Editing Matlock (1986 TV series) (section)

==Premise==
The show is about widower [[Ben Matlock]] ([[Andy Griffith]]), a renowned, folksy and popular though cantankerous attorney. Usually, at the end of the case, the person who is on the stand being questioned by Matlock is the actual perpetrator and Matlock will expose them, despite making clear that his one goal is to prove [[reasonable doubt]] in the case of his client's [[Guilt (law)|guilt]] or to prove his client's innocence. Matlock studied law at [[Harvard Law School]] and, after several years as a public defender, established his law practice in [[Atlanta]], living in a modest farmhouse in a neighboring suburb. He is known to visit crime scenes to discover clues otherwise overlooked and then come up with viable alternative theories of the crime in question (usually murder). Matlock also has conspicuously finicky fashion sense; he generally appears in court wearing a trademark light gray suit and, over the series' entire run, owned three generations of the [[Ford Crown Victoria]]—always an all-gray model (Griffith's characters had always driven Ford products since his series, ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'').

Matlock is noted for his thrift and a fondness for hot dogs. In "The Diner" (season eight, episode four), hot dogs are revealed to have been his favorite dish since he was a young man. In contrast, after the series ended, his penchant for hot dogs was explained in the ''[[Diagnosis: Murder]]'' two-part season four episode "Murder Two" (episodes 15–16). In that episode, Matlock blames [[List of Diagnosis: Murder characters#Mark Sloan|Dr. Mark Sloan]] ([[Dick Van Dyke]]) for recommending a disastrous investment in [[8-track tape]]s, in which he lost his savings of $5,000 in 1969 ({{Inflation|US-GDP|5000|1969|fmt=eq|r=-3}}), forcing him into wearing cheap suits and living on hot dogs.

Despite his thrift, Matlock's standard fee is $100,000 ({{Inflation|US-GDP|100000|1986|fmt=eq|r=-4}}), usually paid up front, but if he or his staff believe strongly enough in the innocence of a client or if the client is unable to pay immediately (if at all), he has them pay over time or reduces the fee significantly or waives it entirely, albeit reluctantly in some cases. He also reluctantly takes a ''[[pro bono]]'' case occasionally. These traits, and the demands he placed upon his investigators, are often points of comic relief in the series.