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The Worst Episodes of Matlock

Every episode of Matlock ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Matlock!

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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

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Matlock Season 1 Episode 1 - Diary of a Perfect Murder
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #1 - Diary of a Perfect Murder

    S1:E1

    Atlanta lawyer Ben Matlock takes on the high profile case of a television reporter accused of murdering his former wife. The case is complicated when his daughter Charlene develops feelings for the accused killer.

    Director:Robert Day
    Writer:Dean Hargrove

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  2. Matlock Season 1 Episode 4 - The Affair
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #2 - The Affair

    S1:E4

    Matlock represents the a maid accused of killing her employer, at the request of the man's widow. The request is a little odd, but it seems Christina Ward wants people to know exactly what kind of man her husband was. Matlock is more than a little uncomfortable when it seems Charlene is developing a tendre for the woman's son Clark, an old college chum of Charlene's.

    Director:John Llewellyn Moxey
    Writer:Paul Savage

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  3. Matlock Season 1 Episode 5 - The Seduction
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #3 - The Seduction

    S1:E5

    Matlock is hired to defend Brad Bingham, an aging football star with a reputation as a womanizer who was about to be cut from the team. Charlene is resistant to Ben's choice, as she believes everything the tabloids have to say about Brad...not only that, but years earlier, he'd had a brief relationship with her friend Ellen Hawley, who had tried to kill herself after they broke up. As the case continues, Charlene realises that not everything that's printed in the papers is true and that maybe Ellen wasn't quite honest with her, even though a call girl (Caryn Nelson) hired to make Brad look guilty almost convinces her that he is.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Matlock Season 1 Episode 6 - The Don (1)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #4 - The Don (1)

    S1:E6

    When Nicholas Baron, a well known mobster, is accused of murdering one of his rivals, he asks Ben Matlock to represent him. Ben initially refuses, but agrees to represent Baron despite threats on his own life. He soon meets the entire family, and realises that despite what Baron has always done for a living, at heart he's a worried father who wants to clear his name.

    Director:Leo Penn
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Matlock Season 1 Episode 7 - The Don (2)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #5 - The Don (2)

    S1:E7

    Even though they've lost a key witness, Matlock keeps defending Nicholas Baron. Daniel tries to convince Matlock that his father just can't handle any stress due to his heart condition, but Nicholas continues to beg Matlock to clear his name. While Matlock investigates a suspect closer to home than Baron would want, Charlene blows her chance at a relationship with Paul when she can't separate the man from the legend.

    Director:Leo Penn
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Matlock Season 1 Episode 8 - The Sisters
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #6 - The Sisters

    S1:E8

    Harold Scully is a boring man. But at least he knows that. When he begs old acquaintance Ben Matlock to defend him on charges of murdering his wealthy wife Esther, Matlock reluctantly agrees. The more investigating he does, the more he realises that there is something seriously wrong with Harold's two nieces, sisters Julia and Emily.

    Director:Alan Cooke
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Matlock Season 1 Episode 9 - The Cop
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - The Cop

    S1:E9

    Detective Joe Peters has been accused of taking bribes and murdering a fence, and also suspected in the death of a fellow cop. When it comes right down to it, one of the other cops on the force was more involved than they should have been.

    Director:Daniel Haller
    Writer:Robert Schlitt

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  8. Matlock Season 1 Episode 10 - The Angel
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - The Angel

    S1:E10

    Matlock reluctantly agrees to hire free-spirited rock star Angel after Charlene reveals she's already taken the job for them. Angel has been accused of killing her manager, and due to an alcohol induced black-out, can't even offer herself an alibi for the night. Matlock gets more and more angry when Angel continues to ignore his suggestions at toning down her life-style, but luckily he's able to get through to her before her attitude gets her convicted of murder.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Matlock Season 1 Episode 11 - The Professor
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - The Professor

    S1:E11

    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.

    Director:Bill Duke
    Writer:Donald Ross

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  10. Matlock Season 1 Episode 13 - The Chef
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - The Chef

    S1:E13

    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.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Matlock Season 1 Episode 14 - The Author
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - The Author

    S1:E14

    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.

    Director:Michael O'Herlihy
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Matlock Season 1 Episode 15 - The Rat Pack
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - The Rat Pack

    S1:E15

    When Beverly Hills cookie entrepreneur Adam Gardner's girlfriend is found dead in his hot tub, the case against him looks bleak, especially when an eye witness points the finger at him. After his corporate lawyers advise him to plead guilty, Gardner hires Ben Matlock to defend him. While Matlock believes in his client's innocence, the more he learns about the victim, the greater the motive his client has, especially once love letters turn up that were exchanged between the victim and Josh Sinclair, Adam's supposed best friend.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Matlock Season 1 Episode 16 - The Nurse
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - The Nurse

    S1:E16

    Kathy Warren was a private nurse working for the St. Johns. One night while she was out, Peter St. John died, and when it was determined to be murder, she was the prime suspect. She hired Matlock to defend her, offering her engagement ring as a fee. After Lacey St. John told A.D.A. Julie March that the ring had been stolen from their home, Matlock realised that something wasn't right in the St. John house, and that someone was lying to him.

    Director:Charles S. Dubin
    Writer:Robert Hamilton

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  14. Matlock Season 1 Episode 17 - The Convict
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - The Convict

    S1:E17

    Seven years ago Ben defended Les Matthews, who was accused of killing his friend and business partner and Ben lost. Today Matthews has been granted parole. While working in the library, Wayne Lashley enters with his two goons, Lipton and Foley. While Lipton and Foley keep watch, Lashley tries to kill Les, but in the struggle, it's Lashley who ends up dead, and Les who ends up looking guilty. Matthews is charged with Lashley's murder and Ben wants to defend him. He sends Tyler undercover in the prison and places him with the cellmate of the man who was killed. He gives Ben evidence that not only proves Matthews is telling the truth but also who was responsible for the murder that Matthews was convicted of seven years ago.

    Director:Daniel Haller
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Matlock Season 1 Episode 18 - The Court Martial (1)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - The Court Martial (1)

    S1:E18

    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.

    Director:Charles S. Dubin
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Matlock Season 1 Episode 19 - The Court Martial (2)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - The Court Martial (2)

    S1:E19

    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.

    Director:Charles S. Dubin
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Matlock Season 1 Episode 20 - The Therapist
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - The Therapist

    S1:E20

    Matlock is hired to defend a popular actor when he's accused of killing the man who ran the sex-therapy clinic where he was staying, ostensibly for releasing his name to the press. He's got a temporary thorn in his side, though, in the form of Cassie Phillips, a law student he once made an off-hand comment to about looking him up for a job...she took him a lot more seriously than he had intended.

    Director:Christopher Hibler
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Matlock Season 1 Episode 21 - The People vs. Matlock
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - The People vs. Matlock

    S1:E21

    While defending union boss Gerald O'Hara, who has been accused of murdering his chief rival for his seat (Dan Keaton), Matlock is furious when juror number seven (Harry Craven) comes forward to announce that he was paid off by Matlock to vote a certain way. Luckily for Matlock, Julie knows him well enough to know he would never take a bribe, and she helps him prove that he's innocent, and that his client was railroaded by the same man who tried to bring down Ben.

    Director:Charles S. Dubin
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Matlock Season 1 Episode 22 - The Photographer
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - The Photographer

    S1:E22

    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.

    Director:Bob Sweeney
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Matlock Season 1 Episode 23 - The Reporter
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - The Reporter

    S1:E23

    When Laurie Palmer is arrested for killing her husband, the reporter covering the case is convinced of her innocence, and goes to Ben Matlock looking for help.

    Director:Charles S. Dubin
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Matlock Season 1 Episode 24 - The Doctors
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - The Doctors

    S1:E24

    Dr. David Westlake was a nasty piece of work who had a reputation for making trouble for his medical students. Any one of four men had a motive to kill Westlake, but suspicion lands on Dr. Jacobs, who was seen fleeing the scene of the crime.

    Director:Tony Mordente
    Writers:Joel Steiger, Dean Hargrove

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  22. Matlock Season 2 Episode 1 - The Billionaire (1)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - The Billionaire (1)

    S2:E1

    Matlock flies all the way the England to represent Eric Gordon, a man accused of murdering his wealthy businessman father. His sister Laura is convinced of his innocence, but brother Mitch isn't so sure.

    Director:Christopher Hibler
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Matlock Season 2 Episode 2 - The Billionaire (2)
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - The Billionaire (2)

    S2:E2

    Matlock flies all the way the England to represent Eric Gordon, a man accused of murdering his wealthy businessman father. His sister Laura is convinced of his innocence, but brother Mitch isn't so sure.

    Director:Christopher Hibler
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Matlock Season 2 Episode 3 - Blind Justice
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Blind Justice

    S2:E3

    Michelle agrees to defend college chum Andrea Morrow after she is accused of murdering her abusive lover, Clay Graham. Matlock soon becomes convinced that the murderer was Clay's blind 'friend', Arthur Hampton, but will have a devil of a time proving how a blind man managed to carry off a near-perfect murder.

    Director:Christian I. Nyby II
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Matlock Season 2 Episode 4 - The Annihilator
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - The Annihilator

    S2:E4

    Matlock reluctantly agrees to represent a famous wrestler when he's accused of killing a long-time rival, but only when Cassie begs him to. The key witness in the case is a young girl who was a die-hard fan of the dead wrestler, but whose story might not be completely accurate.

    Director:Christopher Hibler
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Diary of a Perfect Murder" is the worst rated episode of "Matlock". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Robert Day and written by Dean Hargrove, it aired on 3/3/1986. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Affair".