- Release Date: July 7th, 2009
- Publisher: Paramount
- Price: $34.99 on Amazon (Buy It
)
- Run Time: 15 hours and 53 minutes
- Special Features: None
- Starring: Andy Griffith, Nancy Stafford, Kene Holliday, Julie Sommars
- Genre: Crime/Legal Drama
During the late 1980’s and early 1990’s Matlock was a staple on NBC and ABC. Matlock and his friends solved plenty of crimes during their time. Television hasn’t changed a whole lot since today’s television scene is flooded with crime dramas. Even thought there are plenty of crime drama options on television right now, fans of the genre should think about picking up the third season of Matlock if they have a crime drama itch that summer television can’t scratch.
For those of you who have never seen Matlock before I would consider it a crime/legal drama. In every episode Matlock gets a client who he needs to help prove innocent of a crime they are being charged with. Matlock is technically a lawyer but I would also consider it a crime drama since Matlock ended up investigating every case in order to find the real criminal.
Two shows actually come to mind when I think of Matlock. First there is Perry Mason which is an older crime/legal drama that is very similar to Matlock (despite the time period difference). A more recent comparrison in my opinion is Monk. Obviously things are a little different since Monk is a more recent series (Monk is also not a lawyer). Matlock isn’t as quirky of character as Monk but I found the case structure very similar to Monk’s. Plus there is the fact that both shows actually give fans a chance to try and guess who the killer actually was.
Overall I thought the third season of Matlock was a little above average. Parts of the show are a little outdated but the age of the show isn’t too much of a problem in my opinion. My biggest problem with the series is the problem I have with the entire crime/legal drama genre. There is only so much you can do with the genre so the feeling that you have already seen the same case before starts to creep up from time to time. Matlock has this same problem.
One thing that should disappoint fans of the series is that there are no special features. While the show isn’t that recent, I personally am a little disappointed that some special features couldn’t have been added. The show is only around 20 years old and I have seen older shows with quite a few special features.
If crime/legal dramas aren’t your cup of tea I would recommend you pass on Matlock. If you like crime/legal dramas like Monk or Perry Mason I think you will like Matlock and I would recommend that you pick up the third season.
