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Can you tell fact from fiction in this true or false 'Matlock' quiz?
Matlock was an expert at finding the truth among the lies – are you?
Andy Griffith was perfect for the role of the Southern, musically-inclined defense attorney Ben Matlock, who had a penchant for hidden clues and certain foods.
He was adept at identifying the real culprit and exonerating his clients. Can you identify which of these 12 Matlock questions are true and which are false?
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Ben Matlock’s favorite food was hamburgers.
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Matlock had two daughters who both appeared on the series at different times.
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Matlock drove a grey Ford Crown Victoria.
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Although attempts were made behind the scenes, Don Knotts never appeared on the show.
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The show first aired on NBC then switched to CBS for the final three seasons.
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‘Matlock’ had more seasons than ‘The Andy Griffith Show.’
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‘Matlock’ had more episodes than ‘The Andy Griffith Show.’
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‘Matlock’ took place in Andy Griffith’s home state of North Carolina.
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There was a ‘Matlock’ spinoff called ‘Jake and the Fatman.’
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Matlock’s standard fee was $100,000.
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Dick Van Dyke appeared on ‘Matlock’ as his ‘Diagnosis: Murder’ character Dr. Mark Sloan.
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Andy Griffith was the only cast member to appear in every single ‘Matlock’ episode.
Can you tell fact from fiction in this true or false 'Matlock' quiz?
Your Result...
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Nostalgia
60 Comments
Got only 1 wrong!
I have ALWAYS loved MATLOCK a newer PERRY MASON and wish someone would revive the defense attorney concept.
You got 9 out of 12
5/12, and I watch the show everyday.
11/12. It was a big help to have taken the multiple choice Matlock quiz just before I took this one.
Lol same here
Still a Matlock fan!
That was Super Fun! ! !
The tricky one was moving to ABC
You got 9 out of 12
You can spot the truth among the lies. Way to go!
Share
You can spot the truth among the lies. Way to go!
Share
You got 9 out of 12
You can spot the truth among the lies. Way to go! I love Matlock!!!
You can spot the truth among the lies. Way to go! I love Matlock!!!
10/12
Here in England,I watched Matlock years ago,shortly after they were made.
In recent months,they have just shown possibly the whole series(or
lots of it anyway)on our CBS channel.
I watched loads of them so thought I would take the quiz🤔
I got 11 out of 12.
They are also showing the original
black and white 50's/60's series of Perry Mason,which is brilliant👍🇬🇧🇺🇸
In recent months,they have just shown possibly the whole series(or
lots of it anyway)on our CBS channel.
I watched loads of them so thought I would take the quiz🤔
I got 11 out of 12.
They are also showing the original
black and white 50's/60's series of Perry Mason,which is brilliant👍🇬🇧🇺🇸
9 out of 12.
9 out of 12. I thought I would do better.
11/12
You got 12 out of 12
You can spot the truth among the lies. Way to go!
I watched Matlock all the time when it originally aired and I still watch it every evening on FETV. Loved it back then & still love it.
You can spot the truth among the lies. Way to go!
I watched Matlock all the time when it originally aired and I still watch it every evening on FETV. Loved it back then & still love it.
Question #2 is incorrect. Ben Matlock had one (1) daughter played by two (2) different actresses.
No, he had 2 daughters. Charlene and Leanne(Brynn Thayer). Charlene was played by 2 different actresses. In Season 1 episodes 1 & 2(The Diary) had the original Charlene then Season 1 Episode 3 is when Linda Purl played the character Charlene, Matlock's daughter who moved to Philly to practice law.
Yes, there has always been an arguement as to whether Linda Purl & Brynn Thayer were the same character! And yes an different actress did the pilot!
Lori Lethin was her name.
It's debatable. If it was the same character why did she have a different name? And if it was two daughters, why wasn't it ever mentioned that Matlock had two daughters or that either daughter had a sister? What they should have done was either bring back Lori Lethin from the pilot after Linda Purl left to continue the character in the second season* or name Leanne's character Charlene.
*This has been done before: On the 90s sitcom Parker Lewis Can't Lose actress Mary Ellen Trainor played Parker's mother in pilot but was replaced in the first season by Anne Bloom. When she left after the first season, Mary Ellen Trainor returned to the part.
*This has been done before: On the 90s sitcom Parker Lewis Can't Lose actress Mary Ellen Trainor played Parker's mother in pilot but was replaced in the first season by Anne Bloom. When she left after the first season, Mary Ellen Trainor returned to the part.
The daughters question was the only one I got wrong🙉😁
10/12.
6/12 = Oooooph! LOL
On #9, I'm lodging a protest:
Jake and The Fatman was NOT a "spinoff" of Matlock.
William Conrad and Joe Penny appeared in a Matlock episode, but as different characters: Conrad was a visiting prosecutor, and Penny was the son of a mob boss -opposite sides.
When Dean Hargrove and Fred Silverman (the Matlock executive producers) saw Conrad and Penny together, they played a hunch, and created a new series for the two of them, as different characters; not a "spinoff" at all.
And the hunch paid off; Jake And The Fatman ran five seasons and 100 episodes (MeTV program department, take note).
Jake and The Fatman was NOT a "spinoff" of Matlock.
William Conrad and Joe Penny appeared in a Matlock episode, but as different characters: Conrad was a visiting prosecutor, and Penny was the son of a mob boss -opposite sides.
When Dean Hargrove and Fred Silverman (the Matlock executive producers) saw Conrad and Penny together, they played a hunch, and created a new series for the two of them, as different characters; not a "spinoff" at all.
And the hunch paid off; Jake And The Fatman ran five seasons and 100 episodes (MeTV program department, take note).
Yes, strangely J&TFM has NEVER been seen in syndication or released on DVD!
Actually, Jake & The Fatman has been released on DVD.
Not a bootleg either - a full-dress box set from CBS Video!
I know this because I've got it here at home!
(Think I'll watch one or two as soon as I stand down from here … )
Not a bootleg either - a full-dress box set from CBS Video!
I know this because I've got it here at home!
(Think I'll watch one or two as soon as I stand down from here … )
Jake and the Fatman was indeed a spinoff of Matlock. Both William Conrad and Alan Campbell recreated their Matlock roles on the series and produced by the same people/company. The fact that Joe Penny played a different part is irrelevant. The only difference was the locale was changed to Los Angeles and their character names were slightly altered. But both of those changes also happened to Good Times (New York to Chicago and Henry Evans to James Evans). Are you saying that Good Times wasn't a spinoff of Maude either?
Conrad played James L. McShane on Matlock and Jason Lochinvar 'J.L.' McCabe (he was sworn to testify in something or other and gave his full name. Jake chuckled when he heard McCabe's middle name and got the Conrad 'glare of death' for it!) on JATF.
Joe Penny played a mobster on Matlock and a cop (private investigator, some folks say) on JATF. I think the difference is VERY relevant.
CBS didn't do the set. It was VEI out of Canada, that has been issuing lesser series in the CBS vaults on DVD. CBS did do individual sets of the first and second seasons, though (the first season broken down into the annoying Volume 1/Volume 2 format, the second season--which was the first of their Hawaii seasons--is only one set, as there were only nine episodes, due to the writer's strike).
One final note about JATF...the ratings on the first season were abysmal and they were about to be canceled. What saved them was their willingness to move to Hawaii...CBS had that very expensive set that they built for the original Hawaii Five-O (lovingly known as 'Mongoose Manor') that later served for Magnum, P.I. They didn't want to leave it vacant, so they looked at the ratings and discovered that, while the overall ratings sucked, JATF pulled the same demographic as Magnum. Lo and behold, the ratings moved upward considerably after the Hawaiian move!
The end of the Hawaiian period came when CBS decided to shut down 'Mongoose Manor', so the series returned to L.A. (every time they moved, there was a big two-hour episode). The producers didn't mind moving back, as they were getting scripts of a more noirish nature, and they felt Hawaii was too pretty to do those kind of stories.
The end of the Hawaiian period came when CBS decided to shut down 'Mongoose Manor', so the series returned to L.A. (every time they moved, there was a big two-hour episode). The producers didn't mind moving back, as they were getting scripts of a more noirish nature, and they felt Hawaii was too pretty to do those kind of stories.