Police Story (Season 3)

Police Story is an anthology television crime drama. The show was the brainchild of author and former policeman Joseph Wambaugh and represented a major step forward in the realistic depiction of police work and violence on network TV. Although it was an anthology, there were certain things that all episodes had in common; for instance, the main character in each episode was a police officer. The setting was always Los Angeles and the characters always worked for some branch of the LAPD. Notwithstanding the anthology format, there were recurring characters. Scott Brady appeared in more than a dozen episodes as "Vinnie," a former cop who, upon retirement, had opened a bar catering to police officers, and who acted as a sort of Greek chorus during the run of the series, commenting on the characters and plots.

Officer Needs Help (Episode 1)
Air date: 1975-09-09
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Sgt. Billy Humm starts feeling the pressure after he's involved in a few too many on-duty shootings, even though they were judged "good."
The Cutting Edge (Episode 2) 10.0
Air date: 1975-09-16
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Ed Peebles has 30 years on the force, and after his longtime partner retires he loses his direction, both on the job and in his personal life.
A Community of Victims (Episode 3)
Air date: 1975-09-23
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: A drug addict unintentionally acquires a gun during an apartment burglary.
The Losing Game (Episode 4)
Air date: 1975-09-30
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Margaret Case moves from Juvenile to Narcotics, but her undercover work puts stress on her marriage to another cop.
The Cut Man Caper (Episode 5)
Writer: Larry Brody
Air date: 1975-10-28
Runtime: 113 min
Overview: On the trail of loan-company robbers, Tillis is forced to rely upon shifty informer Freddy. But the ""snitch"" is playing both ends down the middle and he's also stolen the expensive miniature voice transmitter entrusted to his care.
Face for a Shadow (Episode 6)
Air date: 1975-11-07
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Officers John Kowalski and Dick Elmore investigate a fatal hit-and-run accident that appears to be intentional.
The Test of Brotherhood (Episode 7)
Air date: 1975-11-14
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Veteran officer JR Peters is paired in a patrol car with his younger brother Clay, a rookie, along with their sibling rivalry.
Empty Weapon (Episode 8)
Air date: 1975-11-21
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: On his first day out of the academy, Officer David Singer fails to fire his weapon when a juvenile delinquent he is pursuing pulls a gun on him, with tragic consequences later.
Little Boy Lost (Episode 9)
Air date: 1975-11-28
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Detective Brennar fatally sends a 4y.o boy away from the neighborhood. On the home-front, this detective is experiencing a broader sending away of loved-ones only to reap inner confusion and heartache.
Vice: Twenty-Four Hours (Episode 10)
Air date: 1975-12-05
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Pairs of vice detectives spend a day trying to bust a violent pimp, a bookie, and a man who wants to hire a hit man to kill his wife.
Breaking Point (Episode 11)
Air date: 1975-12-12
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Vince Della Maggiori has to investigate when a patrolman shoots a man in his hotel room, and the stories he is given don't add up.
Company Man (Episode 12)
Air date: 1975-12-19
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Married Det. Dave Hansen, under pressure from Internal Affairs, must decide whether to continue working for "the company" (LAPD), or stop seeing his school-teacher girlfriend.
Spanish Class (Episode 13)
Air date: 1976-01-02
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Young officer Taylor transfers from the Valley into the Hispanic district for "the action" and the pay bump, and is schooled in the art of patrolling a multilingual beat by veteran officer Fernandez.
Odyssey of Death (1) (Episode 14)
Air date: 1976-01-09
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Detectives Stoddard and Bagney look for a man involved in an armed grocery store robbery after he shoots and maims Officer Phillips, a personal friend of Stoddard.
Odyssey of Death (2) (Episode 15)
Air date: 1976-01-16
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Detectives close in on the multi-generational hill-country family responsible for a series of armed robberies, rapes, and murders.
The Other Side of the Fence (Episode 16)
Air date: 1976-01-23
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Detectives Benson and Fisk set up a sting to catch a pair of murderous jewel thieves.
Fifty Cents, First Half Hour -- One Dollar and Seventy-Five Cents All Day (Episode 17)
Air date: 1976-01-30
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: While trying to box in an armed bandit who specializes in stealing cars and robbing attendants at parking lots, Detectives Hacker and Barnes are assigned a homicide case.
Firebird (Episode 18)
Air date: 1976-02-06
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: A daredevil officer is severely burned in a helicopter crash during a SWAT team training exercise, and he fights his injuries and police brass to return to his old life.
The Long Ball (Episode 19)
Air date: 1976-02-13
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Everyone around Sgt. Pickett knows he drinks too much. But he doesn't admit it to himself, until the department suspends him and his wife leaves.
Eamon Kinsella Royce (Episode 20)
Writer: Michael Mann
Air date: 1976-02-20
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Detective Eamon Kinsella Royce juggles his police responsibilities and his second job . . . as an insurance investigator.
Officer Dooly (Episode 21)
Air date: 1976-03-05
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Despite his best intentions, Dooly is a poor guy who can't seem to do anything right, at least not in his commanding officer's eyes.
Open City (Episode 22)
Air date: 1976-03-12
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Vice Detectives Daley and Gentry are on a camping trip when they hear a woman scream in the distance, and a few minutes later, gunshots. Thus begins their investigation into Mob involvement in the pornography industry and snuff films.