Spoilers

“The Green Bay Chopper”

The second episode of Picket Fences is a classic episode that brought a serial kidnapper to the borders of Rome, Wisconsin named The Green Bay Chopper.

When a little brought a severed hand to school for show and tell, Maxine knew what this meant. The serial kidnapper who would cut off the right hand of his victims had come to Rome.

The FBI followed close behind and was anything but happy with the involvement of the Rome Sheriff Department.

This episode made the deputies and Jimmy look better than the last one did. M.E. Carter made some crucial discoveries. Kenny and Maxine found the car that they believed the Chopper had left, including samples of urine from victims in the trunk. Ginny could tell the severed hand had been removed from a dentist because, as she said, she could read palms.

When Carter said that the hand had been removed after death, the case was now a homicide investigation, preventing the FBI from insisting that the deputies stay out of the way. Another brilliant courtroom scene featuring Douglas Wambaugh for the Rome Sheriff’s Department! Fyvush Finkel was listed as a guest star on the episode, but this was one more reason why he would become a series regular. The few minutes you spend with Douglas Wambaugh is always some of the most entertaining parts of an episode.