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MaisieFleckum
Reviews
Matt Houston: Love You to Death (1983)
An early Fatal Attraction. POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD
Matt enjoys a one-night stand with lovely blonde hospital nurse Erin Brown at his beach house, but the evening means MUCH more to her than it does to Matt, and that's where the trouble starts. She is pushy and obsessed with him, to the point where she "borrows" the keys to said beach house and has them duplicated. She begins contacting Matt frequently but Matt has other cases to work on and cannot reply to Erin right away. When Matt notices the extra and utterly unwanted attention that Nurse Erin gives to him, he goes to the hospital to see her employee file (as allowed by Lieutenant Hoyt). But Matt is dismayed to find that the hard copy of her employee file is missing from the file cabinet, and her records have been erased from the computer as well. An unsavory - looking character named Gregory Johnson has been lurking about, so Matt strong-arms him into a confession (possibly fake) that Gregory Johnson is actually Erin's brother Gregory Brown. Okay, so Gregory has reason to hang out with Erin. One night when the beach house security guard hears noise upstairs emanating from Matt's beach house, he goes up to investigate and is followed by knife-wielding Nurse Erin, who screams in rage and raises the knife to stab him in the back as the scene freezes. Kristen Meadows is chillingly convincing as both the sweet loving nurse AND the demented knife wielder on the rampage, For me, this was a highlight of the second season's episodes.
Matt Houston: The Woman in White (1983)
They're heeeeeere! POSSIBLE Spoiler Ahead
Former police officer Wade Kimball is a loyal family man with wife Nan and young daughter Sunny at home. Wade has been arrested for a murder (and claims innocence) and apparently been in jail for two years waiting for his case to come to trial (or so it seems). While facing a judge in open court with C. J. as his lawyer, Wade has a meltdown, decks the bailiff, steals his gun, and runs out of the building, thereby worsening an already bad situation for himself and his family. I confess that I felt sorry for the character when he raised his voice to the judge. After he expresses rage with the legal system that has kept him away from his loving family, C. J. convinces Matt to take Wade's case and try to help him. Matt meets with Wade's ex-partner Terry Spence, a gifted marksman to see if Terry can provide Matt with information that will help get Wade exonerated. Terry Spence has even been visiting Nan and Sunny at their family homestead to give them support. But there is more to Terry than he lets on. The cast members are all convincing in their roles.
Matlock: The Captain (1989)
Don't mess with the police
Police Captain Edward Hanna is a police-force veteran with thirty-two years on the force. His wife Emily was killed by a street punk, which fueled Ed's omnipresent rage against lawbreakers and leads him to exact vigilante justice on criminals who beat the system and were exonerated on legal technicalities. Hanna's latest victim is Bo Edmunds. Fellow officer Jim Shanley informs Ed that Jim is keeping a copious record of Ed's transgressions in order to inform Internal Affairs and start an investigation. So Ed orchestrates Shanley's murder with a 22 caliber gun and frames young police officer Jerry Reese. Ben, who has been friends with Ed for years, is hired to defend Jerry Reese in court with Judge Douglas Merrill presiding. An article of jewelry provides a critical piece of evidence.
As Edward Hanna, Richard Herd is convincing and I dare say even scary. It's worrisome to think about what would happen if all police officers were like Herd's Hanna. But Herd, an actor I've admired since seeing him in THE CHINA SYNDROME a few years earlier, is perfect in the role. You can see his rage seething and one wonders why this Type-A personality doesn't suffer a heart attack or a stroke because it seems as if his blood pressure is always at the boiling point.
Recommended.
Matlock: The D.J. (1989)
"Killer" radio indeed
Arthur Saxon is an obnoxious abrasive talk radio personality. His rival is Robbie Moore, who is also abrasive but not as abrasive as Arthur Saxon. One day while the two of them are on the air, Saxon publicly criticizes his rival. Saxon is the type who doesn't lock up his car when he parks it, which contributes to his problem. As both deejays are on the air doing their respective programs, someone borrowed Saxon's car keys out of his car's glove compartment, borrowed his car, shot Robbie Moore dead in the studio, then returned the car and the keys to complete the frame-up. Michelle convinces Ben to take Arthur Saxon's case, although Ben thinks Saxon is a "genuine jackass" and has no liking for the man. In fact, even Ben's new neighbor Les "Ace" Calhoun dislikes Arthur Saxon. It seems the only one who cares for Saxon at all is his girlfriend ... Michelle Thomas! Judge Mary Russell presides over the courtroom and sets Saxon's bail at $150,000.00.
Matlock: The Mistress (1988)
Marriage can be murder, but so can infidelity
Jealous Laura McCord suspects that her husband David has been unfaithful to him. One night, she follows him. David's lover Wanda Sutton lives in the penthouse of an upscale apartment building, complete with a security guard at the front desk in the lobby. Laura is so jealous that, upon her arrival, she pulls a gun on the security guard and threatens to shoot him if he doesn't allow her access to the building. So the security guard lets Laura take the elevator to the penthouse and promptly calls the police. Wanda Sutton is the one person to witness the unpleasant scene between Dave and Laura, and she agrees to testify against Laura in court. But when David is indeed shot to death and Wanda disappears, Laura claims innocence. Ben and Julie soon embark on an eventful trip out of the county. It is fraught with bad luck as things go wrong. A red paint stain on a sports jacket provides a vital clue in unmasking the real killer. Judge Irene Sawyer presides.
Matlock: The Lovelorn (1988)
Love means never having to say you're angry...
Craig Moore is generally an affable and magnetic guy. He was married to Anna but they had some problems. Anna sought help from famous syndicated newspaper advice columnist Marjorie Manners. Craig is under the impression that the advice that Marjorie gave to Anna was responsible for ruining the Moore marriage. In his anger, he knocks on her door and is admitted to her posh home one evening. She is having a family gathering at the time, when Craig barges into the living room berating her for destroying his marriage. Craig even goes so far as to pick up a metal trophy that she won and brandish it as if he is going to kill her with it. Eventually Craig is pacified and escorted out of the Manners house. But hours later, Marjorie is bludgeoned to dead with that very same metal trophy, Craig Moore is the obvious suspect and Ben defends him. Marjorie's own marriage situation was quite unusual, possibly revealing a different suspect and motive. Judge Richard Cooksey presides.
Matlock: The Hucksters (1988)
Who will buy?
Robert Ullman is the unscrupulous head of a pyramid scheme selling Fountain of Youth Elixir, a facial cream. As he recruits more and more people to sell the Fountain of Youth Elixir, he skims part of the profits off each sale and keeps that money for himself. Ullman dies of monocaine poisoning during a stage infomercial interview on the Straight Scoop television program (apparently a consumer reports
type of program) after swindling several of his salespeople out of their earnings. One salesman that he swindled is Hal Simpson, who still has eight thousand dollars worth of useless products in his possession because he apparently didn't have a good salesman's killer instinct. Poor Hal gets blamed for Ullman's murder. (Considering what a lowlife Ullman is, the police should have thanked Hal, not arrested him. But I digress.) Ben takes the case despite Hal's lack of funds. Judge Irene Sawyer presides over the courtroom.
Matlock: The Body (1988)
Food, glorious food...
Ben and Michelle stay at the exclusive Pinewood health spa in order to investigate several of its employees after their client Donna Stewart is accused of drowning aerobics instructor Christie Huntley, who had an affair with Donna's husband Fred. It seems that Christie Huntley had a penchant for dating wealthy men. Fred Stewart is not only wealthy, but he is also one of the original investors in the health spa since the day it opened. I found it rather amusing to watch Michelle Thomas feeding a plate of herbs to the none-too-happy Benjamin Matlock for breakfast when he clearly would rather start the day by eating comfort food. Along the way, they wonder why certain rooms of the facility are going completely empty. Judge Irene Sawyer presides over the courtroom.
Matlock: The Gambler (1987)
Luck be a lawyer tonight
Ben defends Atlanta police Lieutenant James Manning, who is accused of killing his girlfriend Victoria Rawlings. Rawlins is a sales representative for a line of sporting goods, or so it seems. Manning allegedly killed her in Las Vegas by strangling her with a bathrobe belt after learning that she was leading a double life. Her other identity was that of Ms. Laura Norwood, who was laundering money for the Mob. The glitz of Las Vegas is represented by tuxedo-clad singer Bobby Fremont, who is repeatedly shown singing Frank Loesser's "Luck Be a Lady Tonight" while showgirls dance around him.
Judge David Spinner presides over the courtroom.
Matlock: The Annihilator (1987)
Wrestling with the truth
Ben's assistant Cassie Phillips convinces him to defend professional wrestler Victor "The Annihilator" Garrett. He publicly threated to annihilate his rival "Sailor" Jack Saunders. After their wrestling match, Victor is accused of bludgeoning Jack Saunders with a blunt instrument, possibly a broken wine bottle. Unconventional neighbor Donna Clifford claims to have witnessed the crime. Judge Warren Anderson presides over the case.