The BEST episodes of The Streets of San Francisco

Every episode of The Streets of San Francisco ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Streets of San Francisco!

A veteran cop with more than twenty years of experience is teamed with a young Inspector to solve crimes in San Francisco, California.

Last Updated: 1/15/2023Network:ABC (US)
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License to Kill
star
8.90
10 votes

#1 - License to Kill

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/5/1974

Stone's ex-partner comes to town with a deadly vendetta: kill the man who murdered his son.

Beyond Vengeance
star
8.82
11 votes

#2 - Beyond Vengeance

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/8/1973

after spending ""a lousy"" 12 years in prison for a rape / torture / murder, a young punk returns to san francisco to seek revenge against mike stone who was the arresting officer. for starters, the guy murders a girlfriend of mike stone's daughter..... so the killer is REALLY a sicko. the episode spends quite a lot of time on the supposed legal manuvers of the suspect to harrass without going over the line and getting arrested. its okay for hollywood, but the techniques used were fairly shallow and not really something that could be used and especially today. all ends well, though, and mike's daughter says 'bye daddy' as she rolls out on her busride back to her college in AZ.

Directors: Virgil Vogel
Watch Now:Amazon
Till Death Do Us Part
star
8.80
5 votes

#3 - Till Death Do Us Part

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/18/1976

Stone must protect a former book keeper's wife (Jessica Walter), in order to have her testify against several high profile mobsters who want her dead because of the evidence she has against them.

Directors: William Wiard
Watch Now:Amazon
The House on Hyde Street
star
8.76
17 votes

#4 - The House on Hyde Street

Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/1/1973

When a boy disappears after school, suspicion falls on the neighborhood recluse.

Writer: John Wilder
Most Likely to Succeed
star
8.70
10 votes

#5 - Most Likely to Succeed

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/18/1975

Lt. Michael Stone and Inspector Steven Keller investigate a murder committed at a all-boys prep school.

Directors: William Hale
Writer: John D. Hess
Chapel of the Damned
star
8.67
9 votes

#6 - Chapel of the Damned

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/17/1974

Stone and Keller work to crack a kidnap case where the mother is friends with an alleged psychic.

Directors: George McCowan
The Twenty-Five Caliber Plague
star
8.67
9 votes

#7 - The Twenty-Five Caliber Plague

Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/12/1974

A single .25 caliber pistol affects many lives in a single weekend.

Directors: Virgil Vogel
The Unicorn
star
8.62
13 votes

#8 - The Unicorn

Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 4/5/1973

A priest (Fr. Scarne) won't tell Stone where a murderer (Abel Hoffman) is hiding. Stakes are raised by drug smugglers looking for a stolen shipment of heroin.

The Drop
star
8.57
7 votes

#9 - The Drop

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/28/1976

Mike thinks he's a murder target when a kidnapper specifies that he deliver the ransom money.

Watch Now:Amazon
Trail of the Serpent
star
8.50
12 votes

#10 - Trail of the Serpent

Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/22/1973

A gang takes Mike Stone hostage after killing a policeman in an attempt to flee from a grocery store robbery. They want to trade Stone in for their leader, Buddy Sims.

Directors: John Badham
Cry Help!
star
8.50
8 votes

#11 - Cry Help!

Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/7/1974

A troubled teen from a broken home is suspected of shooting a friend's stepfather.

Watch Now:Amazon
Endgame
star
8.50
12 votes

#12 - Endgame

Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/23/1975

When Keller is injured by a gangster, Stone's thirst for vengeance results in his demotion to a beat cop.

Directors: Jerry Jameson
Writer: Albert Ruben
Watch Now:Amazon
The Honorable Profession
star
8.50
10 votes

#13 - The Honorable Profession

Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/15/1976

Robert Reed plays a ficticious doctor. During Act IV he packs up to leave town. The well-written episode begs the question whether Reed's character did more good than harm posing as a doctor.. Contributor: frank91165, nelsonexpert State: New

Directors: Harry Falk
River of Fear
star
8.46
13 votes

#14 - River of Fear

Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/13/1975

A twelve-year-old girl sets out to prove that he stepfather killer her mother.

Directors: Michael Caffey
Watch Now:Amazon
The Hard Breed
star
8.45
11 votes

#15 - The Hard Breed

Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/21/1974

Two "Gunsmoke" writers teamed on this modern-day Western set at a rodeo in San Francisco's Cow Palace. A bronc rider dies in what appears to be an accident. A rodeo clown looks around the scene after the police leave and discovers the rider's rope -- which was cut almost halfway through before it broke, leaving the bronc free to throw him. The police come back to investigate the scene, and before long the chief suspect is also murdered in another "accident."

Directors: Virgil Vogel
Writer: Ron Bishop
Hot Dog
star
8.43
7 votes

#16 - Hot Dog

Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/9/1976

Inpector Stone and Robbins go after a gang of thieves who use motor cycles to make there get away.

Directors: Virgil Vogel
Watch Now:Amazon
Act of Duty
star
8.43
21 votes

#17 - Act of Duty

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/18/1973

Roommate (played by Brenda Vaccaro) of a slain police officer agrees to be bait in a rape investigation. After Mike Stone kicks her off the case, she continues on her own, hurtling headlong into peril.

Directors: Lawrence Dobkin
Death and the Favored Few
star
8.42
12 votes

#18 - Death and the Favored Few

Season 2 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/14/1974

Stone and Keller investigate the murder of a society publisher whose method was to coerce subscriptions from wealthy clients by blackmailing them. The investigation leads the detective to a wealthy woman and her daughter, who were among the ones being blackmailed and who still have secrets to hide.

Directors: Virgil Vogel
Writer: Gene L. Coon
Shield of Honor
star
8.40
10 votes

#19 - Shield of Honor

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/15/1973

Detectives Stone and Keller investigate how a contract killer obtained inside information on the movement of a mob witness.

Directors: Eric Till
Writer: D.C. Fontana
Trail of Terror
star
8.40
10 votes

#20 - Trail of Terror

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/30/1975

Keller is pursued by killers as he transports a prisoner to jail.

Directors: Michael Preece
Writer: Jim Byrnes
Superstar
star
8.40
10 votes

#21 - Superstar

Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/4/1976

Stone clashes with an abrasive NYC cop who is on the trail of his partner's killer.

Directors: Virgil Vogel
Writer: Mort Fine
Watch Now:Amazon
Dead Lift
star
8.40
10 votes

#22 - Dead Lift

Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/5/1977

A bodybuilder's short temper causes murder.

Directors: Michael Preece
Writer: Larry Brody
The Albatross
star
8.38
13 votes

#23 - The Albatross

Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/15/1973

A father finds out that the man who murdered his son is released on a technicality.

The Thrill Killers (1)
star
8.38
8 votes

#24 - The Thrill Killers (1)

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/30/1976

Misguided radicals take a jury hostage in a case where corrupt ""movement leaders"" are being tried for murder.

Directors: Virgil Vogel
Writer: Cliff Gould
The Glass Dart Board
star
8.36
11 votes

#25 - The Glass Dart Board

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/18/1975

A psycopathic killer uses San Francisco High-rises as target practice.

Directors: Harry Falk
Writer: Sean Baine

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