Amazon.com DVD Review - A running joke on The Simpsons is the idolization of Andy Griffith's Ben Matlock by the aged residents of the Springfield Retirement Home. Watching Matlock’s inaugural season, it's no wonder that viewers "of a certain age" would take comfort in watching Atlanta defense attorney Matlock defend the falsely accused and, to quote <>The Simpsons, "put young people behind bars where they belong." Matlock was something of a departure for TV icon Griffith. While he's got his southern drawl goin' on, he left Andy Taylor back in Mayberry. Folksiness only goes so far in the big city. Matlock's fee is $100,000. And even if Opie or Aunt Bea were menaced, one can't imagine sheriff Andy threatening to feed the perpetrator to the D.A. "piece by piece." Matlock hews closely to the Perry Mason playbook. Most episodes incriminate a suspect, only to have the tenacious Matlock ("Next to injustice, I hate losing," he states) exonerate him or her with some flashy, last-minute courtroom theatrics that threaten to turn the courtroom into a "sideshow." One notable exception is the episode, "The Judge," featuring guest star Dick Van Dyke as a judge and old friend of Matlock who murders his mistress, and then presides over the trial of the man arrested for the crime. Other notable guest stars are Jose Ferrer as a terminally ill crime kingpin arrested for murder in the two-parter, "The Don," and Pat Hingle as a surly and disliked man likewise accused of murder in "Santa Claus." Season One is an auspicious beginning for the series that would run for six years on NBC and then three more on ABC. Casting tweaks and the addition of new characters would improve the proceedings. Bland Lori Lethin, who appears in the pilot episode as Matlock’s daughter, a neophyte lawyer, was replaced in the series by the more experienced Linda Purl. The episode, "The People vs. Matlock" introduces Julie Sommars as feisty assistant district attorney Julie March, a foil and friend to Matlock. Nancy Stafford, who appears "The Seduction," would join the cast next season as Matlock’s assistant, Michelle Thomas. Matlock even inspired a spinoff; the episode "The Don" pits Matlock against his "bitter enemy," William Conrad’s James McShane, a cop-turned-district attorney who would later be transformed into Jason McCabe, aka "Fatman" in Jake and the Fatman (his future costar, Joe Penny, costars in the episode as one of the Don’s highly suspect sons). In a prime time loaded with grisly police procedurals, the old school Matlock is a not-at-all-guilty pleasure. --Donald Liebenson

Amazon.com DVD Review - High-profile Atlanta defense attorney Ben Matlock loves hot dogs, strums mountain tunes in his office, and isn’t clear on whether it is "do lunch and take a meeting" or vice versa. But he is, as one of his employees observes, "a real class act." Matlock is more urban than Mayberry Sheriff Andy Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show, but while both characters have a folksy Southern charm, no one underestimates Matlock; not at his fee ($100,000!). No matter how carefully a killer plans and no matter how guilty Matlock’s client appears, Matlock always seems to know "something," which he reveals in a dramatic "moment of truth" in the courtroom worthy of Perry Mason. In some episodes, as in "Blind Justice," audiences are clued in as to the killer’s identity, but in most, we are in the dark. Matlock was one of television’s top 15 shows in this second season. It’s no mystery. Credit Griffith’s down home appeal. He’s as comfortable to viewers as Matlock’s favorite well-worn pair of shoes, which he replaces in one episode with a new pair exactly like it). Credit, too, clever writing, and some sly touches that manage to take Matlock just a little outside its comfort zone. The episode, "The Network," takes the format of a celebrity gossip show that reports on Matlock’s latest case, his defense of a Hollywood TV producer accused of killing a studio programming chief. Then-current NBC stars, including Betty White, Corbin Bernsen, Rhea Perlman, and even Alf, cameo as themselves talking about the less than admired victim. A stunt episode, "The Hucksters," in which viewers were invited to call a toll-free number to vote on the killer, is presented here with all three alternate endings. Season two saw cast shake-ups; Linda Purl, who portrayed Matlock’s daughter and partner, departed the series, opening the door for Nancy Stafford as Michelle Thomas, who is introduced in the season-opening two-parter, "The Billionaire," in which Matlock travels to England to defend a man accused of murdering his tycoon father. Kari Lizer also joined the cast as Matlock’s cute new law clerk, Cassie. Kene Holliday returns as Tyler Hudson, Matlock’s questionable investigator. A more worthy foil for Griffith and Matlock is Julie Sommars in her Golden Globe-winning role as feisty prosecutor Julie Marsh. They’re not exactly David and Maddie from Moonlighting, but their playfully combative relationship gives the show some sparks. This season features some great guest stars, including David McCallum (The Man From U.N.C.L.E., David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H), Max Gail (Barney Miller), Marg Helgenberger (C.S.I.), Mason Adams (Lou Grant), and David Carradine (Kung Fu). But this is Griffith’s show all the way. There were certainly edgier, contemporary series, but Matlock endures as the last name in comfort television, whose old fashioned pleasures of watching justice be served never get old. --Donald Liebenson

Matlock is a legal drama series starring Andy Griffith as defense attorney Ben Matlock - a Harvard-educated, fiery southerner who charges $100,000 a case to brilliantly defend his clients by finding the real killer.