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The Best Episodes of Picket Fences

Every episode of Picket Fences ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Picket Fences!

Binge this in 2d 14h•Peaking at 8.6/10

An aging Sheriff tries to keep the peace in Rome, Wisconsin, a small town plagued by bizarre and violent crimes.

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Seasons4

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Picket Fences Season 1 Episode 14 - Bad Moons Rising
    8.6/10(121 votes)

    S1:E14

    When Alice Freeman is charged with murder in the death of her husband, Wambaugh defends her by claiming insanity as the result of menopause. Brock's son, Matthew, begins to experience puberty.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Picket Fences Season 1 Episode 17 - Be My Valentine
    8.5/10(125 votes)

    S1:E17

    Deputy Max goes undercover when a response to her personal ad leads her to believe that she is being targeted by a serial killer known as "Cupid."

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Picket Fences Season 3 Episode 22 - The Song of Rome
    8.4/10(100 votes)

    S3:E22

    After Father Gary Barrett is shot and killed during a robbery at the church, Mayor Bey proposes holding a spring musical pageant to help pull the community out of its somber mood

    Director:Michael Pressman
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Picket Fences Season 3 Episode 9 - For Whom the Wind Blows
    8.3/10(61 votes)

    S3:E9

    While Brian Latham continues to proclaim his innocence, Kenny and Max review the evidence of the case and begin to believe he is telling the truth. Jimmy turns 55 and suffers a midlife crisis.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Picket Fences Season 3 Episode 16 - Heroes and Villains
    8.3/10(92 votes)

    S3:E16

    The hearing impaired Dancing Bandit is arrested when she visits Zach on his birthday. Federal authorities want her trial to be set in Rome, where the jury reaches a surprising verdict.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Picket Fences Season 1 Episode 9 - Thanksgiving
    8.2/10(124 votes)

    S1:E9

    Jill's father arrives in Rome with his new 26-year-old girlfriend. Wambaugh finds his wife in bed with another man.

    Director:Michael Pressman
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Picket Fences

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  7. Picket Fences Season 2 Episode 1 - Turpitude
    8.2/10(79 votes)

    S2:E1

    Mayor Pugen kills a carjacker after the carjacker drops his weapon and Sheriff Brock must decide whether to press murder charges. When he does, the new district attorney has to choose how to prosecute the case.

    Director:Michael Pressman
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Picket Fences Season 2 Episode 5 - The Dancing Bandit
    8.2/10(114 votes)

    S2:E5

    Jill and Zack are among the hostages taken by a group of bank robbers led by a deaf woman (Marlee Matlin) who calls herself "the Dancing Bandit." Jimmy works with the FBI to stop the standoff, but the group proves far craftier than anyone expected.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Picket Fences Season 2 Episode 17 - Squatter's Rights
    8.2/10(68 votes)

    S2:E17

    A 500-pound woman confesses to murdering her husband by sitting on his head. Douglas Wambaugh is expelled from his synagogue and seeks a ruling in a Jewish religious court to be reinstated.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Picket Fences Season 3 Episode 17 - Changing of the Guard
    8.2/10(88 votes)

    S3:E17

    Jimmy goes outside of his department to get the help he needs to find Ed Lawson, who is wanted for murder. Meanwhile, the town launches its own search to find a new mayor, and Kenny and Max are caught kissing on the job.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Picket Fences Season 3 Episode 19 - Final Judgement
    8.2/10(60 votes)

    S3:E19

    When Jill is found guilty of physician-assisted suicide, Wambaugh insists that Judge Bone put the issue of euthanasia on trial. Meanwhile, Kenny and Carter discover that Zack has been killing swans in a nearby pond.

    Director:Michael Pressman
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Picket Fences Season 1 Episode 11 - Pageantry
    8.1/10(109 votes)

    S1:E11

    A rabbi seeks to block the town from staging a religiously-themed Christmas pageant on public property. The town is shocked to learn that beloved teacher Louise Talbot, scheduled to play the Virgin Mary in the pageant, is a post-operative transsexual.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Picket Fences Season 2 Episode 11 - Guns 'R' Us
    8.1/10(69 votes)

    S2:E11

    Matthew's attempts to get revenge for a humiliation by some high-school bullies by threatening them with a gun takes an unexpected turn, which lands one of them in the hospital and Matthew in jail for attempted murder. Meanwhile, Mayor Harris' decision to roll back deputy salaries inspires a round of "blue flu" with Kenny and Maxine.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Picket Fences Season 3 Episode 2 - Systematic Abuse
    8.1/10(61 votes)

    S3:E2

    District Attorney Littleton and defense lawyer Douglas Wambaugh prepare for the upcoming murder trial of Brian Latham. Littleton is concerned that his case will be hampered by the absence of hard evidence.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Picket Fences Season 3 Episode 8 - May It Please the Court
    8.1/10(59 votes)

    S3:E8

    Wambaugh realizes the dream of a lifetime when he presents oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Picket Fences Season 4 Episode 6 - Heart of Saturday Night
    8.1/10(68 votes)

    S4:E6

    It is Saturday night in Rome, and the townspeople are looking at various ways to spend the evening. Matthew cruises the town with his friends. Jimmy and Jill make an attempt at romance. Judge Bone and Wambaugh play poker, but one of the men in their group drops dead. Note- In 1997 TV Guide ranked this episode number 96 on it's '100 Greatest Episodes of All Time' list.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Picket Fences Season 1 Episode 18 - Fetal Attraction
    8.0/10(88 votes)

    S1:E18

    Jill enlists her former fiancé to perform a fetal transplant on a patient with Parkinson's disease over the objections of the town hospital. Jimmy feels threatened when he catches Jill and her former fiancé exchanging a kiss

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Picket Fences Season 1 Episode 1 - Picket Fences
    7.9/10(215 votes)

    S1:E1

    A beloved local man is killed during a stage production of The Wizard of Oz. Suspicion initially falls on the town pharmacist when the sheriff learns the dead man was having an affair with the pharmacist's daughter. The dead man's wife confesses but her confession is suppressed in court. She is then murdered and the Sheriff's department discovers that she and the pharmacist conspired to kill her husband and then the pharmacist killed her.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Picket Fences Season 1 Episode 12 - High Tidings
    7.9/10(101 votes)

    S1:E12

    When the Brock family inadvertently finds Kimberly having sex with her 19-year-old boyfriend on Christmas Eve, Jimmy wants to prosecute him for statutory rape. A man claiming to be Santa Claus takes Max and dispatcher Ginny hostage and Jimmy tries to talk him down.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Picket Fences Season 1 Episode 15 - Nuclear Meltdowns
    7.9/10(108 votes)

    S1:E15

    When her friend becomes pregnant, Kimberly fears that she is the victim of incest. However, the man purporting to be her father is actually her husband and they are involved in a polygamous relationship. Max investigates a religious sect that engages in animal sacrifice. Guest Stars: Liz and Jean Sagal

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Picket Fences Season 1 Episode 16 - The Body Politic
    7.9/10(105 votes)

    S1:E16

    A fugitive doctor seeks a court order to allow him to keep his brain-dead wife on life support to allow her to bring her pregnancy to term. The mayor fires the town dentist for refusing to disclose that he is HIV-positive. Guest Stars: Liz and Jean Sagal

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Picket Fences Season 1 Episode 22 - The Lullaby League
    7.9/10(88 votes)

    S1:E22

    Max delivers a baby and begins adoption procedures when the natural mother disappears. Jill transplants a pig's liver into a blues vocalist after the woman collapses on stage. Guest star: Della Reese.

    Director:Michael Pressman
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Picket Fences Season 2 Episode 9 - Blue Christmas
    7.9/10(68 votes)

    S2:E9

    A locker search for drugs at the local high school leads to the arrest of Kimberly's best friend, Lisa Fenn. Meanwhile, a protected Federal witness turns up in Rome which leaves Sheriff Brock and his force concerned. Also, Carter has a melancholy reunion with his brother when he arrives in Rome for the funeral of their mother.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Picket Fences Season 2 Episode 16 - Terms of Estrangement
    7.9/10(77 votes)

    S2:E16

    Kimberly is kidnapped and held hostage by a man (Louis Gossett, Jr.) who wants revenge over her father, Sheriff Brock.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Picket Fences Season 2 Episode 22 - Howard's End
    7.9/10(71 votes)

    S2:E22

    Howard Buss' Alzheimer's disease worsens and his anguished son Kevin shoots him to death. Kevin is put on trial for murder.

    Director:David Hugh Jones
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Bad Moons Rising" is the best rated episode of "Picket Fences". It scored 8.6/10 based on 121 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/15/1993. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Be My Valentine".