List of The Equalizer (1985 TV series) episodes
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2012) |
The following is an episode list of the CBS show The Equalizer.
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Premiered: | Ended: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | September 18, 1985 | April 8, 1986 | |
| 2 | 22 | October 8, 1986 | May 27, 1987 | |
| 3 | 22 | September 23, 1987 | May 4, 1988 | |
| 4 | 22 | October 26, 1988 | August 24, 1989 | |
DVD releases
At present, the following DVD sets have been released.[1]
| DVD set | Company | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| The Equalizer: Season 1 | Universal Home Video | February 12, 2008 |
| The Equalizer: The Complete Collection; Limited Edition | Visual Entertainment | August 19, 2014 |
| The Equalizer: The Complete Season 2 | Visual Entertainment | August 26, 2014 |
| The Equalizer: The Complete Season 3 | Visual Entertainment | October 24, 2014 |
| The Equalizer: The Complete Season 4 | Visual Entertainment | November 25, 2014 |
Episodes
Season one
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01–01 | "The Equalizer" | Rod Holcomb | Michael Sloan & Richard Lindheim | September 18, 1985 | 83517 |
|
Robert McCall, disenchanted with "The Company" (an otherwise unnamed American intelligence agency), quits and starts his own detective agency. His first cases are helping a computer clerk whose life is in danger after he stumbles across some incriminating data, and a woman being stalked by a crazed man. | |||||
| 01–02 | "China Rain" | Richard Compton | Teleplay: Joel Surnow, Maurice Hurley, & Victor Hsu Story: Victor Hsu | September 25, 1985 | 61204 |
|
When a Chinese maid's young son is snatched by mistake in place of the son of the woman's wealthy employers, McCall is hired to locate the boy. | |||||
| 01–03 | "The Defector" | Rod Holcomb | Heywood Gould | October 2, 1985 | 61213 |
|
McCall comes to the aid of a Russian double agent who wants to defect to the west but when the man is murdered, McCall must protect his ballerina daughter. Meanwhile, McCall also helps a teenager stand up to a group of bullies while balancing time with his latest mistress. | |||||
| 01–04 | "The Lock Box" | Russ Mayberry | Teleplay: Frank Military, Joel Surnow, & Maurice Hurley Story: Frank Military | October 9, 1985 | 61216 |
|
When a teenage girl is abducted by a pimp who runs an anything-goes, invitation-only brothel, the girl's parents hire McCall to find their missing daughter. Guest star Adam Ant. | |||||
| 01–05 | "Lady Cop" | Russ Mayberry | Teleplay: Maurice Hurley & Joel Surnow Story: Kathryn Bigelow, Maurice Hurley & Joel Surnow | October 16, 1985 | 61208 |
|
A young policewoman hires McCall when she finds that her partner and his cronies are corrupt, and intend to make sure that she doesn't blow the whistle on them. | |||||
| 01–06 | "The Confirmation Day" | Richard Colla | Teleplay: Edward Adler & Heywood Gould Story: Eric Blakeney & Gene Miller | October 23, 1985 | 61205 |
|
A teenage boy hires McCall for help after his father stole a truckload of antiques, which resulted in the man's friend being shot dead and the boy's father now being wanted by the Mob. McCall also helps an old lady who is sure someone is stalking her. | |||||
| 01–07 | "The Children's Song" | Richard Compton | Teleplay: Howard Chesley, Joel Surnow, & Maurice Hurley Story: Howard Chesley | October 30, 1985 | 61203 |
|
McCall takes his estranged son Scott for a weekend away in the country to try and bond, but they don't exactly have a quiet time when they end up protecting a girl from young thugs who killed her boyfriend and now intend to keep her from talking. | |||||
| 01–08 | "The Distant Fire" | Alan Metzger | Teleplay: Robert Sabaroff, Joel Surnow, & Maurice Hurley Story: Robert Sabaroff | November 6, 1985 | 61201 |
|
McCall is forced to team up with a known hitman, to save the life of a woman they both used to love from a killer. | |||||
| 01–09 | "Mama's Boy" | James Sheldon | Heywood Gould | November 13, 1985 | 61219 |
|
A single mother hires McCall to straighten up her troubled teenage son, who is going off the rails after falling in with a drug runner with martial arts skills. | |||||
| 01–10 | "Bump and Run" | Richard Compton | Teleplay: Maurice Hurley & Joel Surnow Story: Jim Trombetta | November 20, 1985 | 61214 |
|
McCall must track down a vigilante who is killing punks in his name, while also helping a female student who is in danger from some thugs after an attempted car-jacking against her went wrong, leaving one of them dead and the surviving thugs seeking retribution. | |||||
| 01–11 | "Desperately" | Donald Petrie | Charles Grant Craig | December 4, 1985 | 61221 |
|
McCall protects a lonely wife after a stranger tried to lure her into an affair, breaking into an apartment and murdering a man in the process. Things get even worse when the stranger turns out to be a hit-man. | |||||
| 01–12 | "Reign of Terror" | Richard Compton | Teleplay: Steve Bello & Coleman Luck Story: Steve Bello | December 11, 1985 | 61220 |
|
McCall does his best to rectify the situation when the new doctor at a local clinic in gang territory is targeted by the vicious gang after she refuses to give them drugs as payment for working on their turf. | |||||
| 01–13 | "Back Home" | Alan Metzger | Teleplay: Joel Surnow & Maurice Hurley Story: Neil Cohen | December 18, 1985 | 61209 |
|
When McCall is hired to protect the elderly residents of a run down apartment block, who are being harassed by the block's banker owner (Frank Converse), he also discovers that the man has arranged to have his estranged wife (Marisa Berenson) murdered. | |||||
| 01–14 | "Out of the Past" | Richard Compton | Cyrus Nowrasteh | January 15, 1986 | 61224 |
|
A deranged, dying ex-con is harassing the man who testified against him. McCall is called for protection by the man's wife – the woman who McCall was married to years before. | |||||
| 01–15 | "Dead Drop" | Donald Petrie | Maurice Hurley and Joel Surnow | January 22, 1986 | 61230 |
|
When a man is marked for murder after innocently having his name used in a mailing racket, McCall assembles a team of contacts to stake out the group behind the scam and let it be known that McCall's client is innocent. | |||||
| 01–16 | "Wash Up" | Richard Compton | Mark Frost | January 29, 1986 | 61228 |
|
McCall is hired by two skyscraper window washers, who are certain that their boss is trying to have them killed after they set about forming a union. | |||||
| 01–17 | "Torn" | Russ Mayberry | Teleplay: Carl Eastlake Story: Joel Surnow & Maurice Hurley | February 5, 1986 | 61211 |
|
McCall is hired to protect a woman and her young daughter (played by a 9-year-old Melissa Joan Hart) from her abusive husband about to be released from prison, but finds his time divided as he also tries to get even with a contact who betrayed him years before. | |||||
| 01–18 | "Unnatural Causes" | Alan Metzger | Teleplay: Susan Woollen, Coleman Luck, & Scott Shepherd Story: Susan Woollen | February 12, 1986 | 61233 |
|
A serial killer, who targets lonely middle aged women and leaves an orchid at the scene of the crime, is on the loose. McCall investigates, while also being hired by a young wannabe actress who has fallen foul of a flashy pimp. | |||||
| 01–19 | "Breakpoint" | Russ Mayberry | Teleplay: Scott Shepherd & Don Carlos Dunaway Story: Scott Shepherd | February 19, 1986 | 61226 |
|
McCall is attending a wedding reception when the party is suddenly taken hostage by a group of terrorists (the ringleader played by Tony Shalhoub) who have kidnapped a Middle East philanthropist. | |||||
| 01–20 | "No Conscience" | Richard Compton | Mark Frost | March 26, 1986 | 61231 |
|
A womanizer is kidnapped and beaten up for a piece of information that his captors want – but he doesn't know what it is. Given 36 hours, the man hires McCall to help him, a case with many turns. | |||||
| 01–21 | "Unpunished Crimes" | Alan Metzger | John Burke & Grenville Case | April 1, 1986 | 61227 |
|
McCall is hired by a boy to help his inventor father, whose designs were ripped off by a multi-million dollar corporation run by a ruthless executive. | |||||
| 01–22 | "Pretenders" | Richard Compton | Scott Shepherd | April 8, 1986 | 61234 |
|
McCall is hired by a fledgling reporter who is convinced that her new apartment neighbor is up to no good. But she can't prove anything, and the police don't want to know. | |||||
Season two
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02–01 | "Prelude" | Richard Compton | Carleton Eastlake | October 8, 1986 | TBA |
|
A dictator, who McCall helped bring to power, kidnaps an American journalist who McCall must now rescue. | |||||
| 02–02 | "Nocturne" | Richard Compton | Carleton Eastlake | October 15, 1986 | TBA |
|
McCall comes to the aid of a blind rape victim who hears the voice of her attacker. | |||||
| 02–03 | "A Community of Civilized Men" | Alan Metzger | Daniel Pyne & Scott Shepherd | October 22, 1986 | TBA |
|
A widow is being pressed to pay off her husband's debts, and enlists McCall's help to keep the collectors off her back. | |||||
| 02–04 | "Joyride" | Russ Mayberry | Jim Trombetta & Charles Grant Craig | October 29, 1986 | TBA |
|
A hearse, bearing a coffin full of crack cocaine, is stolen and taken for a joyride by two young boys who are unaware of the contents of the coffin. | |||||
| 02–05 | "Shades of Darkness" | Donald Petrie | Jack V. Fogarty | November 5, 1986 | TBA |
|
McCall must clear a National Guardsman wrongly charged with murder. | |||||
| 02–06 | "Nightscape" | Aaron Lipstadt | Carleton Eastlake | November 12, 1986 | TBA |
|
McCall is asked by a rape victim to stop her husband from seeking revenge on her attackers. | |||||
| 02–07 | "Counterfire" | Alan Metzger | Scott Shepherd & Coleman Luck | November 19, 1986 | TBA |
|
McCall is framed for a blind man's murder, and the waitress who set him up is nearly killed. McCall must work with the girl to find the man who set up both of them and restore his good name. | |||||
| 02–08 | "The Line" | Russ Mayberry | Steve Volpe | November 26, 1986 | TBA |
|
McCall is called upon to help a woman whose son was killed by a citizen's patrol group. | |||||
| 02–09 | "Tip on a Sure Thing" | Donald Petrie | Scott Shepherd | December 3, 1986 | TBA |
|
A bookie kidnaps a jockey's son in an attempt to fix the outcome of a horse race. | |||||
| 02–10 | "The Cup" | Mario DiLeo | Teleplay: David Jackson & Carleton Eastlake Story: Andrew Sipes and Carleton Eastlake | December 10, 1986 | TBA |
|
Mickey Kostmayer's brother, a priest, hears a criminal confession moments before the man is murdered. | |||||
| 02–11 | "Heartstrings" | Russ Mayberry | Loraine Despres | December 17, 1986 | TBA |
|
A woman's baby son has been kidnapped, and McCall is called on to retrieve him. This episode features Edward Woodward's real wife Michele Dotrice. | |||||
| 02–12 | "High Performance" | Russ Mayberry | Jack V. Fogarty | January 7, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall protects a construction worker who is both a witness to a killing and the murderer's next target. | |||||
| 02–13 | "Beyond Control" | Alan Metzger | Coleman Luck | January 14, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall must protect his former boss Control from a KGB hitman. | |||||
| 02–14 | "Carnal Persuasion" | Leon Ichaso | Dennis Manuel | January 21, 1987 | TBA |
|
A judge offers to release a convicted man... if his wife will perform sexual favors for him. | |||||
| 02–15 | "Memories of Manon: Part 1" | Tony Wharmby | Coleman Luck | February 4, 1987 | TBA |
|
A joint American/Canadian task force, led by Phillip Marcel, is destroying mob operations along the Eastern seaboard with the assistance of an informant codenamed Chrysalis. Mob boss Frank Dorgan kidnaps Phillip's daughter, Yvette, and threatens to kill Phillip if she doesn't provide the identity of Chrysalis. Yvette turns to her godfather, Control, who enlists McCall to protect the Marcels. Control reveals that Yvette is the daughter of McCall's beloved former operative, Manon...but doesn't reveal her other secret... | |||||
| 02–16 | "Memories of Manon: Part 2" | Tony Wharmby | Coleman Luck | February 11, 1987 | TBA |
|
Dorgan kidnaps Yvette again to raise the stakes in his pursuit of Chrysalis. McCall must now play Dorgan against Chrysalis to thwart Chrysalis' plans and save the Marcels – while coming to terms with his own link to Yvette. | |||||
| 02–17 | "Solo" | Alan Metzger | Carleton Eastlake | February 18, 1987 | TBA |
|
A woman is wanted in Pennsylvania for a policeman's murder...and McCall is the woman's new lover. This episode includes the first television appearance of Kevin Spacey. | |||||
| 02–18 | "A Place to Stay" | Alan Metzger | Teleplay: Marc Rubin, Carleton Eastlake, & Coleman Luck Story: Marc Rubin | February 25, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall takes the case of a runaway child who has been taken in by a child porn artist. | |||||
| 02–19 | "Coal Black Soul" | Richard Compton | Scott Shepherd | May 6, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall deals with someone who claims he can't stop killing women and also has his eyes on a female psychiatrist. | |||||
| 02–20 | "First Light" | Richard Compton | Jack Fogarty | May 13, 1987 | TBA |
|
Scott takes on his father's role as "The Equalizer" while his father is away, and his case involves a merchant seemingly harassed by local thugs...but Robert's true nemesis holds a grudge from World War II. | |||||
| 02–21 | "Hand and Glove" | Alan Metzger | Coleman Luck | May 20, 1987 | TBA |
|
An invalid woman has nightmares, and one of them comes true when one of the figures from them appears in her room. | |||||
| 02–22 | "Re-Entry" | Aaron Lipstadt | Teleplay: Scott Shepherd Story: Dennis Manuel | May 27, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall is called on to help a man who was tricked into committing a crime. This episode includes guest stars John Goodman, David Johansen (aka Buster Poindexter), Steve Buscemi, and a cameo by Stewart Copeland. | |||||
Season three
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03–01 | "Blood and Wine: Part 1" | Alan Metzger | Coleman Luck | September 23, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall and a monk, who was a terrorist before his conversion, must track down the monk's former partner. | |||||
| 03–02 | "Blood and Wine: Part 2" | Alan Metzger | Coleman Luck | September 23, 1987 | TBA |
|
Part 2 of a 2-hour season premiere. | |||||
| 03–03 | "Suspicion of Innocence" | Russ Mayberry | Robert Eisele | September 30, 1987 | TBA |
|
A mentally retarded man (played by Vincent D'Onofrio) witnesses the murder of one of his coworkers in an alley, is charged with the crime and enlists McCall to help prove his innocence. | |||||
| 03–04 | "In the Money" | Aaron Lipstadt | Ed Waters & Scott Shepherd | October 7, 1987 | TBA |
|
A woman crosses some corrupt stock traders. | |||||
| 03–05 | "Encounter in a Closed Room" | Jim Johnston | Teleplay: Ann Lewis Hamilton Story: Ann Lewis Hamilton & Scott Shepherd | October 14, 1987 | TBA |
|
A Soviet defector's parents have been kidnapped by the KGB and will only release them if she convinces another defector to return to their home country. | |||||
| 03–06 | "Mission: McCall; Part 1" | Alan Metzger | Ed Waters & Scott Shepherd | October 28, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall is kidnapped by the KGB and Scott enlists help of a former Agency colleague Richard Dyson (played by Robert Mitchum) to free him. | |||||
| 03–07 | "Mission: McCall; Part 2" | Alan Metzger | Teleplay: Ed Waters, Scott Shepherd & Robert Eisele Story: Ed Waters & Coleman Luck | November 4, 1987 | TBA |
|
Part 2: Dyson enlists former deep cover operative Harley Gage to assist him in rescuing McCall from his KGB captors. | |||||
| 03–08 | "Shadow Play" | Russ Mayberry | Robert Eisele | November 11, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall must help colleague Harley Gage protect a government witness from assassins who are looking to keep him from testifying before a Congressional Oversight Committee. | |||||
| 03–09 | "Inner View" | Marc Laub | Jim Trombetta | November 18, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall is enlisted by a psychic who claims to have seen a serial killer's next murder. | |||||
| 03–10 | "The Rehearsal" | Alan Metzger | Robert Eisele | December 2, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall and Gage are trapped in a theater with an acting company after someone plants bombs at all the theater's exits and cuts the phone lines. | |||||
| 03–11 | "Christmas Presence" | Michael O'Herlihy | Coleman Luck | December 16, 1987 | TBA |
|
McCall and Gage are called on to protect a six-year-old boy with AIDS, whose grandmother is dealing with increasingly violent harassment from their scared neighbors. | |||||
| 03–12 | "A Dance on the Dark Side" | Jonathan Perry | David Lightstone | January 13, 1988 | TBA |
|
McCall must protect a police switchboard operator who overheard a policeman talk about his former partner's murder and is now being threatened into silence. | |||||
| 03–13 | "The Child Broker" | Mark Sobel | Mick Curran | January 20, 1988 | TBA |
|
McCall helps a young woman whose boyfriend is being used as a pseudo-slave. | |||||
| 03–14 | "Video Games" | James A. Contner | Peter McCabe | January 27, 1988 | TBA |
|
An investigative reporter tracking information on a call-girl operation and his daughter's death goes missing. | |||||
| 03–15 | "Something Green" | Luis Soto | Kevin Droney | February 10, 1988 | TBA |
|
A diplomat has kidnapped his son (Macaulay Culkin) from his ex-wife and has $10 million in mob money in tow. McCall is called on to stop them from leaving the country. | |||||
| 03–16 | "The Mystery of Manon: Part 1" | Bradford May | Coleman Luck | February 17, 1988 | TBA |
|
Control's goddaughter Yvette Marcel returns, asking Control and McCall for help with her father Phillip, who has received information that his wife Manon - long believed to be dead - may still be alive. | |||||
| 03–17 | "The Mystery of Manon: Part 2" | Bradford May | Coleman Luck | February 24, 1988 | TBA |
|
With Phillip now dead, McCall and Control must discover the true identity of the woman who believes herself to be Manon - and expose the shadow party controlling her. | |||||
| 03–18 | "No Place Like Home" | Tobe Hooper | Robert Eisele | March 16, 1988 | TBA |
|
A man on welfare is in need of help from McCall to protect him from his abusive landlord. | |||||
| 03–19 | "Last Call" | Michael O'Herlihy | Robert Crais | March 23, 1988 | TBA |
|
Kostmayer and several others are taking hostage by a rapist on the run from a Mafia assassin. | |||||
| 03–20 | "Regrets Only" | James A. Contner | Robert Crais | March 30, 1988 | TBA |
|
A woman is stalked by her ex-husband. | |||||
| 03–21 | "Target of Choice" | Mark Sobel | Kevin Droney | April 6, 1988 | TBA |
|
A murderer is paroled, and the man who helped put him away finds out he is living in his neighborhood. | |||||
| 03–22 | "Always a Lady" | Marc Laub | Teleplay: Peter McCabe Story: Scott Shepherd | May 4, 1988 | TBA |
|
McCall is called on to try to save a former colleague, who is apparently framed for money theft. | |||||
Season four
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04–01 | "The Last Campaign" | Richard Compton | Lee Batchler & Janet Scott Batchler | October 26, 1988 | TBA |
|
A state senate candidate (Stanley Tucci) is blackmailing the incumbent (E.G. Marshall) to endorse him for election. | |||||
| 04–02 | "Sea of Fire" | Alan Metzger | Teleplay: Peter McCabe & Coleman Luck Story: Peter McCabe | November 2, 1988 | TBA |
|
McCall is called on to help a high school principal deal with a gang who raped a female student in the school gym. | |||||
| 04–03 | "Riding the Elephant" | Donald Petrie | M.K. Lorens | November 9, 1988 | TBA |
|
Two Thai nationals are being hassled by a racketeer with connections to McCall's past employers. | |||||
| 04–04 | "Eighteen with a Bullet" | Richard Compton | Bruce A. Taylor | November 16, 1988 | TBA |
|
McCall and Kostmayer help a young singer escape the clutches of her manager, who is up to no good. | |||||
| 04–05 | "The Day of the Covenant" | James A. Contner | Robert Eisele | December 7, 1988 | TBA |
|
In a case of mistaken identity, Scott's girlfriend is kidnapped by an Afrikaner fanatic who believes she is a terrorist. | |||||
| 04–06 | "Splinters" | Paul Krasny | Coleman Luck | December 14, 1988 | TBA |
|
Kidnappers take Kostmayer hostage and torture him in an attempt to turn him on McCall. | |||||
| 04–07 | "Making of a Martyr" | Bradford May | Wayne Powers & Donna Powers | January 11, 1989 | TBA |
|
A gun control advocate receives threatening phone calls. | |||||
| 04–08 | "The Sins Of Our Fathers" | Paul Krasny | Tom Towler | January 18, 1989 | TBA |
|
A mobster's son is kidnapped as part of a revenge plot against his father. | |||||
| 04–09 | "The Visitation" | Bradford May | Robert Eisele | February 1, 1989 | TBA |
|
An ex-lover of McCall's is forced to help victims of a virus carried by two men who have killed an international arms dealer. | |||||
| 04–10 | "Past Imperfect" | Russ Mayberry | Gail Morgan Hickman | February 15, 1989 | TBA |
|
A cartel uses a man's estranged son to try to make the man do what they want him to. | |||||
| 04–11 | "Trial by Ordeal" | Marc Laub | Coleman Luck | March 1, 1989 | TBA |
|
McCall defends Control against treason charges filed against him by The Company. | |||||
| 04–12 | "Silent Fury" | Russ Mayberry | Donna Powers & Wayne Powers | March 8, 1989 | TBA |
|
McCall helps a deaf robbery victim. | |||||
| 04–13 | "Lullaby of Darkness" | David Jackson | Coleman Luck | March 30, 1989 | TBA |
|
McCall is called on to help a mother and daughter escape their abusive home life. | |||||
| 04–14 | "17 Zebra" | Alan Metzger | Jacqueline Zambrano | April 6, 1989 | TBA |
|
McCall investigates the death of several homeless people who have died from heart attacks while in ambulances. | |||||
| 04–15 | "Starfire" | Bradford May | Robert Eisele | April 13, 1989 | TBA |
|
McCall helps a man who is convinced he is an alien being hunted by killers. | |||||
| 04–16 | "Time Present, Time Past" | Gordon Hessler | Tom Towler | April 20, 1989 | TBA |
|
Scott and a Bulgarian defector (who was aided by his father) are kidnapped, and Scott enters his father's line of work when he tries to rescue the man. | |||||
| 04–17 | "Prisoners of Conscience" | Marc Laub | Robert Eisele | April 27, 1989 | TBA |
|
McCall tries to free a Chilean poet from the grasp of a man who killed his father years ago. | |||||
| 04–18 | "The Caper" | Alan Metzger | Tom Towler | May 4, 1989 | TBA |
|
A cleaning woman witnesses a murder and tries to solve it. | |||||
| 04–19 | "Heart of Justice" | Bradford May | Gail Morgan Hickman | May 11, 1989 | TBA |
|
A man hellbent on getting revenge on the men who attacked his wife enlists McCall's help when he finds out someone else has gotten to them first. | |||||
| 04–20 | "Race Traitors" | Robert E. Warren | Donna Powers, Wayne Powers, & Gail Morgan Hickman | June 29, 1989 | TBA |
|
McCall comes to the aid of a black family being harassed by racists. | |||||
| 04–21 | "Endgame" | Alan Metzger | Coleman Luck | August 10, 1989 | TBA |
|
A man who is a master of strategy games uses his knowledge to plot revenge against two sisters. | |||||
| 04–22 | "Suicide Squad" | Marc Laub | Jacqueline Zambrano | August 24, 1989 | TBA |
|
McCall aids a young student who has turned to drug dealing after he loses his athletic scholarship at college. | |||||