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The Best Episodes of S.W.A.T. Season 1

Every episode of S.W.A.T. Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of S.W.A.T. Season 1!

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S.W.A.T. is an American action/crime drama series about the adventures of a Special Weapons And Tactics team operating in an unidentified California city. A spin-off of The Rookies, the series aired on ABC from February

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 1 - The Killing Ground
    7.3/10(111 votes)

    #1 - The Killing Ground

    S1:E1

    Street's partner, officer Rob Duran, is killed in the premeditated police assassination by two brothers bent on revenging their father's death. That and subsequent police killings serve to shape the psychology of Lt. Dan ""Hondo"" Harrelson's newly formed Special Weapons and Tactics team, ""S.W.A.T."" The team's task is to combat high risk, contemporary, urban crime as a strike force. The team consists of James Street, David ""Deacon"" Kay, T.J.. McCabe, Dominic Luca, and Harrelson. ""S.W.A.T.""'s first assignment is an acid test of their ability to survive as individuals and as a team. Their rigorous training is literally a fight against time.

    Director:Harry Falk
    Writer:Rick Husky

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  2. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 2 - Coven of Killers
    7.8/10(76 votes)

    #2 - Coven of Killers

    S1:E2

    A convicted murderer's Manson-style "family" engineers his prison escape, but after executing a D.A., this maniacal leader sends a cryptic message to Hondo, naming him as his next victim, along with the jury who found him guilty.

    Directors:George McCowan, Harry Falk
    Writers:Robert Hamner, Skip Webster

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  3. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 3 - Death Carrier
    8.0/10(68 votes)

    #3 - Death Carrier

    S1:E3

    In order to nab a mysterious sniper who's been murdering a series of men a young model has been dating, Street poses as the beautiful woman's latest boyfriend to lure the sniper out of hiding.

    Directors:George McCowan, Harry Falk
    Writer:Robert Hamner

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  4. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 4 - Pressure Cooker
    7.2/10(60 votes)

    #4 - Pressure Cooker

    S1:E4

    While the S.W.A.T. unit has their hands full foiling both a heist and a kidnapping, a beautiful but nosy reporter arrives at police headquarters, spending a few days with S.W.A.T. members to write an investigative piece.

    Director:George McCowan
    Writers:Robert Hamner, Walter Black

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  5. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 5 - Hit Men
    7.6/10(55 votes)

    #5 - Hit Men

    S1:E5

    After a convicted felon agrees to expose a crime syndicate's dirty laundry before a Senate committee, he learns that a Mafia "hit" has been placed on his life, and he is wounded in an ambush en route from the penitentiary.

    Directors:George McCowan, Earl Bellamy
    Writers:Fred Freiberger, David P. Harmon

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  6. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 6 - Jungle War
    7.5/10(52 votes)

    #6 - Jungle War

    S1:E6

    When a veteran police officer who served with Hondo in Vietnam lobbies to fill in for ailing "Deacon" Kay, Hondo thinks he's the right man for the job - until urban combat dredges up jungle-warfare memories for the embattled vet, triggering a nervous breakdown that risks jeopardizing the entire team.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 7 - Death Score
    7.6/10(49 votes)

    #7 - Death Score

    S1:E7

    A fanatical terrorist group poses as a documentary crew in a scheme to hold a professional basketball team hostage during its championship game, demanding a multi-million dollar ransom for their cause.

    Directors:George McCowan, Earl Bellamy
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 8 - Time Bomb
    8.2/10(51 votes)

    #8 - Time Bomb

    S1:E8

    Street and his girl friend are trapped in a deserted movie studio planted with bombs by an embittered movie stuntman.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 9 - The Bravo Enigma
    7.3/10(61 votes)

    #9 - The Bravo Enigma

    S1:E9

    After an assassination attempt on a Senator's life is foiled by S.W.A.T., a criminal mastermind enlists globetrotting assassin Bravo to finish the job. Hondo's unit may have met their match hunting down this human time bomb, as the elusive hit man unwittingly spreads a deadly plague around L.A.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 10 - The Steel Plated Security Blanket
    6.3/10(43 votes)

    #10 - The Steel Plated Security Blanket

    S1:E10

    As Hondo Harrelson and the S.W.A.T. team investigate the theft of an armored car, T.J. McCabe is spending his lunch hour with his fiancée, Susan, who is public relations representative for the Miss American Beauty Pageant. As Miss New Mexico tries on the crown and scepter, the armored car thieves attempt to steal the jewels, taking Susan and Miss New Mexico as hostages.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 11 - Omega One
    7.1/10(40 votes)

    #11 - Omega One

    S1:E11

    Zealous student activists, inspired by a non-aggression philosophy class Street attends, steal a cache of guns and take control of a chemical plant to protest bio-terrorism, threatening to blow it up unless they receive a million-dollar ransom.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 12 - Blind Man's Bluff
    7.1/10(39 votes)

    #12 - Blind Man's Bluff

    S1:E12

    While leading the team in the rescue of several women being held hostage by two known killers in a massage parlor, Hondo is grazed by a bullet across his temple. He refuses to take time off for tests until dizziness and blurred vision force him temporarily to relinquish his command to Lt. Purcell, an officer whose methods and personality have a demoralizing effect on the S.W.A.T. team.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. S.W.A.T. Season 1 Episode 13 - Sole Survivor
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Sole Survivor

    S1:E13

    A gang of ex-convicts, led by their former parole officer, utilizing his familiarity with S.W.A.T. procedures, invades a heavily guarded rare coin auction and makes off with two million dollars is gold in "Sole Survivor." After making a careful study of S.W.A.T. methods, Frank Hunter, a recently dismissed parole officer, recruits a group of ex-convicts with special skills. Then, after setting off a series of false S.W.A.T. calls throughout the city, Hunter and his well-armed specialists help themselves to a fortune in rare gold coins.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"The Killing Ground" is the best rated episode of "S.W.A.T." season 1. It scored 7.3/10 based on 111 votes. Directed by Harry Falk and written by Rick Husky, it aired on 2/24/1975. This episode is rated 0.5 points higher than the second-best, "Coven of Killers".