About this season
In the Heat of the Night is an American television series based on the motion picture and novel of the same name starring Carroll O'Connor as the white police chief William Gillespie, and Howard Rollins as the African-American police detective Virgil Tibbs. It was broadcast on NBC from 1988 until 1992, and then on CBS until 1995. Its executive producers were Fred Silverman, Juanita Bartlett and Carroll O'Connor. TGG Direct released the first season of the series to DVD on August 28, 2012.
Episodes (24)
1. Child's Play
Aired 16 September 1993 • 60 min
Chief Gillespie is fired by the city council and Sparta's new police chief Hampton Forbes arrives in town.Bill's last case with Sparta P.D. is a murder investigation in which a young boy has been implicated.
2. Hatton's Turn (1)
Aired 18 September 1993 • 60 min
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.
3. Hatton's Turn (2)
Aired 18 September 1993 • 60 min
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.
4. A Depraved Heart
Aired 23 September 1993 • 60 min
The daughter of an old friend asks Bubba to arrest the man who knowingly gave her AIDS.
5. Incident at Brewer's Pond
Aired 30 September 1993 • 60 min
A night of revelry at a local pond turns deadly.
6. A Love Lost
Aired 14 October 1993 • 60 min
Lana's ex- boyfriend comes to see her and brings a load of stolen rifles with him.
7. Singin' the Blues
Aired 28 October 1993 • 60 min
Luann moonlights as a singer at a nightclub and finds romance with the clubs owner.Her happiness is shortlived when she realizes that the bartender is dealing drugs.
8. Virgil Tibbs, Attorney at Law
Aired 4 November 1993 • 60 min
Attorney Virgil Tibbs returns to Sparta and is soon assigned his first case as a defense attorney.
9. Every Man's Family
Aired 10 November 1993 • 60 min
Bubba travels to Atlanta to help his nephew after the boy overdoses on drugs.He soon teams up with a street wise cop to take down the drug ring.
10. A Baby Called Rocket
2.0Aired 25 November 1993 • 60 min
A neglected baby stirs maternal feelings in Luann.
11. Little Girl Lost
Aired 9 December 1993 • 60 min
Tragic story of an alcoholic teen who accidentally kills a little girl while she is drinking and driving.
12. Your Own Kind
Aired 16 December 1993 • 60 min
13. Good Cop, Bad Cop
Aired 6 January 1994 • 60 min
Virgil defends Parker after he is falsely accused of police brutality by a drug dealer.The prosecution's main witness - the man's girlfriend, who was once engaged to Parker.
14. Maybelle Returns
Aired 12 January 1994 • 60 min
Maybelle's new phone sex business is a great success - until one her girls decides to moonlight as a prostitute.
15. The Last Round
Aired 19 January 1994 • 60 min
Forbes is delighted when his fiancee Angela comes to see him,but is disappointed when he realizes that they have very different plans for the future.
16. Ches and the Grand Lady
Aired 26 January 1994 • 60 min
Lonnie must protect his Aunt Cordelia when her cherished friendship with Ches Collins angers one of his cousins.
17. Conspiracy of One
Aired 2 February 1994 • 60 min
Virgil accepts a position at a prominent law firm.But as a former police officer he feels conflicting emotions when he realizes that one of their clients is guilty of murder.
18. The Rabbi
Aired 9 February 1994 • 60 min
A Rabbi returns to Sparta after many years.Racists vandalize his synagogue and soon after their Torah is stolen.Forbes investigates but the Rabbi refuses to trust Bill because of his inaction while investigating a hate crime many years ago.
19. Hard Choices
Aired 9 March 1994 • 60 min
Eugene tries to protect a friend who was an unwilling accomplice to a robbery and in doing so endangers his probation -- and his life.
20. Time's Long Shadow
Aired 16 March 1994 • 60 min
Harriet tries to stop an arrogant developer from destroying an important archeological site.
21. Poor Relations
Aired 30 March 1994 • 60 min
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.
22. Dangerous Engagement
Aired 4 May 1994 • 60 min
Bill and Harriet's wedding plans are interrupted by a sniper who mistakes Bill for Sheriff McComb.
23. In the Heat of the Night: Give Me Your Life
8.0Aired 11 May 1994 • 60 min
In the Heat of the Night: Give Me Your Life is a film directed by Russ Mayberry released on May 11, 1994.
24. Give Me Your Life (2)
Aired 11 May 1994 • 60 min
Bill and Harriet return home.The cult kidnaps the girl from her foster home.And 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.