Matlock (1986) Season 4

Matlock (1986)

Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, Viacom Productions and Paramount Television originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; and from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC. The show's format is similar to that of CBS's Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes. One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury.

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Season 4
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Season

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Specials

4x01 The Hunting Party (1)

20 September, 1989 4:00 am

Spencer Hamilton came to Manteo, North Carolina, as soon as he could to locate the man who killed his brother, Frank, in a supposed duck-hunting accident. When Ryan Bartell (the shooter) is found dead, Matlock heads to North Carolina to defend Hamilton, and finds an unlikely ally in local deputy Conrad McMasters.

4x02 The Good Boy

27 September, 1989 4:00 am

After her husband's death she never thought she'd love again, but it Bonnie soon found her future with Cal Ritter. The only problem is that her son, Tony Morgen, hates Cal. When Tony kills Cal and frames his mother for her murder, Matlock takes the case to prove that Bonnie is innocent, but to prove her innocence, he will have to destroy her son.

4x03 The Best Seller

11 October, 1989 4:00 am

When Elizabeth, a friend of famous novelist Cynthia Slayton, is found dead after taking Cynthia's prescribed allergy medication, suspicion falls on Cynthia's long-suffering husband Philip, a friend of Julie's. While trying to clear his name, Julie realises that not everything is as it seems in the Slayton house.

4x04 The Ex

18 October, 1989 4:00 am

Julie heads to Baltimore to defend a man accused of killing the newspaper editor who dragged his name through the mud. Matlock comes to town to help her because Conrad is busy on another case, and helps Julie out when the prosecutor, who just happens to be her ex-husband, does whatever he can to trip Julie up.

4x05 The Clown

25 October, 1989 4:00 am

Matlock agrees to defend aging clown Homer Fleming after he's charged with the murder of his long-time partner, Simon. After asking Conrad to go undercover as a roustabout at the circus, Matlock starts to realise that everyone had a very good reason to hate Simon Le Simple.

4x06 The Star

01 November, 1989 4:00 am

Catherine McKay is an aging prima donna who only had one hit movie in her career. When she's found dead, stabbed in the chest with the knife that made her famous, suspicion lands on Noel Bishop, the horror film director that wanted her off his picture.

4x07 The Con Man

08 November, 1989 4:00 am

After he's conned by a group of con men, Brian Davis is accused of murdering one of them. Matlock agrees to take on the case, and while Michelle tries to get close to one of the remaining con artists, Matlock tries to prove that a previous scheme is responsible for the current predicament.

4x08 The Prisoner (1)

15 November, 1989 4:00 am

When a prison guard is accused of murder, Matlock actually goes into the prison itself to defend the man.

4x09 The Prisoner (2)

22 November, 1989 4:00 am

While Matlock finds the weapon inside the prison, Conrad works on the outside to clear the guard and keep Matlock safe.

4x10 The Fugitive

29 November, 1989 4:00 am

Matlock takes the case of Drew Carey, a young man he has known since childhood, who is accused of murdering his uncle in a fit of drunken rage. Unfortunately, Drew has grown up into a spoiled, self-centered young man who refuses to listen to anything Matlock tells him and is determined to prove that the killer is his uncle's wife Valerie who was much younger than her husband and was having an affair with a construction worker. Despite everyone trying to tell Matlock that Drew is no good, he is convinced that somewhere inside is the sweet boy he once knew, and he truly believes that Drew is innocent.

4x11 The Buddies

13 December, 1989 4:00 am

After an old friend from college dies, Matlock has to investigate three college chums on the charge of murdering a hitchhiker thirty years earlier.

4x12 The Scrooge

20 December, 1989 4:00 am

When a scrooge of a store owner is accused of murdering his partner for being 'good' at Christmas, Matlock agrees to take the case, but Steven Abbott is furious when part of Matlock's fee involves Abbott having to be a 'good' guy.

4x13 The Witness

03 January, 1990 4:00 am

Sandra Townsend is senior counsel with Drexel, Harris and Townsend. But when she's off work she likes to let her hair down and go to the bars. When her lover threatens to expose her nightlife to her bosses, she murders him. Michelle takes the case when Matlock's former paperboy Jimmy Newton is arrested for murder (Matlock's off to California), but soon realises that Sandra, who is supposed to be the star witness, is really the killer. The problem is that Sandra Townsend is a former classmate and good friend, and Michelle just doesn't want to believe that she's lying.

4x14 The Student

10 January, 1990 4:00 am

Matlock goes back to school for a little more education, and while there, one of his students is accused of murdering the professor she was having an affair with. Matlock soon learns that love wasn't the motive; cheating on tests was.

4x15 The Talk Show

17 January, 1990 4:00 am

When talk show host Dan Galloway is murdered after publicly humiliating three woman on the air and firing his executive producer, there is no shortage of suspects. Nearly everyone who ever met the man wanted him dead, but it's up to Matlock to prove whether Marla, Leanne or Katherine committed the crime as he tries to prove that his own client, Lisa, did not.