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 - Fatal Inheritance
Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/1/1993
When Dr Janet Napier walks free from court on a "Not Proven" verdict, Taggart begins a more personal investigation. However as more murders are commited Taggart must admit that even he might have been wrong about the good doctors guilt.
#2 - Dead Reckoning
Season 14 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/15/1998
An 'escort agency' woman is found brutally murdered in a hotel carpark. At the same time the daughter of a well known ex-army colonel goes missing. Are the two linked or is it just coincidence? While Jardine and Fraser try to unravel the mystery surrounding the murder and the disappearance, Jackie goes undercover at 'Executive Adventures' to keep tabs on the main suspect. But has Jackie's cover been blown and is her life in danger from the real murderer?
#3 - Bloodsport
Season 27 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/31/2010
The murder of a boxer leads the team into a murky world of cage fighting, illegal gambling and lap dancing. And Ross's own gambling addiction is exposed
#4 - 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.
#5 - Island
Season 24 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/27/2008
A mutilated body is discovered on a remote island, and Ross and Reid leave Glasgow to investigate, but find that the inhabitants are wary of outsiders and seem reluctant to assist them. They return to Glasgow with the body, while Burke and Fraser make some headway and manage to connect the victim to a drugs racket in South American. Then another person on the island goes missing, and the team has to consider how much the drug dealing has infiltrated the remote community.
#6 - Forbidden Fruit
Season 10 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/1/1994
Joan Matheson arrives in Glasgow to be with her daughter who is expecting her first child. However, she reacts very badly when she learns the baby has been conceived by donor insemination. Shortly after she is found murdered and suspicion falls on her son in law whom she blamed and humiliated at a family meeting.
#7 - Funeral Rites
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/9/1987
The discovery of a charred corpse in a disused railway tunnel sets Taggart on the gruesome hunt for a ruthless killer in an investigation with sinister undertones of black magic and voodoo. The wife of an arthritic dentist narrowly escapes a series of murder attempts, adding to a complex case for Taggart and his team.
#8 - Dead Man's Chest
Season 13 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/19/1996
A 15-year-old gold bullion robbery leads DI Jardine and the team on a race against time as one by one the robbers are murdered. With pirates, treasure chests and secret maps to buried treasure muddying the waters, will the team be able to solve the murders and find the lost treasure before the last robber is murdered and buried with his secrets?
#9 - Fact and Fiction
Season 25 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/24/2009
When a new novel includes the detailed description of a murder the same of that which belongs to an unsolved case, the team start to think the story's writer could of been involved in the murder. Burke tries unsuccessfully to find evidence to link the author to the crime but remains determined to bring him down.
#10 - Cold Blood
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/31/1987
A woman shoots her husband dead after discovering that he has been having an affair. DCI Taggart thinks he has the easiest case of his career, however it soon becomes the complete opposite when the post mortem reveals that he was already dead before he was shot, and that his wife could not be responsible.
#11 - 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?
Watch Now:Amazon#12 - Rogues' Gallery
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/31/1990
When a body is found in the boot of a car being crushed in a scrap metal yard, DCI Taggart and DS Jardine are called to investigate. The grisly details are repeated shortly after when a second body is found in the same scrapyard. Taggart and Jardine investigate a link between drugs and the art world.
#13 - Double Jeopardy
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/30/1988
Feature-length single episode. When the body of Rowena Bain is discovered in a wood, the forensic evidence suggests that Bain committed suicide, just as she was due to move to Germany with her family. DCI Taggart is suspicious, and he soon discovers that the victim's sister thinks that Rowena's husband, Maurice, is responsible for her murder.
#14 - Murder in Season
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/23/1985
Glamorous opera singer, Eleanor Samson, returns to Glasgow, her home town, to sing with Scottish Opera. She hopes to bring about a reconciliation with her estranged husband, John, but she is furious to discover that there is a new woman in John's life - blonde, attractive Kirsty King. When Kirsty's body is found in the burnt out shell of John's boat, Eleanor Samson is the prime suspect. Jim Taggart, tough Glasgow detective and his smooth assistant, Peter Livingstone, fall out over the case. Livingstone believes that Eleanor is guilty; Taggart cannot believe that a woman like Eleanor could be a murderess. Is Taggart allowing his judgement to be clouded by Eleanor's fame and beauty?
#15 - Double Exposure
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/30/1992
Racial violence or something more sinister? The Taggart team are baffled by murders with no connection other than a possible racial link. Or is it something not so obvious to the all seeing eye?
#16 - Death Without Dishonour
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/11/1993
The Taggart team are responsible for protecting witnesses involved in a "cab war" trial. It seems there may be a hidden agenda when the prosecuting barrister is found murdered.
#17 - Secrets
Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/6/1994
Cameron Friel arrives in Glasgow to attend a literary award hosted by Prof Maggi McLeish. At the ceremony, Friel receives a bullet in an envelope, and Taggart investigates who the sender might be. Meanwhile, Jake Koslewski returns from a charity mission to Romania to discover his wife, an alcohol counselor, has left him for George Proctor, a previous client.
#18 - Prayer for the Dead
Season 11 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/11/1995
Supt McVitie is taken to hospital with a heart attack after a heated argument with Taggart. His wife reacts very badly to Taggart's temporary promotion to Acting Superintendent, and takes it out on the whole team. Meanwhile, Reid and Jardine begin investigating the death of drug addict, Scott Graham, who fell from a balcony during a drug fueled party.
#19 - Babushka
Season 13 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/4/1997
The murder of a wealthy local businessman leads DI Jardine and the team to investigate an agency involved in supplying mail order brides and women to order. As Glasgow takes on somewhat of a 'Russian Flavour', Jardine, Reid and Fraser attempt to uncover the mystery involving the Anastasia Agency and who is responsible for the businessman's murder.
#20 - Berserker
Season 14 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/1/1998
Illegal body building drugs combined with mind bending additives cause a series of deaths around the muscle scene in Glasgow. In a race against time to find the source of the deadly drug the Maryhill team call on the help of a famous chemistry professor at the University. But is he helping or is he the source of the drug?
#21 - 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?
Watch Now:Amazon#22 - 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.
Watch Now:Amazon#24 - Falling in Love
Season 17 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/10/2001
Davie O'Connor is taking his first parachute jump with members from his local tango club. When the chute fails to open, he plummets to a grisly death. DCI Jardine discovers the line was cut, but also that the victim had terminal cancer. Suspicion immediately falls on Marie Doherty, his fiancée who now stands to inherit a lot of money.
Watch Now:Amazon
#25 - Root Of Evil
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/28/1988
Taggart and Jardine investigate when someone starts bumping off Glasgow's loan sharks.