ZANE GREY THEATER, see Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theater
ZOE, DUNCAN, JACK & JANE (Situation Comedy)
FIRST TELECAST: January 17, 1999
LAST TELECAST: June 11, 2000
BROADCAST HISTORY:
Jan 1999-Jul 1999, WB Sun 9:00–9:30
Jul 1999, WB Sun 8:30–9:00
Jan 2000-Feb 2000, WB Mon 9:30–10:00
Apr 2000-Jun 2000, WB Sun 9:30–10:00
CAST:
| Zoe Bean | Selma Blair |
| Duncan Milch | David Moscow |
| Jack Cooper | Michael Rosenbaum |
| Jane Cooper | Azura Skye |
| Iris Bean (1999) | Mary Page Keller |
| Breeny Kennedy (1999) | Sara Rue |
| Doug McArthur Anderson (2000) | Omar Gooding |
This teenage variation on Friends focused on the social lives of four upper middle class kids who attended Fielding Mellish Prep, a private high school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Zoe was earnest, sincere, and something of a dreamer; curly-haired Duncan had a temper, was uptight, and couldn’t find girls to date; and cool Jack and “plain” Jane were twins—although he was self-assured, she sarcastic and insecure. Jane and Zoe confided in each other about everything—boys, food, clothes, school, etc. The four of them hung out in a local coffeehouse, Café N, in Greenwich Village, after school. Breeny, their cynical wheelchair-bound classmate, was incredibly nasty and abusive. Zoe’s single mom, Iris, was in the opening credits but only appeared occasionally.
The four teens were frequently seen in subway stations on their way around Manhattan, and in between scenes viewers were shown a subway map indicating their movements from home to school to their hangout in the Village.
When the show returned for its second season in January 2000, the title had been shortened to Zoe … (with three dots); at the start of the premiere the words THREE YEARS LATER flashed on the screen. Zoe and her friends, except for Duncan, were now in college, and all were living on their own. Jane was Zoe’s roommate and Jack was Duncan’s. Gone were the traditional subway map scenes. Zoe worked part time as a hostess at The Shanghai Chinese restaurant where Jane waited tables and Doug, an aspiring playwright, was the bartender. Duncan worked for a company designing Internet home pages for businesses. At the end of February the guys got a fancy apartment at a low rent by working as the building supers—but it didn’t work out. In the spring Zoe started dating Duncan’s boss, Andy (Hamilton Von Watts), and the three dots were dropped from the title.
ZORRO (Western)
FIRST TELECAST: October 10, 1957
LAST TELECAST: September 24, 1959
BROADCAST HISTORY:
Oct 1957-Sep 1959, ABC Thu 8:00–8:30
CAST:
| Don Diego de la Vega (“Zorro”) | Guy Williams |
| Don Alejandro | George J. Lewis |
| Bernardo | Gene Sheldon |
| Capt. Monastario (1957–1958) | Britt Lomond |
| Sgt. Demetrio Lopez Garcia | Henry Calvin |
| Don Ignacio (Nacho) Torres (1957) | Jan Arvan |
| Magistrate Carlos Galindo (1958) | Vinton Hayworth |
| Padre Felipe (1957) | Romney Brent |
| José Sebastian Varga (1958) | Charles Korvin |
| Anna Maria Verdugo (1958–1959) | Jolene Brand |
| Sénor Gregorio Verdugo (1958) | Eduard Franz |
| Cpl. Reyes (1958–1959) | Don Diamond |
PRODUCER:
Walt Disney
THEME:
“Theme from Zorro,” by Norman Foster and George Bruns
Guy Williams starred as a swashbuckling masked hero in Spanish California in this popular series. The year was 1820, and young Don Diego, the only son of wealthy Don Alejandro, was returning home from Spain in response to his father’s appeals. Monastario, a ruthless army officer, had become commandant of the Fortress de los Angeles, and was tyrannizing the local dons and their peons. Arriving in California, Don Diego presented himself as a lazy, foppish aristocrat, much to his father’s dismay. Secretly, however, he donned mask and sword and set out to aid the oppressed and foil the schemes of the evil Monastario. His name on these forays was Zorro—for the sign of the “Z” he cut with his sword—and his loyal manservant was the mute Bernardo, who pretended to be deaf as well as mute to make it easier for him to eavesdrop for his master. Only Zorro knew that Bernardo could really hear.
The plots were pretty simple, and there was a lot of derring-do (especially in the sword fights), making Zorro a great favorite with children. Helping Zorro’s crusade was the fact that his initial adversaries, Monastario and his second-in-command, the fat, dim-witted Sgt. Garcia, were both quite incompetent. Another element of interest was that the stories continued from episode to episode, in semi-serial fashion, even though they were so basic that they could be joined at any point.
In the first season Zorro defeated the oppressive Capt. Monastario and a series of crooked replacements, then foiled an elaborate plot by a mysterious villain known as “The Eagle” to overthrow Spanish rule in California. The second season saw a plot to assassinate the Governor, as well as a short-lived romantic interest for Zorro in the person of Anna Maria Verdugo. Among those seen in multi-episode story arcs were Nacho Torres, an escaped political prisoner, scheming Magistrate Galindo, José Sebastian Varga (“The Eagle”), and a young señorita named Anita Cabrillo, played by Annette Funicello, who even got a chance to sing a few songs on the show. Her role was a birthday present from series producer Walt Disney, who had originally brought Annette to stardom as a Mickey Mouse Club mouseketeer only a few years before. Zorro’s black and white stallions were Tornado and Phantom.
The theme song from the show (“Zorro—the fox so cunning and free / Zorro—make the sign of the Z!”) was a hit-parade favorite in 1958. It was first recorded by Henry Calvin, of all people (fat Sgt. Garcia!), but the hit version was by a pop group, the Chordettes.
Zorro left the air due to a financial dispute between ABC and the Walt Disney studio, which produced the series. Four new one-hour episodes were aired on Walt Disney Presents during the 1960–1961 season.
The character of Zorro was created by author Johnston McCulley in the early 1900s and has been the subject of several movies, including features starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. (1920) and Tyrone Power (1940) and popular Republic serials in the 1930s.
ZORRO (Western)
BROADCAST HISTORY:
The Family Channel
30 minutes
Produced: 1989–1993 (88 episodes)
Premiered: January 5, 1990
CAST:
| Don Diego de la Vega (Zorro) | Duncan Regehr |
| Don Alejandro Sebastian de la Vega (1990) | Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. |
| Don Alejandro Sebastian de la Vega | Henry Darrow |
| Victoria Scalanti | Patrice Cahmi Martinez |
| Sgt. Hymen Mendoza | James Victor |
| The Alcalde (Luis Ramone) (1990–1991) | Michael Tylo |
| The Alcalde (Ignacio DeSoto) (1991–1994) | John Hertzler |
| Felipe | Juan Diego Botto |
In 1990 Zorro galloped back onto the small screen once again in this new, rather straightforward version on The Family Channel. Filmed in Spain, it starred Duncan Regehr as the masked rider. At first Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., played his father, but he was replaced shortly after the premiere by Henry Darrow, who had himself worn the black mask in CBS’ Zorro and Son.
Felipe was Zorro’s mute aide, Victoria his love interest, and The Alcalde the villainous ruler of old Los Angeles. The first Alcalde, Ramone, killed because of his own greed in 1991, was replaced by DeSoto, a politically obsessed schemer who had been a student in Madrid with Don Diego.
ZORRO AND SON (Situation Comedy)
FIRST TELECAST: April 6, 1983
LAST TELECAST: June 1, 1983
BROADCAST HISTORY:
Apr 1983-Jun 1983, CBS Wed 8:00–8:30
CAST:
| Don Diego de la Vega (Zorro Sr.) | Henry Darrow |
| Don Carlos de la Vega (Zorro Jr.) | Paul Regina |
| Commandante Paco Pico | Gregory Sierra |
| Sgt. Sepulveda | Richard Beauchamp |
| Bernardo | Bill Dana |
| Brothers Napa and Sonoma | Barney Martin |
| Corporal Cassette | John Moschitta |
| Señorita Anita | Catherine Parks |
| Peasant | Pete Leal |
Played pretty much for laughs, this series updated the legend of Zorro, 20–25 years after the masked defender of the people had first made his name in old California. Age had taken its toll on Don Diego and, when he was injured while trying to live up to his reputation, his faithful manservant Bernardo decided something had to be done. Bernardo sent to Spain for young Don Carlos, Diego’s son. Unlike his father, Don Carlos was a modern swinger who, though willing to help out his father, would not give up his gambling or his girl-chasing. Not only that, the elder Zorro, a traditionalist, had great difficulty adjusting to his son’s use of guns, gas bombs, and other modern weapons, instead of a simple sword. The current oppressor of the people was Commandante Pico, assisted by Sgt. Sepulveda, and his human recording machine, Corp. Cassette. Zorro and Son was liberally laced with bad jokes—the Franciscan monk arrested for “selling wine before its time,” young Don Carlos futilely trying to rally the people in a makeshift Zorro costume when his regular one was lost, etc.—and it rarely took itself seriously, despite being produced by Walt Disney Productions, the same company responsible for the original Zorro TV series more than 25 years earlier.