The BEST episodes of Taggart
Every episode of Taggart ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Taggart!
In the early eighties, Robert Love, Controller of Drama at Scottish Television, and Glenn Chandler, pathologist turned writer, created a Glaswegian police detective named Jim Taggart. A creation which resulted in a world-wide successful television drama that has lasted for over twenty years. With over eighty episodes currently in the can the series, which follows the exploits of Maryhill CID, continues to win over viewers old and new despite major changes in the cast which caused most in the business to write it off. Since the pilot episode "Killer", the only installment to not carry the trade mark name, to the most recently aired episode, the show has presented more grizzly murders and plot twists than even the most ardent of fans can remember. Its film noir quality along with the stunning setting of Glasgow, the second city of the empire, that helps it remain a success even after all these years. The excellent cast, both present and past, have provided characters which have become much loved and remain in the hearts of fans even after their departure. This guide is dedicated to the memories of Mark McManus, Iain Anders, Robert Robertson, and Tom Watson. Taggart is now 20 years old becoming the longest running police drama on television the show is still as popular as it was when Mark McManus was at the helm. Taggart is made by SMG Productions and broadcast on the ITV network over the UK.
#1 - Dead Man Walking
Season 22 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/16/2005
The team investigate the seemingly motiveless murder of a mechanic. Suspicion soon falls on his business partner, Tony Benton, but it turns out that Benton was in fact the intended victim.
#2 - Puppet on a String
Season 21 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/6/2005
Dr. Mellor is attacked by a masked assailant carrying a syringe full of lethal drugs. Dr Mellor points the finger at rival doctor Thomas Finn, but Finn has an alibi. Dr Mellor is found dead the next day. Finn again has a cast-iron alibi.
#3 - The Wages Of Sin
Season 21 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/13/2005
A Family returning from a funeral Discovers a Taxi Driver who has been shot in the head outside of their Shop which leads the Taggart Team down a dangerous trail.
#4 - The Killing Philosophy
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/15/1987
Taggart investigates a failed rape attempt by a masked attacker. However, his job is complicated when the victim commits suicide and the criminal strikes again, and his attacks soon turn to murder.
#5 - The Knife Trick
Season 25 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/7/2009
When a law professor is accidentally stabbed to death in front of 30 trainee police officers during a training exercise it appears at first to be just a tragic accident. But when the team discover that the knife was tampered with, it soon turns into a murder enquiry. The team have 30 eye witnesses - but do the trainees really hold the key to solving the crime?
#6 - A Taste of Money
Season 22 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/23/2005
An unpopular restaurant critic is found murdered in his kitchen, and a petty thief linked to the crime scene becomes the prime suspect. But it soon turns out that he had a secret life - and that the killer has only just started.
#7 - An Eye for an Eye
Season 19 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/25/2003
When a doctor at a women's health centre is murdered, anti-abortionists are the prime suspects. Burke and his team investigate whether the protesters have been framed.
#8 - Halfway House
Season 19 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/18/2003
A young man is found shot in a public park, and the only clue to his identity is a library ticket from a local college. Burke, Ross and Reid set about tracing the young man which leads them to a halfway house boasting a familiar list of numerous ex-cons.
#9 - Bad Blood
Season 19 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/11/2003
In the aftermath of the stabbing of a Kurdish minicab driver, Burke finds himself delegated an officer with a working knowledge of race-hate crimes - an ambitious woman who Ross, Fraser and Reid take to immediately. However, Burke resents his investigation being shackled by politically correct demands, especially when a motive has yet to be established.
#10 - Hard Man
Season 19 - Episode 1 - Aired 12/14/2002
DCI Burke and the team are called in to investigate the discovery of a mangled body in what appears to be an industrial accident at a Clyde shipyard. But when it is revealed that the victim was already dead before the accident, Burke finds himself dealing with a murder.
#11 - Knife-Edge
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/24/1986
Taggart and Livingston investigate after the discovery of a woman's severed leg. However as the body parts build up Taggart finds himself no closer to the cases solution. The investigation leads them to a butcher George Bryce who Taggart and Livingston are convinced is the killer. When he turns up dead, killed with the same gun that the dismembered corpse it appears to be another dead end. However with a little further digging links start appearing and Taggart realises he's closer to cracking the case than he thought.
#12 - New Life
Season 19 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/4/2003
DS Jackie Reid feels upstaged when the team is joined by DS Hannah Fairchild, an officer with ambitions to take Burke's seat.The team have to solve the murder of Kurdish minicab driver Hasan Osman, the victim of a frenzied stabbing.When Fairchild declares her knowledge of race-hate crimes, Burke resents his investigation being subject to political correctness before a motive has been established.
#13 - Fade To Black
Season 19 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/21/2002
A young nurse is found strangled in her home, with no sign of forced entry and two glasses of wine on the table. On finding a large quantity of cash hidden in her flat and signs of an affluent lifestyle, Burke and the team begin to suspect that the murder victim had a secret double life. Meanwhile, a mysterious and sinister person is following and filming Burke with a camcorder.
#14 - Flesh and Blood
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/5/1989
DCI Taggart attends the wedding of social worker Jane Ross and former bank robber Charlie Forbes. Janie is later found murdered, having been crushed to death by a car. Meanwhile, a criminal hijacking a truck discovers more than he bargained for when he discovers a cache of explosives, and a chain of seemingly unrelated events begins.
#15 - Saints and Sinners
Season 20 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/30/2004
Top lawyer Richard Fleet is shot in the head in his car after a late business dinner with his partner Charlie Muir and client Simon Turner, the MD of building company Arcadia. Despite the gun being left at the scene there are few clues for the team to go on. Reid and Burke visit Fleet's widow, Adele, and are shocked to discover that not only are they faced with a less than sympathetic wife but that she is also having an affair with his business partner Muir. Neither have alibis for the time of the murder and fail to mention Fleet's £5m life insurance policy. Residents Betty McGoldrick and Martha Ramsay are protesting against the new phase of housing development. They believe that a pharmaceutical company once stood on the site and that chemical contamination has already caused a spate of illnesses, including Martha's son Ben who has leukemia. The women inform them that the case was thrown out of court and to Burke's surprise he discovers that Fleet and Muir represented the residents and not Arcadia – despite being on Arcadia's payroll. When Muir is shot on the Arcadia site and another identical gun is found near the body, Burke begins to suspect Turner. However, his suspicions are without cause when Turner is later found shot dead in the Fleet's home, again with a gun at his side. As the team start to unravel the mystery, an unnamed fourth man is discovered to have been at the restaurant on the night of the first murder. But can a paralysed Muir help them find the guns, the killer and the identity of the fourth man?
#16 - Compensation
Season 20 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/30/2004
DCI Burke's personal life comes to the fore as the team are called to the countryside of Fenmore after a farmer is killed in a suspicious fire. With few clues and no villager prepared to offer information, Burke feels they have stepped into a private war.
#17 - Atonement
Season 20 - Episode 2 - Aired 12/3/2003
When Billy McCree is found dead in his workshop with his severed hand by his side, recently-released prisoner Jim Naysmith is the prime suspect for his murder - as the dead man's testimony had put Naysmith behind bars twenty years before. While Burke and Reid investigate another member of Naysmith's gang, Ross is flattered when law student Mary Cullen asks to shadow him, but Gemma becomes suspicious of Mary's motives.
#18 - Penthouse and Pavement
Season 20 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/7/2003
The months since Taggart's last outing have done nothing for DCI Burke's temper or his people skills. He's still a gruff so-and-so who shouts far more than is really necessary. Soon, though, he and his loyal detectives unearth some nasty goings-on. A famous horror novelist is found murdered in an alley the morning after a prestigious book launch. While attempting to quell the ensuing media frenzy, Burke and the team start to piece together the author's last movements, but initally their only lead is a drugged and confused prostitute with a memory problem. Soon evidence emerges that disputes the author's image as an upstanding citizen.
#19 - Judgement Day
Season 24 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/15/2008
Murder strikes close to home for the team when DCI Matt Burke's elderly father is found dead in suspicious circumstances. What appears to be a straightforward case of liver failure takes a sinister turn when it's discovered Andrew Burke died of a heroin overdose. Against police regulations, DCI Burke is determined to solve the case. But then some difficult questions arise - what is the significance of a two hundred thousand pound savings plan? And could Andrew's friends be in danger too?
#20 - Blood Money
Season 19 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/28/2002
A boxing promoter is found strangled, and while Ross breaks the news to his widow, Burke and Reid interview the previous night's fighters. The winning boxer, Corbett, turns out to be more than good friends with the widow, and the ringside doctor has attempted to destroy medical files. An old friend of the promoters is also called in and soon more information is found which leads to a chase in order to prevent any further deaths.
#21 - Abuse of Trust
Season 27 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/10/2010
When shipworkers' union leader Will Ramsay is shot dead in the middle of a labour dispute, corporate killing seems the most likely cause. But the real motivations lie much closer to home.
#22 - Bad Medicine
Season 27 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/3/2010
When a newly-qualified doctor is found tortured and mutilated in a vacant warehouse, the team discover connections with a drug-trafficking case.
#23 - Root of Evil
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/28/1988
Taggart and Jardine investigate when someone starts bumping off Glasgow's loan sharks.
#24 - Dead Giveaway
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/7/1988
A young boy staggers home from a youth club after boxing practice, only to fall into a creek and drown. The grieving father is called in to identify the body and when he is driven home the police find his wife slumped in the hallway. Dr. Stephen Andrews discovers both victims died of rat poisoning and suspicion immediately falls on the husband.
#25 - Death Call
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/2/1986
Taggart and his partner Peter Livingstone are called in to investigate the macabre killing of the wife of a wealthy landowner whose body is found strangled and weighed down with luggage in a reservoir. The husband was last seen preparing to go to Switzerland with a large sum of money in a holdall.