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 Vacation (1 & 2)
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/5/1992
Matlock and Leanne head to the beach where Leanne reunites with three good friends from college, and Matlock reunites with someone from his past who just happens to be the brother of the woman whose heart Matlock 'broke' years earlier.
#2 - The Con Man
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/7/1989
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.
#3 - The Court-Martial (1)
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/17/1987
Ben is hired by a friend to defend his son, who is in the army, who's been charged with killing the sadistic lieutenant, whose mistreatment of his men led to the death of his friend.
#4 - The Prisoner (1)
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/14/1989
When a prison guard is accused of murder, Matlock actually goes into the prison itself to defend the man.
#5 - The Judge
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/23/1986
Ben Matlock accepts the pro bono case of Kevin Meredith, a young man accused of murdering his lover, whom Ben soon realises had a much more powerful lover.
#6 - The Photographer
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/31/1987
Amy Adler had a juvenile record before becoming a photographer's assistant. When the photographer she works for is murdered, she begs Matlock to help her out. While pro bono cases aren't usually his style, something about the feisty young woman catches his interest, and he agrees to help her out.
#7 - The Court-Martial (2)
Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/24/1987
As the case progresses, Ben discovers that the lieutenant and four other officers may have been involved in some kind of illegal activities. Charlene who has been working undercover and gets close to one of those officers, examines him on the stand and he reveals that they have been smuggling drugs. Ben then examines one of the officers and has him reveal to the court the scar that the lieutenant left on him after he killed him. He then reveals that he and the other two officers drew straws on who would kill him cause, an investigation might reveal their activities.
#8 - The Genius
Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/15/1988
When Matlock's nephew Irwin is charged with murder, Matlock investigates at a high-tech computer firm to clear his name.
#9 - The Best Seller
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/10/1989
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.
#10 - The Magician
Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/22/1988
After a night at the magic show with Julie, Matlock agrees to defend magician Daniel Fontaine when he's charged with the murder of his assistant / lover Sandy Farrell, a woman who was as devious as she was beautiful.
#11 - 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.
#12 - The Secret (1)
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/30/1990
When a gambler is accused of killing his bookie, Matlock agrees to take the case, believing that someone from the bookie's past is the guilty party.
#13 - The Author
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/13/1987
Mary Ann Newton has written a book (Secret Confessions) that purports to be fiction, but upon a deeper look, it seems to be an expose on the citizens of a small town. When an attempt made on her life gets a local reverend instead, Matlock is called in to defend the suspected killer. As the case goes on, Matlock realises that Ms. Newton may not be the right target for the would-be killer.
#14 - The Cult
Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/2/1989
When William Austin comes to Atlanta from Chicago and heads to the cult that has ensnared his son Dennis, Dennis tells him to leave him alone, the cult is his home now, and that he is no longer his father. The leader of the cult, Joshua Bradbury, tells Austin that he needs to accept Dennis' decision, and to leave him alone. Austin refuses to leave without his son, and Bradbury has the police escort Austin (who threatens to take off Bradbury's head) out of mansion. Dennis observes someone shooting Joshua, then tells police he sees his father fleeing the scene of the crime. William Austin heads to Ben Matlock for help in defending himself. After learning that Dennis has signed his trust fund and his life's savings over to the cult, Matlock confronts him, and is shocked to hear Dennis deny his father. Matlock goes to a reknowned expert in de-programming cult victims, who tells him that Dennis may believe he saw his father, but he is probably so brain-washed by the cult that he can't real
#15 - The Victim
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/23/1990
Matlock tries to prove that someone other than his client had a motive to murder his lover. His best bet? The victim's paraplegic husband.
#16 - The Psychic
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/7/1989
Matlock agrees to defend a psychic, Jennifer Holtz, who claims to have seen the murder before it ever took place.
#17 - 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.
#18 - The Informer (1)
Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/20/1990
When Sam Chandler is found murdered, his lawyer David O'Malley is the prime suspect...in part because John was sleeping with David's wife.
#19 - The Pro
Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/13/1990
Matlock has to defend an arrogant young tennis professional (Dave Travis) against a charge of murdering his rival on and off the court (Victor Tomassio).
#20 - The Thoroughbred
Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/18/1989
When the manager of a thoroughbred farm is murdered, her father begs Matlock to represent the mentally handicapped man accused of the crime.
#21 - The Model
Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/25/1989
Matlock has finally had the breakthrough in the case he was struggling with, but after being hit by a car, he needs to put the case together from scratch. Unfortunately, his nurse isn't too pleased to see him trying to work, and does her best to make sure he gets the rest he needs.
#22 - 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!
#23 - The Chef
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/6/1987
Michael and Victoria Edwards may be divorced, but unfortunately, she couldn't keep him from being a guest on her show. When Michael dies after testing out the dish they were cooking, Victoria is immediately charged with his murder. Matlock agrees to defend her, and gets some good home cooking in the bargain.
#24 - The Clown
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/24/1989
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.
#25 - The Scrooge
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/19/1989
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.