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The Worst Episodes of Checkmate

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

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...
Genres:CrimeDramaMystery
Network:CBS

Worst Episodes Summary

"The Terror from the East" is the worst rated episode of "Checkmate". It scored 5.5/10 based on 15 votes. Directed by Herschel Daugherty and written by N/A, it aired on 1/7/1961. This episode scored 0.1 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Juan Moreno's Body".

  • The Terror from the East
    5.5/1015 votes
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    #1 - The Terror from the East

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/7/1961

    No description available

    Director: Herschel Daugherty

    Writer: N/A

  • Juan Moreno's Body
    5.6/1012 votes
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    #2 - Juan Moreno's Body

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 11/8/1961

    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

  • Hot Wind in a Cold Town
    5.7/1018 votes
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    #3 - Hot Wind in a Cold Town

    Season 1 Episode 34 - Aired 6/10/1961

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Bold and the Tough
    5.9/1012 votes
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    #4 - The Bold and the Tough

    Season 2 Episode 31 - Aired 5/16/1962

    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: N/A

  • Side by Side
    5.9/1014 votes
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    #5 - Side by Side

    Season 2 Episode 34 - Aired 6/20/1962

    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: N/A

  • A Slight Touch of Venom
    6.1/1012 votes
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    #6 - A Slight Touch of Venom

    Season 1 Episode 35 - Aired 6/17/1961

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Hour of Execution
    6.2/1015 votes
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    #7 - Hour of Execution

    Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 1/21/1961

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Crimson Pool
    6.2/1012 votes
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    #8 - The Crimson Pool

    Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 11/22/1961

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • An Assassin Arrives, Andante
    6.2/1010 votes
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    #9 - An Assassin Arrives, Andante

    Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 2/21/1962

    Victor Ragar, a cellist at a music conservatory that fronts for an Eastern Bloc freedom movement of which he is the leader, is in danger of being assassinated by a compatriot who accuses him of betraying the cause. The would-be assassin, Paul Delorio, also has a personal motive- Victor ran off with Paul's wife while Paul was in prison in the old country. The conservatory's director, also a member of the movement, hires Checkmate to protect Victor.

    Director: Tom Gries

    Writer: N/A

  • Trial by Midnight
    6.2/1012 votes
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    #10 - Trial by Midnight

    Season 2 Episode 24 - Aired 3/28/1962

    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

    Writer: Eric Ambler, Mark Rodgers

  • In a Foreign Quarter
    6.2/1012 votes
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    #11 - In a Foreign Quarter

    Season 2 Episode 27 - Aired 4/18/1962

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Rendezvous in Washington
    6.2/1013 votes
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    #12 - Rendezvous in Washington

    Season 2 Episode 30 - Aired 5/9/1962

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Target: Tycoon
    6.3/1015 votes
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    #13 - Target: Tycoon

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/5/1960

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • A Brooding Fixation
    6.3/1014 votes
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    #14 - A Brooding Fixation

    Season 2 Episode 22 - Aired 3/14/1962

    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

  • The Mask of Vengeance
    6.4/1013 votes
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    #15 - The Mask of Vengeance

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/3/1960

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • State of Shock
    6.4/1013 votes
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    #16 - State of Shock

    Season 1 Episode 36 - Aired 6/24/1961

    No description available

    Director: James Wong Howe

    Writer: N/A

  • A Chant of Silence
    6.4/1018 votes
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    #17 - A Chant of Silence

    Season 2 Episode 23 - Aired 3/21/1962

    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: N/A

  • Ride a Wild Horse
    6.4/1015 votes
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    #18 - Ride a Wild Horse

    Season 2 Episode 25 - Aired 4/4/1962

    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: N/A

    Writer: Harold Jack Bloom

  • The Someday Man
    6.4/1010 votes
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    #19 - The Someday Man

    Season 2 Episode 29 - Aired 5/2/1962

    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: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Dark Divide
    6.5/1014 votes
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    #20 - The Dark Divide

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/19/1960

    Barbara Rush plays a dual role in The dark divide. Why should Margaret Russell's life be threatened? Her aunt keeps getting phone calls from a woman named Nikki Garnett, threatening Margaret. What motive could the woman have?

    Director: Don Weis

    Writer: James Gunn

  • The Princess in the Tower
    6.5/1012 votes
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    #21 - The Princess in the Tower

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 12/31/1960

    No description available

    Director: Herschel Daugherty

    Writer: N/A

  • Melody for Murder
    6.5/1013 votes
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    #22 - Melody for Murder

    Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 2/25/1961

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Gift
    6.5/1013 votes
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    #23 - The Gift

    Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 3/11/1961

    No description available

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Kill the Sound
    6.5/1014 votes
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    #24 - Kill the Sound

    Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 11/15/1961

    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: N/A

  • Death Beyond Recall
    6.5/1013 votes
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    #25 - Death Beyond Recall

    Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 2/7/1962

    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