SUMMARY: APPROX. RUNNING TIME: 47:00 Min.
First airing on NBC-TV on May 1, 1990, Christopher Hibler directed this second-to-last Season Four episode off Gerald Sanoff’s script.
Smarmy Atlanta, GA newspaper cartoonist Ron Winfield (Buktenica) is notorious for teasing imminently salacious scandals in his comic strips. His favorite targets evidently are self-involved politicians. Hence, Winfield’s side gig is collecting hush money through his creative extortion efforts. Taking offense to Winfield’s latest artistic threat is womanizing state Senator Peter Dolan (Haskell) over his extramarital affair with a colleague’s wife (Walsh) being publicly exposed.
After confronting Winfield late one night at his home, an infuriated Dolan departs after a physical altercation. However, does he then return to finish off the now-prone cartoonist? Or perhaps somebody else takes lethal advantage? It’s up to criminal defense attorneys Ben Matlock (Griffith) and Michelle Thomas (Stafford) to unravel the mystery of who had the most to gain … or perhaps the most to lose by killing a greedy Winfield.
Ben and Michelle, meanwhile, must navigate a political minefield locally. Who knows if there still might be sordid secrets that Winfield gleefully sought to profit from?
Cast:
Benjamin “Ben” Matlock: Andy Griffith
Michelle Thomas: Nancy Stafford
Assistant District Attorney Julie March: Julie Sommars
Conrad McMasters: Clarence Gilyard (credits only)
Senator Peter Dolan: Peter Haskell
Ron Winfield: Ray Buktenica
Mickey Alder: Claudia Christian
Sandra Hopkins: Gwynyth Walsh
Senator David Hopkins: Wayne Tippit
Judge Richard Cooksey: Richard Newton
Dolan’s Private Attorney: Mark Joy
Jury Foreperson: Ruth Peebles
Jury Members: Uncredited
Courtroom Gallery Spectators: Uncredited.
REVIEW:
Unsurprisingly, it’s standard-issue Matlock whodunnit formula with the big ‘gotcha’ courtroom climax. Still, including spot-on guest star Peter Haskell, a game cast surpasses the script’s tawdry inferences and makes “The Blackmailer” watchable rerun fare. Though this episode is instantly forgettable, plotting for “The Blackmailer” is a few shades more intriguing than an average Matlock.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5½ Stars
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