History Trivia / Matlock

* NamesTheSame: The episode "The Abduction" gives us two mobsters with famous names: one named Robert Drake (who is also the real name of Iceman, one of the founding members of the superhero team, the ''Franchise/XMen'') and one named UsefulNotes/JayCutler ([[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the former quarterback of the Chicago Bears]]).
** The name of the defendant in the episode "The Fugitive" is Creator/DrewCarey!

* YouLookFamiliar: 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.

* SimilarlyTitledWorks: 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.

** The name of the defendant in the episode "The Fugitive" is Drew Carey!

* TheDanza: Julie Sommars as Julie March.

* ShootTheMoney: Many episodes, especially after the ChannelHop to Creator/{{ABC}} would be shot in part in North Carolina; particularly in Manteo (where Andy Griffith lived for much of his later years).
* YouLookFamiliar: Daniel Roebuck 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.
** Leo Penn, 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.

* NamesTheSame: The episode "The Abduction" gives us two mobsters with famous names: one named Robert Drake (who is also the real name of Iceman, one of the founding members of the superhero team, the ''Franchise/XMen'') and one named UsefulNotes/JayCutler ([[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the current Quarterback of the Chicago Bears]]).

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Creator/DonKnotts, 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).

* CareerResurrection: In addition to bringing Creator/AndyGriffith back into the spotlight, the show also restored executive producer Fred Silverman's professional reputation following a disastrous 3 year spell as president and CEO of NBC from 1978-1981, which saw him green light one too many programming failures on NBC's prime time lineup as well as almost bankrupt the network after spending a ton of money to produce a whopping 150 hours of 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.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Notably averted in the season 2 premiere "The Billionaire" set in England.
* CareerResurrection: In addition to bringing Andy Griffith back into the spotlight, the show also restored executive producer Fred Silverman's professional reputation following a disastrous 3 year spell as president and CEO of NBC from 1978-1981, which saw him green light one too many programming failures on NBC's prime time lineup as well as almost bankrupt the network after spending a ton of money to produce a whopping 150 hours of 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.

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: Don Knotts, Barney Fife on ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'', had a recurring role as Ben's NosyNeighbor Les Calhoun. Other "Griffith" alumni that appeared on the show included Aneta Corsaut (Helen Crump), Jack Dodson (Howard Sprague), Arlene Golonka (Millie Swanson), and Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou).
* NamesTheSame: The episode "The Abduction" gives us two mobsters with famous names. One named Robert Drake (who is also the real name of Iceman, one of the founding members of the superhero team, the ''Franchise/XMen'') and one named Jay Cutler ([[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the current Quarterback of the Chicago Bears]]).

* YouLookFamiliar: Daniel Roebuck plays a one-off character in an early season before coming back as a 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.

** Andy Griffith portrayed Matlock's father in a WholeEpisodeFlashback on two instances, who also lost his wife (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) when Ben was a boy and was the start of Ben's love for hot dogs.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Notably averted in the season 2 premiere "The Billionaire" set and with extensive filming in England.

* NamesTheSame: The episode "The Abduction" gives us two mobsters with famous names. One named Robert Drake (who is also the real name of Iceman, one of the founding members of the superhero team, the ''Franchise/XMen'') and one name Jay Cutler ([[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague the current Quarterback of the Chicago Bears]]).

* RoleAssociation:
** [[Series/TheAndyGriffithShow Andy Taylor in an alternate universe]] never remarried, instead going on to be a lawyer, with some old familiar faces from his hometown stopping in from time to time, such as Barney Fife.
** [[Series/TheWaltons Drew]] is a beleaguered private in the Army.
** [[Series/{{Mash}} Winchester]] lost his British accent, and has gone blind- he also murdered somebody because of it.
** [[Series/{{Mash}} B.J. Hunnicut]] is involved in an affair with [[Creator/GatesMcFadden Beverly]] [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Crusher]].
** [[Series/WalkerTexasRanger Trivette]] used to work for Matlock.
** [=S5E06=] "The Narc": [[Series/TheWaltons J.D. Pickett]] is now a police chief chewing out his juniors for a drug bust scandal, and [[Series/BlueBloods Lieutenant Sidney Gormley]] (Robert Clohessy) is actually a DirtyCop with a pompadour who becomes the VictimOfTheWeek for snitching on the rest of his cohorts.
** [[Creator/JohnDeLancie That scamp]] [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Q]] is a plastic surgeon and the VictimOfTheWeek.
** [[Series/BreakingBad Heisenberg]] and [[Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle Hal Wilkerson]] exist independently from one another as two separate characters. Hal finally grew fed up with Lois and took on another wife who turned out to be even worse of a shrew and got killed for it, while Heisenberg miraculously survived his gunshot wounds and got away, deciding to pursue a career in marriage counseling, only to ironically screw around with the wives and get killed anyway by three vindictive women. Or maybe it's Hal who got killed and Heisenberg who survived. But given that one is obviously good-natured and the other good turned bad, it's an easy distinction to assume the first combination is right.

** [=S5E06=] "The Narc":[[Series/TheWaltons J.D. Pickett]] is now a police chief chewing out his juniors for a drug bust scandal, and [[Series/BlueBloods Lieutenant Sidney Gormley]] (Robert Clohessy) is actually a DirtyCop with a pompadour who becomes the VictimOfTheWeek for snitching on the rest of his cohorts.

** [[Series/TheWaltons J.D. Pickett]] is now a police chief chewing out his juniors for a drug bust scandal.

* [[Series/BlueBloods Lieutenant Sidney Gormley]] (Robert Clohessy) is actually a DirtyCop with a pompadour who becomes the VictimOfTheWeek for snitching on the rest of his cohorts.

* [[Series/BlueBloods Lieutenant Sidney Gormley]] is actually a DirtyCop who becomes the VictimOfTheWeek for snitching on the rest of his cohorts.

** Leo Penn, who also directed on the show, played multiple separate characters, 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 an 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.
** Andy Griffith portrayed Matlock's father in a WholeEpisodeFlashback, who also lost his wife (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) when Ben was a boy and was the start of Ben's love for hot dogs.

* YouLookFamiliar: Daniel Roebuck plays a one-off character in an early season before coming back as a 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.

* 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.

* 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.

* ReferencedBy: For younger audiences, the first contact with Matlock probably came from the ''Series/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.

** Leo Penn, who also directed on the show, played multiple separate characters, 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 an 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 licked from his residence.

* CareerResurrection: In addition to bringing Andy Griffith back into the spotlight, the show also restored executive producer Fred Silverman's professional reputation following a disastrous 3 year spell as president and CEO of NBC, which saw him green light one too many programming failures on NBC's prime time lineup as well as almost bankrupt the network after spending a ton of money to produce a whopping 150 hours of 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.

** [[Creator/DavidOgdenStiers Winchester]] [[Series/{{Mash}} lost his British accent]], and has gone blind- he also murdered somebody because of it.
** [[Creator/MikeFarrell B.J.]] [[Series/{{Mash}} Hunnicut]] is involved in an affair with [[Creator/GatesMcFadden Beverly]] [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Crusher]].