Matlock Police

1h

Drama

Matlock Police is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network between 1970 and 1975. The series was the 0-10 Network's attempt to come up with a police show to rival Homicide and Division 4. Matlock Police was different from its Melbourne-based predecessors by being set in a small country town, the fictional Matlock, Victoria. Series writers had a reference manual giving full details of the town’s geography, amenities, social structure, etc., as well as that of the surrounding area - neighbouring towns included Wilga, Chinaman's Creek, Possum's Creek and Burrabri, and there was an offshoot of the Great Dividing Range called the Candowies. The town's colourful history included the local Aboriginal tribe, the town founder, a gold rush, a bushranger and a town patriarchy. About the only landmark the Matlock district lacked for dramatic purposes was a beach.

Episodes

Cast

Twenty Six Hours

1. Twenty Six Hours

1h

25th Feb 1971

Matlock's town matriarch, Grace Falconer, is brutally attacked and robbed. Suspects include a group of hippies who become involved in town affairs when a local girl's horse is shot, two yobbos on a hunting trip who are found trespassing, and a handyman recently sacked by Mrs. Falconer - who refuses to account for his movements on the night in question.

The Big Gun

2. The Big Gun

1h

4th Mar 1971

Local tough guy Brownie Merkle becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a man and the disappearance of another when he suddenly begins paying his debts, and Det. Sgt. Maddern finds his attention diverted from his marital problems.

Goodbye Tuesday

3. Goodbye Tuesday

1h

11th Mar 1971

The search for a trio of prison escapees, Carol Price, Judy Bennett and Bob Pollard, endangers many lives when searchers and escapees alike are caught in a bushfire.

End Of The Season

4. End Of The Season

1h

18th Mar 1971

Something After Death

5. Something After Death

1h

25th Mar 1971

One Good Turn

6. One Good Turn

1h

1st Apr 1971

A Bit Of Freedom

7. A Bit Of Freedom

1h

8th Apr 1971

Cast A Black Shadow

8. Cast A Black Shadow

1h

15th Apr 1971

Cradle Song

9. Cradle Song

1h

22nd Apr 1971

Rhythm And Blues

10. Rhythm And Blues

1h

29th Apr 1971

Pressure Point

11. Pressure Point

1h

6th May 1971

The Outsiders

12. The Outsiders

1h

13th May 1971

The Word Is Progress

13. The Word Is Progress

1h

20th May 1971

The Crunch

14. The Crunch

1h

25th May 1971

Tightrope

15. Tightrope

1h

3rd Jun 1971

Heroes Day

16. Heroes Day

1h

10th Jun 1971

The Hunting Ground

17. The Hunting Ground

1h

17th Jun 1971

A Second Opinion

18. A Second Opinion

1h

24th Jun 1971

Hideaway

19. Hideaway

1h

1st Jul 1971

The Price of Anger

20. The Price of Anger

1h

8th Jul 1971

The Gypsies

21. The Gypsies

1h

15th Jul 1971

Cross Purposes

22. Cross Purposes

1h

22nd Jul 1971

Early One Morning

23. Early One Morning

1h

29th Jul 1971

Olsen's Ghost

24. Olsen's Ghost

1h

5th Aug 1971

Escape To Nowhere

25. Escape To Nowhere

1h

12th Aug 1971

A Case of Neglect

26. A Case of Neglect

1h

19th Aug 1971

Millbank Nugget

27. Millbank Nugget

1h

26th Aug 1971

The Loner

28. The Loner

1h

2nd Sep 1971

A mysterious hermit, has lived in a shack outside Matlock for seven months. Suddenly, his past and present catch up with him, when he is terrorised by three local youths. When one is accidentally blinded, Chip Richardson burns down Herman's shack and later blames him for the accident. Herman takes off in panic and the police mount an intensive search for him.

The Milk And Honey Man

29. The Milk And Honey Man

1h

2nd Sep 1971

No Way Out

30. No Way Out

1h

16th Sep 1971

A motel robbery and the death of a young police constable in a car accident lead to the revelation of several Matlock townspeople's personal conflicts.

Still Life

31. Still Life

1h

23rd Sep 1971

Matlock police investigate a complaint of carnal knowledge involving an itinerant artist and a young girl, but the accused has his own way of extricating himself from the situation.

Smoke Screen

32. Smoke Screen

1h

30th Sep 1971

The Matlock saw-millers are a tough breed, but the builders of a new dam claim to be even tougher, A series of ugly incidents lead the two groups towards a violent showdown.

The Champ

33. The Champ

1h

7th Oct 1971

A broken down ex-heavyweight boxer, Dan Regan, is in Matlock on a sinister assignment. Unforseen events cause Regan's past, present and future to meet head-on in the biggest battle of his career.

Jimmy Woodser

34. Jimmy Woodser

1h

14th Oct 1971

An important businessman, Eric Schneider, wants to set up a deal with a Matlock company. However, when he is arrested for assaulting a young girl, public feelings rise up against Det. Curtis who may have made a serious mistake. Schneider, with his lawyer Harrison, puts his money and his pressure in the right places to beat the charge.

Compassionate Leave

35. Compassionate Leave

1h

21st Oct 1971

When Johnny Marcelli returns from the Vietnam war on compassionate leave, he is told that his father has committed suicide. He refuses to believe it and sets out to solve the mystery.

The End of the Road

36. The End of the Road

1h

28th Oct 1971

The investigation of a series of wool thefts in the Matlock District uncover the problems of one of the suspects, and provide some surprises for the police - especially Cont. Hogan.

A Piece of Cake

37. A Piece of Cake

1h

4th Nov 1971

Ron Grey, an ex-Spitfire pilot embarks on a dubious mission as a courier to gain some quick money, because he only has a few years of active life lift - he is a chronic diabetic who keeps coma and semi-blindness at bay with insulin shots. While flying a light aircraft with his girlfriend Betty Holmes, the plane strikes trouble and they have to crash land in the Candowie Rangers. When the plane is found by a police search party, they discover that Gray and Holmes both fled into the bush.

The Foreigners

38. The Foreigners

1h

11th Nov 1971

A feud among some Albanian immigrants in Matlock starts to get out of hand, and police are soon investigating an attempted murder.

Give A Man A Gun

39. Give A Man A Gun

1h

11th Nov 1971

Any More at Home Like You

40. Any More at Home Like You

1h

25th Nov 1971

When salesman Frank Ross finds himself in serious financial difficulties, he takes an illegal way out and starts an unexpected chain of events that bring surprise to the Matlock police.

The Break

41. The Break

1h

2nd Dec 1971

First air date

25th Feb 1971

Last air date

15th Apr 1976

Status

Ended

Type

Scripted

Original language

en

Networks