Shark Bytes

The show jumped the shark when Brynn Thayer appeared as a murder suspect and a love interest for Matlock. Then, the next season, she shows up playing Leanne - Matlock's daughter. EEWWWW!!

In the history of mankind, no lawyer went an entire career representing only innocent people. Most dont care if you killed 5 children with a dull knife as long as they get paid. How on Earth can Matlock defend innocent people EVERY SINGLE TIME? Every murder suspect is innocent? I know they have to be. If we thought Matlock defended grisly murders and didnt care, it would be cancelled quickly. Another thing. No lawer could get away with the nonsense he does in a courtroom. He testifies and says "Heres what I think happened" while questioning a witness. Come on..no judge or DA would ever let him get away with any of that. Just TV pablum for stupid people.

Never jumped. "Matlock" did exactly what it set out to do - serve as a legal whodunit and a modern take on the "Perry Mason" theme (and "Matlock" was infinitely better than the 1980s and 1990s revival of "Mason!") Sure, some supporting actors were stronger than others, but Andy Griffith stayed throughout, as sly and rascally as ever. A really good show, and one I still enjoy when I catch a rerun here and there.

What's really a major stretch for shows like this and Perry Mason isn't so much that the protagonist never lost a case, but that their clients were always truly INNOCENT! Everyone knows the VAST majority of defendants in any criminal trial are guilty as sin.

Now that's a stretch!

Peace.

Some of you people on here really haven't seen this show. The Guest below hit the nail on the head. Matlock wasn't racist. It was a little unbelievable that he won all the time but they did discuss a time when he lost a case. Tyler and Conrad were superb. I like the running gag that Tyler is always sent to do the hard work while Ben sits around. I notice someone talking about the pilot/tv movie. The pilot was nothing like you said it was. It was probaly the darkest episode they made. Matlocks daughter and the Charlene episodes were the best. When Daniel Roebuck came in with his dad and the lady P.I. it almost jts. I don't think Matlock did jump it was good til the end. Matlock has something tv shows don't have today and its the ability to keep you glued to the screen.

I loved Matlock as well, and still do...but there are some episodes that are better than others...kind of points out that some shows can temporarily JTS and then somehow snap back...I do agree that Billy, Cliff, Jerri, and Lee Ann were not the best supporting cast...and I enjoyed the character of Michelle Thomas...the 2 part episode that introduced her was great...my fav is the one where she takes the main role and has to deal with Max the insurance guy...and let's not forget the 2 parter about the Army...a lot of star power in that one!

@ Joelle

Not quite...I remember one episode, where his client WAS guilty...and he tricked her into confession by convincing her that he would be able to let her best friend look like the guilty one.

I thoroughly enjoyed Matlock, and still watch on the Hallmark channel. I do, however think that the show jumped the shark with the addition of Ben's forgotten daughter Leigh Ann,the addition of Billy and his dopey, feminine son Cliff. I guess that the producers tried to go with the "Grumpy Old Men" theme with Ben and Billy. The best episodes were with the characters of Charlene and Michelle as his assistants and Tyler and Conrad as the PI's.

When it moved to ABC with the dorky guy, the old neighbor and the daughter the show started to suck.

Matlock was somewhat enjoyable, but very predictable. I have never seen an episode where Matlock lost a case. None of his clients were ever guilty. So after you've seen one show, you've seen them all. Although the setup/crime is different, the outcome is always the same.

I never cared for that Billy character. It's sort of funny sometimes when he and Matlock called each other 'jackass'. I don't really know why, just makes me laugh, but then I suppose it was intended to be funny, or they wouldn't have made it a semi-recurring line between the two of them. I am also in agreement with those who didn't care for the Don Knotts character. It was an obvious ploy by the network (or possibly Griffith) to have "Andy and Barney" back together again. The decision to do that is close to a JTS decision, in my opinion, but it would have been an even bigger JTS moment if they had tried to make Knotts act like Barney Fife, which thankfully, they did not, to their credit. When Knotts played Mr Furley on Three's Company, he reprised the Barney Fife role; the know-it-all who is always wrong, thinks he's a ladies man, scared of his own shadow, etc. At least Matlock didn't stoop to making Knotts the same old Barney Fife caricature. Lastly, of all Ben's assistants, the one I liked the least was Michelle because she was always preaching at Ben about something, it seemed. I know she was only trying to help, but it really got annoying. Ben would be going out with a lady friend and Michelle would criticize his suit, his tie, his hair. Anything. On another episode, Ben, as cheap as he was, treated Michelle to lunch and, of course, he ordered a hot dog. While he was eating it, Michelle kept harping about how unhealthy hot dogs are and what they are made of. She just kept going on, and I felt like smacking her and telling her to shut up and let Ben eat in peace. I dislike sanctimonious people, so I didn't care for Michelle. Leanne was okay and so was Charlene. I never did care for that Jerri person and I liked Tyler better than Conrad. He was funnier. Peace.

Here's the thing about Matlock: as much as I love it -- I watch it every chance I get -- it was a show geared toward older people. I saw that as someone in his early 20s who has done radio interviews with a couple cast members.

I often come across a similar point. "They had the same actor playing different characters..."

So what. It's a TV show. A lot of shows did that, before the internet was so widely available. I've often wondered how many people actually noticed at the time. It really doesn't bother me.

Andy Griffith as Matlock reminds me a lot of Hugh Laurie as House. Both have a finicky fashion sense, they're both brilliant with a slight edge. And they are, for the most part, right.

But hey, that's just me. Feel to e-mail your replies.

I love Matlock...it's just a great Sunday aftermoon movie to watch on hallmark...of course you know Matlock will win, and it is hilarious when both Tyler and Conrad tail someone in their bright red shiny convertables...but you have to admit it is a good clean show and beats some of the crap out there today... I will take Matlock anyday over Grey's Anatomy. Andy Griffith rules!

The Tyler and Charlene episodes were the best. Kari's character was never allowed to fully develop, and the LeAnne episodes were horrible. She was so unattractive as was that awful, annoying Julie Marsh. The prosecuter with the long wavy hair was cute; he was in the Tyler and Charlene episodes. There was a poster who commented on the frequency of the black female judges and black male judges; the only judge I can consistently remember was Judge Cooksey, the older man. I never miss this show on Hallmark

Matlock NEVER JTS!!! Despite the strange character changes, the revolving actors that were killers in one episode, and then came back later as cast members, despite the sometimes unrealistic courtroom antics, this was a great show. I have to admit, though, I never liked Tyler as much as I did Conrad. Tyler DID seem to bitch too much about his job, and the humor of it wore off the first time he did it. I still watch each and every episode whenever I can find it. The sheer lure of the show may pull me, but it also helps that Andy Griffith looks EXACTLY like my father! Although I say the show never JTS, I never liked it when "Ace" (Don Knotts) was on, and I noticed that there were times when the show looked like a Mayberry reunion. (Thelma Lou, Barney, Helen, and Howard Sprague made appearances). Wasn't too crazy about those few times. Other than that, LOVED IT!!! Still Do!!