List of Matlock episodes

Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith, that ran from March 3, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC and from November 5, 1992 to May 7, 1995 on ABC. A total of 9 seasons and 194 episodes were produced.

Ben Matlock (Andy Griffith) and his daughter Charlene (Lori Lethin) defend TV journalist Steve Emerson (Steve Inwood) who is accused of killing Linda Coolidge (Katherine Cannon), his ex-wife.

Note: It originally aired as a two-hour series premiere during the Spring of the 1986–87 network TV season, with subsequent airings air in two parts. In this TV movie it mentions that Ben's mom is still alive, but in latter episodes it says that his mom died when he was young.

The episode starts out with Kevin Meredith (played by Brian Lane Green) and Joanne Leigh (played by Bobbie Eakes) kissing in a room with Carter Addison (played by Dick Van Dyke) watching them through the window with a pair of binoculars. He finally comes to the conclusion that his lover is cheating on him. He walks over to their apartment room, lets himself in, and waits for Kevin to go take a shower, before entering the bedroom, covering Joanne's mouth and then stabbing her to death in her bed. He leaves the knife on the floor, goes back out into the hall and calls the front desk, saying, "There is a woman screaming for help. Something terrible has happened". Then he takes his bag with the bloody clothes in it. Kevin comes out of the shower and finds a knife with blood all over it. He picks up the knife, looks over at the bed and sees Joanne dead, and then someone at the apartment comes in and sees him holding the murder weapon. It turns out Carter Addison is the judge presiding over the trial. Matlock becomes very suspicious when Carter asks him to step aside and have the son of another lawyer they are both familiar with take his place. Later in the episode Carter goes back and burns the bag with all of his bloody clothes in it. Matlock, however, beat him to it. He had replacements put there by Tyler Hudson and is able to present the real clothes in court. The prosecution then moves for dismissal.

Other guest stars: Richard Newton as Judge Richard Cooksey, Richard McKenzie as Lt. Rupert Davis, and Toni Sawyer as Mrs. Meredith, Richard Wright as Harry Hobson, Brian Lane Green as Kevin Meredith, Piper Laurie as Claire Leigh, Bobbie Eakes as Joanne Leigh, Michael Durrell as D.A. Lloyd Burgess

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