Customer Reviews

Best of Checkmate: Season One

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was very pleased that someone finally released Checkmate on DVD. It is definitely one of my favorite shows of yesteryear.

But why? The premise of the show, dreamed up by its creator, Eric Ambler, is outstanding. The staff of detectives are not in business to investigate crimes already committed, they are in business to prevent crimes from being committed. So far, every story I have seen is quite good. Their firm, Checkmate, Inc., is the only possible agency that would actively try to save a client by driving her would-be killer half-crazy. Great premise. You'd have to see that one to believe it.

Like another reviewer, I have to say that I was young when this series was first on the air--actually, I was 12 when it made its debut in 1960. But there were very strong images from this show that have stayed with me for decades. There was the cool, pulsating, darkly jazzy theme music of John Williams; the swirling mass of paints underneath the credits; and best of all, the mature, thoughtful dramas always leading to twists and turns. It offers its own black and white style of film noir. Checkmate was not necessarily the best show, but I rank it as one of the better ones.

The stars of the series were Anthony George, Doug McClure, and the great Sebastian Cabot. Many remember McClure from The Virginian, and Cabot from Family Affair (he played the butler). George, for whatever reason, seemed to fade from fame after the 1960s. It is a shame. He strongly plays the main character that superbly drives this show. Cabot, is also very, very good. It is too bad he did not live long enough to headline his own series along the lines of a Murder She Wrote or Hercule Poirot. He would have been perfect. McClure, whom many have derided in the past for reaosn unclear to me, should be praised for his work on this series. His smooth performance here proves he could play more than just a western character (and by the way, I thought he did a bang-up job in one of his other shows, "the Virginian").

I had remembered some of the twelve episodes in this box set. The one with Mickey Rooney playing a cartoonist being marked for murder by a comic strip character he had created really stood out! Also, episodes guest starring Ricardo Montalban, Jane Wyman, Ann Baxter and others I sort of remembered. It truly surprised me to see such stars as Joan Fontaine, Joseph Cotten and Charles Laughton in important guest star roles. They are quite good I might add.

Yes, the sound and picture quality could be a lot better. I nearly downgraded the set for this reason. However, I was so happy to see these shows released at all that I wanted to give it a top review. Anyone who loves mysteries, detective stories, and simply well-written shows featuring good performances by terrific stars of the 1950s and 1960s should purchase this set. Also, I agree that the distributors should release more episodes. I further think they should do a better job of restoring them; Checkmate episodes are "keepers."

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.

I bought this series because of a feeling of something special glimpsed on TV as a small child. Why Checkmate should have lingered on in my memory I had no idea until I received the DVD and started watching. What a surprise. This show is absolutely excellent and holds up amazingly well over the intervening five decades since its original airing.The stories are unusual and creative with some surprisingly modern ambiguity and blurry edges in the scripts. The parade of guest stars is Hollywood at it's best and its nice to see some forgotten faces in smaller parts as well.
I thoroughly recommend this box set, even though the quality of the picture and sound is uneven and spotty.Just feel the quality of the stories and enjoy on that basis.
Hope there is more of this to come, with sharper picture and sound. If I'm giving this five stars, imagine what a digitally remastered box set
could achieve! How about a box set "best of " 77 Sunset Strip while we wait?

They don't make 'um like this anymore. Crisp writing and logical story flow keep you guessing until the end of the show. I used to watch this show in my very early youth and still remembered the swirling opening credits and the presence of two of my favorite stars from that period, Sebastian Cabot and Doug McClure. My only complaints are the lack of effective control over the menu screen (it keeps defaulting to play all episodes) and the limited number of episodes (15) in the somewhat misleading Season One title. I strongly suggest they restore the rest of the series and offer it as well.

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.

Checkmate ran from 1960-1962 on CBS. I was 10 when it went on and 12 when it went off. It was my favorite show at the time.
Created by famous spy-novelist Eric Ambler, Checkmate concerned 3 men working for a detective agency designed to prevent crimes before they happened: leading man Anthony George as Don Corey, the agency head, Doug McClure, (in the 2nd of his many tv series,) as the young Jed Sills and Sebastian Cabot as criminologist Professor Dr. Carl Hyatt (who seemed to know everything and everyone in San Francisco) Cabot went on to greater success playing Mr. French on the mediocre comedy "Family Affair "3 years later. Sadly, none of the leads of this series still with us.
This black and white series had a nice film noir effect taking place, at night a lot, in San Francisco. The music and very distinctive theme, (if you heard it, you'll remember it,) was composed by Johnny Williams who a few years later got rid on the "ny" and became John Williams, the composer of Jaws, Star Wars, the Indiana Jones films, Superman and practically every other epic in Hollywood. (You can pick up the terrific soundtrack CD of this series from Film Score Monthly.)
The most amazing thing about this series were the terrific guest stars including many who did not do much tv. Some of the guest stars included Jack Benny (whose production company produced this series,) Charles Laughton, Walter Pidgeon, Joseph Cotton, Dana Andrews, David Janssen, Lee Marvin, Joan Fontaine and Scott Brady in 1 episode, Elizabeth Montgomery and Jack Lord, James Coburn and Nick Adams, Anne Baxter, Mickey Rooney,Dan Duryea, Dick Shawn, Robert Lansing, Patricia Neal,Peter Lorre, etc. etc. Amazing guest stars.
One thing to remember is, for some reason, the first season scripts are far better than the second season. I remember noticing the difference even when I watched it as a child. If you are only going to get one set, get the first season.
The picture quality of the dvds is average at best. However there is not too much one can do about this if you really want this series. The episodes chosen are also not the "best of" as this set is entitled. I've collected numerous episodes of this series over the years on videotape and many that I have are superior to the one on these sets. I have a feeling the company releasing these discs just picked the first 12 they were offered.
Despite this however, Checkmate was a superior series, one of my favorites of the numerous series I loved during this period. Why CBS cancelled it so quickly after only two years remains a mystery in itself.

For those of us who lived during this period of Black and white television we are extremely thankful for the COLOR we get now....But, I for one enjoy the black and white series of the 50s-60s....

Here we have Sebastian Cabet, and Doug Mclure....Undoubtedly two of the most sexy gentlemen of the time....This and a couple of other series of the period were very defining as to what would soon be the norm for TV detective programs....

I will add more later....red

This show was forgotten by me, but saw it on-line and bought it out of curiosity. The first episode was weak, but the ensuing ones get better as the cast gets into the show. Note that Sebastian Cabot wears the same outfit in each episode. They must have been on a tight budget! What the heck, sit back and enjoy the show. It's not compelling television, but helps pass the time before going to work or bed.

Checkmate was truly a classic mystery crime drana show that came out of the early 1960s. Two detectives and a retired criminologist did their best to prevent their clients from being crime victims for a fee, so the chess match was on between Checkmate Inc. and those who intended to kill their victims. Don Corey, Jed Sills, and Dr. Carl Hyatt would always find the culprits before they could carry out their evil deeds, so that's how this fine series was made. It says on the box that it was filmed on the streets of San Francisco known for its Golden Gate Bridge, morning fog, and cable cars. It was basically stock footage being filmed there, otherwise the eps were being filmed on the Universal lot, so nevertheless it's a fine show to watch.

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