Product Description
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There are TV lawyers and then there's Matlock. Folksy yet
aggressive, Harvard educated but still down to earth-Andy
Griffith's portrayal of the clever Southern attorney is one of
the all-time classic icons of television legal dramas. Fans who
have followed the show for all of it's nine seasons will be
thrilled to revisit how the program began. They'll also be
surprised at how much the show changed over the years, while some
things remained the same throughout it's storied run. From his
simple gray Ford to his predilection for hot dogs, Matlock came
across as both a personable and humorous character whose $100,000
fee was always worth the dough. Along with Tyler Hudson (Kene
Holliday) and Matlock's daughter Charlene (Lori Lethan), the
first season established the format that the show would follow
throughout it's time on the air. The cases no one could solve,
the clients no one could help, and the scandals no one could
uncover are all deftly handled by Matlock and his team. For those
who have never seen the show, this collection will clarify the
program's immense popularity, while longtime fans will get to
take a trip back in time and be reminded of why the fell in love
in the first place. Includes 24 episodes plus the original pilot.
Star Andy Griffith, Michael Durrell, Kene Holliday, Linda Purl,
Lori Lethan Special Features: Region 1 7-Disc Set Full Frame -
1.33 Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround English Runtime: 1140
minutes.
.com
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A running joke on The Simpsons is the idolization of Andy
Griffith's Ben Matlock by the aged residents of the Springfield
Retirement Home. Watching Matlocks inaugural season, it's no
wonder that viewers "of a certain age" would take comfort in
watching Atlanta defense attorney Matlock defend the falsely
accused and, to quote <>The Simpsons, "put young people behind
bars where they belong." Matlock was something of a departure for
TV icon Griffith. While he's got his southern drawl goin' on, he
left Andy Taylor back in Mayberry. Folksiness only goes so far in
the big city. Matlock's fee is $100,000. And even if Opie or Aunt
Bea were menaced, one can't imagine sheriff Andy threatening to
feed the perpetrator to the D.A. "piece by piece." Matlock hews
closely to the Perry Mason playbook. Most episodes incriminate a
suspect, only to have the tenacious Matlock ("Next to injustice,
I hate losing," he states) exonerate him or her with some flashy,
last-minute courtroom theatrics that threaten to turn the
courtroom into a "sideshow." One notable exception is the
episode, "The Judge," featuring guest star Dick Van Dyke as a
judge and old friend of Matlock who murders his mistress, and
then presides over the trial of the man arrested for the crime.
Other notable guest stars are Jose Ferrer as a terminally ill
crime kingpin arrested for murder in the two-parter, "The Don,"
and Pat Hingle as a surly and disliked man likewise accused of
murder in "Santa Claus." Season One is an auspicious beginning
for the series that would run for six years on NBC and then three
more on ABC. Casting tweaks and the addition of new characters
would improve the proceedings. Bland Lori Lethin, who appears in
the pilot episode as Matlocks daughter, a neophyte lawyer, was
replaced in the series by the more experienced Linda Purl. The
episode, "The People vs. Matlock" introduces Julie Sommars as
feisty assistant district attorney Julie March, a foil and friend
to Matlock. Nancy Stafford, who appears "The Seduction," would
join the cast next season as Matlocks assistant, Michelle Thomas.
Matlock even inspired a spinoff; the episode "The Don" pits
Matlock against his "bitter enemy," William Conrads James
McShane, a cop-turned-district attorney who would later be
transformed into Jason McCabe, aka "man" in Jake and the
man (his future costar, Joe Penny, costars in the episode as
one of the Dons highly suspect sons). In a prime time loaded with
grisly procedurals, the old school Matlock is a
not-at-all-guilty pleasure. --Donald Liebenson