In the Heat of the Night Stranger in Town (1988–1995) Online
- Original Title :
- Stranger in Town
- Genre :
- TV Episode / Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller
- Year :
- 1988–1995
- Directror :
- Michael Ray Rhodes
- Cast :
- Carroll O'Connor,Howard E. Rollins Jr.,Alan Autry
- Writer :
- James Lee Barrett,Jordan Budde
- Type :
- TV Episode
- Time :
- 1h
- Rating :
- 7.8/10
In the red light district of the Bottoms, Topaz/Roberta Strutt finds her friend Charmaine Rogers murdered. The Sparta police are called to investigate. Virgil Tibbs rousts a high profile pimp, Atticus Paul, for trying to take over Sparta's prostitution trade. Overhearing a discussion of the case in the Magnolia Cafe, attorney Royce Johnson is appalled. The owner of the Magnolia and Bill Gillespie's lady friend, Joanne St. John, hires drifter Clay Caulder as the new short order cook, which is not to Bill's liking. In a sweep of the Bottoms, Bill and Virgil find Clay with a sixteen-year-old hooker. Bill, of course, considers Clay the likely suspect in Charmaine's murder, but Virgil naturally likes Atticus for the deed.
| Episode cast overview, first billed only: | |||
 | Carroll O'Connor | - | Chief William O. 'Bill' Gillespie |
 | Howard E. Rollins Jr. | - | Chief of Detectives Virgil Tibbs (as Howard Rollins) |
 | Alan Autry | - | Sgt. V. L. 'Bubba' Skinner |
 | Anne-Marie Johnson | - | Althea Tibbs (credit only) |
 | Lois Nettleton | - | Joanne St. John |
 | David Hart | - | Officer Parker Williams |
 | Geoffrey Thorne | - | Officer Wilson Sweet |
 | Hugh O'Connor | - | Cpl. Lonnie Jamison |
 | Eric Pierpoint | - | Clay Caulder |
 | Renée Jones | - | Topaz / Roberta Strutt (as Renee Jones) |
 | Maceo Walker | - | Atticus Paul |
 | Shilla Benning | - | Angie Dupree |
| Suzi Bass | - | Eula |
| Bill Ash | - | Tom |
| Jerry Campbell | - | Security Guard |