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. 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 local Aboriginal 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.