Rafferty's Rules

1. S01E01PilotFebruary 12, 1987—Michael Aloysius Rafferty starts his new job as Stipendiary Magistrate of Manly Local Court.
2. S01E02Win Some, Lose SomeFebruary 19, 1987—Rafferty's estranged wife Joanne arrives in Sydney to discuss a few things and he is anxious. Meanwhile, Paulyne has a crisis of conscience
3. S01E03Truth to TellFebruary 26, 1987—Rafferty deals with a young prostitute and U.S. government officials apply to extradite one of their citizens.
4. S01E04The Free LifeMarch 5, 1987—Rafferty is angry when a drugs case he was listed to deal with is suddenly moved to another court and confronts the Chief Magistrate about t
5. S01E05The WomenMarch 12, 1987—Rafferty is forced to examine his attitude towards women.
6. S01E06Rafferty and the Srangers Among UsMarch 19, 1987—Rafferty feels alone with his recent move to the city.
7. S01E07Sin with GoldMarch 26, 1987—Rafferty has no choice but to dismiss a big drug case.
8. S01E08Looking GoodApril 2, 1987—Rafferty hears two cases about people's desire to look good.
9. S01E09Reason to BelieveApril 9, 1987—A young prostitute decides to defend herself against a soliciting charge.
10. S01E10Mates and BrothersApril 16, 1987—An Italian father and his brother plant a bomb in Rafferty's chambers.
11. S01E11SticksApril 23, 1987—Rafferty investigates what appears to be an accidental death by drowning.
12. S01E12Stray CatApril 30, 1987—A young drifter comes before Rafferty's court for being in possession of a cat skin.
13. S01E13Invasion of PrivacyMay 7, 1987—Rafferty's cases reflect people invading other people's privacy.
14. S01E14Rafferty and the Rough DiamondMay 14, 1987—Rafferty finds that people and things are not always as they seem.
15. S01E15Public ImageMay 21, 1987—Rafferty realises that the media makes innocent people look like monsters.

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

1. S02E01Time OutMarch 12, 1988—Work pressures get to much for Paulyne and a love affair seems the answer.
2. S02E02To the WhistleMarch 19, 1988—Flicker's replacement finds he has to play it by Rafferty's rules.
3. S02E03Make My DayMarch 26, 1988—Double standards are apparent in a case that comes before Rafferty.
4. S02E04KidsApril 2, 1988—Rafferty confronts painful parallels at home when his kids arrive out of the blue.
5. S02E05Dark Side of the MoonApril 9, 1988—There is an uneasy atmosphere around Rafferty's court when Flicker returns.
6. S02E06Suspicious MindsApril 16, 1988—Rafferty's court is thrown into turmoil by a mysterious thief in Rafferty's office.
7. S02E07SolidarityApril 23, 1988—Rafferty is confronted by a case involving vandalism on a building site.
8. S02E08Prejudice and PrideApril 30, 1988—Rafferty gets involved in a case of racial prejudice.
9. S02E09Out of the PastMay 7, 1988—Rafferty is confronted by the past when his older brother visits him.
10. S02E10The HitMay 14, 1988—The police are called in to protect Rafferty when he starts receiving threats.
11. S02E11Freedom of ChoiceMay 21, 1988—Rafferty, embroiled in what local papers call "the punk drug squatters assault case", faces a housing crisis of his own and deals with the b

Season 2 ranked & reviewed

1. S03E01Nine Tenths of the LawFebruary 4, 1989—Michael wrestles with the concept of possession after the discovery of Aboriginal remains creates a conflict of ownership between the state
2. S03E02FreedomFebruary 11, 1989—Michael is caught between a rock and a hard place when he is forced to decide the fate of a young boy whose doctors believe is sick, but who
3. S03E03Those Who CanFebruary 18, 1989—Fulvio learns that his teacher and idol isn't quite the perfect magistrate that he thought after he takes over when Michael falls ill.
4. S03E04Sense of DutyFebruary 25, 1989—The courthouse becomes the centre of the fallout from a Secret Intelligence Agency training exercise.
5. S03E05One for the RoadMarch 10, 1989—Gibson faces his past after a series of alcohol-related prosecutions force him to confront the reasons he gave up drinking.
6. S03E06ConfessionsMarch 17, 1989—A series of sexual assaults has consequences for the courthouse when the police fit up suspects and Paulyne is attacked in her own home.
7. S03E07Horse PlayMarch 24, 1989—Pauline finds that her personal life is mirroring her professional life when her former lover Gavin reappears and announces that he is getti
8. S03E08Truth's a DogMarch 31, 1989—Paulyne accuses an insurance company of racism when they report a Lebanese man to the police after he claims his precious rings were stolen
9. S03E09The Great DivideApril 7, 1989—Michael, Paulyne and Gibson find their ethics challenged when they deal with a man accused of raping his wife; however, it soon becomes appa
10. S03E10Quanity of MercyApril 14, 1989—Rafferty is confronted with the limitations of the law when it comes to dispensing justice.
11. S03E11Peace of MindApril 21, 1989—The courthouse finds itself becoming caught up in the deadly web of a cult. Michael is shocked when he goes on an early morning run and disc
12. S03E12Thursday the TwelfthApril 28, 1989—Michael takes responsibility for a foreign woman after she shows up on his doorstep.
13. S03E13Friends and NeighboursMay 5, 1989—A heatwave frays tempers at the courthouse when everyone arrives at work to find the air-conditioning broken.
14. S03E14The Fleet's InMay 12, 1989—The personal and the professional converge for Flicker when the anti-nuclear group his son is involved in begins protesting the arrival of n
15. S03E15FamilyMay 19, 1989—Rafferty's 6-year-old son goes missing.
16. S03E16Crispin's DayMay 26, 1989—The Bard comes into the courtroom when an elderly man reciting Shakespeare is arrested for busking without a licence.
17. S03E17Mum's the WordJune 2, 1989—Michael's hopes of reuniting with his estranged wife are dashed when Joanne reveals that she has come to visit to end their relationship, an
18. S03E18Brief CandlesJune 9, 1989—An unexpected tragedy forces Paulyne to re-evaluate her life; meanwhile she struggles to remain objective while defending a man accused of m
19. S03E19The Deep EndJune 16, 1989—New Legal Aid solicitor Lisa Blake starts work at the courthouse; however, she soon finds herself coming into conflict with Michael when she
20. S03E20A Matter of CircumstancesJune 23, 1989—A journalist sets out to prove that corruption exists in Rafferty's court.
21. S03E21Waifs and StraysJune 30, 1989—Lisa continues to have problems settling in, with her abrasive nature putting Michael offside.
22. S03E22The BeastJuly 7, 1989—Lisa begins to wonder whether evil does exist when she defends a sociopath.
23. S03E23SystemsJuly 14, 1989—The entire courthouse struggles to cope when Michael is forced to decide whether a man accused of murder has a case to answer.
24. S03E24Those Who Can'tJuly 21, 1989—Lisa defends a young man who seems to be heading for the same life of crime as his father once did, but she refuses to believe Ray Brown's c
25. S03E25Blood RelationsJuly 28, 1989—Michael's world is turned upside down after learning that he has a twenty-two year old daughter from a previous relationship.
26. S03E26Star QualityAugust 4, 1989—Flicker's prosecution against a young policeman who has broken the law is complicated when he begins to recognise that something even more s
27. S03E27Private LivesAugust 11, 1989—More than one life is on the line after a former children's television performer is charged with propositioning young boys for sex in the ch
28. S03E28You Can Never TellAugust 18, 1989—A criminal nicknamed 'The Hairy Bandit' is causing havoc and the courthouse is feeling the impact.
29. S03E29The Affair That Never WasAugust 25, 1989—Michael's divorce from Joanne officially comes through, just as former Public Solicitor Paulyne Gray reappears in his life after a six month
30. S03E30Curtains for RingoSeptember 1, 1989—Michael considers his attitudes towards both politics and rural life after his cousin comes to the city, having now been elected to Parliame

Season 3 ranked & reviewed

1. S04E01SecurityFebruary 9, 1990—Michael sees the law from another perspective after he becomes the key witness in Flicker's prosecution against an arsonist.
2. S04E02That Old Black MagicFebruary 16, 1990—Michael begins to wonder if someone is trying to put a spell on him after a number of suspicious run-ins with a member of a religious commun
3. S04E03The PlagueFebruary 23, 1990—Lisa confronts the prejudices of society when she defends a man with AIDS who has committed an armed robbery in order to ensure his wife's f
4. S04E04In For a PennyMarch 2, 1990—Michael is drawn into the world of a struggling young family after he witnesses a woman being hit by a car.
5. S04E05Out of LineMarch 9, 1990—Lisa finds herself at odds with her colleagues when she defends an anti-nuclear activist whose family and the police are determined to have
6. S04E06One for UsMarch 16, 1990—Rafferty decides to expose a Chilean military attaché following charges for torturing political dissidents in Chile.
7. S04E07PolitburoMarch 23, 1990—Flicker is horrified after he discovers just what conditions are faced by those in the police cells awaiting trial.
8. S04E08One Consideration With AnotherMarch 30, 1990—Racial tensions erupt when two Asian men are accused of murder, while Michael questions his capacity as a magistrate after an act of lenienc
9. S04E09HomeApril 6, 1990—Flicker and Lisa find themselves dealing with a particularly challenging court case when a girl alleges that she was raped by her father fou
10. S04E10The Book of LoveApril 13, 1990—Lisa defends a singer who has beaten his wife, but her personal involvement in the case is made more difficult when he brings a gun into the
11. S04E11On the BarricadesApril 20, 1990—Michael revisits his past as a university radical and conscientious objector when he is forced to decide the fate of a man who he once prote
12. S04E12Funny PeculiarApril 27, 1990—Flicker confronts his own prejudices when he prosecutes a case involving the assault of a female impersonator; however, it is Michael who fi
13. S04E13Whatever Gets You Through the NightMay 4, 1990—Lisa is drawn into an organisation known as Life Force after a man is arrested for break and enter and assault.
14. S04E14Whistling in the DarkMay 11, 1990—Flicker finds himself wandering into a murky world of corruption when he prosecutes a case against a police officer who has broken the law a
15. S04E15Blood, Sweat and PaychequesMay 18, 1990—Fulvio and Sandra's marriage comes close to breaking point after Sandra is arrested for shoplifting.
16. S04E16Home Again KathleenMay 25, 1990—Michael, Flicker and Lisa are dragged into a murky political world when they discover that the conflict between the British and the Irish is
17. S04E17Driven to ItJune 1, 1990—An act of vandalism by the member of an animal rights group leaves Michael becoming emotionally involved with the accused's mother.
18. S04E18A Fair Day's WorkJune 8, 1990—A man seeks Lisa's help when he is sacked after complaining about the work conditions; however, she soon finds herself defending him when he
19. S04E19LiesJune 15, 1990—Lisa is drawn to an attractive young lawyer; however, she is forced into an ethical dilemma when his personal life unravels.
20. S04E20Consciousness RaisingJune 22, 1990—The feminist movement comes to the courthouse when a prominent feminist runs a group of pigs through the shop of a man accused of sexual har
21. S04E21Free of PassionJune 29, 1990—Flicker finds himself at the crossroads of a major life decision after he falls in love with a young female Constable, but his excitement at
22. S04E22Many Happy ReturnsJuly 6, 1990—A convicted criminal whose ex-wife is about to marry a police officer comes before the court accused of assault.
23. S04E23In CustodyJuly 13, 1990—Lisa assists a young woman whose boyfriend has been arrested; however, she is horrified when she learns that he has been detained without ch
24. S04E24Lost EmpiresJuly 20, 1990—Lisa fights to save an Indian couple who are facing deportation, only to discover that the collapse of the British Empire means that they ha
25. S04E25The Sea, the SeaJuly 27, 1990—Michael and Flicker befriend the beachcomber and poet, Snowy White; however, their admiration is crushed when it begins to appear that Snowy
26. S04E26Up, Up and AwayAugust 3, 1990—Lisa is charmed by a client accused of appropriating money from elderly women; however, Michael and Flicker cause conflict when they questio
27. S04E27Punch UpsAugust 10, 1990—A prominent radio host has been charged with brawling. Michael is faced with the consequences of his judgements when he sentences a man accu
28. S04E28Best and BrightestAugust 17, 1990—Michael is reunited with an old classmate in the lead-up to a school reunion; however, he is left wondering if they've come very far at all
29. S04E29Unaccompanied BarkAugust 24, 1990—An elderly journalist is arrested for shoplifting.
30. S04E30GuiltyAugust 31, 1990—Michael is consumed by guilt after he hits a man with his car; however he starts to wonder if maybe there are deeper issues at play when he

Season 4 ranked & reviewed