runs and it is suspected that the records may have been obtained by illegal means, Rossi is told to either reveal his source or go to jail.

#25 - Physical

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/20/1978

Lou reluctantly goes for a physical and finds out that he has a thyroid condition that requires surgery. At the paper, he offers advice to an intern who wants to become a reporter. Rossi learns that he has a good chance at a Pulitzer prize for his story on mental hospitals.