The WORST episodes of Taggart
Every episode of Taggart ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst 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 - The Friday Event
Season 18 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/15/2002
A student dies when he falls from a roof at a top Glasgow school and a journalist reveals that the death is drugs related. But then the journalist is found dead. He's been having an affair with the paper's editor who becomes chief suspect. When another student dies however, the Strathclyde team discover that a psychopath is on the loose, and he's been under their noses all the time.
#2 - Tenement
Season 23 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/30/2007
When an activist is found murdered in her tenement flat suspicion falls on a local property developer, who planned to demolish the building and was met with strong criticism by the campaigner. Meanwhile, DI Ross is focusing his attention on a hit and run case, which angers his superiors.
#3 - The Best and the Brightest
Season 22 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/29/2006
When a research student is found dead in a university science lab following a severe anaphylactic shock, the evidence suggests that her food has been deliberately contaminated. Traces of highly concentrated nut oil are found at the scene, but there seems to be no clear motive for her murder. Then another student dies in a suspicious accident the following day and Burke and the team realise that a calculating killer is at work within the university.
#4 - Law
Season 22 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/22/2006
The murder of a teenage girl leads the team to travelers working at a nearby fairground.
#5 - A Death Foretold
Season 22 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/30/2005
A student is found dead in an alley, and evidence suggests that it was a drug deal that turned violent. They soon discover that the victim has links with a parish priest, who seems to have a lot more to hide than the sanctity of the confessional. The case soon becomes more complicated when a second murder occurs.
#6 - Crossing the Line
Season 24 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/15/2008
Preparations are underway for a new museum in the former mining community of Garsden on the outskirts of Glasgow. The museum will be on the site of a long disused coal mine, closed twenty five years before, just before the miners' strike. But when the shaft is opened up, two skeletons are found - a man and a woman in the same position as they died a quarter of a century earlier. Were they buried alive? Who are they? How did they get there - and were they murdered?
#7 - Lifeline
Season 24 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/30/2008
When the body of a man is discovered in a garage with the engine of his car still running, it appears at first to be a simple case of suicide. The victim worked as a volunteer at a helpline centre dealing with potential suicide victims, and his wife is adamant her husband would never take his own life.
#8 - The Caring Game
Season 24 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/14/2008
When the decomposing body of a young woman is discovered in her bath, initial enquiries at her workplace uncover very little. Reid does not warm to her estate agent boss, while Fraser discovers that she was gifting a significant amount of her less-than-generous salary to charity, but why would that make her a murder target? Meanwhile, Ross learns that his estranged wife is planning to emigrate to Canada with his son, and realises he has a tough choice to make between his family and the job he loves.
#9 - Homesick
Season 24 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/8/2008
Zbigniew Lisowski, a Polish migrant worker, is found shot at the building site where he worked as a security guard. Hours later, the body of hotel receptionist Kate Booth is discovered - with strikingly similar gunshot wounds. When investigations reveal that Kate - aka Kasia - was also Polish, the team have to consider whether a racially-motivated killer is at large.
#10 - Safer
Season 24 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/3/2008
A campaigner against domestic violence is murdered and the prime suspect is an apparently reformed man whose violent behaviour once drove his ex-wife to almost kill him in self defence. Although the team is able to build a solid case against him, the investigation is put in jeopardy when Ross suffers a moment of madness.
#11 - Genesis
Season 24 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/8/2008
A woman is killed on her way to a fertility clinic which religious protesters are targeting. Reid finds herself leading the team to find her killer.
#12 - The Thirteenth Step
Season 23 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/17/2007
Ex-con Eddie Monroe is found stabbed in a Govan alleyway. Burke meets Angus Ford - a retired police officer who was responsible for Monroe's arrest and subsequent convictions - who remains adamant that Monroe was a bad man who deserved to die. But who was his killer? All roads keep leading back to old acquaintance Daniel Tulloch and his family. In the course of uncovering the truth Burke is forced to face some demons of his own.
#13 - Users and Losers
Season 23 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/3/2007
A gambler is found dead, and it is discovered that he had thousands of pounds stashed in his flat, leading the team to suspect that he was part of an illegal betting scam. The wife of the owner then gets killed out riding and the investigation heats up further. Meanwhile, Burke is convinced that a former heroin addict and petty criminal has changed, until he is left with a decision to either arrest a killer or do a deal to catch a more major criminal.
#14 - Cause and Effect
Season 22 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/16/2005
An young trophy wife from the Clydeside sailing fraternity is murdered and the victim's husband falls under suspicion, but then two more bodies turn up it is clear they are searching for a different killer. Meanwhile, Burke is reunited with an old flame.
#15 - Pinnacle
Season 23 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/4/2007
When Terry Brogan, an alcoholic cancer sufferer, is accused of bludgeoning his wife to death, D.S. Reid finds it difficult to believe that he is guilty of murder, and she sets out to prove his innocence - despite compelling evidence to the contrary. But as the net closes in on the murderer, her irrational sympathy threatens to jeopardise the whole case.
#16 - Watertight
Season 18 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/8/2002
The discovery of the body of an underage prostitute causes Ross to go after a long time nemesis with renewed vigour. This decision sets into motion a chain of events which not only puts the Inspectors career in jeopardy but also numerous lives.
#17 - Fire, Burn
Season 18 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/11/2002
When a body is found in the basement of a burnt-out factory, Burke realises that his arson case has become much more interesting than originally thought and uses the case to test his officers. While Fraser attempts to identify the dead man, Burke and Ross pressurise their prime suspect - rival factory owner Scott Dewar
#18 - Death Trap
Season 18 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/4/2002
The police are dealing with a bizarre case and as Michael Jardine seems to be one step ahead of his friends, it results in a tragedy that will affect everyone at the police department after they discover the truth.
#19 - Football Crazy
Season 17 - Episode 4 - Aired 12/1/2000
Jardine and the team investigate a series of murky going-ons at a football club whose lack of success on the pitch is matched by an unaccountably high death rate among its employees. Jardine and the team investigate.
#20 - Wavelength
Season 17 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/21/2000
A therapist returns home after his late-night radio phone-in show to find his wife murdered. Jardine and the team investigate.
#21 - Ghost Rider
Season 17 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/16/2000
A charred body is found in a car, leading the team into a web of police corruption and cover-ups. Jardine, Reid, Fraser and Ross investigate.
#22 - For Their Sins
Season 16 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/21/1999
Jardine and the team investigate the murders of drug dealers in the Glasgow community.
#23 - A Fistful of Chips
Season 16 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/7/1999
A delivery van is hijacked and its contents stolen. But there's more going on than meets the eye, and meanwhile, someone's knocking off anyone who knows about the hijack, which doesn't include the police! Once again Robbie's past catches up with him and he comes close to crossing the line.
#24 - Fearful Lightning
Season 16 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/21/1999
A string of people are murdered by electrocution. All of these people are in some way connected to with a local (and popular) spiritualist, who claims he can speak with the dead. When the Taggart team disbelieve the man's powers, the clairvoyant gives them frighteningly accurate messages from a man very dear to their hearts--Jim Taggart! Meanwhile, the murders begin to pile up, and Taggart team race to find the murderer, this time aided by Jim Taggart himself.
#25 - Bloodlines
Season 16 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/16/1999
Susan Keller is released to howls of protest after serving a life sentence for the murder of an entire family when she was just a teenager. Forced into hiding she accepts an offer of a country retreat. Fearing that it may be a trap the Taggart team are assigned as protection. When members of Kellars are murdered one by one it is clear that someone is taking revenge. The team begin the hunt for the killer - is it Kellers annonymous benefactor or someone closer to home?