"Matlock Police" (1971) TV series 1971-1976

Creators:

Ian Jones
Terry Stapleton

Seasons:

1 | unknown

Release Date:

25 February 1971 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Police

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Vic Gordon	...	Sgt. Bert Kennedy (228 episodes, 1971-1976)
Paul Cronin	...	Sen. Const. Gary Hogan (228 episodes, 1971-1976)
Michael Pate	...	Det. Sgt. Vic Maddern (192 episodes, 1971-1975)
Tom Richards	...	Sen. Det. Steve York / ... (131 episodes, 1972-1976)
Grigor Taylor	...	Sen. Det. Alan Curtis (99 episodes, 1971-1973)

Runtime:

50 min (220 episodes)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Channel 10 Studios, Nunawading, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Crawford Productions

Movie Connections:

Spin off "Solo One" (1975)

One of Australia's best television classics

I recall back in the early 1970's when this show was screened late at night, we all waited anxiously to watch. This was a police drama set in a Australian country town called "Matlock" and had a blend of great Australian artists, which was the rural analogy of the other great Australian classic police drama series "Homicide" in terms of quality. These two television series would have to be amongst Australia's best television series ever presented. Even by today's standards these two series would rank very highly, when compared to the blandness that most modern television series offer. These two series displayed what great results could be achieved with a limited budget and a well planned goal.

Artists such as Michael Pate (who also starred in earlier American movies), Grigor Taylor and Paul Cronin (later recognised in another Australian classic series " The Sullivans") displayed a great performance in their collaboration as police officers. Grigor Taylor would always remind me of the Australian David McCallum. I am very surprised that he did not progress to become a more popular icon of Australian television, or abroad. He was one of my favourite Australian artists, without overlooking any of the others. I enjoyed all the episodes that I was fortunate to watch as they were simple, straight forward and exciting. What I found unique about this police drama was that at the end of the episodes, when the criminals were caught, you could hear an audio narrated conclusion of their fates and their convictions, which I have never seen in any other police drama to my knowledge. The musical score was also great and like that of "Homicide", it alone enticed you to want to watch. Sadly, I only saw one repeat of this series and enjoyed it as much as I did the first time. Australian television series at it's very best