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.
Police Story (Season 4)
Payment Deferred (Episode 1)
Writer: Leonardo Bercovici
Air date: 1976-09-21
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Detective Joe Barley enlists Holly, his "retired" snitch and recovering addict, to help him find the man who shot his partner.
Bought and Paid For (Episode 2)
Air date: 1976-10-05
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Detectives Belmont and Melino want the three men involved when a patrolman, the son of a Lieutenant, is killed when he interrupts a bank robbery. The one they need is the psychopath who recruits amateurs in his capers.
Two Frogs on a Mongoose (Episode 3)
Air date: 1976-10-12
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Manny and Deke are on the narcotics squad, investigating a double shooting at a dry cleaning shop, when they get a tip that the shop owner is in business dealing drugs with a man called Mongoose.
The Other Side of the Badge (Episode 4)
Air date: 1976-10-26
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Jack Mitchell is in control and keeps his cool when patrolling with his rookie partner, but his home life with his wife and her teenage daughter is not so tidy.
Three Days to Thirty (Episode 5)
Air date: 1976-11-09
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: While working out his last three days before retirement, Frank Moran is assigned a hot case.
Trash Detail, Front and Center (Episode 6)
Air date: 1976-11-16
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Lew Randle, head of the Special Investigations Team, comes back after vacation and is immediately engulfed in the investigations of several armed robberies. He has to buck department politics to take down the violent trio responsible.
Thanksgiving (Episode 7)
Writer: Michael Mann
Air date: 1976-11-23
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: K-Joe and Bunny investigate the sniper shooting of a young girl riding in a car on the freeway.
Monster Manor (Episode 8)
Writer: John Sacret Young
Air date: 1976-11-30
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Gene (Santos) has a falling out with his wife and moves into a temporary bachelor's apartment, which becomes a party hangout for his buddies and attracts a lot of unwanted attention from others.
Oxford Gray (Episode 9)
Air date: 1976-12-07
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Sgt. Kyles and Inv. McLiam try to break up the criminal activities of a local entrepreneur and philanthropist by bringing back his past as a violent revolutionary in Detroit and playing on his paranoia.
The Jar (1) (Episode 10)
Air date: 1976-12-14
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Two detectives are called before the grand jury after a man is shot and killed when they attempt to arrest him.
The Jar (2) (Episode 11)
Air date: 1976-12-21
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Hagen and Triplett are reassigned to an out-of-the-way detail to keep them out of the public eye pending their manslaughter trial.
Trial Board (Episode 12)
Writer: Michael Mann
Air date: 1977-01-04
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: An undercover Vice detective is accused by one of his fellow Vice detectives of stealing cash during a drug bust.
Spitfire (Episode 13)
Air date: 1977-01-11
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Detectives try to track down the two remaining robbers who participated in a tire store holdup that resulted in the deaths of an employee and one of the robbers. Their investigation leads them to a large illegal weapons operation.
Nightmare on a Sunday Morning (Episode 14)
Writer: Liam O'Brien
Air date: 1977-01-18
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Holly Green, a 19-year-old waitress is brutally beaten and raped by a pair of creeps, she then reluctantly helps bring her assailants to trial.
The Malflores (Episode 15)
Writer: John Sacret Young
Air date: 1977-01-25
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Officers Webber and Cheruco discover a violent new gang on the streets, the Malflores, comprised entirely of Latinas.
The Blue Fog (Episode 16)
Air date: 1977-02-01
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Veteran Detective Jack McGraw is given the unsavory task of investigating Vice detectives suspected of taking bribes from the Chinese crime family running an illegal gambling operation.
Hard Rock Brown (Episode 17)
Air date: 1977-02-15
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: LAPD Narcotics detectives work with a Mexican counterpart to try to break up the operation run by the Alvarez brothers, which is flooding the market with Mexican heroin known as "hard rock brown."
End of the Line (Episode 18)
Air date: 1977-02-22
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Detectives Gerard and Panelli try to catch a pair of armed robbers who hit a supermarket, and are joined by a one-armed former detective, who is now an investigator for the store's insurance company.
One of Our Cops Is Crazy (Episode 19)
Air date: 1977-03-01
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Sgt. Paul Cazenovia uses highly unconventional, albeit successful, methods in his undercover narcotics unit, but his lieutenant thinks he is crazy. It doesn't help that Paul refuses to stay behind his desk while he's under suspension.
Ice Time (Episode 20)
Writer: John Sacret Young
Air date: 1977-03-08
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Vice Detective Dave Tackleberry takes on a second job (to pay for his teenage daughter's figure skating development) at the same time he and his partner Det. Wurster try to bust a pimp specializing in underage girls.
The Six Foot Stretch (Episode 21)
Air date: 1977-03-22
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Detectives DeHart and Ward go up against another team of officers Riggs and Salter in tracking down a criminal. A psychotic man is targeting elderly women and time is of the essence.
Prime Rib (Episode 22)
Air date: 1977-04-05
Runtime: 60 min
Overview: Marty Lacayo and Glenn Talbot are street narcs, meaning they are given the task of busting nickel-and-dime users and hustlers. Shep, one of their users, gives them a tasty lead on a big distributor, but they are forbidden by Lt. Hagedorn from pursuing him.

Seasons

Episodes 23
Episodes 22
Episodes 22
Episodes 22

Episodes 10
Episodes 5
Episodes 1