Matlock (TV series)
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| Matlock | |
|---|---|
 Matlock Intertitle |
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| Format | Crime Drama |
| Created by | Dean Hargrove |
| Starring | Andy Griffith Nancy Stafford Clarence Gilyard Kene Holliday Linda Purl Julie Sommars Daniel Roebuck Brynn Thayer David Froman Richard Newton more... |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 9 |
| No. of episodes | 195 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Intermedia Entertainment Company (1986-1987) The Fred Silverman Company (1987-1995) Strathmore Productions (1986-1988) Dean Hargrove Productions (1988-1995) The Matlock Company Viacom Productions |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC (1986-1992) ABC (1992-1995) |
| Original run | September 23, 1986 – May 7, 1995 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Matlock was a long-running American television legal drama. The show ran from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced the long-running series The A-Team to Friday nights, then on November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.
The format of the show was similar to that of Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the murderer and then confronting him or her in a dramatic courtroom scene near the end. One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury.
Coincidentally, some Perry Mason alumni appeared on the drama, such as R. G. Armstrong and Stacy Keach, Sr.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The show centered on widower Benjamin L. "Ben" Matlock (Andy Griffith). Matlock is a renowned, folksy, popular yet cantankerous defense attorney, who is worth every penny of his $100,000 fee.[citation needed][neutrality disputed] He has also solved and subsequently won at trial almost every case he has taken, especially murder cases where everyone else was sure his client was guilty. He studied law at Harvard, based his law practice in Atlanta, Georgia, and lived in a modest farmhouse in a neighboring suburb. He is known to visit the scene of the crime to discover clues otherwise overlooked and come up with viable, alternative theories of the crime in question (usually murder). Matlock also has conspicuously finicky fashion sense; he generally appeared in court wearing a trademark light gray suit and, over the nine seasons, was seen behind the wheel of three generations of the Ford Crown Victoria— always an all-gray model (it is interesting to note that Andy Griffith always drove Ford products in his 1960's show, The Andy Griffith Show, as with Matlock). Some Mayberry alumni had guest shots on the drama: Don Knotts, Aneta Corsaut, Betty Lynn and Arlene Golonka.
Matlock was noted for his thrift and a fondness for hot dogs. (After the series ended, his penchant for hot dogs was explained in the episode Murder Two of the television show Diagnosis: Murder. In it, Matlock blames Dr. Mark Sloan for recommending a disastrous investment in 8-track cartridges. Matlock subsequently invested (and lost) his savings of $5000, while he survived by wearing cheap suits and living on hot dogs.)
Matlock's thriftiness, liking for hot dogs, and the demands he placed upon his investigators were often points of comic relief in the series. Andy Griffith's prior career as a comic often showed through in things that Matlock did or said.
Over the years, there were many changes. When the show began, Ben had a law firm called Matlock & Matlock. Ben shared his caseload with his partners, which included a relative, his younger, smiling daughter, Charlene Matlock (Lori Lethin, later Linda Purl) and private investigator Tyler Hudson (Kene Holliday), a black market whiz whom Matlock lured away from his work. The following season, Charlene left Atlanta to start her own practice in Philadelphia; the elder Matlock filled the void with Michelle Thomas (Nancy Stafford), a young, attractive legal partner who tried her hand in playing baseball after she majored in physical education, but detested it or might've done better. She met him on his trip to England and he immediately hired her on the spot after a cocky law student graduate. Cassie Phillips (Kari Lizer) also applied for a job with Matlock, but since Charlene was already working with him and there were therefore no openings for associates, Cassie was hired as a file clerk. She left the next year.
Usually, no prosecutor would compete with Ben except Julie March (Julie Sommars) a redheaded, feisty district attorney, and good friend of Ben's, who left Nebraska to work for the D.A.'s office in Georgia. Throughout the series run, Sommars was one of the regulars with the fewest appearances.
After Tyler quit (Kene Holliday was fired from the series due to his legal problems with drugs/alcohol, which led to his arrest), Matlock was approached by a young North Carolina sheriff's deputy Conrad McMasters (Clarence Gilyard), to become his new private investigator. Both Matlock and McMasters had a lot in common --- from playing music to a fondness for camping. Proven to be a serious detective and one of Matlock's loyal partners, Conrad also falls in love with various girlfriends. He also had the knack of riding horses, a skill he acquired in past work as a cowboy (it is also interesting that Gilyard himself is a real-life cowboy), displayed when attending rodeo shows.
At the end of the sixth season, Matlock's older divorced daughter Leanne MacIntyre (Brynn Thayer), moved from Philadelphia (where Charlene works as a lawyer) back to Atlanta, giving her the chance to become an equal partner of her father. Michelle Thomas gave the job to Leanne and left (Nancy Stafford left the series to spend more time with her husband, when she didn't want to leave him, hence, production moved to North Carolina). The next season, law school graduate Cliff Lewis (Daniel Roebuck), came to Matlock in hopes of working for him, complements of his father Billy Lewis, who happened to be Ben's old friend. After Conrad left, (Clarence Gilyard already left the show to co-star in Walker, Texas Ranger for CBS). Lewis became a partner and a private investigator to Matlock, while Matlock hired a final private investigator Jerri Stone (Carol Huston) to help out in each of the cases. Unlike her boss's former co-worker, Conrad McMasters, both Matlock and Stone had at least something in common, from driving Ford automobiles to singing classic songs (it is also interesting that Huston is a very good singer herself), including lullabies.
His age increasing, Griffith appeared less and less on the show when it departed NBC for ABC. The Perry Mason-style whodunit format was also adjusted to a more Columbo-style howcatchem format.
Although never officially confirmed, a widespread rumor suggests that the character of Ben Matlock was largely based on well-known Atlanta attorney Bobby Lee Cook. Cook, whose practice also includes representation of plaintiffs for personal injuries, is frequently called the dean of Georgia criminal defense attorneys.
[edit] Main cast members
- Andy Griffith - Ben Matlock - A prominent attorney who's fond of wearing gray suits and wins many cases with his clients
- Linda Purl - Charlene Matlock - Ben's younger daughter who became a partner to her father before she moved to Philadelphia to set up her law practice (1986-1987)
- Kene Holliday - Tyler Hudson - Ben's first private investigator who was a black market whiz (1986-1989)
- Kari Lizer - Cassie Phillips - Ben's younger filer who was very cocky (1987-1988)
- Nancy Stafford - Michelle Thomas - A former baseball player who's became an equal partner to Matlock (1988-1992)
- Julie Sommars - Julie March - A district attorney who became a good friend to Ben Matlock (1987-1992)
- Clarence Gilyard - Conrad McMasters - Ben's second private investigator who is a young, handsome ladies man, who in turn was also a former deputy sheriff (1989-1993)
- Brynn Thayer - Leanne MacIntyre - Ben's older daughter who worked for her father after Michelle left (1992-1994)
- Daniel Roebuck - Cliff Lewis - Ben's partner and private investigator who graduated from law school. He's also the son of Ben's nemesis, Billy Lewis (1992-1995)
- Carol Huston - Jerri Stone - Ben's last assistant and private investigator who had the knack of singing lullabies (1994-1995)
[edit] Recurring cast members
- Lucille Meredith - Judge Irene Sawyer - A judge at the Fulton County Courthouse, where Ben's cases are usually tried (1986-1989)
- Richard Newton - Judge Richard Cooksey - Another judge at the Fulton County Courthouse (1986-1990)
- Michael Durrell - District Attorney Lloyd Burgess - Chief district attorney for Fulton County (1986-1990)
- David Froman - Lieutenant Bob Brooks - Ben's contact on the Atlanta police force (1986-1990)
[edit] Notable guest stars
- Don Knotts - Griffith's old partner in comedy Don Knotts first appeared in a 1988 episode. Titled "The Lemon", Knotts played Ben's new neighbor Les "Ace" Calhoun, a "King of Plastic" who is framed for the murder of the "cowboy" car salesman who talked him into buying a car that later breaks down. In the beginning of the show when he and Ben meet for the first time, he calls Ben "Benge", a reference to their old days in The Andy Griffith Show when Knotts' character Barney Fife sometimes called Andy "Ange". Knotts would continue to make appearances as "Ace" Calhoun on the series until the show's first cancellation in 1992. He even had a small role in two Matlock TV movies ("The Picture" in 1992, and "The Ambassador" in 1988)
- Randy Travis - Country music star Randy Travis appeared in a 1992 (season six) episode "The Big Payoff" as character Billy Wheeler. In "The Mark" (a season seven episode), Travis reprised the role of Wheeler, an aspiring country singer who wins the lottery and shortly thereafter finds himself framed for the murder of his cheating business partner. Both Travis and Griffith originate from the same state, North Carolina.
- Dick van Dyke - Long before he would take the memorable small role as D.A. Fletcher in the 1990 movie Dick Tracy, TV legend Dick Van Dyke had a villainous guest starring role in the first regular episode of Matlock. He played a judge who murdered his lover and then presided over the murder trial where Ben was trying to clear someone's name for the crime. Van Dyke would later hire Griffith to reprise his Matlock role in 1997 on an episode of his own series Diagnosis: Murder. When he played Dr. Mark Sloane of Diagnosis: Murder, Andy Griffith played Matlock in that series for the episode "Murder Two", the two universes were linked.
- Brynn Thayer played Matlock's daughter, Leanne MacIntyre, in seasons 7 and 8. However, she also played a client of Ben's in "The Suspect".
- David Ogden Stiers played a murderer in the episode "Blind Justice", and a crook in "The Ambassador" in Seasons 9 and 10.
- Daniel Roebuck, in addition to playing Cliff Lewis seasons 7-9, also played a resident doctor in "The Doctors" and a family friend in "The Ambassador".
- Bryan Cranston, better known as "Hal" from Malcolm in the Middle; appeared in two episodes -- "The Marriage Counselor" and "The Gift". In "The Marriage Counselor" he plays a "Marriage Counselor" who is murdered by not one but three patients with whom he is having affairs.
- Former silent film actor Eddie Quillan made his last television appearance on Matlock in 1987.
- Author Patricia Cornwell played the part of "Denise" in the episode "The Formula".
- Jeri Ryan in The Fatal Seduction: Part 2, 7 October 1993 (Season 8, Episode 3)
- Jonathan Frakes played prosecutor Mr. Park in "The Angel."
- Nana Visitor, another Star Trek actress appeared in no less than three episodes: as Vanessa Douglas in "The Best Friend (1987)," as Erin Whitley in "The Other Woman," and as Dr. Clara Farmington in "The Divorce (1993)."
[edit] Program Format
There were a few changes in the format in the introduction of each episode. The introduction of characters was essentially the same, the only changes being the actors for each season. Andy Griffith, Linda Purl, Kene Holliday, Nancy Stafford, Clarence Gilyard, Jr., Brynn Thayer, Julie Sommars, Kari Lizer, Daniel Roebuck, and Carol Huston were all featured in the intros for their seasons.
Season 1-6 episode intros showed a few scenes from the show and had no music. In the 1992-93 season, following the move to ABC, most episodes now had Andy's voice saying "Next on Matlock..." and classical-sounding music similar to the theme tune.
The Matlock commercial screen also changed. The early episodes had a scene of Ben Matlock in front of a brown screen, approx 1987, this was changed to gray. In 1992, this was changed once again, to the same gray, but with a blue square around the M on Matlock. Later in the 1993-94 season the commercial screen was removed.
Also, some Matlock movies in the 1994-95 season had words on screen saying "Next on Matlock" and "Last time on Matlock" instead of the voice of Andy.
[edit] A roster of guest stars
During its nine-season run on NBC and ABC, many familiar and/or unfamiliar actors made guest appearances on the show before they became famous: Hy Anzell, George Stanford Brown, Jeff Conaway, Cindy Morgan, John Rubinstein, Amy Yasbeck, Lisa Hartman, Piper Laurie, Roddy McDowall, Christian Clemenson, Michele Greene, Don Murray, David McCallum, Norman Fell, Bruce Greenwood, Scott Bakula, Tom Lister Jr., David Carradine, Bill Mumy, Bobbie Eakes, Lynn Whitfield, Don Galloway, Fred Thompson, Betty White, Barry Jenner, James Eckhouse, David Haskell, Stacy Keach, Sr., Dana Sparks, Robert Ginty, Wendy Phillips, Diana Bellamy, Jason Wingreen, Christina Pickles, David Ruprecht, Timothy Busfield, Shirley Knight, James Cromwell, Tim Ryan, Robert Culp, Lewis Arquette, Mitchell Laurance, Patricia Heaton, Jason Bateman, Hector Elizondo, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Charles Siebert, Craig Shoemaker, Marilyn Jones, William Schallert, Joel Grey, Teri Austin, Scott Bakula, Robert Desiderio, Vivica A. Fox, Rene Auberjonois, among many others. Future NYPD Blue stars Dennis Franz and Gail O'Grady also made guest appearances. Future Walker, Texas Ranger stars Sheree J. Wilson and Noble Willingham also made separate guest appearances, but didn't share a line with Clarence Gilyard who would later co-star with him. On one episode, an old friend of Griffith's, R.G. Armstrong, played a sheriff in which he worked with Conrad before he introduced him to Matlock. Beth Broderick was in one episode and J. Kenneth Campbell was in 5 episodes, most notably, though not always, as FBI agent Ed Wingate.
[edit] Spinoffs
Jake and the Fatman was a spin-off based on a character that originated in "The Don," a two part Matlock episode from season one. In "The Don," William Conrad played prosecutor James L. McShane. Joe Penny played Paul Baron, the son of Matlock's client. Executive Producers Dean Hargrove and Fred Silverman were responsible for both Matlock and Jake and the Fatman as well as Diagnosis: Murder (which itself was a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman), Father Dowling Mysteries, and Perry Mason.
[edit] Episodes
Matlock aired a total of 195 episodes across nine seasons. 179 episodes were hour-long, and 4 were 2 hour long episodes.
[edit] DVD release
On April 8, 2008, CBS Home Entertainment released Season 1 of Matlock on DVD in Region 1.[1]
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 25 | April 8, 2008 |
[edit] Trivia
- Andy Griffith is the only actor to appear in all 195 episodes of the series on NBC and ABC.
- It is the favorite TV show of the Marvel Comics character Blind Al.
- During the NBC era, production was filmed in Los Angeles. When the show moved to ABC in 1992, production was filmed in Griffith's home state of North Carolina.
[edit] Matlock in popular culture
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Matlock is a running joke on The Simpsons, where the show has a huge cult following amongst the senior citizens of the town of Springfield, since it is commonly seen stereotypically as a program enjoyed mostly by elderly people. In one episode, Grampa Simpson supports the planned destruction of the Simpsons' house to make way for a "Matlock Expressway," while in Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy a frail Andy Griffith is mobbed and thrown to the ground by a crowd of obsessive elderly fans. In another scene, when Grampa Simpson quickly boards the Springfield Retirement Castle shuttle bus with the show set to air in five minutes, a passenger tells him to hurry, exclaiming that "each Matlock could be our last". In a Halloween special in which Homer Simpson sells his soul to the devil (played by Ned Flanders) in exchange for a doughnut, Lionel Hutz attorney defends Homer in the 'court of infernal affairs' on the basis that "I saw Matlock in a bar last night; the sound was off, but I think I got the gist of it." In the episode "Cape Feare", Grampa refers to hiring Matlock to find the killer, whom he thinks could be "that evil Gavin MacLeod or George 'Goober' Lindsey". The Matlock expressway appears in the video game The Simpsons Hit & Run, although it is nowhere near the Simpsons' house.
- Matlock is a derogatory term for a legalistic know-it-all.
- On Saturday Night Live Phil Hartman's "Kirok: the unfrozen cave man lawyer" is also a parody of Matlock, who often began sentences with prefixes such as "I may be a simple country-boy" etc.
- In the Arrested Development episode "For British Eyes Only", George Bluth Sr. tries to hire Andy Griffith to sit with him in court to please the jury.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Matlock at the Internet Movie Database
- Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock An unofficial Matlock website
- Ben Matlock at TV Acres A page dedicated to Ben Matlock, including notable case synopses and list of Simpsons quotes.
- Matlock at TV.com
- Matlock Fansite An international Matlock fansite
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