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The Best Episodes of Checkmate

Every episode of Checkmate ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Checkmate!

Binge this in 2d 21h•Peaking at 8.1/10

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 Fan Favorite
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    Checkmate Season 1 Episode 12 - The Murder Game
    8.1/10(20 votes)

    #1 - The Murder Game

    S1:E12

    Attorney Emory Olivant invites Corey, Sills and Dr. Hyatt to a party. Once all the guests have arrived, Olivant announces that they are going to play a game—a murder game in which he will be the killer.

    Director:Douglas Heyes
    Writer:Douglas Heyes

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  2. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 17 - Don't Believe a Word She Says
    8.0/10(19 votes)

    #2 - Don't Believe a Word She Says

    S1:E17

    No description available

    Director:Sidney Lanfield
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 24 - One for the Book
    7.8/10(21 votes)

    #3 - One for the Book

    S1:E24

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 30 - Voyage Into Fear
    7.7/10(35 votes)

    #4 - Voyage Into Fear

    S1:E30

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 11 - To the Best of My Recollection
    7.7/10(19 votes)

    #5 - To the Best of My Recollection

    S2:E11

    An amnesiac woman is taken home from the hospital by a man claiming to be her husband, but the woman doesn't believe that she could be his wife, and despite her memory lapse believes she has reason to fear for her life. Checkmate investigates.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 6 - Runaway
    7.6/10(23 votes)

    #6 - Runaway

    S1:E6

    A girl shows up at Corey's apartment, claiming that she is running from someone who is trying to kill her. However, the detectives all find that nothing she has said checks out, including her numerous aliases, and that she's actually an heiress running from a controlling grandmother. But it does appear that the part about someone trying to kill her may be the truth.

    Director:Don Medford
    Writer:James Gunn

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Checkmate

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  7. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 31 - Tight As a Drum
    7.6/10(21 votes)

    #7 - Tight As a Drum

    S1:E31

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 1 - Portrait of a Man Running
    7.6/10(21 votes)

    #8 - Portrait of a Man Running

    S2:E1

    A fictional state governor running for re-election stages a phony assassination attempt to boost his chances for victory, and hires Checkmate, ostensibly for protection, but in reality to provide an appearance of credibility. The governor's son is vocal in opposing his father's tactics, but dutifully goes along, mindful of a future political career of his own. Meanwhile, as the campaign winds down, a real threat to the governor's life emerges from within his own campaign.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 28 - Referendum on Murder
    7.6/10(14 votes)

    #9 - Referendum on Murder

    S2:E28

    Checkmate is hired by a woman to protect her husband, Stephen Jordan, who publishes a newspaper opposed to a referendum on legalized gambling in the city of Midvale. He has been receiving death threats and, thanks to Dr. Hyatt, survived an attempt to kill him by poisoning. The culprit at first is thought to be a supporter of the referendum, but there may be something in Jordan's past that could shed light on a different motive.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 4 - Lady on the Brink
    7.5/10(27 votes)

    #10 - Lady on the Brink

    S1:E4

    Checkmate comes to the aid of a woman with a traumatic past when it becomes evident that someone is trying to make it appear she's mentally unstable. discrediting her eye-witness testimony at a murder trial.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Howard Browne

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  11. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 2 - The Button Down Break
    7.5/10(16 votes)

    #11 - The Button Down Break

    S2:E2

    Luther Gage, an egomaniacal, methodical killer whom Dr. Hyatt helped send to prison, vows revenge and conducts a plot planned to the last detail to carry it out. Checkmate employs the services of Chris Devlin, seen here for the first time, to enter the prison posing as a new inmate to figure out and thwart Gage's plan.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 5 - Through a Dark Glass
    7.4/10(18 votes)

    #12 - Through a Dark Glass

    S2:E5

    Gina Burton is a photo-journalist who has pictures that prove sensitive to a prominent men's club. In an effort to fend off an intruder trying to gain possession of the pictures while she's developing them, she accidentally gets acid in her eyes, resulting in permanent blindness. Hired to provide protection, Corey also helps her cope with her blindness.

    Director:Robert Ellis Miller
    Writer:Richard De Roy

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  13. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 1 - Death Runs Wild
    7.3/10(40 votes)

    #13 - Death Runs Wild

    S1:E1

    Story tells of a demented woman out to kill private eye Anthony George. The instrument of death, as it turned out, was, a wild stallion she stocked on her ranch. Her motive was revenge. On a previous case, the private eye had brought her lover to justice and the gas chamber.

    Directors:Jules Munshin, Jules Bricken
    Writers:James Gunn, John Kneubuhl

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  14. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 28 - Goodbye Griff
    7.3/10(18 votes)

    #14 - Goodbye Griff

    S1:E28

    ""Ex-convict Griff Nolan is jealous because his wife Libby earns more as a magazine editor than he does as a mechanic. More domestic strife develops when Griff becomes jealous of Libby's boss Lewis Bates --- and buys a gun."" -- TV Guide

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 4 - Waiting for Jocko
    7.3/10(27 votes)

    #15 - Waiting for Jocko

    S2:E4

    Jocko, a man whom Dr. Hyatt recommended be remanded to a psychiatric facility for treatment at his parole hearing five years earlier, still holds a grudge, believing that Hyatt wanted him confined for life as a psychopath. On his birthday, Hyatt gets a surprise visit from Jocko, who holds him at gunpoint with the intention of forcing him to concoct nitro for deadly use.

    Director:Don Taylor
    Writer:Juarez Roberts

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  16. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 12 - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Game
    7.3/10(19 votes)

    #16 - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Game

    S2:E12

    In a mostly comedic episode, Jack Benny guest stars as Jack Bowen, a beloved TV comedian much like Benny himself, who is serving as the Grand Marshal of the Pioneer Bowl Parade and football game. Also in town for the big game is the Checkmate team, and while there they end up mixing business with pleasure after Jack becomes the apparent target of a would-be assassin.

    Director:Don Taylor
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 20 - Remembrance of Crimes Past
    7.3/10(17 votes)

    #17 - Remembrance of Crimes Past

    S2:E20

    Karen Vale, who served five years for acting as a courier for enemy agents, is staying at a halfway house for women run by a senator's widow, Mrs. Creighton, and faces the hostility of her fellow citizens and from protesters outside the house. Mrs. Creighton hires Checkmate to protect her. In the course of their services, the Checkmate team finds Karen's greatest threat is from her former comrades who have infiltrated the protesters and even the house itself to try and bring her back into their circle, or eliminate her.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 2 - Interrupted Honeymoon
    7.2/10(35 votes)

    #18 - Interrupted Honeymoon

    S1:E2

    No description available

    Director:Herschel Daugherty
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 3 - The Cyanide Touch
    7.2/10(26 votes)

    #19 - The Cyanide Touch

    S1:E3

    No description available

    Director:Don Weis
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 15 - The Human Touch
    7.2/10(52 votes)

    #20 - The Human Touch

    S1:E15

    Arguably the finest episode of the series, featuring guest star Peter Lorre as an ex-con criminal mastermind determined to wreak revenge on master criminologist Sebastian Cabot. An intricate series of cat and mouse moves between the two geniuses culminates in a surprise and ultimately poignant ending, befitting the episode title. This episode stresses the close friendships between the three detectives of CHECKMATE INCORPORATED as it contrasts with that of the brilliant, but soulless Lorre. Directing, writing and acting are all exemplary.

    Director:Don Weis
    Writer:James Gunn

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  21. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 27 - The Deadly Silence
    7.2/10(17 votes)

    #21 - The Deadly Silence

    S1:E27

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 33 - The Thrill Seeker
    7.2/10(16 votes)

    #22 - The Thrill Seeker

    S1:E33

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 26 - So Beats My Plastic Heart
    7.2/10(15 votes)

    #23 - So Beats My Plastic Heart

    S2:E26

    A woman who runs a home for struggling artists has been receiving death threats, and suspicion falls on her boarders, including a pretty young poet who is the object of Jed's affections.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Checkmate Season 2 Episode 32 - Will the Real Killer Please Stand Up?
    7.2/10(14 votes)

    #24 - Will the Real Killer Please Stand Up?

    S2:E32

    When a powerful millionaire dies, his three sons suddenly start to suspect everyone as potential threats to stealing the old man's fortune, including each other. They hire the Checkmate agency to keep them alive until the reading of the will. Only there may be another threat to the fortune that comes from outside the family.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Checkmate Season 1 Episode 18 - Laugh Till I Die
    7.1/10(21 votes)

    #25 - Laugh Till I Die

    S1:E18

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"The Murder Game" is the best rated episode of "Checkmate". It scored 8.1/10 based on 20 votes. Directed by Douglas Heyes and written by Douglas Heyes, it aired on 12/17/1960. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Don't Believe a Word She Says".