Matlock season 7

Matlock
Season 7
No. of episodes	18
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	November 5, 1992 (1992-11-05) – May 6, 1993 (1993-05-06)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 6 Next → Season 8
List of episodes

The seventh season of Matlock originally aired in the United States on ABC with a two hour season premiere from November 5, 1992 through May 6, 1993.

Cast

Main

• Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock
• Brynn Thayer as Leanne McIntyre
• Daniel Roebuck as Cliff Lewis
• Clarence Gilyard as Conrad McMasters

Cast notes

• Brynn Thayer and Daniel Roebuck joined the cast this season
• Clarence Gilyard, Jr. departed as a regular at the end of the season, but appeared once more early in Season 8. For most of Gilyard's final season, he had been absent for twelve episodes
• Daniel Roebuck was absent for eleven episodes
• Brynn Thayer was absent for one episode

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Viewers (millions)
136	1	"The Vacation"	Harvey Laidman	Gerry Conway	November 5, 1992 (1992-11-05)	20.9 [1]
137	2
Ben and Leanne head to the beach where Leanne reunites with three friends from college, and Ben reunites with someone from his past who just happens to be the brother of the woman whose heart Ben "broke" years earlier. Leanne's reunion with her old friends turns problematic when she soon begins to suspect one of them of murder. Billy Lewis (Warren Frost) is determined to get back at Ben for breaking his sister Lucy's heart years earlier. Note: This is the first appearance of Daniel Roebuck as Cliff Lewis and Warren Frost returns for the remainder of the show in a recurring role as Cliff's dad Billy Lewis. It is also the first episode to air on ABC.
138	3	"The Legacy: Part 1"	Harvey S. Laidman	Story by : Gerald Sanoff Teleplay by : D.O'Brien	November 19, 1992 (1992-11-19)	16.6 [2]
After Brian Martell is arrested and charged with the murder of screenwriter Arthur Kendall, Ben decides to get involved because, years earlier, his father Charlie (Andy Griffith) had been a suspect in the murder of Arthur's father Jake — a murder Brian’s father Lee was convicted of. Brian is convinced that Ben is doing it to make up for Lee spending years in prison for a crime that he believes Charlie Matlock committed. However, Matlock believes that neither man committed the crime. While investigating the murder of the playwright, their trail soon leads to the woman he was having an affair with, and her very angry son. Guest stars: James Burgess as Street Kid #2, Dan Cox as Officer, Michael Kennedy as Head of Parole Board, Charles McLawhorn as Lee Martel, Jeremy McLerran as Street Kid #1, Lee Spencer as Henry, Terri Dollar as Young Sylvia, Sharyn Greene as Sabrina, Lee Lively as Judge Caldwell, and Joan Riordan as Sylvia. Note: Daniel Roebuck does not appear in this episode.
139	4	"The Legacy: Part 2"	Harvey S. Laidman	Story by : Gerald Sanoff Teleplay by : D.O'Brien	November 19, 1992 (1992-11-19)	16.6 [2]
Ben, Leanne, and Conrad continue to try to free Brian Martell of murder. Guest stars: James Burgess as Street Kid #2, Dan Cox as Officer, Michael Kennedy as Head of Parole Board, Charles McLawhorn as Lee Martel, Jeremy McLerran as Street Kid #1, Lee Spencer as Henry, Terri Dollar as Young Sylvia, Sharyn Greene as Sabrina, Lee Lively as Judge Caldwell, and Joan Riordan as Sylvia. Note: Daniel Roebuck does not appear in this episode.
140	5	"The Ghost"	Harvey S. Laidman	Gerry Conway	January 14, 1993 (1993-01-14)	22.4 [3]
A murder victim returns from the dead as a ghost and asks Matlock to defend his wife, who is charged with his death. Guest star: Diana Taylor as Assistant D.A. Ms. Harrington Note: Daniel Roebuck does not appear in this episode.
141	6	"The Class"	Harvey S. Laidman	Story by : Joel Steiger Teleplay by : D.O'Brien	January 21, 1993 (1993-01-21)	19.3 [4]
Ben discusses his career and the idea of "The Perfect Murder" with a law class. But when one of the students vanishes, the university thinks Ben's speech sparked an extracurricular Murder. Guest Star: David Kaufman as Mark Randall Note: Daniel Roebuck and Clarence Gilyard Jr. do not appear in this episode.
142	7	"The Singer"	Harvey S. Laidman	Robert Brennen	January 28, 1993 (1993-01-28)	N/A
When a producer is accused of murdering his country singer client, Ben comes to his defense. Guest stars: Jason Beghe as Lt. Pat Rutledge, Peter Jurasik as Steve Fisher, Joyce Leigh Bowden as Kathy Westfall, Fredric Lehne as John Page, Terry Loughlin as Judge Edwards, Grayce Spence as Judge Drake, Tod Brenner as a Detective, and Diana Taylor as Prosecutor Ms. Harrington Note: Daniel Roebuck and Clarence Gilyard Jr. do not appear in this episode.
143	8	"The Mark"	Harvey S. Laidman	Robert Schlitt	February 4, 1993 (1993-02-04)	20.9 [5]
When Billy Wheeler (Randy Travis) returns to Atlanta with a $250,000 lottery ticket, he is swindled out of his money by a beautiful con artist, who soon turns up dead with, Billy Wheeler being framed for murder. Ben and Leanne have to try to clear his name. Note: Daniel Roebuck and Clarence Gilyard Jr. do not appear in this episode.
144	9	"The Juror"	Frank Thackery	Gerald Sanoff	February 11, 1993 (1993-02-11)	21.2 [6]
Ben is planning a birthday fishing trip with Leanne, but a summon for jury duty puts a damper on their trip. Despite his convictions that no lawyer would want him on their jury. Ben ends up being juror number six, and while everyone else on the jury wants to convict Travis Spaulding of the murder of his wife. It is Ben alone that thinks they need to take a closer look at the evidence before sentencing the man to death. Unfortunately, tempers flare in the jury room as the jurors soon become divided between guilty and innocent. Guest star: Fred Thompson as Prosecutor McGonigal Note: Daniel Roebuck and Clarence Gilyard Jr. do not appear in this episode. At the beginning of this episode, Leanne comments that Conrad sent her a birthday card. The episode is a homage to the play (and later movie) 12 Angry Men .
145	10	"The Fortune: Part 1"	Leo Penn	Story by : Joel Steiger Teleplay by : Anne Collins	February 18, 1993 (1993-02-18)	19.0 [7]
The nephew of an eccentric millionaire is accused of murdering his uncle after they were seen arguing, and Cliff is sent to work in the uncle's zoo in order to gather information to exonerate him. Meanwhile, Billy persuades Ben to defend him in court after he becomes involved in an investment scheme gone awry. Guest stars: Jay Madison as Cop, Leigh Powell as Newscaster, Hank Toscianiec as Car Owner, Lewis Musser as Maitre D', Chris Nubel as Veterinarian, Eric Paisley as Alvin Leacock and Robert Raiford as Mr. McEvoy. Note: Clarence Gilyard Jr. does not appear in this episode.
146	11	"The Fortune: Part 2"	Leo Penn	Story by : Joel Steiger Teleplay by : Anne Collins	February 18, 1993 (1993-02-18)	19.0 [7]
Ben, Leanne, and Cliff continue to try and exonerate the nephew of murder. Guest stars: Jay Madison as Cop, Leigh Powell as Newscaster, Hank Toscianiec as Car Owner, Lewis Musser as Maitre D', Chris Nubel as Veterinarian, Eric Paisley as Alvin Leacock and Robert Raiford as Mr. McEvoy. Note: Clarence Gilyard Jr. does not appear in this episode.
147	12	"The Debt"	Christopher Hibler	Richard Collins	March 18, 1993 (1993-03-18)	18.5 [8]
When Leanne's ex-husband, Peter MacIntyre (Robert Desiderio) is charged with the murder of his friend and boss, Brian Morell, Leanne, at the urging of Peter's new wife, Cheryl (Amy Yasbeck), reluctantly agrees to defend him. However, when Ben (who harbored a dislike for Peter even before he left Leanne) discovers the truth about Peter's possible motive for killing Brian, involving the same case Leanne and Peter first met on 10 years before, a betrayed Leanne struggles with whether she can even defend him. Note: Daniel Roebuck and Clarence Gilyard Jr. do not appear in this episode.
148	13	"The Revenge"	Frank Thackery	Story by : Gerald Sanoff Teleplay by : Anne Collins	March 25, 1993 (1993-03-25)	19.0 [9]
Ben witnesses a robbery at a convenience store, but things start happening that made him look like he's losing it, including messing with his papers, sending him to wrong parties and submitting phony pictures of his rump to newspapers. Ben realizes that someone is trying to set him up. So, he, Cliff and Conrad look into some of his old cases, trying to figure out which recently released killer is out to get him. It turns out to be Cissy Lockwood (Bonnie Burroughs) from the episode "Mr. Awesome". Note: This episode features clips from the season five episodes "The Cover Girl" and "The Personal Trainer", and the season six episode "Mr. Awesome". Brynn Thayer does not appear in this episode.
149	14	"The Obsession"	Christopher Hibler	Max Eisenberg and Lonon F. Smith	April 1, 1993 (1993-04-01)	18.8 [10]
Even from his hospital bed, Ben can't get the case of a TV star accused of killing a therapist out of his mind. Note: Clarence Gilyard Jr. does not appear in this episode.
150	15	"The Divorce"	Leo Penn	William T. Conway	April 8, 1993 (1993-04-08)	16.9 [11]
Duncan and Clara Farmington seemed to have the perfect marriage. Now they want the perfect divorce. What starts out as a simple division of property turns nasty as Leanne represents the wife and Ben the husband. At the same time, Ben is being sued for millions by a con artist who faked getting seriously injured at Ben's house. Guest star: James Stephens as Duncan Farmington Note: Clarence Gilyard Jr. does not appear in this episode.
151	16	"The Final Affair: Part 1"	Frank Thackery	Story by : Gerald Sanoff Teleplay by : Anne Collins	April 29, 1993 (1993-04-29)	17.9 [12]
Ben invites homeless man Lenny to live with him, while trying to find out if the archbishop was meant to die in a plot — a plot that includes an ex-football player, his wife, her lover and the Mafia. Guest star: Jordan Rhoades as Lt. Harmon Andrews Note: Daniel Roebuck and Clarence Gilyard jr. do not appear in this episode.
152	17	"The Final Affair: Part 2"	Frank Thackery	Story by : Gerald Sanoff Teleplay by : Anne Collins	April 29, 1993 (1993-04-29)	17.9 [12]
While Ben is still trying to untangle the mystery of the death of the archbishop, Conrad takes pictures that will tie the case together, before he sings in the church choir and somebody punched him to the ground. Guest star: Jordan Rhoades as Lt. Harmon Andrews Note: Daniel Roebuck does not appear in this episode. This episode marks the final regular appearance of Clarence Gilyard Jr., as he was leaving the show to sign with CBS, which offered him the chance to debut as a main character on Walker, Texas Ranger. He would appear once more early in Season 8.
153	18	"The Competition"	Leo Penn	Story by : Gerald Sanoff Teleplay by : Anne Collins	May 6, 1993 (1993-05-06)	15.9 [13]
Matlock doesn’t think a young piano player (Samantha Grant) committed suicide. Nor does the girl's father (Leon Russom), who hires Ben to find out what really happened. Guest Stars: Warren Frost as Billy Lewis and Leo Penn as Russ Lewis (Billy Lewis's brother) Note: Daniel Roebuck does not appear in this episode. Though departed from the cast one episode before this one, Clarence Gilyard Jr. is still featured in the opening credits.

References

1. Gable, Donna (November 11, 1992). "Election news, football kick up ABC's ratings". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
2. Gable, Donna (November 25, 1992). "Jacksons help as-easy-as-ABC win". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
3. Donlon, Brian (January 20, 1993). "ABC gets a Thursday night boost". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
4. Gable, Donna (January 27, 1993). "Inaugural gala helps carry CBS to top". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
5. Gable, Donna (February 10, 1993). "CBS rides to top on wings of 'Skylark'". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
6. Gable, Donna (February 17, 1993). "King of Pop and 'Queen' rule the ratings". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
7. Donlon, Brian (February 24, 1993). "'Queen' rules in CBS' royal sweep". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
8. Gable, Donna (March 24, 1993). "Waco standoff lifts CBS' '48 Hours'". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
9. Gable, Donna (March 31, 1993). "CBS continues its winning streak". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
10. Gable, Donna (April 7, 1993). "An Oscar to ABC for week's best ratings". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
11. Gable, Donna (April 14, 1993). "NCAA aside, the big winner is ABC's '20/20'". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
12. Gable, Donna (May 5, 1993). "'Fried Green Tomatoes' gives NBC sizzle". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.
13. Donlon, Brian (May 12, 1993). "Sturdy 'Home' helps lift ABC". Life. USA Today . p. 3D.

External links

• Matlock at IMDb