Coppers Dicks & Gumshoes 23
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Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock.[1] The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.
The show's format was similar to that of CBS's Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes. 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.[2]
In the United States, the series can be seen on cable television networks Hallmark Movie Channel and WGN America. It has also been on Hallmark Channel, but went on hiatus in May 2009; however, the network retains its rights to air the show.
The show centers on widower Benjamin Leighton "Ben" Matlock, a renowned, folksy and popular though cantankerous defense attorney; the character was based on attorney "Big" Ben Baker from Young Harris, Georgia. He has solved and subsequently won at trial almost every case he has taken, especially murder cases in which everyone else was sure his client was guilty. Usually, at the end of the case, the person who is on the stand being questioned by Matlock is the actual perpetrator.
Matlock studied law at Harvard, established his law practice in Atlanta, Georgia, and lives in a modest farmhouse in a neighboring suburb. He is known to visit crime scenes 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 appears in court wearing a trademark light gray suit and, over the series' entire run, owned three generations of the Ford Crown Victoria — always an all-gray model (Griffith's character had always driven Ford products in his 1960s series, The Andy Griffith Show). Some Mayberry alumni - Don Knotts, Aneta Corsaut, Betty Lynn and Arlene Golonka - made guest appearances on Matlock.
Matlock is noted for his thrift and a fondness for hot dogs. After the series ended, his penchant for hot dogs was explained in the 1997 episode "Murder Two" of Joyce Burditt's Diagnosis: Murder. Matlock blames Dr. Mark Sloan (Dick Van Dyke) for recommending a disastrous investment in 8-track cartridges, in which he lost his savings of $5000, while he survived by wearing cheap suits and living on hot dogs.
These traits, 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 Matlock did or said.
Over the series' long run there were many changes. When the show began, Ben had a law firm called Matlock & Matlock. Ben shared his caseload with his partners - who included a relative, his younger daughter Charlene Matlock (Lori Lethin in the pilot, 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 was depicted as having left Atlanta to start her own practice in Philadelphia (Linda Purl left the show because she was unhappy with her character, and for not getting along with her castmates); the elder Matlock filled the void with Michelle Thomas (Nancy Stafford), a young partner who first had tried her hand at playing baseball after she majored in physical education. She met him on a trip to England and was hired on the spot after a cocky law student graduate, Cassie Phillips (Kari Lizer in season 2 only), had also applied for a job with Matlock. Since Charlene was already working with him and there were no other openings for associates, Cassie was hired as a file clerk. She left the next year. After the series' fourth year, Stafford was one of the regulars whose appearances were limited.
Nancy Stafford had guest-starred in the season 1 episode "Seduction" and Kari Lizer had guest-starred in the season 1 episode "Angel." These were the first times actors played different characters in the series. Daniel Roebuck portrayed three different characters in five guest appearances prior to being a series regular from season 7.
Usually no prosecutor would compete with Ben except feisty district attorney Julie March (Julie Sommars), a good friend of Ben's, who had left Nebraska to work for the D.A.'s office in Georgia. Throughout the series' run, Sommars was the second regular with the fewest appearances.
After Tyler quit (Kene Holliday had been fired for misconduct[3]), Matlock was approached by a young North Carolina sheriff's deputy, Conrad McMasters (Clarence Gilyard Jr.), to become his new private investigator. Matlock and McMasters had a lot in common, from playing music to a fondness for camping. While proven to be a serious detective and one of Matlock's loyal partners, Conrad also falls in love with various girlfriends. He acquired his horseriding skills in past work as a cowboy (notably Gilyard himself is a cowboy), and demonstrated this when attending rodeo shows. Unlike many regulars, after joining Matlock in the fourth season, Gilyard was another cast member who had appeared in almost every episode of the series on the NBC run, before his appearances were reduced during the ABC run[citation needed].
At the end of the sixth season, Matlock's older divorced daughter, Leanne MacIntyre (Brynn Thayer), moved from Philadelphia back to Atlanta, giving her the chance to become an equal partner of her father. However, this caused some confusion to viewers who remembered that Matlock mentioned he had only one daughter in the Linda Purl episodes. 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, production hence moved to North Carolina). The next and last season, law school graduate Cliff Lewis (Daniel Roebuck) came to Matlock in hopes of working for him, compliments of his father Billy Lewis, an old friend of Ben's whose sister Matlock was supposed to marry but did not. After Conrad's departure (Clarence Gilyard had already left the show to co-star in Walker, Texas Ranger for CBS), Lewis became a partner and a private investigator to Matlock, while he hired a final private investigator, Jerri Stone (Carol Huston), to assist in each of the cases. Like Conrad McMasters, Matlock and Stone had at least something in common, from her driving a blue Ford SUV to singing classic songs - it is also interesting that Huston herself is a very good singer - including lullabies.
Midway through the series, the show on NBC focused mostly on Matlock and Michelle, then Matlock and Conrad on NBC. When the show moved to ABC for its last three seasons, it focused first on Matlock Leanne, and finally on Matlock, Cliff and Jerri.
His age increasing, Griffith appeared less and less on the show when it changed networks. During the NBC era, production was filmed in Los Angeles, California. When the show began its run on ABC in 1992, it was filmed in Griffith's home state at EUE Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington. 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 based largely on well-known Georgia 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.
The long-running show finally ended in 1995, when Andy Griffith, who in the lead role was the only actor to appear in all 195 episodes of the series, decided to slow down to spend more time with his family.[citation needed]
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