Product Details

• Actors: Checkmate
• Directors: n, a
• Format: Box set, Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Timeless Media Group
• DVD Release Date: March 25, 2008
• Run Time: 600 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0011VJS00
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,314 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Checkmate was one of the best television dramas to come out of the 1960's, 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 second season of weekly tales of intrigue and danger. Some of them include Dorothy Malone, Mary Astor, Claire Bloom, Nick Adams, John Astin, James Coburn and Patricia Neal. The show's haunting music, composed by John Williams (Star Wars) is perfectly suited for Checkmate's intriguing San Francisco setting, of fog-filled streets, sweeping ocean views and cable cars. This three DVD box set, faithfully reproduced from the original NBC masters, includes twelve of the very best of Checkmate's second season.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Unique 1960's Detective Series, February 25, 2008

By	Only-A-Child - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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 created "Checkmate". Thankfully 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, most likely 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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars checkmate and game over, May 28, 2008

By	Robert J. Quigley "specs" (Mesa, az.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I write the above title only because the other reviewers point out the playful(best of Checkmate) slant. With over 70 episodes to choose from, why pick out 12 shows per box? I would like to buy the "best of season two" but it seems rather silly when you consider there are 58 other episodes out there that weren't selected for this honorable title of being selected to be the"best of ". Why not release the whole thing and let the consumer decide the best or not.

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo Checkmate, April 22, 2009

By	Norman F. Nelson "Norm" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These episodes of Checkmate are delightful and entertaining. Some of the episodes "prints" are flawed, but not to the point of distraction. My wife and I have enjoyed every episode we have seen. The array of guest stars is quite impressive. I only wish there were more available and that they were filmed/recorded in color. To fans of Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and/or Doug McClure, take a look and enjoy!