The BEST episodes of Picket Fences
Every episode of Picket Fences ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Picket Fences!
Before Ally and The Practice, David E. Kelley was behind this superlative series. Picket Fences followed the lives of the residents of the small town of Rome, Wisconsin, where weird things happened. Cows giving birth to human babies, a spate of people turning up dead in freezers, sex change teachers, a revolving door of mayors who never lasted very long - and one who even spontaneously combusted! Struggling to maintain order in this Twin Peaksesque environment is Sheriff Jimmy Brock. Married to the town doctor, Jill, they are attempting to bring up their three kids Kimberly, Matthew and Zachary against the odds.
#1 - Turpitude
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/22/1993
Mayor Pugen is caught between a Brock and a hard place when the Sheriff arrests him for murdering a disarmed carjacker, leaving him to rely on Wambaugh for his defense. Frightened at the level of violence creeping up on the Rome people, Jill buys a gun to protect her family.
#2 - This Little Piggy
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/8/1995
Animal-rights activist Kimberly is arrested for a felony. A woman's medical treatment is inhibited by her daughter's religious beliefs.
#3 - Dem Bones
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/5/1996
A skeleton discovered is that of a suspected Nazi murdered 50 years before and Wambaugh's son returns to prosecute the case.
#4 - The Dancing Bandit
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/12/1993
Marlee Matlin guests as Laurie Bey, the Dancing Bandit who has become a bit of a folk hero for her heists where she and her very talented gang rob from rich bureaucrats and give back to families who have gotten screwed by the system.
#5 - The Lullaby League
Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/6/1993
Zach plays horn for an ailing blues legend but Jill is frustrated when the woman takes ill and fails to appreciate medicine's ability to keep her alive. Max delivers a criminal's baby and begins procedures to adopt it.
#6 - Divine Recall
Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/11/1994
Mayor Rachel scolds Father Barrett for giving a pep talk colored with religious ideals to a public school's hockey team. Meanwhile, a risque video from Rachel's past jeopardizes her career as Kenny admits their affair to Jimmy.
#7 - Witness for the Prosecution
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/15/1995
Rome is in a flutter when Mayor Bey announces that the Pope himself is coming to visit the town. It's a day of celebration as His Holiness arrives, but the walk down main street ends in chaos when someone in the crowd opens fire, killing a man. The resulting investigation reveals the death was suicide, according to the dead man's gay lover... until the Pope announces he saw the whole thing and that it was, in fact, murder. The court case that follows threatens to end Judge Bone and Wambaugh's tempestuous friendship for good.
#8 - Bloodlines
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/12/1996
Matthew's classmate shoots himself. A bear is loose in Rome and Kenny assumes the role of Mayor Bey's Lamaze partner.
#9 - Snow Exit
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/19/1996
In the middle of a major snow storm, Judge Bone has a heart attack while, snowed-in at the police station, Mayor Bey goes into labor with only Jimmy to deliver her baby. Meanwhile, it's bonding time with lots of alcohol for Jill, Kimberly and Lydia, as Max is reunited with an old adversary - the one and only Barney Bratwurst.
#10 - Abominable Snowman
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/28/1994
With his mind failing due to Alzheimer's, Howard Buss proposes that doctors harvest his heart for the transplant his son needs. Meanwhile, Wambaugh pleads with the city to house Frank the Potato Man.
#11 - Duty Free Rome
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/28/1993
Wambaugh appeals Mayor Pugen's conviction and uncovers a technicality that could secure a new trial. Max's therapist admits his attraction to her and the feeling is mutual, raising ethical issues. Father Barrett confronts his church's stand on birth control.
#12 - Guns 'R' Us
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/14/1994
Embarrassed by a prank, Matthew tries to get even with some boys, but the practical joking gets out of hand, which may result in paralysis for him. Meanwhile, budget cuts hit the sheriff's department and Max fills in as sheriff.
#13 - Sugar and Spice
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/29/1993
Attraction to a girlfriend confuses Kimberly. Max and Kenny vie for undersheriff but Max loses out on the promotion.
#14 - Fetal Attraction
Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/1/1993
Jill asks Dr David Williams, her ex-fiance, to perform a controversial foetal tissue transplant on a man suffering from Parkinson's Disease.
#15 - Dairy Queen
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/26/1993
Jimmy, Jill, Rachel and Father Barrett debate employing a scantily-clad pin-up model, a battered wife, to help promote the dairy industry in Rome. Kimberly considers getting breast implants.
#16 - Systematic Abuse
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/30/1994
Littleton feels Brock's department is hampering the investigation of a girl's murder.
#17 - Buried Alive
Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/8/1994
A visit by Jill's father leads to a lively evening of therapy in the Brock household. Jimmy invites Max to dinner after she arrests Jill's father for disorderly conduct.
#18 - The Bus Stops Here (1)
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/7/1994
As temporary co-mayor, Jill copes with racial tensions from a judge's decision to bus tough black students from Green Bay to Rome's schools.
#19 - Frogman Returns
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/13/1995
The embarrassed son of the Frogman sues for emancipation. Jill strikes Matthew for accidentally injuring Zack.
#20 - Heart of Saturday Night
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/27/1995
Saturday night in Rome and the residents' minds turn to leisure activities. Matthew goes cruising with his pals. Jill and Jimmy's attempt at romance leaves him in an extremely painful position. Meanwhile, Judge Bone and Wambaugh's poker gang loses a player when one of them drops dead at the table.
#21 - Down the Tubes
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/3/1995
Pregnant Mayor Bey shields the baby's father as Jill considers tubal ligation. Meanwhile, Littleton is haunted by memories of his brother and makes some big decisions about his future.
#22 - The Z Files
Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/9/1996
Zach's buddy sends a teacher's photo over the Internet. Max dates a chat-room acquaintance.
#23 - Bottled
Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/16/1996
Jill's emotions take control when the Brocks celebrate Zach's 13th birthday.
#24 - Frog Man
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/8/1993
Investigating a burglary with Max, Kenny is shot and seriously injured by the Frog Man, a burglar who leaves live frogs at the scene of his crimes.
#25 - Remote Control
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/21/1994
The debate over crime reaches a fever pitch Wambaugh blames violence in the media for his client's assault on Matthew. Rachel launches a war on crime and moves forward with new legislation to curb violence.