Checkmate (The Prisoner)

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“Checkmate”
The Prisoner episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 9
Written by	Gerald Kelsey[1]
Directed by	Don Chaffey[1]
Guest stars	Number Two - Peter Wyngarde Rook - Ronald Radd Queen - Rosalie Crutchley Man with stick - George Coulouris 1st Psychiatrist - Patricia Jessel[1]
Original airdate	December 3, 1967
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Dance of the Dead" "Hammer Into Anvil"
List of The Prisoner episodes

Checkmate is the ninth episode of the television series The Prisoner.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Additional guest cast 3 Trivia 4 Notes

[edit] Plot summary

The show starts off with a game of chess using people in the courtyard. One of the rebellious rooks is taken to the hospital for "evaluation". After the game, Number 6 talks with the Chess Master, who comments that one can tell who is a prisoner and who is a guardian “[B]y their disposition. By the moves they make.” Number 6 later visits the hospital to inquire as to the fate of the rook, and sees him subjected to mind control exercises. Number 6 seeks an alliance with the rook, and other villagers that he can now identify as prisoners. Together they attempt an escape by building a 2-way radio and hoping to signal any passing ships. But he discovers he has been a pawn all along.

[edit] Additional guest cast

• 2nd Psychiatrist - Bee Duffell^[1]
• Supervisor - Basil Dignam^[1]
• Painter - Danvers Walker^[1]
• Shopkeeper - Denis Shaw^[1]
• Assistant supervisor - Victor Platt^[1]
• Nurse Shivaun O'Grady^[1]
• Skipper - Geoffrey Reed^[1]
• Sailor - Terence Donovan^[1]
• 1st Tower guard - Joe Dunne^[1]
• 2nd Tower guard - Romo Gorrara^[1]

[edit] Trivia

• The chessboard left markings in the grass that are visible during the opening sequence of the series.
• The original title was to be The Queen's Pawn, a play on the fact that No. 6 had recently been in "her Majesty's service"

[edit] Notes