Matlock Police is an Australian televisionpolice drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town of Matlock and the surrounding district, and the backgrounds and personal lives of the main policemen.
Background
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. These program's introduction featured an overhead shot of a town with a divided road, thought to be of Bairnsdale in 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 localAboriginal 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.
Broadcast history
The first episode was broadcast in Melbourne on 22 February 1971. Initially filmed in black and white, the series switched to colour in episode 162, "Loggerheads". Matlock Police was cancelled in 1975 after 229 episodes had been produced.
Main cast
Detective Sergeant Vic Maddern, head of Matlock's C.I. Branch, who grew up in the Matlock district and is an accomplished bushman and career cop. Aged in his forties, Maddern is divorced and has two children. Dedicated, with an authoritative personality and a direct approach to his work, Maddern is well respected in the town. Maddern is eventually shot and severely wounded in mountainous bushland while pursuing small-time cattle-duffers and is evacuated to Melbourne for treatment. Dialogue in later episodes indicates that he is recovering from his wounds, but will probably be transferred to a Melbourne squad once out of hospital.
Senior Detective Alan Curtis, aged in his mid-20s, who has just arrived in Matlock from Melbourne and is essentially a city boy, sent to his first country posting against his will. Curtis eventually adapts to country life, and his character and abilities develop as he becomes more experienced in his new situation. He is eventually promoted to Detective Sergeant and transferred back to Melbourne.
Sergeant Bert Kennedy, head of the Uniform Branch, an Englishman who migrated to Australia in 1950. Kennedy is thorough but also easy-going with a good sense of humour. Married to Nell, who is a very good cook, Kennedy enjoys the country life in Matlock so much that he has knocked back promotion to avoid moving to Melbourne.
Senior Constable Gary Hogan, about 30, a friendly, easy-going person who grew up in the country, and is always willing to help in whatever work is going, who performs a wide variety of duties but usually works as a highway patrolman. His motorcycle is equipped with a radio - a rare case of dramatic licence by Crawfords, as police motorbikes at the time were not equipped with radios. The character also made an impact in another way, making motorcycle cops far more acceptable to the Australian public, which had previously seen them as "heavies and storm-trooper types". According to series producerIan Jones, as a result men were applying to join the police so they could be a motorcycle cop like Gary Hogan. In the final episode, "The Curse of the Bangarang Prince", Hogan is notified of a posting to the town of Emerald - the setting for his spinoff series Solo One.
Senior Detective Steve York, a young detective transferred to Matlock to replace Curtis, who is a bit unorthodox, a bit headstrong, and a bit of a rebel and ladies' man.
Detective Sergeant Jack Maloney, transferred to Matlock from another country town to replace Maddern as head of the C.I. Branch. In his mid-forties, married to a much younger wife and with two young children, Maloney is a friendly person with a warm personality, a dry sense of humour, a pilot's license and a sympathetic streak who comes down hard on criminals when necessary.
Vehicles featured through the series included the HG Holden Monaro, which featured until Crawford's contract with Chrysler Australia commenced, with a Holden Kingswood wagon also being featured as the station's general purpose vehicle. The Monaro and Kingswood were followed by VH and VJ Valiant Ranger models. A short wheelbase FJ40 Toyota Land-cruiser also featured. Gary Hogan rode a CB750 motorcycle for most of the series, which replaced a BMW R75 used in earlier episodes.
DVD release
Crawfords has released Matlock Police in 26-episode, 7-disc box sets; this resulted in a 9-volume collection for the full series.
