About this season
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 (41)
1. Twenty Six Hours
Aired 25 February 1971 • 60 min
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.
2. The Big Gun
Aired 4 March 1971 • 60 min
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.
3. Goodbye Tuesday
Aired 11 March 1971 • 60 min
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.
4. End Of The Season
Aired 18 March 1971 • 60 min
5. Something After Death
Aired 25 March 1971 • 60 min
6. One Good Turn
Aired 1 April 1971 • 60 min
7. A Bit Of Freedom
Aired 8 April 1971 • 60 min
8. Cast A Black Shadow
Aired 15 April 1971 • 60 min
9. Cradle Song
Aired 22 April 1971 • 60 min
10. Rhythm And Blues
Aired 29 April 1971 • 60 min
11. Pressure Point
Aired 6 May 1971 • 60 min
12. The Outsiders
Aired 13 May 1971 • 60 min
13. The Word Is Progress
Aired 20 May 1971 • 60 min
14. The Crunch
Aired 25 May 1971 • 60 min
15. Tightrope
Aired 3 June 1971 • 60 min
16. Heroes Day
Aired 10 June 1971 • 60 min
17. The Hunting Ground
Aired 17 June 1971 • 60 min
18. A Second Opinion
Aired 24 June 1971 • 60 min
19. Hideaway
Aired 1 July 1971 • 60 min
20. The Price of Anger
Aired 8 July 1971 • 60 min
21. The Gypsies
Aired 15 July 1971 • 60 min
22. Cross Purposes
Aired 22 July 1971 • 60 min
23. Early One Morning
Aired 29 July 1971 • 60 min
24. Olsen's Ghost
Aired 5 August 1971 • 60 min
25. Escape To Nowhere
Aired 12 August 1971 • 60 min
26. A Case of Neglect
Aired 19 August 1971 • 60 min
27. Millbank Nugget
Aired 26 August 1971 • 60 min
28. The Loner
Aired 2 September 1971 • 60 min
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.
29. The Milk And Honey Man
Aired 2 September 1971 • 60 min
30. No Way Out
Aired 16 September 1971 • 60 min
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.
31. Still Life
Aired 23 September 1971 • 60 min
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.
32. Smoke Screen
Aired 30 September 1971 • 60 min
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.
33. The Champ
Aired 7 October 1971 • 60 min
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.
34. Jimmy Woodser
Aired 14 October 1971 • 60 min
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.
35. Compassionate Leave
Aired 21 October 1971 • 60 min
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.
36. The End of the Road
Aired 28 October 1971 • 60 min
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.
37. A Piece of Cake
Aired 4 November 1971 • 60 min
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.
38. The Foreigners
Aired 11 November 1971 • 60 min
A feud among some Albanian immigrants in Matlock starts to get out of hand, and police are soon investigating an attempted murder.
39. Give A Man A Gun
Aired 11 November 1971 • 60 min
40. Any More at Home Like You
Aired 25 November 1971 • 60 min
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.
41. The Break
Aired 2 December 1971 • 60 min