A secretary discovers evidence of her boss' drug smuggling operation. She is murdered before the evidence can reach the police. Her widower is then set up as the killer.

Soon the husband is contacted by a mysterious Mr Chapel, who promises that the real culprit will be brought to justice. Chapel collects the favour of a former client, KC, who works at the DA's office, in order to get more information on the lawyer who helped to set the real villain free.

Chapel proceeds to threaten the lawyer, using an explosive car, a mirror and two keys.

KC is then set up as a hooker and sent to the drug smuggler. Chapel takes pictures of them, and then dumps a dead hooker in the drug smuggler's bath tub. He then uses the old divide and conquer technique to really get things going.

Cruel and Unusual

Kathleen York

Michael Madsen

James Frawley

John McNamara

David Simkins

Victim of Circumstances

FBI catches a suspected serial murderer through identification of his shoes. But after he's been jailed, evidence surfaces that exhonorates the suspect, and claims that the real serial murderer is dead. The FBI profiler, Dr Walker, doesn't want to admits his mistake and buries all evidence.

When Mr Chapel finds out about this, he and KC, blackmails the second in command at the FBI profiling division. Chapel then starts to harass Dr Walker over the phone, and teasing him about catching the wrong man.

He uses the favour of a client to make it appear that the killer has struck again, just to tick Dr Walker off, but Walker is no fool, and uses his knowledge to profile Chapel.

A young couple is framed for drug dealing, just so that the local sheriff can confiscate their boat. The husband protests and is shot. A deputy who doesn't like being involved in bloodshed is murdered and the body is hidden.

Then Chapel enters the picture. He starts by trying to sow dissension in the group - claiming that another deputy is talking to the feds, while the mayor's phone records say that he also has been talking to the police. Soon the group starts making demands on Chapel to back up his story, which may result in Chapel having to kill his client.

Eden

The only witness to a murder, Pam Broder, is stalked by the killer from inside the prison through anonymous threat letters. Then the killer is set free. Chapel decides she needs protection, and enlists the help of Chuck Bidally, an ex-cop.

But the killer, Hix, soon discovers that he's followed by Chapel, and evades him. He makes an attack on Pam, but in reality it's only a warning to Chapel.

The warning turns into reality when Pam's brother is framed, and then killed - inside the police station. Chapel seems always to be two steps behind, and Hix has only begun his mission...

Bitter End

During the protection of a witness and his wife in a arms deal trial, the wife is kidnapped. Now the witness isn't equally motivated to testify.

Chapel plans to put the claustrophobic arms dealer in a box to make him talk, but a zealous cop instead puts him in jail. Chapel enlists a guard inside the prison (from Bitter end) to help him play with the drug dealers mind. But can a crooked guard really be trusted?

And where will the racist gun buyers fit into all this?

Justice

One of KC's closest friends calls to tell KC that she's pregnant with married senator Hayworth. When she later tells Hayworth the news, he doesn't want anything to do with her. Crying, she drives off the road. The senator doesn't help her, but lets her die.

KC is set up at the senator's headquarters as a campaigne worker. At the same time the senator recieces a letter from someone who claims that he/she knows about the baby. Chapel poses as a trouble shooter sent from a friend of the senator's family

Things get worse for the senator after KC manages to copy miltary secrets, and makes the senator a suspect. Later Chapel contacts a known arms dealer to sell the secrets...

Ambition

KC and Chapel accidentally oversees a woman who claims that a man she meets on the street is colonel Oscar Ponce, a former war criminal from South America. Ponce tries to kill her. Chapel saves her, but she doesn't want Chapel's help - she's done hiding, she claims, so Chapel has to lock her up.

He enlists a State Department agent to trace Ponce's superior, general Romano, and says to Ponce that he's out to save their lives.

But Chapel hasn't counted on how strongly the south american woman wants revenge, and how cunning she is. Can he keep up?

Security

Two captains in the army rapes a woman, but somehow manages to escape conviction. Chuck Bidally, a former client of Chapel's, can't even convince the DA to reopen the case after the fingerprints get a match, since the statute of limitation has expired.

Bidally takes the case to Chapel, who gives the rapists a taste of their own medicine, by first making them feel isolated from the rest of the soldiers with a phony gay love letter. Later he sends a hooker after one of them in search for a ""Clinton corsage"".

Together with Bidally's planted evidence in one of their houses, and a colonel's crashed car, the rapists face a dire situation.

Dishonorable Discharge

A woman kills her husband (together with her brother - her lover), and claims it was done by her husband's ex-wife. The son knows who did it, but can't prove it. When KC finds out about it, she talks to her friend, Mr Chapel, who discovers that it's not their first time.

Mr Chapel gets an IRS agent to freeze all assets of the widow and her lover, and gives them a perfect new victim. But then the client comes back and talks to Detective Swain. Suddenly Chapel is in trouble...

Noir

IRS agent Gifford Marshall thinks that one of his dates has scorned him, and starts a hard investigation into her gallery, and even fakes evidence against her. It turns out that it's not his first time.

The woman, Theresa, meets Mr Chapel, who makes her the offer of helping her.

He starts by contacting Otto Carson, another IRS agent, and offers to be his ""get out of jail""-card, if he helps him create agent Marshall's perfect ""client"". So Chapel becomes spoiled millionaire Anthony Cooper, who dates Theresa, evades his taxes, and even is on the run.

KC is set up as Cooper's ex-wife, a cars saleswoman. In the meantime, Chapel uses Otto to steal things from IRS's confiscated goods. His coup de grace is buying a house for agent Marshall...

Vendetta

A young couple buys a house, but when they try to move in the house is already occupied. They try to prosecute the broker, Joe Budnick, but he claims that he doesn't know anything about it, and that he's just a shoe salesman.

Chapel contacts the couple and offers them his services, but the husband is less than enthusiastic. He gives in, and lets Chapel do his job.

The job starts with saving Budnick's next victim before he can ruin her. Budnick immediately smells a rat, and is taken to KC, who's set us as an insurance agent with a con in progress. Budnick wants in or he'll tell the police.

But then a client of Chapel's decides to say no, and Chapel is all out of tattoed, tough-looking bar-owners with dye packs in their cash registers...

Confidence

Mr Chapel meets a man with a bag full of money, but before the switch can be made, Chapel is shot.

He returns to KC and is treated by a vet. During his convalescence, we find out what led up to all this.

Chapel is after Harold Wabash, the judge in a mafia trial. Wabash is on the take, but Chapel intends to see that the mafia leader is tried and convicted, so he steals some of Wabash's money, and sends it back - after a trip through a paper shredder.

This leads Wabash to get help from a former hitman - the man who shot Chapel.

After Chapel gets well he captures the hitman, Garcose, and befriends him. He uses another client to make the mafia think that Wabash is a traitor, and then he gives Wabash a choice: do the right thing and you can still have your money, or else...

Judgment

Three friends in college wants to play a bit with the class nerd, and the girl makes a pass at him. But when the nerd thinks that he's going to get laid, instead he's ridiculed. But when he makes resistance, they hold him down, and a unfortunate blow by a baseball bat kills him... The three friends decides to bury him.

Ten years later the body is found, and Chapel makes it his business to find the culprits. He sends every classmate a baseball bat and studies their reaction. Soon the three friends has a reunion of their own. Then Chapel enters as Arnie, a naive stalker, that claims to have seen everything.

But the three friends doesn't want their lives ruined by a numbscull and decides to kill Arnie. But is there really an Arnie?

Clique

Ben Newton, a greedy young man, murders his father, but claims that is was done by a burglar. His sister, who saw the crime, tries to tell it in court, but Ben's lawyer makes it look like it's she who is greedy. And then there's Ben's friend who gives him an alibi.

Chapel starts to disturb Ben, but is hindered by Ben's young fan, a female computer whizz, who questions everything Chapel says. Finally she traces Chapel, and confronts him in his hotel room. She threatens to turn him over to the police, and Chapel agrees with her. He must be jailed...

But who will then release Ben's alibi? And what does a bedpan has to do with anything?

Critical

When a little girl suddenly loses consciousness, it is suspected that the grass fertilizer is the cause. The girl may die if the manufacturer doesn't give the doctors the formula.

But the manufacturer doesn't want to lose any profits, and hires a lawyer, Michael Dearborn, that buries all evidence - and even blackmails a scientist that wants to testify into going away for a long time.

Chapel uses a client to switch judges, but Dearborn seems to have every advantage against the prosecuting attorney, Bizzini, a slob with very litle experience.

It seems it's time to bring out the chain saw, the shovel, some pepper spray and a brand new eighteen-piece suit...

Legalese

An engineer, Darin Carver, invents a electricity-free lamp at home and gives it to some friends for testing. One of his former classsmates at MIT, now a millionaire computer engineer, Steven Jensen, tries to buy the patent but Carver declines.

Jensen's hitman, mr Hobbs, makes sure that the lamp starts several fires, and then Jensen introduces Carver's lamp as his own, improved version. Carver can't take the humiliation and commits suicide.

Chapel tries to access Jensen, but he's constantly guarded, and Chapel has to go via Jensen's secretary. As Jensen's temporary assistant, KC finds out that Jensen's company has to get lots of money since its resources is tied up in the lamp.

Then it's all a matter of spraying a shirt, sending a few e-mails, getting some plates for making new dollar bills, and replace a letter to some Japanese investors. The things you do for your friends...

Friends

The mysterious Mr. Chapel helps others to gain vengeance against criminals…

VENGEANCE UNLIMITED was an American crime drama series broadcast during 1998-1999 on ABC which lasted for just one season of sixteen episodes. The show starred Michael Madsen and Kathleen York. The show originally aired Thursdays at 8:00 pm up against NBC's Top 5 hits Friends and Jesse.

Cruel and Unusual

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Season 1 Episodes16

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