Houston Knights (1987)
Houston Knights is an American crime drama set in Houston, Texas. The show ran on CBS from 1987 to 1988 and had 31 episodes. The core of the show was the partnership between two very different cops from two different cultures. Chicago cop Joey LaFiamma, played by Michael Paré, is transferred to Houston after he kills a mobster from a powerful Mafia family and a contract is put out on him. Once there, he is partnered with Levon Lundy, played by Michael Beck, the grandson of a Texas Ranger. Although as different as night and day, and after a rocky beginning they form a successful partnership and become friends. This is aided to a certain extent by an event where a hitman from Chicago who holds the contract to shoot La Fiamma arrives in Houston and is ultimately killed by Lundy. During the series, it is revealed that both La Fiamma and Lundy have their own personal demons; La Fiamma's Chicago police partner had been killed when he went ahead while La Fiamma had waited for backup to arrive. Lundy's wife had been killed by an explosion that was intended to kill him.
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Episode 1 - Mirrors (1)
Release Date: 1987-03-11There are two underlying stories here. The first is the murder of a Houston business man. The other is the pasts of LaFiamma and Lundy. It is the conflict between a Northerner detective suddenly transferred to a foreign land called Texas. Lundy is a laid-back cowboy. LaFiamma is pushy. How they investigate crimes are totally opposite. At the end of this episode they are both transferred to the Major Crime Unit, under an officer who formerly was Lundy's partner.
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Episode 2 - Mirrors (2)
Release Date: 1987-03-11 -
Episode 3 - North of the Border
Release Date: 1987-03-18The story is about an wealthy American going into a Mexican border town and getting away with murder. Efrain Figueroa is introduced here as Sgt Estaban Gutierrez as a recurring character. Estaban is a Matamoros, Mexico cop. He travels to Houston in the hopes of finding the killer, only to find the man is an important lawyer with connections.
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Episode 4 - Houston's Hero
Release Date: 1987-03-25A hero turns out to be the killer everyone is seeking. See Recap for more details.
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Episode 5 - Single in Heaven
Release Date: 1987-04-01A serial killer is on the loose, and one of the victims is a friend of Levon's. Danni, a novice journalist overheads Joe & Levon talking and prints what she heard Joe say. The killer connects with Joe, invading his home, his work, and even proving he can get in and out of Danni's apartment without her knowledge. The showdown comes at Levon's ranch where the killer intends to kill Levon and Joe and take over Joe's personality.
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Episode 6 - Yesterday's Gone
Release Date: 1987-04-08A high school friend of Levon's is shot at in a hotel lobby. The boys are assigned the case. Joe sees a Chicago 'mob tailor' and talks with him. Levon learns that his friend, Bobby, has been laundering money for the mob. The Feds tape a meeting between Joe and 'the tailor' figuring Joe is the hit man sent to kill Bobby. In the end, Bobby is killed because the Feds won't allow Joe to enter the house. The boys push past the Feds and get in and kill the hit men. The Feds leave in disgust when they discover they were wrong! Joe realizes his family connections could get him into a lot of trouble.
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Episode 7 - Bad Girl
Release Date: 1987-04-15At a rich boy's party, things suddenly turn deadly when someone dies of laced cocaine. One of the party girls makes a play for LaFiamma. As Joe is turned on more and more by this girl, he begins to get romantically involved with her. Lundy tries to tell his partner that the woman is just playing with him for kicks, but Joe won't listen. Joe soon learns however that the lady deals in drugs and is very dangerous to be around. Her father's wealth and connections has kept her from being prosecuted until some video tapes turn up indicating just what her role really is. Used with permission of JoeyPare, Houston Knights Roundup
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Episode 8 - Scarecrow
Release Date: 1987-04-22A motorcycle cop is murdered during a traffic stop. A young black man named Scarecrow says he witnessed it. The Knights find him and put him in a safe house, but the young man flees, so they put him in a jail cell and he ends up dead. A young social worker clashes with the boys over how the case was handled, and during the ensuing investigation it is discovered that she is the one who actually saw the killing not Scarecrow. In the end, she identifies the killer.
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Episode 9 - Colt
Release Date: 1987-04-29The gun Levon carries belonged to his grandfather, who was a Texas Ranger. In this episode, Lundy walks into a jewelry store to check on something he is having fixed, and ends up in the middle of a robbery in progress. Now it is used to break open jewelry displays. Then it falls into the hands of a wild young couple who go on a shooting spree. Levon gets so *OBSESSED* with getting his gun back that he gets suspended. That does not stop him from tracking down the Colt. With the help of his partner, they find the young couple. When the case is closed, Joe returns the Colt to his partner, who throws it into a lake, as he can no longer use it for law and order.