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The Worst Episodes of Checkmate

Every episode of Checkmate ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Checkmate!

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Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Checkmate Season 1 Episode 14 - The Terror from the East
    5.7/10(18 votes)

    #1 - The Terror from the East

    S1:E14

    No description available

    Director:Herschel Daugherty
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 34 - Hot Wind in a Cold Town
    5.8/10(21 votes)

    #2 - Hot Wind in a Cold Town

    S1:E34

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 6 - Juan Moreno's Body
    6.0/10(14 votes)

    #3 - Juan Moreno's Body

    S2:E6

    The son of a prominent businessman has been murdered in San Felipe. The town suspects Juan Moreno, a migrant worker, but the men at Checkmate think he is being railroaded. They investigate, and in the process, uncover details that are embarrassing to both the defendant and the victim's family.

    Director:Tom Gries
    Writer:Anthony Spinner

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  4. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 34 - Side by Side
    6.2/10(16 votes)

    #4 - Side by Side

    S2:E34

    The personal relationship between entertainer Johnny Kay and his singing partner Pete O'Mara has hit a sour note. Corey (Anthony George), who has been asked to keep a protective eye on them, shows up during one of their recording sessions - which angers Johnny into storming out of the studio.

    Director:Robert Ellis Miller
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 30 - Rendezvous in Washington
    6.3/10(15 votes)

    #5 - Rendezvous in Washington

    S2:E30

    Wealthy industrialist Frederick Haley, who has been appointed to an important position at a humanitarian foundation, asks Checkmate to find out who has been threatening his mistress, whom he plans to marry after leaving his wife.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 31 - The Bold and the Tough
    6.3/10(14 votes)

    #6 - The Bold and the Tough

    S2:E31

    After an attempt is made on the life of bankrupt ranch owner Harl Stoner, the Checkmate agency goes undercover at the ranch's stockholder's meeting, where a ruthless business man sets out to take the ranch and split it up for sale and profit.

    Director:Don Taylor
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 16 - Hour of Execution
    6.4/10(17 votes)

    #7 - Hour of Execution

    S1:E16

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 7 - Target: Tycoon
    6.5/10(17 votes)

    #8 - Target: Tycoon

    S1:E7

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 23 - The Gift
    6.5/10(15 votes)

    #9 - The Gift

    S1:E23

    Lola Tuscany, a temperamental lady soprano, is having premonitions of her death. After her concert she is almost poisoned and Checkmate Inc. is hired to keep her safe. Don Corey is skeptical, believing it is a publicity stunt, until he is nearly killed when a bomb explodes in the car he and Lola are driving in.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 35 - A Slight Touch of Venom
    6.5/10(14 votes)

    #10 - A Slight Touch of Venom

    S1:E35

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 36 - State of Shock
    6.5/10(16 votes)

    #11 - State of Shock

    S1:E36

    No description available

    Director:James Wong Howe
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 7 - Kill the Sound
    6.5/10(16 votes)

    #12 - Kill the Sound

    S2:E7

    Sid Caesar appears as Johnny Wilder, a highly popular but guilt-ridden, somewhat neurotic San Francisco disk jockey who believes that a former rival whose own career went on the skids blames Johnny and wants to kill him. The station's owner hires Checkmate to protect Johnny- maybe from himself.

    Director:James Wong Howe
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 24 - Trial by Midnight
    6.5/10(14 votes)

    #13 - Trial by Midnight

    S2:E24

    Checkmate is hired to protect the life of Judge Leland McIntyre, who is conducting a series of lectures concerning a trial over which he presided eight years ago resulting in him sending a man to the gas chamber. Checkmate suspects that one of the students may be connected to the case and signed up for the course to get to him. In the course of their investigation, the judge begins to question his own conduct in the trial.

    Director:Alexander Singer
    Writers:Eric Ambler, Mark Rodgers

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  14. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 27 - In a Foreign Quarter
    6.5/10(13 votes)

    #14 - In a Foreign Quarter

    S2:E27

    The Checkmate team is in Chinatown on behalf of a colleague of Dr. Hyatt's, a Dr. James Low, who claims his Chinese wife may try to kill a man who is supposedly blackmailing her in an attempt to ingratiate himself into Chinese society. Their investigation reveals that they are being used as pawns in an elaborate web of deceit, greed, and possibly murder.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 11 - The Mask of Vengeance
    6.6/10(15 votes)

    #15 - The Mask of Vengeance

    S1:E11

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 8 - The Crimson Pool
    6.6/10(14 votes)

    #16 - The Crimson Pool

    S2:E8

    Zoe Kamens is an artist who just wants to paint honestly by copying masterpieces, but her husband, a man of questionable ethics, has been pressuring her to make copies and pass them off as originals. He in turn is being pressured by a crooked art dealer. Zoe turns to Checkmate, but keeps changing her story because of her shifting feelings for her husband, and complicating matters is the fact that she and Don were once an item, something Don has trouble forgetting.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 17 - Death Beyond Recall
    6.6/10(15 votes)

    #17 - Death Beyond Recall

    S2:E17

    John Baker, a lawyer friend of Dr. Hyatt's with a mysterious past, is threatened with disbarment. He decides he wants to die, and asks a friend to arrange for his death, then changes his mind. When his friend is found murdered, he fears his death has already been arranged, and goes to Checkmate for protection.

    Director:Herman Hoffman
    Writer:Max Ehrlich

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  18. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 25 - Ride a Wild Horse
    6.6/10(17 votes)

    #18 - Ride a Wild Horse

    S2:E25

    Checkmate is hired to protect rodeo star Len Kobalsky from his girlfriend Marcy Lowell's brother, who disapproves of their relationship and prefers she marry someone from a wealthy family such as theirs. As it turns out, the real threat to Len is from one of his fellow rodeo riders.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Harold Jack Bloom

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  19. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 21 - Melody for Murder
    6.7/10(15 votes)

    #19 - Melody for Murder

    S1:E21

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 14 - The Renaissance of Gussie Hill
    6.7/10(14 votes)

    #20 - The Renaissance of Gussie Hill

    S2:E14

    Checkmate is called to investigate the disappearance of an employee at Venus West, a beauty farm for women. Don finds himself falling for the beauty center's manager, who is not all she seems.

    Director:Ron Winston
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 16 - The Yacht Club Gang
    6.7/10(16 votes)

    #21 - The Yacht Club Gang

    S2:E16

    A widow who runs a yacht club hires the Checkmate agency to investigate an apparent attempt on the life of a married man she is having an affair with, who happens to be a member of the club.

    Director:Alexander Singer
    Writer:Robert J. Shaw

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  22. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 22 - A Brooding Fixation
    6.7/10(16 votes)

    #22 - A Brooding Fixation

    S2:E22

    The death of powerful business magnate Arnold Brack from an apparent gun accident, and his widow's and brother's apparent lack of emotion, leaves his grieving son, Daniel, to suspect it was no accident. His father recorded all of his dealings on tape, and Daniel searches for a recording of the moment of his father's death to find out what really happened. Checkmate is hired to aid in the investigation.

    Director:Robert Ellis Miller
    Writer:Oliver Crawford

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  23. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 23 - A Chant of Silence
    6.7/10(20 votes)

    #23 - A Chant of Silence

    S2:E23

    Two convicts, both former Catholic schoolboys, escape by shooting a policeman, then hole up in a monastery while Dr. Hyatt is visiting and hold the Father Abbot and Dr. Hyatt hostage. Dr. Hyatt appeals to the penitential instincts of one of the men in an effort to end the situation.

    Director:William A. Graham
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 29 - The Someday Man
    6.7/10(12 votes)

    #24 - The Someday Man

    S2:E29

    In a tour-de-force performance, Don Taylor guest stars as an ex-pro football player, now fronting a cheap health club and always on the make for one big score. Wealthy thrill seekers enlist him in an elaborate conspiracy to convince his college football protege to throw the big game. The detectives at Checkmate attempt to untangle the deceptions and restore Taylor's pride.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 8 - The Deadly Shadow
    6.8/10(22 votes)

    #25 - The Deadly Shadow

    S1:E8

    No description available

    Director:Don Weis
    Writer:William P. McGivern

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Worst Episodes Summary

"The Terror from the East" is the worst rated episode of "Checkmate". It scored 5.7/10 based on 18 votes. Directed by Herschel Daugherty and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/7/1961. This episode scored 0.1 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Hot Wind in a Cold Town".