Picket Fences

Season 1

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

Where to Watch Season 1

22 Episodes

Picket Fences
E1
Picket FencesA beloved local man is killed during a stage production of The Wizard of Oz. Suspicion initially falls on the town pharmacist when the sheriff learns the dead man was having an affair with the pharmacist's daughter. The dead man's wife confesses but her confession is suppressed in court. She is then murdered and the Sheriff's department discovers that she and the pharmacist conspired to kill her husband and then the pharmacist killed her.
The Green Bay Chopper
E2
The Green Bay ChopperAfter a child brings a severed human hand to school for show and tell, the Sheriff's department teams with the FBI to pursue a serial kidnapper, the "Green Bay Chopper", who severs the right hands of his victims.
Mr. Dreeb Comes to Town
E3
Mr. Dreeb Comes to TownMaxine gets very involved with a diminutive circus performer 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.
The Autumn of Rome
E4
The Autumn of RomeThe candidates in the upcoming mayoral election are using such outrageous smear campaigns that Sheriff Brock considers running for Mayor himself.
Frank the Potato Man
E5
Frank the Potato ManA rash of break-ins leads to an investigation of a "serial bather". Suspicion initially centers on "Frank the Potato Man", a vagrant who, it is learned, was tried for aggravated rape 15 years earlier.
Remembering Rosemary
E6
Remembering RosemaryOn 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.
The Contenders
E7
The ContendersTown doctor Jill Brock, fed up with the mayor's failure to address women's issues, declares herself a write-in candidate in the upcoming mayoral election. Deputy Kenny Lakos arrests a former boxing world champion and convinces him to engage in a charity match before extradition to New Jersey.
Sacred Hearts
E8
Sacred HeartsA 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.
Thanksgiving
E9
ThanksgivingAs 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.
The Snake Lady
E10
The Snake LadyMax, Brock, and Kenny investigate the mysterious death of a woman who may or may not have committed suicide.
Pageantry
E11
PageantryA rabbi seeks to block the town from staging a religiously-themed Christmas pageant on public property. The town is shocked to learn that beloved teacher Louise Talbot, scheduled to play the Virgin Mary in the pageant, is a post-operative transsexual.
High Tidings
E12
High TidingsWhen the Brock family inadvertently finds Kimberly having sex with her 19-year-old boyfriend on Christmas Eve, Jimmy wants to prosecute him for statutory rape. A man claiming to be Santa Claus takes Max and dispatcher Ginny hostage and Jimmy tries to talk him down.
Frog Man
E13
Frog ManKenny is seriously wounded by the Frog Man, a burglar who leaves live frogs at the site of his crimes.
Bad Moons Rising
E14
Bad Moons RisingSheriff 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.
Nuclear Meltdowns
E15
Nuclear MeltdownsWhen her friend becomes pregnant, Kimberly fears that she is the victim of incest. However, the man purporting to be her father is actually her husband and they are involved in a polygamous relationship. Max investigates a religious sect that engages in animal sacrifice. Guest Stars: Liz and Jean Sagal
The Body Politic
E16
The Body PoliticA fugitive doctor seeks a court order to allow him to keep his brain-dead wife on life support to allow her to bring her pregnancy to term. The mayor fires the town dentist for refusing to disclose that he is HIV-positive. Guest Stars: Liz and Jean Sagal
Be My Valentine
E17
Be My ValentineDeputy Max goes undercover when a response to her personal ad leads her to believe that she is being targeted by a serial killer known as "Cupid."
Fetal Attraction
E18
Fetal AttractionJill enlists her former fiancé to perform a fetal transplant on a patient with Parkinson's disease over the objections of the town hospital. Jimmy feels threatened when he catches Jill and her former fiancé exchanging a kiss
Sightings
E19
SightingsThe 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.
Rights of Passage
E20
Rights of PassageA group of heavily armed Chippewa Indians declares war on Rome, seizes, and barricades the courthouse. Ginny stages a protest when Jill begins administering growth hormones to a short boy. Matthew takes on the school bully.
Sugar and Spice
E21
Sugar and SpiceKimberly and her best female friend exchange a few kisses during a sleepover, leading to rumors that Kimberly is a lesbian. She turns to her birth mother, who had a lesbian affair in college, for advice.
The Lullaby League
E22
The Lullaby LeagueMax delivers a baby and begins adoption procedures when the natural mother disappears. Jill transplants a pig's liver into a blues vocalist after the woman collapses on stage. Guest star: Della Reese.