Picket Fences

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

Cast:Kathy Baker , Tom Skerritt , Lauren Holly , Costas Mandylor , Holly Marie Combs , Justin Shenkarow , Adam Wylie , Fyvush Finkel , Ray Walston , Kelly Connell , Zelda Rubinstein , Don Cheadle , Dabbs Greer , Roy Brocksmith , Leigh Taylor-Young , Michael Keenan , Roy Dotrice , Marlee Matlin

1Season 1

S1.E1 ∙ Pilot

Fri, Sep 18, 1992

In the small town of Rome, Wisconsin, the daily life of the quiet townspeople is disrupted when the Tin Man drops dead during a local production the "The Wizard of Oz" due to nicotine poisoning. Sheriff Jimmy Brock's investigation to the "accident" is further complicated by the fact that his wife, Jill, the local physician, has privileged information pertinent to the case. Meanwhile, Officer Kenny Lacos and Sheriff Brock's daughter, Kimberly, from his first marriage, make the acquaintance of a lounge singer passing through town. The other members of Sheriff Brock's family are his and Jill's sons; the borderline juvenile delinquent Matthew, and the sensitive young Zack. The authority figures introduced are the elderly defense and semi-senile public defender Douglas Wambaugh, the stern Judge Henry Bone, fellow police officers Lacos and Maxine Stewart, and the elderly dwarf receptionist Ginny.

2Season 1

S1.E2 ∙ The Green Bay Chopper

Fri, Sep 25, 1992

At a school show-and-tell exhibit, a student brings in a detached human hand, which alerts Sheriff Brock and his department that a serial killer, called the Green Bay Chopper, has come to town, and Maxine is reluctant to hand the investigation over to an shady FBI agent whom she thinks knows a little more than he knows about the case.

3Season 1

S1.E3 ∙ Mr. Dreeb Comes to Town

Fri, Oct 2, 1992

Maxine gets very involved with a diminutive circus dwarf who has arrived in Rome with a stolen elephant he claims was being abused in the circus. Meanwhile, Jill and Kimberly are in an uncomfortable position when a gifted teacher in Kimberly's high school loses his job and faces losing his life to a brain tumor.

4Season 1

S1.E4 ∙ The Autumn of Rome

Fri, Oct 16, 1992

The Mayor investigates a crooked citizen and crashes with his car just before elections start. Wambaugh runs for mayor with brass band and drums and is shot at.

5Season 1

S1.E5 ∙ Frank the Potato Man

Fri, Oct 23, 1992

The 'Serial Bather' strikes again, leaving a plastic duck in the bathtub. Suspicion falls on Frank the Potato Man who is homeless.

6Season 1

S1.E6 ∙ Remembering Rosemary

Mon, Oct 26, 1992

On Halloween, the only witness to a 10-year-old suicide case breaks her silence to announce "murder" which sends Maxine off to dig into a local history of the victim's life. Meanwhile, Kimberly is reluctant to join her friends in a Halloween prank on Howard the confessor.

7Season 1

S1.E7 ∙ The Contenders

Fri, Oct 30, 1992

Jill declares herself a candidate for mayor when Pugen ignores the Rome Woman's Coalition, but her candidacy reveals something in her past life which she has kept hidden. Meanwhile, Kenny agrees to box with a former middleweight champion in a boxing match for charity.

8Season 1

S1.E8 ∙ Sacred Hearts

Fri, Nov 6, 1992

A woman who is terminally ill dies at the nursing home with an orange in her mouth. 'The singing Nun' is suspected as a serial mercy killer. Judge Bone declares that assisted suicide is under constitutional protection.

9Season 1

S1.E9 ∙ Thanksgiving

Fri, Nov 13, 1992

As Sheriff Brock and his family plan a big thanksgiving dinner, Jill has to deal with the much younger woman that her father brings along for the dinner party. Douglas Wambaugh later appears at the Brock's for he has left his wife after finding out that she was cheating on him. Meanwhile, Kenny and Maxine, alone at the police station with a break in crime, share a meal during their shift.

10Season 1

S1.E10 ∙ The Snake Lady

Fri, Dec 4, 1992

A woman is found dead after an apparent suicide, and suspicion falls on both her husband and her sister, the 'Snake Lady'.

11Season 1

S1.E11 ∙ Pageantry

Fri, Dec 11, 1992

When a local rabbi takes the entire public school to court for presenting a Christmas pageant to the town (because the town of Rome happens to happens to be 50% Jewish), the repercussions reveal that a music teacher, who refuses to obey Judge Bone's ruling not to bring on anymore Christmas pageants, isn't really who she seems to be.

12Season 1

S1.E12 ∙ High Tidings

Fri, Dec 18, 1992

The Christmas chaos of the year only begins when the family returns unexpectedly from a Christmas Eve outing and finds Kimberly in bed with her boyfriend, and Brock arrests him for statutory rape. This brings Brock's first wife, Lydia, to town to try to talk to Kimberly about the comings of womanhood. Meanwhile, Maxine and Ginny finds themselves held hostage for the night in the police station by a crazed homeless man in a Santa suit.

13Season 1

S1.E13 ∙ Frog Man

Fri, Jan 8, 1993

The Frogman strikes again with a fake bomb, and apparently shoots at Kenny in a jewelery store.

14Season 1

S1.E14 ∙ Bad Moons Rising

Fri, Jan 15, 1993

Sheriff Brock and the rest of the town is in a uproar after a middle-aged woman kills her husband by running over him with a steam roller, and Wambaugh attempts to build a temporary-insanity plea around the premise that she was going through menopause.

15Season 1

S1.E15 ∙ Nuclear Meltdowns

Fri, Jan 22, 1993

Kimberly tells her parents that she believes that her girlfriend, Jody, has been made pregnant by her father. Meanwhile, Maxine pursues a killer of ducks at a pond. Elsewhere, Kenny becomes involved with a most unusual young woman, named Elaine, when he stops her for a traffic offense, and who happens to be the other half of a set of twins.

16Season 1

S1.E16 ∙ The Body Politic

Fri, Feb 5, 1993

Jill and Sheriff Brock find themselves on opposite sides when it's revealed that a local dentist is HIV-positive. Meanwhile, Maxine investigates neighbors reports that a new man in town is actually hiding the comatose body of his wife, so he can keep her alive until their child is born. Also, Kenny is officially and unofficially chastised for dating the twins, Elaine and Elena, concurrently.

17Season 1

S1.E17 ∙ Be My Valentine

Fri, Feb 12, 1993

Sheriff Brock is shot with an arrow in his buttock. Maxine suspects the serial killer called Cupid and places a personal ad to meet him.

18Season 1

S1.E18 ∙ Fetal Attraction

Thu, Apr 1, 1993

A citizen gets worse from Parkinson's decease, and the whole town gets engaged in discussions about transplants from aborted fetus organs.

19Season 1

S1.E19 ∙ Sightings

Thu, Apr 8, 1993

The local doctor/corner, Carter Pike, finds himself the center of controversy when he makes an official note that a dead vagrant may have been exposed to radiation from a UFO and refuses to let the body he buried immediately in accordance with his Orthodox Jewish tradition.

20Season 1

S1.E20 ∙ Rights of Passage

Thu, Apr 15, 1993

Sheriff Brock and Mayor Pugen find themselves facing a group of angry Native Americans barricaded in the courthouse as a protest against the municipal golf course planned on an ancient tribal burial ground. Meanwhile, Jill is confronted by an angry Ginny leading another protest of other dwarf people offended by her use of hormones to stimulate the growth of an undersized little boy.

21Season 1

S1.E21 ∙ Sugar and Spice

Thu, Apr 29, 1993

Kimberly develops serious questions about her sexuality after she and another girlfriend of hers, Lisa, have shared a romantic kiss, and Matthew reveals the news to his parents which sends them in a panic. Brock's first wife, Lydia, arrives back in town to teach Kimberly about where she really stands on her sexuality. Meanwhile, Maxine and Kenny compete with each other for the post of under-sheriff. When Kenny is chosen to be the one, she responds by filing a sexual discrimination lawsuit against the whole station.

22Season 1

S1.E22 ∙ The Lullaby League

Thu, May 6, 1993

Jill finds herself in conflict with an aging blues singer with liver cirrhosis who collapses during a concert in Rome, and is deeply offended when she orders a pig's liver transplanted into her as a stopgap measure to save the singer's life. Meanwhile, Maxine undergoes a profound change when she helps deliver a baby girl and is later asked to care for the newborn by the fugitive mother.

1Season 2

S2.E1 ∙ Turpitude

Fri, Oct 22, 1993

Sheriff Brock is forced to arrest Mayor Pugen after he shoots and kills a carjacker that tries to steal his car, and the town's new District Attorney, John Littleton, a former lawyer from Detroit, faces an up hill battle as he prosecutes the case.

2Season 2

S2.E2 ∙ Duty Free Rome

Thu, Oct 28, 1993

Douglas Wambaugh finds a loophole that might grant Mayor Pugen a new trial after he is convicted of the shooting of the carjacker. Meanwhile, a very religious Catholic couple, who share a birth-defect causing gene, look to Father Gary Barrett of the local Catholic church for help and guidance about the absolute necessity for birth control. Also, Maxine begins seeing Dr. Shreve, a therapist about her sexual problems about not being able to find a man to love.

3Season 2

S2.E3 ∙ Unlawful Entries

Fri, Oct 29, 1993

Kenny and Maxine arrest a young high school math teacher who reluctantly admits that he was raped by a female colleague of his. Meanwhile, Sheriff Brock finds it difficult to get along with the new mayor, Rachel Harris, who is also an old friend Jill's. Also, Dr. Sherve tries to re-assert his control over Maxine after she refuses to see him again.

4Season 2

S2.E4 ∙ Under the Influence

Fri, Nov 5, 1993

Littleton explodes in court over Wambaugh's questionable defense of a woman accused of driving under the influence. Meanwhile, the crafty Dr. Sherve uses Maxine's confusion over allowing the drunken driver to continue on the road to further separate Maxine from her friends and co-workers.

5Season 2

S2.E5 ∙ The Dancing Bandit

Fri, Nov 12, 1993

A deaf, quixotic bank robber, named Laurie Bey, and her tough, equally quixotic boyfriend, Cole, arrive in Rome and hold a group of people, including Sheriff Brock, Jill, their children, and other people hostage in the bank during a holdup. Afterward, Bey pays a visit to Zack in his classroom to ask for a way to help her get out of town.

6Season 2

S2.E6 ∙ Dairy Queen

Fri, Nov 26, 1993

A sexy young centerfold model becomes the controversial symbol for a dairy campaign. She turns out to have an abusive husband. Kimberly wants a breast implant.

7Season 2

S2.E7 ∙ Cross Examination

Fri, Dec 3, 1993

At Christmas time, a comatose young woman is found pregnant although she is a virgin. Zach is told that Santa Claus is not real.

8Season 2

S2.E8 ∙ Strangers

Fri, Dec 10, 1993

Jill becomes a central witness when a man suffering from a rare visual disorder is arrested and tried for the alleged accidental shooting of his own brother after mistaking him for a late night prowler. Meanwhile, Maxine learns about Kenny dating Mayor Harris, and Ginny acquires a charming suitor.

9Season 2

S2.E9 ∙ Blue Christmas

Fri, Dec 17, 1993

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.

10Season 2

S2.E10 ∙ Paging Doctor God

Fri, Jan 7, 1994

Jill's determination to uphold her Hippocratic oath collides with the religious beliefs of Christian Science couple who try to resist her assistance in a childbirth that has drastic results. Meanwhile, Zach announces to his parents that he wants to becomes Jewish.

11Season 2

S2.E11 ∙ Guns 'R' Us

Fri, Jan 14, 1994

Matthew's attempt to get revenge for a humiliation by some high-school bullies lands one of them in the hospital, which causes the teen's younger brother to seek his own revenge. Meanwhile, Mayor Harris' decision to roll back deputy salaries inspires a round of "blue flu" with Kenny and Maxine.

12Season 2

S2.E12 ∙ Remote Control

Fri, Jan 21, 1994

Littleton and Wambaugh go head to head again in the courtroom as Wambaugh argues that his latest client, Timmy Hendricks, was predisposed to violence because of his exposure to television and movies. Meanwhile, Sheriff Brock reacts with anger against Mayor Harris' attempts to impose a strong police presence in Rome, including fingerprinting all the citizens and random searches of vehicles for weapons.

13Season 2

S2.E13 ∙ Abominable Snowman

Fri, Jan 28, 1994

Depressed over a recent incident with a cannon, Howard decides to end his own life by donating his healthy heart to his ailing son. Meanwhile, the transient known as Frank the Potato Man is discovered to be living in a cave near Rome and Mayor Harris becomes determined to go to court to force him to leave the area.

14Season 2

S2.E14 ∙ Supreme Courting

Fri, Feb 4, 1994

On Valentine's Day, the long day brings love and controversy to all age groups in Rome when Carter enlists Maxine's help to impress Stacey Halford, the Mourning Widow, so he can romance her. Meanwhile, Kimberly finds herself labeled as promiscuous when she expressed disdain for the new politically-correct sexual content rules, and Zach accepts a dare from his friends to kiss his chosen valentine.

15Season 2

S2.E15 ∙ Divine Recall

Fri, Feb 11, 1994

Mayor Harris reads Father Barrett and Sheriff Brock the new riot act over a pre-game prayer session at the public high school, and in turn, Barrett and Reverend Novotny bring up her appearance in an old pornographic videotape before the town council.

16Season 2

S2.E16 ∙ Terms of Estrangement

Fri, Mar 4, 1994

Kimberly is kidnapped and held captive by unstable Rick Jennings, a man from sheriff Brock's past who wants revenge for what Jimmy did to him. A psychological game between the two begins.

17Season 2

S2.E17 ∙ Squatter's Rights

Fri, Mar 11, 1994

Maxine questions the motives of a 500-pound obese woman who confesses to killing her allegedly abusive husband by sitting on him. Meanwhile, Wambaugh demands a Beth Din when Rabbi Levin finally has enough of the senile lawyer's tasteless remarks and jokes during a funeral service for the obese woman's husband and rescinds his temple membership.

18Season 2

S2.E18 ∙ System Down

Fri, Apr 1, 1994

The trial against an African-American drug dealer is set in Rome because the town has Littleton as their district attorney. Sheriff Brock is chosen to serve on the jury.

19Season 2

S2.E19 ∙ Buried Alive

Fri, Apr 8, 1994

Jill Brock's father comes on an unexpected visit and stirs up the whole family.

20Season 2

S2.E20 ∙ My Left Shoe

Fri, Apr 29, 1994

A fire in the rectory reveals Father Barrett's extensive collection of women's shoes, prompting questions about his fitness to serve and a blistering condemnation by acting Mayor Buss on public access TV. Meanwhile, Kenny and Rachel Harris reevaluate their relationship.

21Season 2

S2.E21 ∙ Frosted Flakes

Fri, May 6, 1994

A boy is dying from leukemia. The matter for Judge Bone is whether he will allow the request of the boy and his parents to cryogenically freeze him before the illness destroys his body in the hope that a cure can be found and he can be revived. At the school the children are questioning the adults about what happens after death.

22Season 2

S2.E22 ∙ Howard's End

Fri, May 13, 1994

A violent, humiliating incident with Howard leads to his son, Kevin, to shoot him, as Wambaugh claims, in self-defense. Meanwhile, Jill makes a decision in the operating room to not operate on a reluctant Christian Science man. Sheriff Brock has to decide if self-defense is murder.

1Season 3

S3.E1 ∙ Survival of the Fittest

Fri, Sep 23, 1994

Sheriff Brock and the rest of the town fears the worst when a local teenaged girl disappears and they arrest her boyfriend, Brian Latham, as a murder suspect. Meanwhile, Jill and members of the community become alarmed when it appears that a teacher is advocating creationism in Matthew and Zach's school.

2Season 3

S3.E2 ∙ Systematic Abuse

Fri, Sep 30, 1994

Brian Latham is put on trial for the murder of his girlfriend. Littleton and Douglas clash in court. Jimmy argues with his daughter. Kimberly gets life advice from Wambaugh.

3Season 3

S3.E3 ∙ The Bus Stops Here

Fri, Oct 7, 1994

A Wisconson Federal judge orders that 400 black students from the Green Bay ghetto be bused to Rome's schools, prompting panic among Sheriff Brock and the parents, knowing that a good number of them are lowlifes and drug dealers that come from that neighborhood. Meanwhile, Wambaugh gets a surprising response to his appeal of the Brian Latham murder conviction to go the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington DC. Also, Maxine makes a mess of her relationship with Littleton.

4Season 3

S3.E4 ∙ Enemy Lines

Fri, Oct 14, 1994

Judge Nance puts Jill in jail to make a point. Littleton asks Maxine out on a date which causes her to reexamine her views on interracial dating. Kimberly's attempt at starting an interracial friendship with Aisha turns into a fight.

5Season 3

S3.E5 ∙ Cold Spell

Fri, Oct 28, 1994

Judge Bone has a troubling case when a social worker takes a young girl from her mother, who practices witchcraft. Meanwhile, Maxine and Kenny seek out Ginny for advice on the occult and learn that she has met an unusual fate. The arrival of Ginny's grieving brother Benjamin makes the town face the fact that none of them ever took the time to get to know Ginny. Also, Jill gets some new opposition in her race for mayor who happens to be Carter, and Ed Lawson.

6Season 3

S3.E6 ∙ Elective Conduct

Fri, Nov 4, 1994

After the innocent Zach gives a school history report which is filled with racist comments, it hurts Jill's mayoral campaign just before a crucial debate and the election. It turns out that Zach got his information from the 1911 edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Both Carter and Lawson take advantage of that to play on Rome and Green Bay's racial tensions. Meanwhile, Kimberly finds herself shunned when she sticks up for Aisha when she's mocked by jealous white students for getting good grades.

7Season 3

S3.E7 ∙ Rebels with Causes

Fri, Nov 11, 1994

An ailing Wambaugh travels with Jill to Chicago for some specialized medical treatment for his liver, where she becomes angered by Dr. Jeffrey Geiger's arrogant attitude. Back in Rome, Sheriff Brock gets upset at an announcement from Kenny and Kimberly that they want to date.

8Season 3

S3.E8 ∙ May It Please the Court

Fri, Nov 18, 1994

Carter has submitted a blood test and is thrilled when the result reveals pregnancy. Wambaugh finally gets his life's greatest moment at the Supreme Court in Washington.

9Season 3

S3.E9 ∙ For Whom the Wind Blows

Fri, Dec 2, 1994

Brian Latham continues to plead his innocence, and everybody starts to doubt his guilt. The real murderer has confessed to Father Barrett, and Judge Bone tricks him into admitting that Brian is not the killer. The really guilty party is revealed.

10Season 3

S3.E10 ∙ Away in the Manger

Fri, Dec 16, 1994

In this cross-over from an episode on 'The X-Files', the week before Christmas has Sheriff Brock, Kenny, Maxine and other deputies searching a farm when Carter suspects that strange genetic experiments involving cows may be taking place there. When one of the cows gives birth to a human baby, a bizarre complicated court case about alternative surrogate motherhood begins.

11Season 3

S3.E11 ∙ Freezer Burn

Fri, Jan 6, 1995

Again, a person is found dead in the home freezer, this time a male masseur, and people fear that a serial killing is in progress. As it turns out, the victim was giving more than just massages to many of the housewives, so the number of suspects increases.

12Season 3

S3.E12 ∙ Frogman Returns

Fri, Jan 13, 1995

The Frogman's 13 year old son demands emancipation from his eccentric father. Matthew tries to move the car and runs over Zach who is hospitalized.

13Season 3

S3.E13 ∙ Mr. Seed Goes to Town

Fri, Jan 20, 1995

Sheriff Brock's former wife Lydia has kept his sperm and wants to have a new child.

14Season 3

S3.E14 ∙ Close Encounters

Fri, Feb 3, 1995

An African-American woman chokes on the microphone and is pronounced dead. She unexpectedly wakes up in Carter's morgue and recognizes him as her soulmate. Kenny and Maxine continue to test out their relationship.

15Season 3

S3.E15 ∙ When in Rome

Fri, Feb 24, 1995

A convicted child molester with a surprising ancestry moves into Rome and has to tell all the neighbors about his past. Everyone openly despises him and shuns him and the whole town even makes a pact to force him to leave town. The sheriff won't help him, so he turns for help to Wambaugh, who refuses to take on a client for the first time in his life and even later sings Barbra Streisand's "He touched me" with choir and church organ to humiliate him further. Finally, the man turns to his disgusted father for help. Tragedy ensues but most people don't see it that way.

16Season 3

S3.E16 ∙ Heroes and Villains

Fri, Mar 3, 1995

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.

17Season 3

S3.E17 ∙ Changing of the Guard

Fri, Mar 10, 1995

Sheriff Brock asks Laurie Bey to help him, Maxine, and Kenny look for Mayor Ed Lawson who's missing and wanted in connection to a murder, while Jill and the rest of the town begin the process of finding a new mayor. After Laurie Bey helps with the police to arrest Lawson, she's surprisingly is chosen to be the new acting mayor of Rome.

18Season 3

S3.E18 ∙ Without Mercy

Fri, Mar 31, 1995

Jill Brock performs a doctor-assisted suicide with morphine on a dying patient, and the authorities want to force the people of Rome to respect the law.

19Season 3

S3.E19 ∙ Final Judgement

Fri, Apr 7, 1995

In the aftermath of Jill's criminal trial verdict, Judge Bone is asked to run on the validity of a law prohibiting physician-assisted suicide. Meanwhile, Kenny and Carter investigate the killing of some swans at a local pond, and discover their chief suspect is Zack.

20Season 3

S3.E20 ∙ Saint Zach

Fri, Apr 28, 1995

Zach is tormented by guilt over the swan episode. He prays in a church, and blood starts to pour from the palms of his hands. His schoolmates want to make him a saint, and the Catholic Church starts to investigate if he really is a stigmatic. After Jesus comes to him in a dream disguised as the late Potato Man, he heals a boy who has leukemia.

21Season 3

S3.E21 ∙ Upbringings

Fri, May 5, 1995

Sheriff Brock's attorney father arrives for an unexpected visit and creates tension the Brock household when he makes a seemingly generous offer that angers Jimmy. Meanwhile, Kenny and Maxine try to deal with a rebellious teenager and his loud motorcycle.

22Season 3

S3.E22 ∙ The Song of Rome

Fri, May 12, 1995

After a lowlife teen shoots Father Barrett during an attempted robbery at the church, Mayor Laurie Bey's decision to continue with a planned spring pageant draws fire from Sheriff Brock and the somber townspeople. But a twist comes when Mayor Bey later reveals some surprising news that she happens to be pregnant, and refuses to tell who the father is.

1Season 4

S4.E1 ∙ A Change of Season

Fri, Sep 22, 1995

Kimberly throws Sheriff Brock and Jill for a loop with her college plans of leaving Wisconsin for law school. Meanwhile, Brock frets over Mayor Laurie Bey's new police uniform regulations. Maxine turns up sporting a new feminine look. Elsewhere, Carter's house burns down, leaving questions about attempted suicide.

2Season 4

S4.E2 ∙ Reap the Whirlwind

Fri, Sep 29, 1995

As a tornado threat hangs over Rome, Wambaugh and his wife quarrel over his remarks at their 50th anniversary party. Meanwhile, the Brocks worry over Kimberly who's away at college. Kenny risks his life and career over a woman. Also, Carter considers quilting as a new hobby for himself to ease his depression.

3Season 4

S4.E3 ∙ Pal Joey

Fri, Oct 6, 1995

A uptight doctor from Milwaukee, named Dr. Joanna "Joey" Diamond, who's also a TV personality, joins Jill in her practice. Meanwhile, Kenny looks into a video-dating service. An Asian immigrant is arrested while trying to marry a woman according to his ancient culture's customs.

4Season 4

S4.E4 ∙ Bloodbrothers

Fri, Oct 13, 1995

Littleton faces a troubled figure from his past when two escaped prisoners make their way into Rome, one of them is his brother seeking revenge against him for sending him to prison nearly five years ago. Meanwhile, Matthew pleads with Zack not to tell their father about a potentially dangerous accident after Matthew accidentally started a fire while smoking a cigarette.

5Season 4

S4.E5 ∙ Dog Eat Dog

Fri, Oct 20, 1995

Max gets into serious trouble when she shoots a man dressed in a bratwurst costume. Jill thinks Kimberly is pregnant because she goes to Dr. Joey and tries to cover it up.

6Season 4

S4.E6 ∙ Heart of Saturday Night

Fri, Oct 27, 1995

Saturday night in Rome. Matthew goes cruising with his pals. Jill and Jimmy's attempt at romance leaves him in an extremely painful position. Meanwhile, Judge Bone and Wambaugh's poker gang loses a player when one of them drops dead at the table.

7Season 4

S4.E7 ∙ Down the Tubes

Fri, Nov 3, 1995

Cryptic dreams after his brother's death lead Littleton to make some drastic changes, including leaving Rome. To satisfy a charity request, Sheriff Brock prepares to do polka with the very pregnant Mayor Laurie Bey. Meanwhile, Jill faces a day of personal and professional turmoil as she contemplates her scheduled tubal ligation.

8Season 4

S4.E8 ∙ Witness for the Prosecution

Fri, Dec 8, 1995

The pope comes to Rome, Wisconsin and witnesses a murder. The court case that follows tests Judge Bone and Douglas Wambaugh's friendship.

9Season 4

S4.E9 ∙ This Little Piggy

Fri, Dec 15, 1995

Kimberly is arrested for freeing the pigs set for pig-wrestling at the town fair. Meanwhile an elderly man's medical treatment is inhibited by his daughter's religious beliefs.

10Season 4

S4.E10 ∙ Dem Bones

Fri, Jan 5, 1996

When the bones of a Nazi sympathizer killed in 1943 are found, suspicion falls on Jacob Levine, the son of a Jewish butcher persecuted by the dead man and his friends. Wambaugh springs to Levine's defense and find himself facing his long-estranged son, David, as the opposing counsel.

11Season 4

S4.E11 ∙ Bloodlines

Fri, Jan 12, 1996

Sheriff Brock tries to help Matthew deal with the suicide of one of his school friends by taking him on a hunting trip for an elusive bear roaming the countryside. Meanwhile, Wambaugh tries to persuade Judge Bone to comfort the dead boy's mother by pretending to be someone who has also lost a son to suicide.

12Season 4

S4.E12 ∙ Snow Exit

Fri, Jan 19, 1996

A huge blizzard strikes Rome, and strands Jill and Kimberly at the high school with others during Lydia's singing debut. Meanwhile, Sheriff Brock and Skeeter are snowed in at the police station with Mayor Bey who goes into labor. Kenny is stranded in his patrol car after it breaks down, Maxine is stranded at her place with the Bratwurst guy and Dr. Joey. Elsewhere, Wambaugh and Judge Bone are stranded at in the hospital ER and are forced by the staff to help them out with the patients.

13Season 4

S4.E13 ∙ My Romance

Fri, Jan 26, 1996

Carter has a near death experience and sees his late grandfather, which shakes his skepticism. Zach falls for a slightly older cellist who likes Matthew. Judge Bone meets an old flame and they spend a day together reminiscing.

14Season 4

S4.E14 ∙ The Z Files

Fri, Feb 9, 1996

When Zack's friend sends him a picture of his attractive teacher over the Internet, Zack creates a computerized pornographic picture of her and shares it with him but he puts it up on the Internet. She sues the school over this and Zack gets into trouble. Even Edward, the top computer technician in town, can't help him. Meanwhile, Maxine finally meets the person she has been chatting with over the Internet and he's surprisingly dreamy. However, when he turns up for their date in a dress, she realizes that the chat service they met through was meant for male and female crossdressers. Can she be open minded and accept this sensitive caring man for who he is or is she too much into Cro-Magnon type?

15Season 4

S4.E15 ∙ Bottled

Fri, Feb 16, 1996

Zack is allowed to invite 4 people to his birthday party. He invites Judge Bone, Henry Wambaugh, Maxine Stewart and Kenny Lacos. Jill's bottled up feelings come out at Zack's birthday party, which finds Jill going through a mid-life crisis, Matthew and Zack with green and red hair, Wambaugh up in arms over Judge Bone's lack of respect and Kenny trying to psycho-analyze his break-up with Max.

16Season 4

S4.E16 ∙ Dante's Inferno

Mon, Apr 22, 1996

Maxine becomes the acting mayor. When she supports a business decision half of the town opposes, she becomes the target of local sexist shock jock Chuck Dante, who constantly humiliates her and even calls for her death. She's soon shot.

17Season 4

S4.E17 ∙ Bye-Bye, Bey-Bey

Wed, Apr 24, 1996

At the christening of Mayor Laurie Bey's baby, Michael, the Rome residents are flabbergasted when Laurie announces that she had the baby for her brother Jerry and his gay lover Gordy, who plan to raise the baby in the town. The Beys' estranged mother, Christine, who turned her back on her children because she was deaf and he was gay, turns up and announces she is taking them all to court to get custody of her grandson. Tension brews in Rome as the people, from Sheriff Brock to Jill, take sides on the issue and a campaign begins to have Laurie removed as mayor, resulting in Jerry and Gordy being attacked at the supermarket by a vicious homophobic gang. Despite attempts by the prosecution to discredit the men and prove their lifestyle is unsuitable to raise a child in, Judge Bone ultimately rules in their favor and allows them to keep baby Michael, saying he doesn't feel they pose a threat to the boy. The court case over, Laurie Bey leaves Rome again under a cloud, and leaves her baby in the care of his two dads.

18Season 4

S4.E18 ∙ Three Weddings and a Meltdown

Wed, Apr 24, 1996

In the series final, Carter inadvertently proposes to Sue after she gets her wires crossed. Nevertheless, he's a man of his word and they announce their engagement to the people of Rome. Their sudden decision to wed prompts Kenny and Maxine to do the same, although they later begin to experience cold feet. Digging in her friend Selma's backyard, Myriam Wambaugh discovers human remains and Selma goes on trial for murder. Persuaded to defend her by his ex-wife, Wambaugh manages to get her off and passion erupts again for him and Myriam, who decide to get re-married in a triple ceremony with Carter & Sue and Kenny & Max. Meanwhile, the Brocks' marriage is in serious trouble, with Jill feeling they've come to the end of the line. She moves in with Joey to do some thinking and Jimmy is left alone to do the same. At the wedding, the three happy couples tie the knot and the wedding fever gets to Sheriff Brock and Jill, who make up and get back together.

19Season 4

S4.E19 ∙ Winner Takes All

Wed, Jun 5, 1996

The coach of the kids' basketball team collapses at a game and the parents group appoints Jill as interim coach. At first she is determined to play fair and give all the boys a chance, but under pressure from more gung-ho adults, she becomes as obsessed as the rest of them. Fed up with all this, Zack and the other boys on the team take out a court injunction against them. Meanwhile, Matthew becomes hooked on gambling and gets himself into serious trouble.

20Season 4

S4.E20 ∙ Forget Selma

Wed, Jun 12, 1996

Wambaugh hopes to win Miriam over again but her new charming boyfriend Hal stands in his way. Wambaugh gets suspicious of him when Hal suggests Miriam to let him invest her, Selma's and their friends' money.

21Season 4

S4.E21 ∙ To Forgive Is Divine

Wed, Jun 19, 1996

A young Amish girl, Hannah Beiler, is attacked in the streets of Rome and raped, but the Amish community decide not to press charges against the rapist because of their religious beliefs of tolerance and being forbidden to swear oaths. An attempt is made to force Hannah to testify against her rapist but she refuses, on the grounds of her religious convictions. With no other options or evidence, Sheriff Brock has to let the rapist go free. Shortly after this, a second girl, Peggy Patterson, is also raped by the same man. This time, the guy is put behind bars but Peggy's parents, incensed that the Amish people's actions indirectly led to their daughter's rape, take the unusual step of suing the Amish. The Amish hire Wambaugh to defend them in court. Kenny tries to counsel Hannah, confiding in her that his sister was raped the year previous.

22Season 4

S4.E22 ∙ Liver Let Die

Wed, Jun 26, 1996

Sheriff Brock is called out when a homeless man is found murdered behind Reverend Novotny's church but is suddenly stricken with terrible pains at the scene. Dr Joey discovers he has a potentially cancerous growth on his liver and she takes samples from it, telling him they'll know for sure by the end of the day. He pushes on with the murder investigation to take his mind off it. The victim is identified as a former army veteran and a boy named Jack Klausner, known to Kenny through the basketball team, comes forward as a witness and describes the two men he says were the killers. When his statement is found to be a lie, Brock interviews both Jack's mom and his retarded brother, Billy, who tells him that Jack wasn't home the night of the murder, and it emerges he was present when two of his friends killed the man with a brick. He flips out, taking Brock hostage at gunpoint, but Kenny brings Billy to the station and he talks him out of it.