In the Heat of the Night

The investigation into the brutal murders of a young girl and the suspect in her death, leads Tibbs and Gillespie to the son of one of Spartas wealthiest and most influential citizens.As they come closer to the truth things become dangerous for Virgil.

Racial tensions run high when a married white woman has an affair with a black businessman from New York.Meanwhile Virgil is not happy when the Chief enlists his aid in tracking down Bubbas cousin, a suspected moonshiner.

An angry Gillespie seeks answers when an old friend is shot.And Virgil narrowly escapes death after trying to ascertain the real reason behind an old adversarys return to Sparta.Nan finds herself in danger after she finds out the truth about her new love.

The Sparta police search for a killer and his girlfriend.But the case becomes personal when they take Althea and the grandson of one of the victims hostage.

The murder of well respected man turns up a shocking secret about his family.

Sweet risks his life to prove that the Sheriff of a neighboring county is guilty of the racially motivated murder of a young man that Sweet was friends with in high school.

Virgil is forced to shoot a suspect in an armed robbery.He has trouble dealing with the consequences of his actions, after he realizes the person he shot was a teenaged girl - and no one can locate the gun he believed she was pointing at him.

Gillespie suspects that JoAnns new cook is connected to the murder of a young prostitute.But Virgil suspects the culprit maybe a local pimp who has been intimidating the women.

In this thought provoking episode.Gillespie is surprised when a man he arrested asks to see him on the eve of his execution.He must confront his feelings about the death penalty when the prisoner asks him to witness his death.

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The investigation of a possible assault brings back nightmarish and confusing childhood memories for Virgil.

A bitter strike leads to a murder investigation on a snowy day in Sparta.

Sparta grieves after a drunk driver causes a fatal crash with high school cheerleaders on their way home from a game.While the officers try to find other driver, Althea tries to help the victims families deal with their loss. The accident brings back painful memories for retired officer Tom Dugan.Meanwhile, district attorney Dutton accuses the department of being inadequate.

It seems that a serial killer has been burying his victims in a wooded area owned by a wealthy hermit that Virgil refers to as ""Spartas Howard Hughes"". Suspicion immediately falls on an eccentric woman who lives in the woods with her pigs and chases away trespassers with a shotgun.The officers ask the landowners disturbed son for help and Bubba is surprised to find that a woman he attended high school with is working as the mans ""nurse"".Also Parker and Sweet compete with one another to solve the case.

After being released by his captors, the chief discovers that his abduction is part of a plot to assassinate a visiting civil rights leader.

A beauty contest is marred by blackmail and the ambitious mother of a contestant.

Sparta P.D. gets its first black policewoman.

After a private investigator searching for a missing child is found dead, the evidence points to a local dance teacher - a neighbor that Parker has become very fond of.

A young refugee claims to be the son of a Sparta cop who died in the war.But quickly becomes a suspect in a murder/robbery after he accepts a ride with the criminals who actually committed the crime.Gillespie looks into his story, while Virgil and the boys track down the shooter.Meanwhile, the young mans presence triggers a surprisingly bitter reaction from Parker, who views him as a painful reminder of the war.

A long time friend of the Chief makes threats against a doctor he believes is responsible for his wifes death .When the doctor is killed he becomes the prime suspect.But Gillespie doubts his guilt - even after he confesses.

Bubba refuses to believe that a former teamate embezzled funds from the bank where he worked.And sets out to prove that his friend was framed and murdered.Harriet hopes that art therapy can help the mans traumatized son,who becomes a target himself when the killer realizes he witnessed the crime.

Darnell plans on indicting a teenager for murder after her father is found in the basement and her mother turns up missing.But Gillespie and his men dont believe she is guilty.

Maybelle the madam returns to Sparta with her "" nieces "".And sets up shop just out of Gillespies jurisdiction.Her return is not without controversy and soon one of her most vocal critics is found murdered.

Althea does not realize that an old friend from Philly is hiding a dark secret, nor does Sweet who has fallen in love with the woman.

Harriets sister is murdered on the orders of the wealthy white man who fathered her child.

Virgil goes to Philadelphia to investigate a friends death.And Bubba (reluctantly) fills in as Altheas Lamaze coach.

Gillespie sends Parker to confirm suspicions that a local truck stop is really a front for a prostitution business.When a young prostitute is found dead Gillespie is shocked at her fathers reaction.Parker is dismayed when he recognizes one of the ladies.

Gillespie and his officers are outraged when a drug courier who ran down the son of Virgils next door neighbor makes a deal with the F.B.I. to avoid prosecution.

The investigation into the death of an abandoned infant leads to a mentally handicapped teenager.

Harriet and Eugene are devastated after Genes father is arrested for murder.

Virgils dream of a better relationship with his Aunt Ruda and her son is shattered when his cousin takes part in a string of burglaries that result in murder.

In this Christmas episode the officers share memories with a reporter from the Sparta Herald.

A psychiatrist tells Gillespie that one of her patients has confessed to a crime that another man is about to be executed for, but she refuses to divulge his identity.

Virgil soon regrets telling an old friend that his new business partners are being investigated by the police.

A serial rapist stalks Sparta.

Harriet tries to keep Eugene from giving up when his father faces the death penalty.And the police search for three suspects in connection to a robbery/murder.

Gillespies old flame returns to Sparta to settle some business matters and see Bill. When she is murdered he travels to Gulfport and meets his daughter Lana for the first time.

A flirtatious schoolteacher is stalked by a madman.

Virgils Aunt Ruda is the only witness to a struggle between Bubba and a young robbery suspect that ends in the young mans death.But her prejudice against the police -- and Virgil clouds her memory of the incident.

A man murders his business partner and frames the mans illegitimate daughter for the crime in an attempt to gain the mans business and his wife.

A deputy provides protection for a cotton grower who is running a pot growing operation.But the deputy makes a big mistake when he wounds Bubbas girlfriend.

Lonnie makes a heartbreaking discovery about a woman he dated in high school.

A doctor plots to eliminate his wife -- and his mistress.

Racists target a ceremony honoring a civil rights pioneer.

A restaurateur and her mechanic boyfriend plot to eliminate her husband, but their scheme backfires.Gillespie takes heat over a string of mailbox bashings.And Virgil soon regrets ignoring Parkers theory regarding where the vandals would strike next.

Gillespie learns that the son of an old friend is a compulsive gambler.The young man wants his father to pay off his losses.But when two gangsters show up from New Orleans to collect, his jealous sibling sees the perfect opportunity to get rid of his troubled brother.

A political prisoner who entered the country illegally,seeks sanctuary in a monastary.Gillespie and Tibbs find themselves at odds with Sheriff McComb when they try to help the man.

Big city crack dealers invade Sparta.Eugene witnesses the drive by shooting of a friend and his offer to help the police identify the shooters leaves Harriet frightened and angry at Bill.

Louanns neer-do-well brother returns home after being paroled.

Althea has trouble dealing with the violent death of a student.Young Megan Fowler quickly finds herself yet another dangerous boyfriend and they are soon wanted by the police.

A secretary takes drastic measures to protect herself from sexual harassment.

Singer Eddie Larran returns to Sparta for a concert,but not everyone is a fan.An angry man insists that Eddie owes him money.And their dispute soon ends in violence.

One of Virgils classmates from law school is arrested following the death of his former girlfriend, but the man insists that her death was the result of her relationship with her psychiatrist.

Sweet is the target of false accusations by two corrupt and racist car salesmen.

A woman asks Harriet to help her get an eviction order rescinded.The chief gives Parker a new radar gun - and soon comes to regret it.Sheriff McComb requests that Gillespie and Bubba help investigate a murder.Meanwhile Lonnie and Luann search for the boy who reported the murder.

A white supremacist politician plans to have his wifes lover murdered and blame it on black radicals.

A wealthy man plans to grant a promise made to a black sharecropper many years ago by giving land to the mans descendant.But his greedy son disapproves.

Bill discovers the motivation behind a crime syndicates attempt to muscle in on Sparta and the reason they are determined to get Lanas land.

Chief Gillespie is fired by the city council and Spartas new police chief Hampton Forbes arrives in town.Bills last case with Sparta P.D. is a murder investigation in which a young boy has been implicated.

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.

A night of revelry at a local pond turns deadly.

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.

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.

Tragic story of an alcoholic teen who accidentally kills a little girl while she is drinking and driving.

Virgil defends Parker after he is falsely accused of police brutality by a drug dealer.The prosecutions main witness - the mans girlfriend, who was once engaged to Parker.

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.

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.

Eugene tries to protect a friend who was an unwilling accomplice to a robbery and in doing so endangers his probation -- and his life.

Comedic episode in which Parkers neer-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.