Posted by RonaldnRaliegh on July 06, 2013 at 01:09:22am:
I'm thinking of writing a fan fiction story of Andy Taylor meeting Ben Matlock. My plan now is to set it when Barney is still with Andy. I did not follow the Matlock series nearly as closely as TAGS, so I wanted to ask so as not to upset Matlock continuity, was there any indication as to when Matlock's wife died? Was it just before the series took up or was it some time before, when Charlene and Leanne were children? If the latter, then Andy and Ben would have the common bond of being single parents. Also, I have the idea for Charlene at age 8 or 9, same age as Opie, to visit Mayberry with Ben. BTW, in real life Ron Howard and Linda Purl are only 18 months age difference.