The BEST episodes written by Carroll O'connor

#1 - Citizen Trundel (1)

In the Heat of the Night - Season 3 - Episode 21

Harriet's sister is murdered on the orders of the wealthy white man who fathered her child.

#2 - Murray's Daughter

Archie Bunker's Place - Season 1 - Episode 17

Murray's estranged daughter suddenly shows up with a Puerto Rican husband and children on the way.

#3 - Ruda's Awakening

In the Heat of the Night - Season 5 - Episode 5

Virgil's Aunt Ruda is the only witness to a struggle between Bubba and a young robbery suspect that ends in the young mans death.But her prejudice against the police -- and Virgil clouds her memory of the incident.

#4 - First Girl

In the Heat of the Night - Season 3 - Episode 4

Sparta P.D. gets it's first black policewoman.

#5 - Even Nice People

In the Heat of the Night - Season 6 - Episode 20

Corrupt developers set their sights on Lana's farm. When she refuses to sell they enlist the services of an arsonist to force her out.

#6 - A Problem Too Personal

In the Heat of the Night - Season 4 - Episode 9

Harriet and Eugene are devastated after Gene's father is arrested for murder.

#7 - The Landlord

In the Heat of the Night - Season 5 - Episode 12

A drug dealing slumlord is murdered by his accomplices.

#8 - Poor Relations

In the Heat of the Night - Season 7 - Episode 21

Comedic episode in which Parker's ne'er-do-well stepfather returns to Sparta with a new wife, a stolen painting and two inept art thieves who are determined to steal the painting back.

#9 - King's Ransom

In the Heat of the Night - Season 3 - Episode 10

The F.B.I. tries to talk an ex-boxer into testifying against a mobster he once worked for, but the fighter sees the situation as an opportunity for blackmail.

#10 - A Correct Settling

In the Heat of the Night - Season 6 - Episode 22

Eugene hopes a well known minister can save his father from Death Row.But someone runs the Reverend off the road on his way into town and the Sparta police try to protect him and track down his assailent.Meanwhile Harriet struggles with what her part in her ex-husbands appeal should be and is even more unsettled when Eugene demands that she break up with Bill.

#11 - Just A Country Boy

In the Heat of the Night - Season 4 - Episode 20

Bubba travels to Los Angeles to arrest an arsonist.When the man is murdered to keep him from talking Bubba teams up with a pretty insurance investigator to solve the crime.

#12 - No Other Road

In the Heat of the Night - Season 4 - Episode 21

Harriet tries to keep Eugene from giving up when his father faces the death penalty.And the police search for three suspects in connection to a robbery/murder.

#13 - Ches and the Grand Lady

In the Heat of the Night - Season 7 - Episode 16

Lonnie must protect his Aunt Cordelia when her cherished friendship with Ches Collins angers one of his cousins.

#14 - Hatton's Turn (1)

In the Heat of the Night - Season 7 - Episode 2

Hampton Forbes assumes the office of Chief of Police and Bill becomes the Sheriff of Newman county.Former Spartan Wade Hatton returns to Sparta hoping to make sense of his life and rekindle his relationship with Sarah Hallisey.Bubba and Covey take the new chief on a tour of Sparta and Bill takes Wade to visit some distant cousins.Meanwhile two young criminals involve a mentally handicapped young man in a terrible crime.

#15 - Random's Child

In the Heat of the Night - Season 6 - Episode 6

Lana Gillespie comes to Sparta to claim her inheritance,but is stalked by a mobster who dated her mother.Meanwhile Harriet encourages Bill to talk to his daughter,but Lana doesn't seem to be interested.Officer Randy Goode helps keep the bad guys at bay by playing them a little tune on the guitar.

#16 - When the Music Stopped

In the Heat of the Night - Season 6 - Episode 9

Singer Eddie Larran returns to Sparta for a concert,but not everyone is a fan.An angry man insists that Eddie owes him money.And their dispute soon ends in violence.

#17 - Leftover Man (2)

In the Heat of the Night - Season 6 - Episode 17

#18 - Hatton's Turn (2)

In the Heat of the Night - Season 7 - Episode 3

Wade and Sarah try to keep young Henry from being punished for a crime he did not commit and Forbes and his officers search for the two men who are really responsible.

#19 - Give Me Your Life (1)

In the Heat of the Night - Season 7 - Episode 23

Bill and Harriet travel to New Orleans for their honeymoon.Forbes learns that a cult which has rented an old school building may be involved in child abuse and other illegal activities.While inspecting the premises Bubba and Dee rescue a frightened young girl.Bubba finds a foster home for the girl but the girl's mother tries to regain custody in court - with Sarah Hallisey as their attorney.

#20 - A Turning

In the Heat of the Night - Season 4 - Episode 22

Althea thinks Virgil needs a new line of work after seeing the aftermath of a deadly shooting at a roadhouse.Virgil finds himself in danger when they arrest the man who committed the crime.

#21 - Give Me Your Life (2)

In the Heat of the Night - Season 7 - Episode 24

Bill and Harriet return home. The cult kidnaps the girl from her foster home. Forbes and his men arrest a man who has been supplying drugs used to keep the cult members under control.Soon a standoff develops and the officers realize that they have no intention of surrendering. Sarah is taken hostage.As they attempt to rescue the women and children Lonnie and Parker find themselves defusing a bomb and Bubba risks his life to rescue a small child from the building.

#22 - Leftover Man (1)

In the Heat of the Night - Season 6 - Episode 16

A white supremacist politician plans to have his wife's lover murdered and blame it on black radicals.