Best of Checkmate: Season One

Checkmate was one of the best television dramas to come out of the 1960s, combining great scripts, locations and casting. Created by thriller-writer Eric Ambler and filmed on the streets of San Francisco, the series revolves around two investigators, Don Corey (Anthony George) and his young partner Jed Sills (Doug McClure). In their quest to prevent crimes before they happen, Dr. Carl Hyatt (Sebastian Cabot), a university criminologist, joins them. Some of America's most talented actors and actresses joined the sleuths in their weekly tales of intrigue and danger. Some of them include Anne Baxter, Joseph Cotton, Dick Shawn, Mickey Rooney, and in one of his very few TV appearances, Charles Laughton. Product Description

checkmate

I ENJOYED PROGRAMING OF ANY GENRE FROM THE 50'S & 60'S.THAT'S WHEN TELEVISION WAS AT ITS BEST. October 21, 2008

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I loved this show but will not be buying it until I determine whether it has subtitles. I have been stung too many times. I can't give a review of the DVD only of the show 5+. May 2, 2008

Checkmate in two moves

As a nine-eleven year old kid I loved this series and have waited for years for this to finally get to DVD. I want to thank the excellent reviews here since I now know exactly what to expect. I understand it is not the best episodes and they aren't in great condition, but I understand they are still decent quality and fun to watch. I immediately ordered the set when I saw they were available and I read your reviews. Anyone that enjoys the Sixties TV series should love this series. I myself have picked up a few like Route 66, Star Trek, and the Wild, Wild, West. I am debating about the second season as the changes to the cast and sets actually hurt the series. I plan to at least rent it first. I do highly recommend the first season. After watching a couple episodes I see that in fact they are in decent condition but suffer a few minor spots and age blemishes. This seasons episodes are still well worth the money. Especially if you are an original fan of this series or just a fan of police and detective series. March 20, 2008

Unique and Entertaining

The 70 black and white hour-long episodes of "Checkmate" were originally broadcast from 1960-62 on CBS. Those who only remember Sebastian Cabot as the prissy butler "French" on "Family Affair" will be surprised at his superior acting talent, which was nicely showcased in this series.

"Checkmate Inc." was an unusual organization based in San Francisco, a posh detective agency whose specialty was thwarting crimes "before" they occurred. The plotline for each episode was structured to resemble a chess game, which reflected the series title.

Middle age detective Don Corey (Anthony George) operated the firm out of his elegant Nob Hill apartment. Young Jed Sills (Doug McClure) was the designated hunk of the series. Dr. Carl Hyatt (Cabot) was a trained criminologist who served as the organization's brain trust. The three mostly worked as a team and a lot of the humor came from Cabot's frequent frustration over the dimness of his two associates.

Warner Brothers had hit on a successful formula for the intelligent detective series (insert "Surfside Six", "77 Sunset Strip", etc. here) and Jack Benny's "JaMco Productions" appropriated this and turned into "Checkmate". However at least they eliminated Warner's obligatory weird side-kick/informer and good looking but airheaded singer/girlfriend/etc.

So they basically had a main character targeted at all age levels of the female demographic, with one of which almost any male viewer could identify. And each episode included some attractive young actress's and has-been movie stars in the cast.

The early John Williams' theme music was a memorable jazz instrumental for which he received a Grammy nomination. As often happens with these things they tried to get cute between seasons and added Jack Betts to the cast as investigator Chris Devlin and they moved the agency into a normal office suite. It limped through its second season until cancellation.

12 episodes from Season One are now out in a DVD package with the misleading title "Best of Checkmate:Season One". It does not appear that any effort was made to actually cull out the "best" episodes for this release, it looks more like this group was included because they were the only ones to which Edi Video had the rights and/or the only ones in good enough condition for digital re-mastering. The DVD package has no special features and is a relatively low-budget but serviceable effort. A similar collection of Season Two episodes is due for release in March 2008.

Then again what do I know? I'm only a child. February 26, 2008

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I wondered if this series would still seem good to me as it most certainly did when I was a kid. I was not disappointed! The chemistry between the stars is terrific and the period feel is great. There are a host of distinguished guest stars and good story-lines. A nice slice of TV from the golden era. February 22, 2008

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