Trivia / Matlock

• California Doubling: Notably averted in the season 2 premiere "The Billionaire," set in England.
• Career Resurrection: In addition to bringing Andy Griffith back into the spotlight, the show also restored executive producer Fred Silverman's professional reputation following a disastrous 3-year spell as president and CEO of NBC from 1978-1981. Silverman had green-lighted several programming failures on NBC's prime time lineup, and had nearly bankrupted the network after spending a ton of money to produce coverage for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics, only to end up cancelling said programming after Jimmy Carter pulled the U.S. team out of the event in protest of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.
• Channel Hop: The show ran on NBC from 1986 until 1992. It then moved to ABC where it ran from 1992 until 1995.
• The Danza: Julie Sommars as Julie March.
• In Memoriam: "The Witness Killings" was "for Rose Johnson".
• I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine: Don Knotts, who played Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show, had a recurring role as Ben's Nosy Neighbor Les Calhoun. Other "Griffith" alumni that appeared on the show included Aneta Corsaut (Helen Crump), Jack Dodson (Howard Sprague), Arlene Golonka (Millie Swanson), and Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou).
• Referenced by...: For younger audiences, the first contact with Matlock probably came from The Simpsons, where Matlock is particularly loved by senior residents. In a recursive reference, this elderly appeal also carries over to Better Call Saul. It also got a sly mention in Ed, Edd n Eddy, where Eddy mentioned that his dad turns surly if he doesn't get to watch Matlock. Tony DiNozzo, however, uses it as a pejorative for people who think they are crackerjack crime solvers and are really just delusional.
• Shoot the Money: Many episodes, especially after the Channel Hop to ABC, were primarily shot in North Carolina — particularly in Manteo (where Andy Griffith lived for much of his later years).
• Similarly Named Works: While there is a man on the run in the episode "The Fugitive", it's Matlock's client, who fled the courtroom, feeling he was losing the case, and not Dr. Richard Kimble.
• You Look Familiar:
  • Daniel Roebuck plays a one-off character in an early season before coming back as regular cast member Cliff Lewis. However, he lost a ton of weight between appearances over the several years that went by and it effectively allowed him to become a brand new character. Lampshaded when Ben seems to briefly notice his resemblance to the chubby man from earlier on. Ironically, Roebuck would put his weight back on and then some once he got a lot older.
  • Leo Penn, who also directed on the show, played multiple separate characters, including a priest who was seemingly a Victim of the Week in an interesting subversion where his character was Driven to Suicide but the truth was too scandalous to publicize (Catholics see suicide as the unforgivable sin), and a nosy neighbor. He was also Russ Lewis, "Russ the Rhino", an irritating freeloader with a bunch of petty issues who Ben struggled to get kicked from his residence.
  • Andy Griffith portrayed Matlock's father in a Whole Episode Flashback on two instances, who also lost his wife when Ben was a boy. (Or so it seems; the pilot dropped the ball on that one by saying she was still alive — so it could actually be a divorce and Ben is choosing to remember things differently, or his mind is going spotty with age). He also started Ben's love for hot dogs.

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