Line #1 YMMV/Matlock


1	* {{Adorkable}}:
2	** Cassie Phillips, whose first appearance saw her fumbling her way into Matlock's employ on a misunderstanding that he was going to offer her a job. She's very sweet and sympathetic and you just want to hug her because she's trying to do the right thing in spite of inexperience -- and though she messes up, she's a very fast learner.
3	** Cliff Lewis, Matlock's associate in the last three seasons. He's hired by Matlock because his father, Billy, ''guilts'' Matlock into it. Though a lawyer, he spends a lot of time as Matlock's investigator. Cliff also gets wrongfully accused of murder ''twice''.
4	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The theme song, which can best be described as a delightful fusion of Dixieland jazz with a hip-hop groove. Genuinely catchy on its own merits and a perfect musical metaphor for Matlock's character.
5	* DamselScrappy: Charlene. She's a constant victim of capture. Averted, however, when Michelle joins the series, as she's tougher and feistier when it comes to kidnappers and is more able to get out of such problems far more easily.
6	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Popular in Finland up to the mid-2000s, when reruns were still being aired almost every day. Also managed to gain a younger PeripheryDemographic.
7	* GrowingTheBeard: Arguably, Season 7, when the show made a ChannelHop to ABC. The supporting cast was reset (Creator/JulieSommars and Creator/NancyStafford wanted to spend more time with their families and Creator/ClarenceGilyardJr was now heavily involved with ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger''.) and the series started to detach itself from [[StrictlyFormula formulaic]] stories. It also stopped being hammy for the most part and started to add some real depth to the cast. The addition of [[SitcomArchnemesis Billy Lewis]] also helped to liven things up by featuring a lot of amusing friction between him and Ben. There was also the character arc Cliff went through as Ben's understudy.
8	* HarsherInHindsight: Ben's client in "The Secret" is a blues singer with a BigFun physique who cooks a few hearty meals with Matlock, jokes, "You don’t think I got this way eating salads, do you?" and sings songs throughout the episode where half of them seem to be warnings or cautionary tales. Ron Taylor died of a heart attack at 49.
9	* HeartwarmingInHindsight: The tragic twist of "The Priest" is that [[spoiler:the titular victim actually commited suicide, which, by Catholic teaching, is the one unforgivable sin, due to suffering from a tumor that was altering his personality and decision making for the worse. His fellow priest who tried to cover it up lamented how this normally saintly priest lost his seat in Heaven over his mental illness]]. Less than a decade later, Pope John Paul II would promulgate the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which notably made it so [[spoiler:suicide due to mental illness is not a mortal sin, meaning the priest would have made it to Heaven after all.]]
10	* NarmCharm: If Creator/AndyGriffith doesn't reel you in, the HamAndCheese acting and [[FashionDissonance 1980's fashion]] will.
11	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRZ4fqaD1iI There's also this early 90s promo]] for syndicated reruns of the show in Philadelphia, thanks to Philly 57's LargeHamAnnouncer Kim Martin. "When your back is against the wall, ''make the call...''"
12	* NightmareFuel: "The Dare"'s ending, specifically the final line: "[[spoiler:What are you gonna do, Ben? Get me the death sentence? [[LethalDiagnosis I've already got it]]]]". Yikes.
13	* RetroactiveRecognition:
14	** Creator/BryanCranston, who appeared in two different episodes as two different characters (a client and a victim).
15	** Creator/ClarenceGilyardJr (Conrad [=McMasters=]) would later go on to greater fame as James Trivette on ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger''.
16	** Creator/KariLizer (Cassie Phillips) would also go on to greater fame as creator and executive producer of ''Series/TheNewAdventuresOfOldChristine''.
17	** In addition to his work on ''Matlock'', UsefulNotes/DeanHargrove is also best known as co-developer and executive producer of ''Series/FatherDowlingMysteries'', and is largely responsible for the series of ''Franchise/PerryMason'' {{Made For TV Movie}}s throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
18	** Creator/TonyMordente directed ten episodes. Mordente is known for playing A-rab and Action in ''Theatre/WestSideStory''.
19	** Creator/JoelSteiger wrote 55 episodes, and also served as producer, supervising producer, co-executive producer, and executive producer. Steiger is also best known for co-developing ''Father Dowling Mysteries''.
20	** Creator/JoyceBurditt wrote three episodes. Burditt is best known as creator and producer, consulting producer, and supervising producer of ''Series/DiagnosisMurder''.
21	** Creator/SamRolfe wrote two episodes. Rolfe is best known as co-creator, associate producer, and producer of ''Series/HaveGunWillTravel'', as developer and producer of ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'', and for developing ''Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE''.
22	** Creator/ScottBakula appeared in "The Power Brokers", notably still brown-headed and with his natural American accent. He later took on the role of [[Series/StarTrekEnterprise a Starfleet captain]], followed by gaining [[SilverFox silvery hair with age]] and a Creole accent for ''Series/NCISNewOrleans''. And of course Scott's also known for [[Series/QuantumLeap striving to put right what once went wrong.]]
23	** Creator/KevinConroy appears in a 1986 episode.
24	** Creator/CharlesMartinet (credited as "Charles Martinez") appears in a 1989 episode, several years prior to what would become [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros prior to his most famous role]].
25	** Creator/MichaelSinterniklaas appears near the end of the 9th season's two-part premiere as a pizza delivery guy, which is funny in hindsight [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles considering what one of his]] [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 breakout voiceover roles was]].
26	* SoBadItsGood: The show is full of over-the-top pastiche characters and a lot of outrageous courtroom antics, but who doesn't love a good murder mystery? It's a surprisingly enjoyable romp, one of the few shows with Creator/FredSilverman's name attached to it which isn't considered a spectacular dud.
27	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Confederate flags are seen prominently displayed in a lot of the courtroom scenes, owing to the [[https://www.flagline.com/flags/georgia-2x3-polyester-flag-pre-2001 1956-2001 State Flag of Georgia design]].

Context YMMV / Matlock