Few shows in TV history are more associated with geriatric viewing than the 1986-95 lawyer drama Matlock. It starred folksy Andy Griffith as a lawyer whose down-home mannerism hides a brilliant legal mind.
Or at least, that’s how I understand it; I’ve never seen an episode. The fact that anyone under 60 knows anything about Matlock can be attributed to Grandpa Simpson’s love of the show on The Simpsons. I can hear him now … “Matlo-o-o-ck!”
Matlock is back for a new generation of seniors. Kathy Bates, the fine Oscar-winning actress, is the titular star of the revival now airing on CBS (of course).
But, is it really a revival? Or a bit of a grift?
In the opening scene of the pilot, Bates as Matlock sweetly cons her way into a board meeting of a powerful New York City law firm. When she ventures an opinion on a case and is asked to identify herself, she says her name is Madeline Matlock – just like the old TV show!
It’s a surprisingly meta moment, particularly for a CBS drama.
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After that surprise, the show becomes exactly what you think it will be. Colorful old lawyer Matlock joins the firm and, after a few missteps, settles a multi-million suit in favour of a wrongly convicted man. Personal stories are introduced. Glamorous, ambitious lawyer Olympia (Skye Marshall) was once married to schlubby fellow lawyer Julian (Jason Ritter), instantly becoming the least likely couple on TV today. Everything follows the pattern you might expect, until the last five minutes, where the show takes an intriguing turn.
Turns out, Madeline Matlock isn’t some sweet-talkin’ southern gal, but a retired, very successful lawyer. She isn’t even named Matlock; she just used the reference as an intro and a smokescreen. Matlock (or this character Bates plays using the alias ‘Matlock’) joined the firm only to find out who in the firm represented evil opioid manufacturers. Her daughter died of an overdose, and she wants revenge, establishing the season-long story arc. (My guess? Beau Bridges, who makes a brief, uncredited appearance as the firm’s curmudgeonly founder.)
The twist is clever and contemporary, and almost – almost – makes the show worth watching. But at its core, it’s still a basic trial-of-the-week show, enlivened by Bates. The rest of the show is typically glossy, often badly acted (Marshall is robotic) network fluff, not good enough to recommend, but just good enough to consider on Bates’ performance and character alone.
Not good enough for a second viewing, or even a first, is Rescue: Hi-Surf on Fox.
Rescue: Hi-Surf is set on Hawaii’s Oahu North Shore, where they tell us three-storey waves lure only the bravest of surfers, Or idiots, like the inexperienced surfer who is knocked unconscious, then saved by the cocky but courageous (and, naturally, attractive) lifeguards, the elite of the lifeguard corps. According to their conversation, they had already rescued six people that day, which tells me that maybe nobody should be surfing there. Before the episode is over, the cocky but courageous lifeguards will save another life, this time a teenage boy who, earlier in the episode, was told not to go near the water, a sure sign that he will go in the water.
There are the requisite romantic entanglements and politics in between the well-filmed action sequences, everything accompanied by a pounding sound track. Rescue Hi-Surf is a trifle, but a beautifully filmed trifle. You can’t go completely wrong with Hawaii and attractive lifeguards, but Rescue Hi-Surf comes close.
- Matlock premiered Sunday, Sept. 22 and in just three days of viewing had been sampled by over 10 million multiplatform viewers in America. CBS will repeat the pilot episode on Tuesday, Oct. 8 and on Thursday, Oct. 10. Episode two will air in the series’ regularly scheduled night and time beginning Thursday, Oct. 17 on CBS and Global.
- Rescue Hi-Surf airs Mondays on Fox and in Canada on CTV and Crave.
