Picket Fences

Murder has come to Rome,Wisconsin!  The small town of Rome, Wisconsin gets more excitement than it can handle when a famous rock band hits town just after the Tin Man is murdered during a production of "The Wizard of Oz."

Max's persistence at solving the case of a serial kidnapper leads to a dispute with the FBI.

A circus midget wins sympathy with an animal-cruelty suit while a teacher with a brain tumor is forgotten.

Brock takes a stand on ethics and the fate of Rome when the town's mayoral race opens up a Pandora's box of under-the-table dealings.

Is Frank the potato man guilty of serial bathing? Rome struggles with misleading stereotypes and sexual harassment.

Questions arise about a woman's death 10 years earlier, and Maxine investigates the possibility of murder instead of suicide.

Kenny boxes with a former middleweight champ while Jill comes out fighting as a candidate for mayor.

Jill and Zack discover an elderly woman dead and the evidence points to a mercy killing. Did a nun do the deed?

Jill's father brings along a much younger love interest on his Thanksgiving visit. Meanwhile, Wambaugh catches his wife cheating, and Kenny and Max share dinner.

Brock and his team must read the fine print when a young wife's death could lead to a sizable insurance payoff for either her husband or her sister.

Rome's Christmas pageant at a public school is ruled a violation of separation of church and state but another controversy unfolds with the arrest of a teacher.

The Brock family returns from a Christmas Eve outing with plans to surprise Kimberly, but they're in for the real surprise.

Unnerved when Kenny is shot during the investigation of a store break-in, Max botches the arrest of the prime suspect.

When a woman is charged with killing the husband she is about to divorce, Wambaugh attempts to build a temporary insanity plea based on menopause.

When a school friend gets pregnant, Kimberly tells her parents she thinks it resulted from incest.

A dentist who hasn't disclosed his HIV infection has the town up in arms; Kenny takes flak for dating twins.

Maxine recognizes the MO of a serial killer when she gets an odd response to a personal ad.

Jill calls on her ex-fiancé, a leading neurosurgeon, to perform a fetal-tissue transplant that could cure a patient's Parkinson's disease.

Carter's autopsy of a body reveals radiation scars (and cancer), leading him to believe that the man had witnessed a spaceship crash.

Native Americans protesting a golf-course development on a burial ground take over the courthouse.

Matthew discovers that Kimberly has kissed a girl; Maxine and Kenny compete for the post of undersheriff.

Jill is frustrated when a blues vocalist takes ill and fails to appreciate medicine's ability to keep her alive.

Mayor Pugen is caught between a Brock and a hard place when the Sheriff arrests him for murdering a disarmed carjacker, leaving him to rely on Wambaugh for his defense.

Wambaugh appeals Mayor Pugen's conviction and uncovers a technicality that could secure a new trial.

Things don't add up when a math teacher says he was a date-rape victim; Brock locks horns with a new mayor.

Still reeling from her relationship with Dr. Shreve, Max allows a drunken driver to continue on home.

A modern Robin Hood and her team prance into Rome to rob from the rich and give to the needy: local flood victims.

Brock investigates the possibility that a model is the victim of spouse abuse. Meanwhile, some members of the community are having a cow over a local dairy's ad campaign featuring the model in racy shots.

Some members of the community don't know what to believe when a woman pulled from a submerged vehicle is discovered to be pregnant---even though she is technically a virgin.

A jury must decide if it's murder or a mistake after a man shoots and kills his own brother when the sibling enters his home in the middle of the night.

The drug war comes to Rome in place of Santa: controlled substances are found on the high school campus and a federal witness turns up in town.

Jill does her best to uphold the Hippocratic oath when she treats a Christian Scientist who has refused care and whose husband takes the fight to court.

Embarrassed by a prank, Matthew tries to get even with some boys. Meanwhile, budget cuts hit the sheriff's department.

The debate over crime reaches a fever pitch when the mayor moves forward with new legislation to curb violence.

With his mind failing due to Alzheimer's, Howard Buss proposes that doctors harvest his heart for the transplant his son needs.

Valentine's Day brings love and controversy to assorted age groups: Carter is smitten with a widow, Zack finds his first love, and Kimberly's boyfriend is too prudent.

The mayor scolds a priest for giving a pep talk colored with religious ideals to a public school's hockey team.

Sheriff Brock tries to remain professional when Kimberly is kidnapped---and his onetime partner is the prime suspect.

When an obese woman confesses to murdering her husband, Max has some doubts about the motive.

Sheriff Brock becomes the unlikely foreman of a jury deciding the case of an accused cop killer.

A visit by Jill's father leads to a lively evening of therapy in the Brock household.

Mayor Buss criticizes Father Barrett on public-access cable, prompting a lawsuit.

The parents of a dying boy try to get the court's permission to use an unorthodox procedure to save the child's life.

Howard Buss's Alzheimer's worsens, pushing his family to the breaking point.

Sheriff Brock fears the worst when a teenager disappears. Meanwhile a teacher may be advocating creationism in a public school.

DA Littleton prepares for a showdown with Wambaugh as the case against Brian Latham goes to trial.

A Federal judge orders that 400 black students be bused to Rome's schools from Green Bay.

Jill and Judge Nance reveal their personal frustrations in heated meetings.

A social worker takes a girl from her mother, who practices witchcraft; Max and Kenny go to Ginny's to discuss the occult.

A school report by Zachary hurts Jill's mayoral campaign just before the election.

An ailing Wambaugh travels to Chicago for specialized treatment; an announcement by Kenny and Kimberly angers Brock.

Wambaugh and Littleton present their arguments concerning the Latham case to the Supreme Court.

Sentencing nears for Brian Latham, the drifter convicted of murder; Brock questions his own resolve as sheriff.

Brock and his deputies search a dairy farm where Carter suspects genetic experiments are taking place.

Sheriff Brock and his deputies investigate the death of a male massage therapist.

The Frogman is at the center of controversy once again when his son tires of his antics and goes to court for emancipation.

A surprise visit by Jimmy's ex-wife rocks the Brock household when the woman announces her plan to have another child.

Max has a proposition for Kenny; Carter has a close encounter with a special woman.

Jill and Jimmy must reconcile parental concerns with their professional duties when a convicted child molester chooses to live in Rome.

Zack questions authority---including Brock's---when the "Dancing Bandit" is arrested upon returning to Rome to wish the boy a happy birthday.

Brock looks outside his department for help in finding missing mayor Ed Lawson. Meanwhile, the town launches a search for a new mayor.

Brock's renewed commitment to thorough police work leads to the discovery of a mercy killing.

After Jill's criminal trial, Judge Bone is asked to rule on the validity of a law prohibiting physician-assisted suicide.

A remorseful Zack has a religious experience that creates quite a stir in the town.

A visit by Jimmy's attorney father creates tension in the Brock household.

After a youth shoots Father Barrett during an attempted robbery, the mayor's decision to continue with a spring pageant draws fire from somber townsfolk.

Kimberly changes her college plans; a fire imperils Carter; and Mayor Bey proposes changes to the sheriff's uniforms.

As a tornado threat looms over Rome, Wambaugh blows it while toasting his wife at his anniversary party; and Kenny's life nearly spins out of control.

A doctor---who's also a TV personality---sets her sights on Jill's practice; cultural differences figure in the arrest of an immigrant.

DA Littleton faces a figure from his past when two prison escapees make their way to Rome.

Max is grilled in court after a tussle with a man dressed in a bratwurst costume. Meanwhile, Jill is suspicious when Kimberly visits Dr. Joey.

Saturday night in Rome: Jill and Brock have the house to themselves when Matthew heads out to party with friends.

Cryptic dreams after his brother's death lead Littleton to an epiphany. Meanwhile, Brock polkas with Mayor Bey; and Jill struggles to stay a step ahead at work amid personal turmoil.

An animal-rights group that counts Kimberly as a member protests a pig-wrestling event at the town fair; and Dr. Joey becomes emotionally attached to a cancer patient.

The death of a gay man during a papal parade in Rome, Wis., is thought to be a suicide---until an unlikely witness speaks out.

Wambaugh and his son are on opposite sides of a murder trial involving a Jew accused of murdering a Nazi in 1943.

Matthew is traumatized by a classmate's suicide, causing Jimmy to pay him extra attention. Meanwhile, difficulties in dissection class make Kimberly doubt her calling to study medicine.

A blizzard hits Rome, stranding together the feuding Bone and Wambaugh, and forcing Jill to deal with Jimmy's ex-wife.

Judge Bone is reunited with an old friend; Carter is shocked by a live wire; and Zack's heartstrings go zing over a young cellist.

Misadventures in cyberspace: Zack creates a porno picture of his teacher that ends up on the World Wide Web, while Max finally meets the man she's been "chatting" with.

Feelings long bottled up surface at Zack's party, which finds Jill enduring a mid-life crisis, and Wambaugh bristling over Bone's lack of respect.

When Maxine's appointed interim mayor, her power goes to her head---and makes her the target of a misogynistic deejay, who's putting ugly thoughts into his listeners' minds.

Laurie reveals that she bore her son for her gay brother and his lover, an announcement that brings their mother back into their lives.

Sue and Carter, then Maxine and Kenny, announce their engagements; Myriam convinces Wambaugh to represent a widow charged with killing three of her husbands; Jill walks out on Jimmy.

Jill's shot at coaching Zack's basketball team turns into an obsession---until Zack and his teammates take their parents to court to keep the adults from interfering.

Myriam's relationship with a stockbroker devastates Wambaugh, who comes to suspect her new love is up to no good.

An Amish woman raped by a Rome resident refuses to testify on religious grounds. When the alleged rapist strikes again, the second victim's parents sue the Amish community.

Jimmy suspects the murder of a transient is linked to a teenager and his mentally handicapped brother.