Z is for Zorro #atozchallenge

STATEMENT THAT APPEARS AT THE BEGINNING OF ALL A-Z 2016 PAGES:

Welcome to the A-Z Classic TV Shows Theme Songs and Intros! Last year I did an A-Z Musical Tour of My Life and featured tons of classic rock music. I had so much fun with it that this year I decided to present classic television shows theme songs and intros. These are shows that I remember from my youth during the 60s and 70s…with the occasional 80s show thrown in. Each show is introduced with information (gathered primarily from my favorite go-to for info, Wikipedia) or associated memories, followed by a video of the TV show’s theme song intro. At first glance, the posts may seem long because of the number of videos included but it’s really laid out in a way that will enable you to scroll through and read, watch or hear just what you want and then either move on to the next A-Zer or linger and go back in time with all the fun theme song intros you’ll find here. Please leave a comment and share your favorite classic TV shows. By all means, bookmark my blog so you can come back! I hope you enjoy my collection. Now, let’s get started with…

Another tough letter! This is the only classic TV show that I could come up with that I actually saw, although not during it’s first run; I saw it in reruns:

 Z is for Zorro:

Zorro is an American action-adventure western drama series produced by Walt Disney Productions. Based on the well-known Zorro character created by Johnston McCulley, the series premiered on October 10, 1957 on ABC. The final network broadcast was July 2, 1959. Seventy-eight episodes were produced, and 4 hour-long specials were aired on the Walt Disney anthology series between October 30, 1960 and April 2, 1961.

For most of its brief run, Zorro’s episodes were part of continuing story arcs, each about thirteen episodes long, which made it almost like a serial. The first of these chronicles the arrival of Zorro / Diego to California in 1820 and his battle of wits with the greedy and cruel local Commandante, Captain Enrique Sánchez Monastario. After Monastario’s final defeat, in the second storyline, Zorro must uncover and counter the machinations of the evil Magistrado Carlos Galindo, who is part of a plot to rule California. The third story arc concerns the leader of that conspiracy, the shadowy figure of “The Eagle”, revealed as vain and insecure José Sebastián Vargas. It’s revealed that the plot to gain control of California is so that he can turn it over to another country, implied to be Germany, for a huge profit. Season one concludes with Varga’s death.

Season two opens with Diego in Monterey, the colonial capital, where privately collected money to bring a supply ship to California is consistently diverted to a gang of bandits. Diego stays to investigate, both as himself and as Zorro, and becomes interested in Ana Maria Verdugo, the daughter of the man organizing the effort. Once Zorro defeats the thieves, he enters into a rivalry with his old friend Ricardo del Amo, a practical joker who is also interested in Ana Maria. Ana Maria in turn is in love with Zorro. While in Monterey, Zorro and Sergeant Demetrio López García also get involved in a dispute between the peons and a repressive Lieutenant Governor. Diego is on the verge of giving up his mask to marry Ana Maria, but Don Alejandro talks him out of it. Zorro (and Diego) says goodbye to Ana Maria and returns to Los Angeles, where he gets involved in a series of shorter adventures. In one three episode story arc, guest starring Annette Funicello, Zorro must solve the mystery of Anita Cabrillo’s father, a man who does not seem to exist. Other storylines late in the series involve Diego’s never-do-well uncle (Cesar Romero), a plot against the governor of California, an encounter with an American “mountain man” (Jeff York, reprising a role from The Saga of Andy Burnett), and outwitting a greedy emissary from Spain.

 

Well, we’re at the end of the A-Z. What a trip this has been! I’m exhausted and my butt hurts from sitting at the computer for so long. But I hope you’ve had as much fun as I have! Thank you for all the visits and comments. I especially appreciate all of you who have so faithfully come to visit every day. I’ve enjoyed getting to know each and every one of you and look forward to many more exchanges. It’s truly been a pleasure! 

And for the final questions, since we’ve been concentrating on classic TV shows from the 60s and 70s, I’d love to know this: what are your favorite CURRENT TV shows? What did you watch last night? What are you going to watch tonight?  

Thanks again for taking the A-Z ride with me. Happy Trails!