Spenser: For Hire
Mystery/suspense series based on Robert Parker's "Spenser" novels. Spenser, a private investigator living in Boston, gets involved in a new murder mystery each episode. Using his years of experience, his natural talents for observation and reasoning, and the occasional bit of help from his friend Hawk, Spenser never fails to crack the case.
- Metascore53
- 1985-1988
- 3 seasons
- ABC
- Suspense, Drama
- TV-14
Mystery/suspense series based on Robert Parker's "Spenser" novels. Spenser, a private investigator living in Boston, gets involved in a new murder mystery each episode. Using his years of experience, his natural talents for observation and reasoning, and the occasional bit of help from his friend Hawk, Spenser never fails to crack the case.
Season 1 Episode Guide
22 Episodes 1985 - 1986
Episode 1
Promised Land/Pilot
Fri, Sep 20, 1985 120 mins
Spenser is hired by a real estate developer with gambling problems to track down his wife, who's run away. When it becomes obvious that the wife has gotten herself in over her head with some crusading acquaintances, he tries to reconcile the estranged couple and get them both out of the trouble they are in.
Episode 2
No Room at the Inn
Fri, Sep 27, 1985 48 mins
Spenser's apartment burns down, but he's allowed to move into an old fire station as thanks for saving a firefighter's life. Meanwhile, Spenser and Hawk are hired to protect the life of grand jury witness. When it starts to look like someone on the inside might be trying to have the witness killed, and that the witness may not be who she says she is, things get convoluted.
Episode 3
The Choice
Fri, Oct 4, 1985 60 mins
A old man whom Spenser and Hawk knows is shot. They discover that the killer are a couple who comes from an affluent background, which they hide behind. It turns into a cat and mouse game for Spenser and Hawk, who are determined to take them down.
Episode 4
Children of a Tempest Storm
Fri, Oct 11, 1985 47 mins
Spenser kills a would-be thief in the course of thwarting a robbery. He and Susan take in the man's two children while investigating his past. Susan discovers she's pregnant.
Episode 5
Original Sin
Fri, Oct 18, 1985 48 mins
Spenser investigates the apparent suicide of a young nun, and stumbles onto a corrupt landlord.
Episode 6
Discord in a Minor
Fri, Oct 25, 1985 47 mins
Spenser's been hired by a conductor to find his daughter who ran away with her boyfriend. When he finds them, she tells him that her father has been molesting her. Spenser then tells her father what she said which he denies. After Spenser leaves, he calls Hawk, who once did a job for him, to do something for him.
Episode 7
The Killer Within
Tue, Nov 12, 1985 48 mins
Spenser is hired to protect a woman's identical twin sister from assassins, only to discover his employer suffers from a split personality.
Episode 8
Autumn Thieves
Tue, Nov 19, 1985 47 mins
Spenser stumbles onto a ring of thieves while investigating a relic stolen from a museum.
Episode 9
Blood Money
Tue, Nov 26, 1985 47 mins
The wife of a kidnapped oil tycoon hires Spenser to deliver $1 million in ransom money to a ring of terrorists while police have the drop-off area surrounded.
Episode 10
Resurrection
Tue, Dec 3, 1985 60 mins
Spenser investigates a crooked vice cop involved in the mugging of one of Susan's friends.
Episode 11
Internal Affairs
Tue, Dec 17, 1985 48 mins
Marital infidelity and suspected involvement in a gambling ring lead to Lt. Quirk's suspension. Belson is shot during a raid. Spenser works to clear Quirk's name and catch Belson's would-be killer.
Episode 12
Death by Design
Tue, Jan 7, 1986 47 mins
Spenser walks into a death trap when a beautiful university scientist who makes so-called 'designer drugs' hires him to track down her gigolo boyfriend and recover $50,000.
Episode 13
A Day's Wages
Tue, Jan 14, 1986 48 mins
A young ex-con named Louis Harper steals from his boss, John Brady. Brady hires Spenser to prove it and Harper hires Hawk to protect him from leg-breakers. Spenser and Hawk team up to solve Louis' murder.
Episode 14
A Madness Most Discreet
Tue, Jan 21, 1986 48 mins
Spenser tries to protect a former Russian ballerina, when she hires him to help her find stolen papers, but he gets more than he bargained for once he discovers that she is a person of interest to dueling government agents employed by American and Russian forces.
Episode 15
Brother to Dragons
Tue, Feb 4, 1986 48 mins
Spenser is going skiing with Susan, but when he picks her up at Smithfield High School where she works, he finds out one of her students died of a heroin overdose. Spenser gets hired by the superintendent and goes undercover as a teacher at her school to find out where the drugs are coming from. He obviously gets into it with the dealers.
Episode 16
When Silence Speaks
Tue, Feb 11, 1986 49 mins
A deaf woman hires Spenser to find a man she had been corresponding with who had gone missing. As Spenser investigates, he realizes that the missing man is somehow involved with a gang of thieves who are trying to kill Spenser in revenge for busting up their diamond heist.
Episode 17
In a Safe Place
Fri, Feb 14, 1986 48 mins
Spenser searches for the father of an undocumented boy killed by an unhinged unemployed man. The trail leads Spenser into a conspiracy involving the exploitation of undocumented workers on the waterfront.
Episode 18
Angel of Desolation
Tue, Mar 4, 1986 48 mins
Spenser is hired by the fashion model wife of a rich bank owner who says her life is in danger. After multiple attempted murders and one successful murder, Spenser realizes that the wife is not the target. When the wife's past comes to light, the investigation takes a whole new direction.
Episode 19
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
Tue, Mar 11, 1986 48 mins
Detective Belson's ex-partner is murdered during his daughter's wedding reception. The dead cop is suspected of being involved in criminal activities, so Lt. Quirk asks Spenser to investigate the dead man and find out if Belson is dirty too.
Episode 20
At the River's Edge
Tue, Mar 25, 1986 47 mins
Spenser witnesses an ex convict murder a 19 year girl then kill himself. The girl's wealthy younger sister hires Spenser to find out why her sister was killed. Clues lead Spenser to a crusading preacher that had a secret relationship with the 19 year old.
Episode 21
Rage
Tue, Apr 1, 1986 47 mins
When Spenser is trying to locate a runaway. The girl meets a psychotic man but Spenser saves her but the man escapes. He then wants to get back at Spenser and he starts by holding Susan hostage.
Episode 22
Hell Hath No Fury
Tue, Apr 8, 1986 47 mins
Partnering with an TV news reporter, Spenser investigates why a young boy died inside a newly constructed building collapsed, killing him. Spenser suspects the construction company after samples show that below-grade concrete was used.