Saturday, January 24, 2009

Blog DVD Review: Matlock - The Second Season

It is Saturday, so that must mean it is time for the blog DVD review! Today we take a look at CBS DVD's Matlock: The Second Season. Matlock of course is the very popular courtroom drama starring Andy Griffith that is often mentioned on The Simpsons as Grandpa Simpson's favorite show. See skees53's blog DVD review of Matlock: The Second Season:

Matlock: The Second Season (CBS DVD, $49.99) brings to order 23 new cases in which Ben Matlock has to defend those accused of murder when the evidence points right at them. Approximately 20 years after Andy Griffith had made a name for himself with the popular TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, he made a comeback in the "prime years" of his life as attorney Ben Matlock, on this series. The series began in 1986 on NBC and ran until the mid-90s when it ended on ABC, and has been a fixture in every home (including retirement homes) ever since. Matlock may seem very homely and down-to-earth with his "southern charm," but don't let his demeanor fool you. He is actually a very aggressive attorney that will take the tough tasks (for only $100,000) and prove that his client is not guilty. He is much like a more aggressive version of Perry Mason.
The second season begins with the two-hour episode "The Billionaire," where Matlock proves his international fame by going to London to help defend an American businessman accused of murder. In "The Husband," Matlock has to defend a woman accused of killing her husband, but he quickly finds out that the man had several wives. Robert Downey, Sr. and Dick Butkus guest star in "The Annihilator." It is an episode of NBC stars when Betty White (Golden Girls), Jason Bateman (Hogan Family), Rhea Pearlman (Cheers), ALF, and others make cameo appearances on the episode "The Network." Santa Claus (or at least a guy dressed like him) is accused of murder in "The Gift," so can Matlock save the day? Sheldon Leonard makes a cameo in the episode "The Gambler."
It is a tale of sordid sex stories when an aerobics instructor is killed in "The Body." Matlock has to represent a classmate from Harvard that is accused of murder in "The Reunion." A man is accused of killing his employer--an umpire--in the episode "The Umpire." Richard Kline (Three's Company) guest stars. Matlock is forced to become a peacemaker to protect his client from incriminating himself in the two-part episode "The Investigation." An advice columnist is murdered (with an award that she won) in "The Lovelorn." Matlock's nephew is accused of murder in "The Genius." The season ends with "The Heiress," where a fast-talking New York attorney comes in to help Matlock when a girl is accused of murdering her wealthy aunt.
The packaging for the set is pretty straightforward and simple, like many other CBS DVD products. Basically, we just have the standard DVD case with six discs inside. Each disc contains four episodes, except for the first disc, which contains three episodes (the first of which is a two hour season premiere). What is surprising (and I'm not complaining about this) is the fact that CBS DVD actually put all of the episodes from this season in one set, rather than their typical practice of splitting dramas into two volumes. As this is a CBS DVD product, there is no disc artwork. The menus on the set are similarly unimpressive, with nothing more than a listing of each episode contained on each disc and a Play All option.
The episodes on this set all do appear to be unedited, but there is one minor issue that will certainly annoy many fans. When these episodes originally aired, each episode had an opening teaser that previewed the upcoming episode. These opening teasers actually air in syndication, as well. However, the DVD set does not contain these teasers. I didn't find it to be a big deal personally, since they only contain a series of short clips that are within the episode anyway, but it is important to know that they are not included. Each episode on this set runs around 47 minutes. The video and audio quality of each of the episodes on the set is not going to wow anybody, but it is definitely more than adequate. Each episode on the set is closed-captioned, which will definitely come in handy for the older fans of the series.
The set does contain one minor (but very important) special feature. For the episode "The Hucksters," there were some alternate endings aside from the one that aired originally. On this set, you can watch all three of these alternate endings. In fact, you can even set the episode to play all the way through with whichever special ending you may wish to choose. It would have been nice for the set to have had some interviews or promotional footage, but I feel like the inclusion of the alternate endings as a special feature was a very good idea, especially since that is one of those special features that couldn't simply be "made up" on a later set.
Matlock is such a fascinating series, and this DVD set demonstrates why the series has never been off the air in the United States since it premiered over 20 years ago. Not many TV series can honestly say that. The series has managed to become engrained in pop culture in many ways, and has quite a following, particularly among the elderly (anybody remember when Mayor Quimby told the senior citizens at the retirement home on The Simpsons that he would be building the Matlock Expressway?). Personally, I think that the series really hit its stride once Don Knotts began to make appearances as Les Calhoun, which occurred in the third season of the series, but there certainly are some great episodes in this season. It isn't just for the old folks, for sure. So if you are in the mood for an aggressive attorney with a bit of folksy southern charm, Matlock is the man for you!

-- Reviewed by skees53
(4/5 stars)

To purchase this DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com

Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Matlock TV.com Page


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, September 8

Universal Basic Guys - "Pet Projects (Pilot)" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Threatened by a doctor's kindness toward Tammy, Mark tries to get her an exotic animal; Hank bonds with the chimpanzee via its bluetooth; David's dog saves David and Mernft Man from a pet snake.

Bob's Burgers - "The Big Stieblitzki" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
The family gets invited to Rudy's father's birthday party; Tina attempts to convince a woman to commit to a relationship with Rudy's father.

The Great North - "Welcome To Miami Adventure" / "Worst Drives Club Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Coming off the heels of her break-up, Judy is taken on a wild adventure with Honeybee and Aunt Dirt; Judy tries to learn to drive.

The Conners - "Regrets, Rehabs and Realtors" (The CW, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dan encounters a surprise visitor who shares some unsolicited advice, leaving him feeling guilty; Darlene welcomes a new employee to Wellman Plastics.

The Conners - "Cheating, Revelations and a Box of Doll Heads" (The CW, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Mark is stressed and exhausted from studying for an important entrance exam, so Darlene steps in to help, but her plan backfires.

The Conners - "A Cold Mom, a Brother Daddy and a Prison Baby" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Ben's mom arrives after an unexpected death and unveils shocking information from the past; Becky and Emilio spend more time together.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 2)

Friday, September 6

  • Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Watch Kumail on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - Michael appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Conner O'Malley (Shrill) - Conner is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Edie Falco (Bupkis/Nurse Jackie) - Edie talks about her film I'll Be Right There on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh is joining Drew and telling her about getting denied from his college's musical theater program and making his return to Broadway after eleven years with bestie Andrew Rannells on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Diane Farr (Splitting Together/Like Family/The Job) - Diane discusses the CBS drama series Fire Country on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series Check It Out! - The Complete Series Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD) Young Sheldon - The Complete Series

04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

09/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Only Murders in the Building Renewed for Fifth Season; Plex Adds Knots Landing and More
09/06 - Hulu's Child Stars Documentary; Keke Palmer Heads to The 'Burbs for Peacock
09/05 - Dancing with the Stars Season 33 Cast; Tia Mowry We TV Docuseries
09/04 - Nick at Nite Acquires Modern Family; SNL Stars Go Live on Peacock Next Thursday
09/03 - The CW Swaps Two Nights for Fall 2024 Schedule; Retta Returns to HGTV
09/02 - TV Marathons on Labor Day 2024 Include Barney Miller
09/01 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of September 2, 2024)
08/31 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at New Netflix Comedy; One Tree Hill Sequel in the Works
08/30 - Freeform's 31 Nights of Halloween 2024; Wizards Beyond Waverly Place Premieres October 29
08/29 - Based on a True Story Returns in November on Peacock; Nikki Glaser to Host Golden Globes
08/28 - Acapulco Renewed for Season 4; Kiernan Shipka Max Movie
08/27 - Everybody Still Hates Chris Premieres September 25 on Comedy Central; Final Season of Somebody Somewhere Returns in October
08/26 - Frasier Returns September 19 on Paramount+ for Season 2; Ted Danson's Netflix Comedy Premieres in November
08/25 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 26, 2024)
08/24 - SitcomsOnline Digest: First Look at New Netflix Comedy; TNT Picks Up The Librarians: The Next Chapter
08/23 - FETV's Sunday Mystery Matinee Block; Glen Powell Is Chad Powers for Hulu Comedy
08/22 - Pee-wee Forever on August 27 on Shout! TV; The Lincoln Lawyer Is Back This October
08/21 - NBC Moves Premiere Due to VP Debate; Seth Meyers Gets Live Primetime Special
08/20 - The Rockford Files 50th Anniversary Marathons on Great Entertainment Television (get.); Bad Sisters Returning for Season 2
08/19 - Schitt's Creek Stars to Host Emmys on ABC; Madison Iseman Joins USA Network Series
08/18 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 19, 2024)
08/17 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Drew Carey Show Now Streaming for Free; Hulu Picks Up Mid-Century Modern Comedy
08/16 - NBC to Air Mr. Throwback Premiere; Ariel Winter Returns for New Sofia the First Series
08/15 - Comedy Central Acquires Family Guy; Hallmark to Launch Hallmark+ Streaming Service
08/14 - Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Trailer; Grotesquerie Gets Premiere Date on FX
08/13 - Audible Announces Two Scripted Comedy Podcasts; Modern Family's Julie Bowen's Peacock Series
08/12 - Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Assisted Living Return; First Look at Wizards Beyond Waverly Place
08/11 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of August 12, 2024)
08/10 - SitcomsOnline Digest: A Sequel to A Different World and Reboot for Scrubs?; Cartoon Network Shuts Down Website
08/09 - Rewind TV's Welcome Back, (to School) Kotter Marathon; Gary Coleman Peacock Documentary
08/08 - Antenna TV Closing Out Summer with Back to School and Labor Day Marathons; Colin from Accounts Returns Sept. 26
08/07 - Hulu Fall 2024 Programming Slate; Onyx Collective's How to Die Alone Trailer Released