The BEST episodes of Matlock
Every episode of Matlock ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Matlock!
Don't be fooled by his down-home demeanor and country-boy ways; criminal defense lawyer Ben Matlock is worth every penny of his fee. Count on Matlock to visit the crime scene, scope out the clues everyone else missed, and dramatically reveal the real criminal during a climactic trial sequence.
#1 - The Temptation
Season 8 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/27/1994
A thug tries to make Leanne fall in love with him by using her journal that he stole from her house.
#2 - The Madam
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/2/1990
A call girl blackmails her employer to stay on the payroll, and when one of them winds up dead, it's Matlock to the rescue.
#3 - The Heist (1 & 2)
Season 9 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/27/1995
While at the beach to cheer on Cliff in a triathlon, Ben runs into an old friend and retired FBI agent who's handling unfinished business. VVhen the Fed is accused of murder, Matlock defends him.
#4 - The Assault
Season 9 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/16/1995
On his birthday, Ben is mugged in the city. A young man comes to his rescue, and to return the favor, Ben represents the hero...who is accused of trying to kill his negligent landlord.
#5 - The Target
Season 9 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/9/1995
An explosion at sea results in a judge's death, but Matlock fears he was the killer's real target
#6 - Dead Air
Season 9 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/8/1994
When a radio personality is accused of murdering his on-air partner, Matlock comes to his defense and must discover who left the DJ DOA
#7 - The Confession
Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/1/1994
Prosecutor Julie March (Julie Sommars) returns, looking for Matlock's help to vindicate a thief she wrongly convicted.
#8 - The Dating Game
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/17/1994
When Cliff s friend is accused of murdering a woman he met through a dating service, Ben and Jerri enter the video dating arena in order to corner the real killer.
#9 - The Coach
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/10/1994
It's no slam dunk for Matlock when a basketball coach is the prime suspect in the murder of a booster.
#10 - The Tabloid
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/3/1994
When a senatorial candidate is accused of killing a tabloid editor who disgraced her in print, Matlock comes to her defense.
#11 - The Dare
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/27/1994
To prove that Matlock could not solve the perfect murder, a demented millionaire (Terry O'Quinn) kills Ben's friend and challenges Ben to solve the crime.
#12 - The Accused (1 & 2)
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/13/1994
After a journalist claims to have killed a mobster in self-defense, Ben Matlock takes her case and tries to clear her name.
#13 - The Idol (1 & 2)
Season 8 - Episode 20 - Aired 5/19/1994
A lawyer who is a fan of Matlock's is accused of murdering a blackmailing P.I.
#14 - The P.I.
Season 8 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/3/1994
A P.I.'s daughter shoots some photos that get the wrong man accused of murder.
#15 - The Kidnapping (1)
Season 8 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/13/1994
Abductors try to kidnap Leanne but take Billy instead and hold him for ransom.
#16 - The Capital Offense
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/11/1993
Matlock continues his five-year struggle to save a con artist from the electric chair.
#17 - The View
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/28/1993
Matlock realizes he has become a witness in a murder case involving two theater actors and an unhappy husband.
#18 - The Play
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/23/1993
After an actress in The Last Cry of the Hounds is murdered, Matlock agrees to represent the director of a local community play...on the condition that the director not cut him from the play.
#19 - The Juror
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/11/1993
Matlock is planning a birthday fishing trip with Leanne, but when he is called up for jury duty it puts a damper on their trip. Despite his convictions that no lawyer would want him on their jury, Matlock ends up being juror number six, and while everyone else on the jury wants to convict Travis Spaulding of the murder of his wife, Matlock alone thinks they need to take a closer look at the evidence before sentencing the man to death. Unfortunately, tempers flare in the jury room as the jurors soon become divided between guilty and not guilty.
#20 - The Class
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/21/1993
Matlock talks to a law class about his career, and the subject of 'the perfect murder' comes up. When student Eddie Price disappears after getting into it with Mark Randall, the university believes that Matlock's speech may have incited one of the students to murder. To clear his name, Matlock and Leanne decide to engage the students into an investigation into Eddie's disappearance, and soon learn that Eddie had more than they thought in common with not only Mark, but also Bobby Simpson as well -- they had all shared the same girlfriend.
#21 - The Big Payoff
Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/28/1992
Michelle helps an insurance investigator prove that a man killed his wealthy wife to collect on the insurance money.
#22 - The Picture (2)
Season 6 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/24/1992
Matlock successfully defends his cousin on charges of murder, but when it's all said and done, he still can't stand the woman.
#23 - The Picture (1)
Season 6 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/17/1992
After much persuasion, Matlock agrees to help his disagreeable cousin locate her erstwhile husband, using a doctored photograph to help find him.
#24 - The Suspect (1 & 2)
Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/29/1991
Matlock defends a wealthy widow charged with the murder of her husband, while Michelle helps to defend a father accused of murdering the drug dealer who got his child hooked...a dealer who just happened to be a cop.
#25 - The Nightmare
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/1/1991
After a bump on the head, Matlock has a nightmare where he is trapped in the Old West, and needs to save Conrad from an angry lynch mob when he is accused of murder. His is frequently distracted by Michelle, a beautiful saloon girl, and Julie, the vengeance-seeking sister of the dead man.