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In Adam-12 S01.Ep1, there's a conversation:

Reed: You don’t have much confidence in me, do you?
Pete: I checked you out in one piece, I want to check back you in the same way.
Reed: It’s none of my business but there is something eating you, isn’t there?
Pete: You called it.
Reed: Yeah?
Pete: It’s none of your business.

What does “I checked you out in one piece, I want to check you back in the same way mean?

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I haven't seen the show so I don't know what's going on, but if you're asking what "in one piece" means, it means "not broken" - i.e., in one piece rather than broken into many pieces.

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    Reed was unharmed when Pete saw him set out, and he wants him to return unharmed.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jul 2, 2022 at 13:27
  • Thank you, now I understand the meaning
    – Fay
    Commented Jul 2, 2022 at 15:05
  • It's terminology that would normally be applied to an item you borrow or rent, rather than to a person (although I don't know if Reed is a person).
    – Stuart F
    Commented Sep 22, 2022 at 11:24
  • @StuartF, traditionally yes, but using it to a person has become common. It suggests there is a risk of Reed suffering harm in whatever he is going to do.
    – Peter
    Commented Sep 22, 2022 at 13:02
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In one piece is an idiom that means unharmed. It likely refers to something being broken (in multiple pieces) versus unbroken (in one piece).

Please be careful and come back in one piece.
Please be careful and come back unharmed.

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