The WORST episodes of Matlock
Every episode of Matlock ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst 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 Fighter
Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/11/1990
When fighter Billy Leon is accused of murdering reporter Nick Underwood, a man he thought was his friend who announced in the paper that he was using steroids, Matlock agrees to take him on as a client.
#2 - The Defense
Season 6 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/6/1991
Teenager Danny Hayes is on trial for the murder of his father. Danny honestly believed that his father was about to kill his mother as he threatened to, but the testimony of his father's best friend threatens Danny's chances at freedom.
#3 - The Dame
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/15/1991
While dining with Julie, a chance meeting with a woman causes Ben to relate the story of his investigation, many years earlier, of a widow that Ben's father (played by Andy Griffith) believes may have been involved with the death of his friend - her husband.
#4 - The Marriage Counselor
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/8/1991
When a marriage counselor is murdered, the suspects include not only his fellow co-workers, but also the couples he was treating...apparently part of his treatment involved seducing the female half of the couples.
#5 - The Strangler
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/25/1991
Serial killer Jeffrey Speidel strangles his victims. When Matlock gets inovlved in the case, Speidel makes a point of turning Matlock into his next target...his goal is to ruin Matlock publicly before killing him.
#6 - The Celebrity
Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/30/1991
Ben defends a one time movie queen who is now a cosmetics mogul who is accused of murdering her ex-lover to prevent the publication of some revealing photos of her.
#7 - The Trial (1)
Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/19/1991
When assistant D.A. Howard Wright is murdered in his workshop, the attorney general approaches Matlock and asks him to take on the assignment of special prosecutor. With Michelle and Conrad's help, Matlock begins to investigate Wright's past, and realises the man was spending money that he could not have earned legitimately. In investigating names that Wright had left behind, Matlock finds himself embroiled in a lawsuit involving Maxwell Toys.
#8 - The Formula
Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/12/1991
Matlock receives a call in the middle of the night from a young man who once painted his house who claims he's been arrested for stealing the formula to cure baldness from a company who fired his friend and stole his work. Twenty-four hours later Ben gets another call from the same young man, who has been accused of murdering the man he claims he stole the formula for. The biggest problem is that none of what Jeff Duvall claims seems to be true; not only did Tim Crider not ask him to steal the formula, but he was never fired in the first place!
#9 - The Arsonist
Season 5 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/5/1991
Marvin Sheam and Sid Franklin have been in business for 32 years. When their bank loan is denied and they can't pay their bills, Marv tries to talk Sid into hiring an arsonist to torch their business so they can collect the insurance money and rebuild from scratch. Just before Marv has a chance to talk to the arsonist again, he winds up dead outside his daughter's wedding reception, and Sid gets blamed.
#10 - The Man of The Year
Season 5 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/29/1991
Matlock is all set to be honored as the man of the year, but when his car breaks down and he's forced to ask his housekeeper for a ride, a simple twenty minute trip turns into a flat tire, a hostage situation, and an afternoon in jail.
#11 - The Parents
Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/15/1991
Howard and Amy have all their dreams answered when Jill plans to give them the child she was carrying. After Jill changes her mind and is found dead, Howard and Amy are the prime suspects in her murder, and Matlock sets out to prove that the birth father may have also had a motive.
#12 - The Critic
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/8/1991
Matlock has known Sam Spelvin since he was six years old, so he agrees to consult on Sam's play, Lovers and Lawyers. Unfortunately, the play is truly awful. When noted critic John Bosley Hackett, who felt the play was truly one of the worst in history, is found murdered, Sam is arrested. Matlock agrees to defend Sam, even deferring his payment while they wait to see if the play is a success, and manages to find a few more people who would be more than happy to see Hackett dead...and to see Sam's play fail.
#13 - The Scam (1 & 2)
Season 9 - Episode 15 - Aired 5/7/1995
Cliff gets entangled in the case of his old college buddy, a defense attorney being blackmailed to sabotage his current case. But when the blackmailer turns up dead and Cliff stands accused, it's Matlock to the rescue.
#14 - The Broker
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/4/1990
When stockbroker Richard Wagner is murdered, his former partner Avery Campbell needs Julie's help to prove his innocence.
#15 - The Biker
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/27/1990
After Nicky, a well-known actor with a bad reputation, is murdered on his way into a premiere, a judge friend of Matlock's asks Matlock to defend his son Cliff, a biker who had been fired earlier from his job as Nicky's bodyguard.
#16 - The Cover Girl
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/20/1990
Conrad is thrilled to introduce Matlock to his new girlfriend Carla Royce. When Carla's boss is murdered, Matlock defends the accused at her bequest.
#17 - The Brothers
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/13/1990
Lowell Carr is a brilliant plastic surgeon. When his partner is found murdered after the two had a loud argument about dissolving their business, he is the immediate suspect...until Matlock meets his twin brother, Gary.
#18 - The Narc
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/23/1990
When Ed Tobias is found murdered after exposing his dirty co-workers to the top brass (they sold the drugs they didn't turn in), Lt. Brooks asks Matlock to defend his accused killer, Johnny Bauer, the only one in the unit who wasn't on the take. In between playing catch with Conrad, Matlock agrees to defend Bauer, even though he feels Bauer is just as dirty as his friends were because he knew what they were up to and he kept quiet.
#19 - The Personal Trainer
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/9/1990
When personal trainer Harry Slade is murdered, Matlock agrees to defend his roofer, George Wilton, on the condition that George finish Matlock's roof like he promised. The case is complicated when it turns out that not only was Harry sleeping with beautiful blonde DeeDee, but also Bridget Laird, and Harry's wife and step-daughter!
#20 - The Mother
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/18/1990
Phyllis Todd confesses to the murder of her boss to protect her daughter. Matlock soon sees through his client's ruse.
#21 - The Other Woman
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/21/1989
Matlock agrees to defend psychiatrist Lucas Forbes when he's arrested for killing Adam Whitley, the husband of one of his patients whom Lucas was reportedly having an affair with, according to the woman's diary. Matlock soon realises that Erin Whitley has a host of deep-rooted psychiatric problems. After a few chance meetings with a woman named Shannon, Matlock is shocked to realise the extent of the connection between Erin and Shannon.
#22 - The Husband
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/20/1987
When Matlock agrees to defend Cassie's friend Judy, he is shocked to learn that Judy's husband had another wife. As the case continues, Matlock learns that there was also a third Mrs. Benson, and that Kevin Benson managed to successfully maintain three separate wives in three separate households.
#23 - The Professor
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/2/1986
Professor Erskine Tate wakes from a drunken stupor behind the wheel of his car. He doesn't know how he got there or what happened. When he's accused of having hit a mailman during his drunken joyride, he goes to a former student, Ben Matlock, for help, and Ben investigates two students and a teaching assistant.
#24 - The Abduction
Season 6 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/6/1992
Matlock has every intention of preserving lawyer/client confidentiality, but when a group of mobsters kidnap Michelle to extort information from Matlock, he has to weigh his professional ethics against her life.
#25 - The Game Show
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/13/1991
When the producer of the popular It's About Time gameshow is murdered, Matlock defends the aging host at the request of a friend of Conrad's, while Michelle goes undercover as a contestant.