Matlock 2

Taylor’s replacement was Tom Richards, who first appeared in the following episode, No. 100 ‘Bedlam’. Richards was relatively unknown, despite having made guest appearances in all the Crawford crime series, including the first episode of the new private eye series Ryan. Prior to that, he mainly worked in live theatre in Brisbane. Richards played Sen. Det. Steve York, a young detective just transferred to Matlock, who is a bit unorthodox, a bit headstrong, and a bit of a rebel. Tom Richards said of York: ‘I’m always in trouble. I’m always saying the wrong thing. I’m always thinking I’m a jump ahead of Maddern, but he’s always saying, ‘Listen, son, just steady down and don’t worry about it.’ It’s just that I try to solve the cases myself and go on my merry way.”³⁸ The opening titles were altered to incorporate the cast change, and the ‘action’ scenes were replaced by sequences of the four cops in routine police duties. Richards is not featured on the opening for his first episode, as his identity as a detective is not revealed to viewers until well into the episode - York’s first case involved giving himself an undercover assignment when he arrived in Matlock, even before he reported to the police station.

Matlock was given a ‘boost’ at this time, with more dramatic action and a greater interest for younger viewers by including well-known pop singers in guest roles. Colleen Hewett made her television acting debut in ep. 107, ‘Vengeance’, and Ross D. Wyllie made his second acting appearance in ep. 100, ‘Bedlam’. “Matlock Police is being strengthened,” said Hector Crawford. “We want to make sure that our drama shows are in line with contemporary attitudes.”³⁹ It was suggested that more daring subject matter was being added to Matlock because of the 0-Ten Network’s success with soap opera Number 96, which was notorious for its gratuitous ‘sex-and-sin’ sensationalism. ATV-0 General Manager, David Hall, denied it: “Matlock Police plays in a 7:30 PM timeslot. There are strict limitations to the amount of daring material which could be used.”⁴⁰

Episode 100, ‘Bedlam’, did feature nudity - another nude swimming scene - that, like the ones before, was handled discreetly. During filming, there were a few press beat-ups about Matlock showing a ‘riverside orgy’, but the Broadcasting Control Board was not concerned. “We have no authority over Crawford Productions - only over the commercial television stations,” said Board chairman Myles Wright. “But we have a good working relationship with the company and are confident it would not go too far in its film scenes. And we would hold Channel 0 responsible for any breach, so I don’t think the station would take unnecessary risks.”⁴¹ Even though some of the scenes were quite lengthy, their nature was such that the Board permitted the episode to be screened at 7:30 PM.

The ‘Angel Of Mercy’ helicopter, operated by the Peninsula Ambulance Service on the Mornington Peninsula, was featured in episode 122, ‘Sky High’. The ambulance service’s fund-raising committee suggested using the helicopter in the Crawford police dramas in return for the good publicity they would receive. The script called for the helicopter to visit Matlock for a demonstration at a charity function, and then being requested by police for assistance following an accident. The helicopter was earlier put to similar good use in a Division 4 episode (No. 174, ‘Today Is Eagle Day’).

Episode 123, ‘Ski-Do’, had segments filmed on location in the snowfields of Falls Creek. Of course, there are no snowfields near Matlock, but in this episode the police are called to the mountains when a person goes missing in the snow, and foul play is suspected. There were some technical difficulties during filming, as it was not cold enough for snow to have formed at the lower levels of the ski resort. “I envisaged at least 18 inches of snow around a chalet when I wrote the episode,” said Scriptwriter Patrick Edgeworth. “Instead, the crews had to take the chalet shots then climb the mountain to film snow. Trucks could not follow and all the gear had to be lugged up the mountain. The cameras froze up and the lens got frosted.”⁴² They managed to get all the shots they wanted, including a snow chase where Const. Hogan swaps his trusty motorbike for a ski-do (a type of motorised sled).

Andrew McFarlane’s first television role was a very minor one-scene appearance in a Homicide episode (No. 339, ‘Sleeper’), and his first major role was in Matlock Police episode 142, ‘Poppy And The Closet Junkie’. His excellent performance in this episode led to him being cast as Const. Roger Wilson in Division 4. Later he appeared in many and varied productions, including major roles in The Sullivans, Patrol Boat and The Flying Doctors.

Episode 144, ‘Two To One Against’, had a storyline about two likeable rogues visiting Matlock, who come across wealthy locals who also flaunt the law, with a double cross and revenge thrown in the mix. Scriptwriter Patrick Edgeworth described this episode as "like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid come to Matlock".⁴³ For a gambling scene, a roulette wheel was required, but as roulette was still illegal in Victoria at the time, the police wouldn’t let them use one. The police even warned that anyone who used a mock-up roulette wheel could be arrested, but they later relented and permitted use of a mock-up when they learnt the script was anti-gambling. (Times have certainly changed. Victoria now has a dirty big casino where you can play roulette and gamble your life away - legally).

Commencing from ep. 150 'The Reckoning', a ‘teaser’ was introduced before the opening titles (previously Matlock opened directly into the titles). The following episode, No. 151, also has the teaser, however eps 152 - 155 do not; eps 156 and 157 do, ep 157A does not, and all episodes from 158 onwards do. This seems to indicate a discrepancy between the official episode numbering and the production order, highlighted by some anomalies on the original two-inch tape leaders: On episode 158, ‘Bygones Be Bygones’, is inscribed ep. 158 as one would expect. However, episode 151, ‘Canungra’, also has ep. 158 written on the tape leader; and episode 157A ‘Dancing Class’ has ep. 151 on the leader.

In 1974, Matlock Police shifted into colour production, commencing with ep. 162, ‘Loggerheads’, and it remained a film/video tape integration. (Stablemates Homicide and Division 4 moved into colour production during 1973; Ryan had been produced in colour from the outset.) Naturally, new opening titles were introduced for colour episodes, retaining scenes of the four cops performing routine police duties, and re-introducing the aerial shot over Matlock. It is ironic that Matlock was the last of the Crawford cop shows to go colour, as its rural settings benefited from colour far more than the suburban shows. “We are spending a lot of time out in the bush now,” said Tom Richards, “because that is where all the best colour is. So we are spending more time travelling than we used to.”⁴⁴

Colour also saw Matlock Police take a new direction under the guidance of Henry Crawford, newly-appointed Executive Producer. A sign hanging behind his desk read ‘Matlock Police is a family show’, and accordingly less emphasis was placed on car chases, sex and violence, and more emphasis put on the outdoors, strong characters and adventure. “There is no need at all for on-screen violence,” said Henry Crawford. “I want Matlock to be the sort of show that gets its kicks out of suspense and quality. Strength of character and strength of storyline is the only answer. We are now into full colour and, to my mind, Matlock is the sort of show that is crying out for lots of outdoor action. We have all the beautiful country to film in, and now that it is in colour it seems such a valuable opportunity, much too good to waste. But, when I say that Matlock is going to be a family show, I don’t mean that it will be brought down to the same sort of level as Skippy.”⁴⁵

Henry Crawford achieved his aim. The colour Matlock episodes retained their action, drama and suspense without routinely involving car chases and gunfights. Many episodes relied heavily on characterisation, and occasionally an episode would not feature a crime as such, but would centre on police involvement in community affairs. “The series is set in the country and so we will expand this to give it a true Australian country feeling,” said Henry Crawford. “I want to see the show getting really involved in the background. There are a million ideas and a million things. I know Hector’s attitude very well. He is not worried too much about making high profits. He wants the Australian industry and Crawfords to get a world-wide reputation for good television.”⁴⁶

Paul Cronin was pleased with the new direction of the series, and with the development of his role. “Matlock Police looks fantastic in colour,” said Paul. “Violence is out and we’re all the better for it. We’re a family show with good old-fashioned adventure. When I first started, Constable Hogan had very little to do. Now they’re increasing his role, and over the last three or four months Hogan has been heavily involved in all of the episodes.”⁴⁷

The early Matlock episodes earned a good reputation for their dramatic impact and high production standards, however the colour Matlocks are also highly regarded for their depth of human interest, and greater visual impact due not only to colour filming but also to some very creative and imaginative camera work.

The script for episode 166, ‘Deep Water’, was altered (and re-titled) so that scenes could be filmed during floodwaters at Echuca. The script concerned an escaped prisoner, and during filming the crew learned that there actually was a prisoner running around loose! Good advantage was taken of the floods to provide a setting for some dramatic scenes that could not otherwise have been re-created.

George Lazenby, who briefly replaced Sean Connery in the James Bond movies, made a rare television guest appearance in episode 168, ‘In The Name Of The Queen’. He played an international criminal hiding in Matlock.

Way back in ep. 26, ‘A Case Of Neglect’, the Matlock crew blew up a house and filmed it burning to the ground. To achieve this, they first had to find a house slated for demolition, then had to obtain all the necessary approval from relevant authorities. For ep. 174, ‘A Quiet Little Place’, they blew up another house, again following all the correct procedures, but this time the local Council complained. Nunawading Councillor Arthur Brown said they had no idea explosives were to be used, and the blast was heard four kilometres from the scene: “We should dampen the enthusiasm of Matlock Police for the peace and quiet of the residents. Perhaps they should use fire crackers.” A Crawfords spokesman said all the authorities were notified that the explosion was to take place, and that the mix-up with Council was unfortunate but had since been cleared up to the satisfaction of the municipality.⁴⁸

Episode 186, ‘Gary’, won the Australian Film Commission First Prize in the 1975 Penguin Awards. The episode looks at the plight of wives left behind by men sent to prison, and was made with research assistance from the Prisoners Aid Society.

In September 1974, the 0-Ten Network renewed their Matlock Police contract for 1975, but the number of episodes to be made was nearly halved. 0-Ten agreed to take only 26 episodes, whereas previously they took 48 episodes per year. The reason given was that in some cities screening dates had lapsed far behind production, particularly Sydney which was six months behind, and Perth where they were nine months behind.

Rumours soon started that the show was likely to be axed, but Hector Crawford was unconcerned. "The network has a problem in its scheduling of Matlock Police," he said. "For instance, Sydney has a large backlog because it started six months after us. Rather than sit round waiting for it to be sorted out, we decided to get a clear commitment for at least 26 episodes so that we could begin planning our forward programme for next year. Matlock is rating strongly and I don't see any problem there."⁴⁹ Paul Cronin was not so optimistic: "If the cast is disbanded at the end of June, it will be the end of Matlock because they won't be able to get us back together again. None of us can afford to wait around doing nothing. We will have to seek other employment."⁵⁰

Shortly after renewal of the Matlock contract for 1975 came the surprise announcement that Michael Pate was being dropped from the series. Pate claimed he was not even informed of the change, but found out through a press release. “I haven’t quit Matlock, I’ve been sacked,” said Pate. “And apart from the press release no one has told me. If Crawfords had wanted me to go, all they had to do was ask and I’d have gone. But this way!”⁵¹ Hector Crawford said that Pate was being replaced “due to a restructuring of the programme”.⁵² However, there was speculation among peers that Pate was axed because he was asking for too much money, and that some people found him difficult to work with. “I had intended to leave the series either next year or the year after,” said Pate, “but I had not thought I would be pushed out so abruptly.”⁵³

Pate was asked to sign a three-week contract to take him through to the end of the year, as his contract expired before the year’s shooting finished. “Well, I’m sure not going to do it,” he said. “My contract expires on November 23 and that’s the end of Matlock for me.”⁵⁴ (Pate was also offered a guest role in an episode of another Crawford series, The Last Of The Australians, but he knocked that back too.)

Michael Pate’s final appearance was in ep. 192, ‘Have A Good Weekend’, in which Det. Sen. Sgt. Maddern is shot and seriously injured. In the final scene he is taken away by helicopter to a hospital in Melbourne, and although Maddern’s name was mentioned a few times in subsequent episodes, it was never spelt out exactly what happened to him. “It is a very well-written episode,” said Pate, “but it’s always sad to leave a series one has been so involved in.”⁵⁵

Pate’s replacement was Peter Gwynne, who started filming his first Matlock episode on January 13, 1975. As Pate had not agreed to do three extra weeks in 1974, the next three episodes of Matlock did not have a replacement Sergeant in charge of the CI, and Sen. Det. York was left to manage on his own. The three remaining cast members carried the show, with Pate being edited out of the opening titles, and Peter Gwynne joined the series in ep. 196, ‘Welcome To Matlock’. The opening titles were again altered only slightly with Gwynne’s credit being added. Gwynne said: “I did not hesitate to accept the role of Maloney because I like working with Crawfords. I just went about the role as I would any other. There were rumours about the end of the show but I signed up a week before I heard the first of them.”⁵⁶

Gwynne played the part of Det. Sen. Sgt. Jack Maloney, who has been transferred to Matlock from another country town to replace Sgt. Maddern as head of the CI Branch. Maloney is in his mid-forties, and is a friendly person with a warm personality. He is married to a much younger wife, Liz, and they have two children. Gwynne said of Maloney: “He has a dry sense of humour and will come down hard on criminals when necessary. He also has a sympathetic streak which is brought out in several episodes.”⁵⁷ Marie Williams joined the cast at this time in a support role as Liz Maloney, and appeared on a regular basis until the end of the series.

Sigrid Thornton appeared in ep. 204, ‘The Witch’, and won a 1976 Sammy Award for Best Performance by a Juvenile for her role in the episode.

1975 was a dark year for Australian television, when the three commercial networks cancelled their three Crawford cop shows. Division 4 was first to go, finishing production in May 1975, followed by Matlock Police and finally Homicide. The decision was puzzling, as all three programmes were still very popular and were enjoying high ratings. Many believed, and still do, that the cancellations were an attempt to wipe out Crawford Productions, and consequently cripple local production. The motive behind the ‘gang-up’ was in response to the ‘TV: Make It Australian' campaign. The networks did not want local content regulations forced upon them, as they would much prefer to import cheap American shows that they could buy for peanuts.

However, if the networks were going to be forced to buy local dramas, then they were going to have them as cheap as possible. Quality series like Matlock and Homicide had to go, to be replaced by cheap soap operas of the calibre made popular by Number 96. During the 1980’s there were a few high quality mini-series produced as ‘special event television’, however the vast majority of local production was dominated by ‘lowbrow’ soaps (The Young Doctors, The Restless Years, Sons And Daughters, Prisoner, Cop Shop, Skyways, etc, etc.).

Following the announcement of the Division 4 cancellation, in April 1975 GTV-9 Melbourne moved Division 4 into direct competition with Matlock Police. GTV had nothing to lose, and similar moves were made by interstate stations. At that time it was rumoured that 0-Ten were going to cancel Matlock, but excellent performances from Peter Gwynne and good storylines caused network executives to change their minds. But not for long. Later in April it was announced that Matlock Police would cease production on June 26.

Then, surprisingly, Matlock won a 13-week reprieve. ATV-0 Melbourne decided to go it alone and order another 13 episodes, with no assistance from TEN-10 Sydney. However, there were no further reprieves and in July ATV-0 announced that Matlock Police would finish production on September 18, after 229 episodes. TEN-10 did not want any more episodes, and although ATV-0 and SAS-10 Adelaide considered keeping the show running, without financial assistance from Sydney it was not possible. “It’s unfortunate,” said Hector Crawford, “because it means more retrenchments, and will put more actors out of work, but the company is not in trouble. We are making pilots of proposed new series, but this takes time.”⁵⁸ (The final Crawford cop show, Homicide, had its cancellation announced in August 1975, and finished production in December).

During late July 1975, Paul Cronin and Executive Producer Henry Crawford got together and tossed around some ideas for a new series. The popularity of Const. Hogan and his motorbike with younger viewers was an obvious choice for a spin-off, and they came up with the format for Solo One, a title taken from Hogan’s motorbike radio call sign. Hector Crawford liked the idea and approved the making of a pilot episode. “We shot the pilot on two weekends before the Matlock crew dispersed,” said Paul. “We did it with a mini-crew - there were only about half a dozen on the crew, myself, the motorbike and my dog.”⁵⁹

The 0-Ten Network had enough new Matlock Police episodes stockpiled for it to be screened until mid-1976. ATV-0 Melbourne took the series off air in early 1976 with eight episodes still to be shown, whereas interstate and country stations continued to screen the rest of the series. ATV-0 was still showing Matlock repeats, however the eight ‘new’ episodes were not screened in Melbourne until three years later when, surprisingly, they were shown in a prime time slot during July and August 1979.

The final Matlock Police episode, No. 228 ‘The Curse Of The Bangerang Prince’, was the only episode in which VKC radio operator Shirl was seen. (Although numbered 228, it was actually the 229^th Matlock episode, due to an earlier episode being numbered with an ‘A’ suffix). The episode concludes with a farewell party for Const. Hogan, who has received a transfer to the small town of Emerald to take charge of the one-man police station.

And this is where Solo One comes in. Quite different in concept to Matlock Police, Solo One was a half-hour series, aimed at kids, and concentrating on human-interest situations rather than crime. Paul Cronin described it as “a ripper of a programme”. Said Paul: “We’re utilising the following that Gary Hogan has, and branching into the field of family entertainment. The show will appeal primarily to schoolkids, but parents and grandparents will enjoy it, too. Hogan is a clean-cut cop, an all-Australian boy. A show like Solo One is necessary. Kids are subjected to a lot of garbage on TV.”⁶⁰

The pilot episode featured Paul Cronin in his Matlock role of Const. Gary Hogan, now stationed at Emerald in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, complete with his motorbike. There were two support roles, Keith Eden as Joe Porter, and Aileen Britton as Hogan’s Aunty Nan. Joe Porter is a retired policeman who was formerly in charge of the Emerald station, and still manages to stick his beak into situations. Hogan’s Aunty Nan is the same dotty character introduced in Matlock Police ep. 209, ‘Miracle At Waterloo Downs’; she has moved to Emerald with Gary to act as his housekeeper, and usually attends to the radio while he is out on jobs.

Although his transfer to Emerald is a focal point of the final episode of Matlock Police, Hogan's time in Matlock is never mentioned in the Solo One series - not that it needs to be, as there is enough continuity with Aunty Nan, the motorbike, the 'Solo One' call-sign and the Hogan character itself.

It took another couple of months to sell Solo One. The 0-Ten Network did not want it, which was hardly surprising considering they had just cancelled Matlock. The ABC was interested, but budget cuts prevented them from buying it. The Seven Network wanted to make significant changes to the show by extending it to one-hour and making it more adult in nature. Crawfords were adamant that such changes would ruin the show, and after offering to make another series to fill that requirement (Bluey), Seven agreed to take 13 episodes of Solo One as is.

Production of the series commenced in November 1975, with financial assistance from the Australian Film Commission. However, Solo One did not go to air until June 1976 - possibly because it would not make sense to screen it until Matlock Police had run its course on the 0-Ten Network. Unlike the fictitious Matlock, Emerald was a real town nestled in the Dandenong ranges east of Melbourne, and the series was filmed on location. “We have had the fullest co-operation from the Shire of Sherbrooke and residents of Emerald,” said Producer Henry Crawford. “We will be using the actual Emerald police station. We will not be changing the name.”⁶¹

Paul Cronin had long been aware of the popularity of his Matlock character with children, and always wanted to keep Hogan as a character that children could look up to. “I’ve spent five years fighting for my reading of what the character of Hogan should be,” said Paul, “and I think that has come to fruition in him getting a show of his own. Over that time, I have been in touch with people all around Australia, and I feel they appreciate me playing Hogan the way he is. I don’t think that Constable Hogan has become too goodie-goodie. He makes mistakes and he gets things around the wrong way at times, but he’s well-meaning and has the right attitude to life. In the end it comes out right.”⁶²

The opening titles of Solo One showed Const. Hogan riding his motorbike, and established the location with a shot of the Dandenong’s famous steam train ‘Puffing Billy’. The theme tune was written by Mike Brady (who would later pen the Aussie Rules footy anthem ‘Up There Cazaly’), and was sung by Glenn Shorrock (well-known lead singer of ‘The Twilights’, ‘Axiom’ and the ‘Little River Band’).

As an exercise in their media studies, students from Brunswick Technical School wrote scripts for Solo One - and two were considered so good that they were adapted by Scriptwriter John Drew and used in the series (ep. 9, ‘The Man From Happy Valley’, and ep. 12, ‘The Bike’).

By March 1976, thirteen episodes of Solo One had been completed (including the pilot), but the Seven Network decided against buying any more until the series had been screened and public reaction could be gauged. When the series premiered in June, it was given an early evening timeslot with the hope of attracting kids and adults. The series was very successful and received much critical acclaim. “I’m biased, I suppose, but I’m very proud of the series,” said Paul Cronin. “Some say it’s the best piece of TV Crawfords have yet produced. Perhaps it’s best described as a kid-adult drama, more sophisticated than Skippy, yet not quite a Matlock. Of course I’m hoping the series will prove popular enough to warrant another series, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”⁶³

The Seven Network eventually decided they wanted some more episodes, but by that time it was late 1976 and Crawfords were commencing production of their war-time serial The Sullivans, with Paul Cronin cast in a lead role. As Paul was not available for Solo One, and Crawfords considered that Paul was indelibly associated with the role, therefore ruling out use of another actor, no more episodes of Solo One were made.

In 1979 the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal (successor to the Australian Broadcasting Control Board) laid down new regulations governing children’s programmes, which required that all shows screened on weekdays between 4 and 5 PM must have a ‘C’ classification. The ‘C’ classification was to be given only to shows of a certain standard that were made specifically for kids. Many shows, old and new, were submitted for consideration, and Solo One was one of the programmes awarded the coveted ‘C’ classification.

“I enjoyed Solo One,” said Paul. “I thought it was a good little show and it was meaningful, it was inoffensive, and there was a little lesson in it for every kid. Remember, the kids were the ones that would come up to me when we were filming Matlock and talk to 'Gary'. I believe that character was helpful to the Victoria Police in showing the policeman as your friend. It broke all the rules - as an actor some say you shouldn't work with children or animals. Well, I did and I loved it.” Paul’s own dog was featured in the series: “We needed a dog and there was no money in the budget to pay for one. I had a dog, a Rottweiller-Doberman cross, ‘Toby Two’ was his name. He was totally untrained, and it was a bit of a push and shove to get him to do what we wanted him to do, but he did it.”⁶⁴

Solo One scored a 1976 Penguin for Best Programme For Children, and Mike Brady also received a 1976 Penguin for Best Original Music. Guest actor Greg Stroud won a 1976 Logie for Outstanding Performance By A Juvenile for his part in 'The Runaway', the first Solo One episode.

Oddly enough, given its popularity and high production standards, Matlock Police did not win as many awards as its stablemates Homicide and Division 4. Apart from the two awards mentioned earlier (1975 Penguin for ep. 186, 'Gary', and Sigrid Thornton’s 1976 Sammy for ep. 204, 'The Witch'), the programme won a 1971 Logie for Best New Drama Series, Vic Gordon picked up a 1970 Penguin Commendation and Michael Pate won a 1972 Penguin for Best Actor.

Matlock Police and Solo One were both repeated many times until the mid-1980’s. They then vanished from our screens until January 2006 when the WIN-TV network started screening Matlock from episode one (along with some other old Crawford shows including Division 4 and Homicide). Country police as the basis of a television drama surfaced again in 1993 with the very successful series Blue Heelers. The entire series of Matlock Police and Solo One has been released on DVD (with the exception of ep. 194 which no longer exits). They are available for direct sale from the Crawfords website - check here for further details: http://www.crawfordsdvd.com.au/

Solo One theme song

To me it’s the kind of magic
I need to stay alive
Riding the hills on a motorbike
Sure beats nine to five

It’s nothing complicated
Or hard to tell someone
I’ve got a friend, it’s a motorbike
And it’s just called Solo One

Solo O-O-One, Solo One
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
It’s just called Solo One

MATLOCK POLICE EPISODE DETAILS

SOLO ONE EPISODE DETAILS

38. TV Guide Aug 18 1973:
39. TV Times, April 14, 1973.
40. Ibid.
41. Melbourne Truth, April 14, 1973.
42. TV Times, Oct 13, 1973.
43. TV Times, Jan 5, 1974.
44. TV Week, June 22, 1974.
45. TV Week, June 29, 1974.
46. Ibid.
47. TV Week, Aug 24, 1974.
48. Ibid.
49. TV Times, Sept 21, 1974.
50. Ibid.
51. Melbourne Listener In-TV, Sept 28, 1974.
52. TV Times, Oct 5, 1974.
53. Melbourne Sunday Press, Sept 29, 1974.
54. Melbourne Sunday Observer, Oct 6, 1974.
55. TV Times, May 31, 1975.
56. TV Times, June 28 1975.
57. Melbourne Listener In-TV, July 5, 1975.
58. TV Times, July 12, 1975.
59. TV Eye No. 7, Dec. 1995.
60. Melbourne Listener In-TV, Oct 4, 1975.
61. Knox Free Press, Nov 11, 1975.
62. TV Times, Jan 31, 1976.
63. TV Week, July 3, 1976.
64. TV Eye No. 7, Dec. 1995.

The second cast line-up: Tom Richards, Vic Gordon, Paul Cronin and Michael Pate.

New opening titles were introduced when Tom Richards joined the series.

The nude swimming scene from ep. 100, 'Bedlam'.

Tom Richards and Paul Cronin talking with a crew member.

Michael Pate as Sgt. Maddern and Tom Richards as Det. York apprehend Terri Williams, played by Kris McQuade, in a scene from ep. 132, 'Unchained'.

Const. Hogan arrests a criminal in a scene from ep. 136, 'Germ Bomb'.

Andrew McFarlane in his first major role as Benjie Reid, and Arna-Maria Winchester as his wife Poppy, are questioned by Det. York (Tom Richards) and Const. Hogan (Paul Cronin) in a scene from ep. 142, 'Poppy And The Closet Junkie'.

Robyn Gurney, Vic Gordon and Tony Crawford in a scene from ep. 145, 'They'll Fix You Up No Worries'.

The Matlock police are involved in a siege situation in ep. 154, 'What Are Friends For?'.

New opening titles were introduced when the series shifted into colour.

Filming on the police station set with Tom Richards and Vic Gordon.

An advertisement for Matlock Police.

The final cast line-up: Paul Cronin, Peter Gwynne, Tom Richards and Vic Gordon.

Peter Gwynne as Det. Sgt. Jack Maloney.

The opening titles remained the same, requiring only a small edit to include Peter Gwynne in place of Michael Pate.

The policemen's wives: Natalie Raine as Nell Kennedy and Marie Williams as Liz Maloney.

VKC radio operator Shirl was heard throughout the series but never seen - until the final episode. Margaret Cruickshank played Shirl in that episode.

Solo One graphic used by the production crew.

Paul Cronin as Sen. Const. Gary Hogan, transferred from Matlock to Emerald in the Dandenong ranges.

Aileen Britton had a support role as Gary Hogan's Aunty Nan, a character previously featured in Matlock Police ep. 209, 'Miracle At Waterloo Downs'.

Another support role was Joe Porter, the retired policeman whom Gary Hogan replaces, played by Keith Eden.

Terry Trimble and Paul Cronin filming a scene for Solo One ep. 2, 'Goodbye George'.

Solo One opening titles.

Paul Cronin and his dog, 'Toby Two', who was featured in Solo One.

Const. Hogan attempts a rescue at a mining accident in ep. 4, 'Strike Me Die Benson'.

Const. Hogan had a four-wheel drive vehicle as well as his motorbike in Solo One.