Matt Lincoln

Media critic Harlan Ellison analyzed this show in his column for the Los Angeles Free Press, reprinted in his anthology The Other Glass Teat. The original made-for-TV film, Dial Hot Line, had a social worker called David Leopold, also played by Edwards. Ellison asked executive producer Irving Elman about the name change, and was told that there'd been a number of jokes about it and references to the Leopold and Loeb murder case. Elman was afraid viewers would make the same connection. Subsequent to this interview, Ellison said he received a letter from a Minneapolis hotline worker, Martha Rosen. She described unrealistic, authoritarian portrayals in Dial Hot Line that might damage the credibility of real hotlines, both with the people who needed them, and with parents and authorities.[1]

Ellison also reprinted sections from Elman's prospectus focusing on Edwards' character, described as an example of "the new breed" of mental health professionals, serving "the many, rather than the few" and involved in a wide array of volunteer activities, somehow managing to earn enough to drive a Mustang, have a Marina apartment and a sailboat. Ellison pointed out "the dichotomy between Matt Lincoln's professional pursuits, dealing with the broken, the twisted, the poor, and the deprived, and his status symbols of the Establishment."[1]

Unlike Edwards' previous medical drama, Matt Lincoln never developed much of an audience and was cancelled at midseason.[1]

Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows

• Matt Lincoln at IMDb