Line #1 Trivia/Matlock


1	* CaliforniaDoubling: Notably averted in the season 2 premiere "The Billionaire," set in England.
2	* CareerResurrection: In addition to bringing Creator/AndyGriffith back into the spotlight, the show also restored executive producer UsefulNotes/FredSilverman's professional reputation following a disastrous 3-year spell as president and CEO of NBC from 1978-1981. Silverman had green-lighted several programming failures on NBC's prime time lineup, and had nearly bankrupted the network after spending a ton of money to produce coverage for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics, only to end up cancelling said programming after UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter pulled the U.S. team out of the event in protest of the UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan.
3	* ChannelHop: The show ran on NBC from 1986 until 1992. It then moved to ABC where it ran from 1992 until 1995.
4	* TheDanza: Creator/JulieSommars as Julie March.
5	* InMemoriam: "The Witness Killings" was "for Rose Johnson".
6	* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Creator/DonKnotts, who played Barney Fife on ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'', had a recurring role as Ben's NosyNeighbor Les Calhoun. Other "Griffith" alumni that appeared on the show included Creator/AnetaCorsaut (Helen Crump), Creator/JackDodson (Howard Sprague), Creator/ArleneGolonka (Millie Swanson), and Creator/BettyLynn (Thelma Lou).
7	* ReferencedBy: For younger audiences, the first contact with Matlock probably came from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', where Matlock is particularly loved by senior residents. In a recursive reference, this elderly appeal also carries over to ''Series/BetterCallSaul''. It also got a sly mention in ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'', where Eddy mentioned that his dad turns surly if he doesn't get to watch Matlock. [[Series/{{NCIS}} Tony DiNozzo]], however, uses it as a pejorative for people who think they are crackerjack crime solvers and are really just delusional.
8	* ShootTheMoney: Many episodes, especially after the ChannelHop to Creator/{{ABC}}, were primarily shot in North Carolina -- particularly in Manteo (where Creator/AndyGriffith lived for much of his later years).
9	* SimilarlyNamedWorks: While there is a man on the run in the episode "The Fugitive", it's Matlock's client, who fled the courtroom, feeling he was losing the case, and not Dr. Richard Kimble.
10	* YouLookFamiliar:
11	** Creator/DanielRoebuck plays a one-off character in an early season before coming back as regular cast member Cliff Lewis. However, he lost a ''ton'' of weight between appearances over the several years that went by and it effectively allowed him to become a brand new character. {{Lampshaded}} when Ben seems to briefly notice his resemblance to the chubby man from earlier on. Ironically, Roebuck would put his weight back on and then some once he got a lot older.
12	** UsefulNotes/LeoPenn, who also directed on the show, played multiple separate characters, including a priest who was seemingly a VictimOfTheWeek in an interesting subversion where his character was DrivenToSuicide but the truth was too scandalous to publicize (Catholics see suicide as ''the'' unforgivable sin), and a nosy neighbor. He was also Russ Lewis, "Russ the Rhino", an irritating freeloader with a bunch of petty issues who Ben struggled to get kicked from his residence.
13	** Creator/AndyGriffith portrayed Matlock's father in a WholeEpisodeFlashback on two instances, who also lost his wife when Ben was a boy. (Or so it seems; [[RetCon the pilot dropped the ball on that one by saying she was still alive]] -- so it could actually be a divorce and Ben is choosing to remember things differently, or his mind is going spotty with age). He also started Ben's love for hot dogs.

Context Trivia / Matlock