Which was a 1986 NBC made fir TV movie,,and a good one at that.But why,instead of airing the film in its original 2-hour length form(I know The Hallmark Channel did this years ago) ,is it syndicated in 2-parts?And has anyone ever seen it in its original 2-hour form?And which did you like better?When its in 2-parts,or in its original 2-hour length? I personally like the 2-hour length version better.

The success of Matlock’s TV movie pilot convinced Andy Griffith to return to his first regular TV role in years (https://www.metv.com/stories/the-success-of-matlock-s-tv-movie-pilot-convinced-andy-griffith-to-return-to-his-first-regular-tv-role-in-years)

Griffith continued to make special appearances on shows like Fantasy Island and The Love Boat, and even had a cameo on Saturday Night Live when Ron Howard hosted in 1982. He also starred in many TV movies.

One of those movies (https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=fred&p=108&item=T:22579) from March 1986 was called Diary of a Perfect Murder (metv.com/lists/5-ways-the-matlock-pilot-is-different-from-the-series). Griffith starred (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090943/fullcredits) as a defense attorney who joins his daughter, Charlene, in Atlanta to defend a famous TV reporter charged with murder. They enlist the help of investigator Tyler Hudson, much to the chagrin of police lieutenant Frank Daniels. And, of course, Griffith’s character was named Ben Matlock.

The movie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Matlock_episodes#Pilot_(1986)) was a resounding success with both critics and audiences. Andy Griffith was the perfect person to play the clever and theatrical lawyer, a part very different from Sheriff Andy but still full of Griffith’s trademark charm. He even said it was the best role he ever played on TV. Sixties stars returning to TV courtrooms was becoming a theme – Raymond Burr had just brought back Perry Mason the year before and would star in over 20 TV movies as the iconic attorney stretching into the Nineties.

Just like the introduction of Mayberry on The Danny Thomas Show before The Andy Griffith Show debuted in October 1960, Diary of a Perfect Murder led to the debut of Matlock in the fall of 1986. It was the start of nine successful seasons for the classic court drama.

I am looking for an episode of Matlock where the murder takes place on a stormy night and the accused is an emotionally disturbed young woman. The storm on the night of the murder focused on a painting above the fireplace where the real murderer threw his cigar butt.