New World Zorro to Be Released on DVD Fall 2010

This just in from Daryl:

The deal for the distribution of New World Zorro on DVD was only officially completed on Wednesday so I don't have all of the details. I will pass them on as I get them. The distributor will be A&E Video. They are set to release in the fall. Right now they are working with ZPI to put together the bonus material. A&E will decide how they wish to release the series so ZPI doesn't know at this time if it will be one season at a time, seasons 1 & 2 together then seasons 3 & 4 together or a complete box set.

and also:

ZPI has a cable deal in the works for NWZ. They will provide details when they come available. I'll pass them along. Also it appears the DVDs will include a Spanish language option.

If you are one of the people who has been waiting for years for this series to be released on DVD, your wish is about to come true. If you are just now wanting to see the shows, please do not buy bootlegs from anybody. They are of inferior quality, and you are better off waiting for the official release, which is just months away.

Important: New World Zorro Survey

There is a possibility of having some type of New World Zorro finale, probably a radio drama, created. I do not know the specific details, but there is an issue which could be resolved depending upon the results of a survey. Please answer the survey by responding to this post. Below, I quote Daryl with his request.

In what feels like the never ending quest to bring about a NWZ finale I need to put together one more piece of information for the powers that be. To keep this short and to the point I NEED everyone to list the characters/actors in the order of favorite to least favorite. I'm asking everyone to please participate.

And please don't just say I love them all or list just one or two. Please list everyone starting with your absolute favorite then your next favorite, then your next favorite, etc. To make things quicker I'll post an example with each person numbered. You could just list the numbers of each corresponding person if you like.

Thanks for your help.

Daryl

Example:

1. Diego-Zorro/Duncan Regehr

2. Victoria/Patrice Martinez

3. Alejandro/Henry Darrow

4. Sgt. Mendoza/James Victor

5. Alcalde Ramon/Michael Tylo

6. Alcalde de Soto/John Hertzler

7. Felipe/Juan Diego Botto

8. Alejando/Efram Zimbalist Jr.

9. Toronado

Zorro Items for Sale

I have a few Zorro items for sale.

Zorro's Fighting Legion DVD

Zorro Rides Again DVD

New World Zorro Sticker Album Complete Set #1-216

76 New World Zorro Slides

Teresa Gutierrez — The Marquesa

Viewers of La espada y la rosa will remember La Marquesa, Carmen Santillana de la Roquette, as a powerful ally of the de la Vegas.

The actress who played The Marquesa passed away earlier this month in Colombia. She was born on October 28, 1928 and died on March 10, 2010. She was a major Colombian television star.

All-Story Weekly August 9, 1919

The pulp magazine in which Zorro made his first appearance is a highly desired piece of Zorro memorabilia. In my opinion, it is the Holy Grail of Zorro memorabilia.

Zorro debuted in the August 9, 1919 issue of All-Story Weekly in a story called "The Curse of Capistrano."

An excellent condition copy of this pulp magazine recently sold on eBay.

All Story Pulp August 9, 1919

Here is the seller's picture:

The issue sold for a staggering $1,525.00.

Telemundo Zorro Update #2

In the original airing of the telenovela in 2007, the show had English captions on CC1 and Spanish captions on CC3. When the re-airing of the show began last month, Telemundo was displaying the Spanish captions on CC1 and had no English captions.

I have not verified this, but I have been told that Telemundo has now added the English captions to CC3. Apparently enough people requested the English captions that Telemundo decided to add them to this airing of the show.

New World Zorro DVD Release Information

I sent out this information on two lists, and I am also placing this here in order to reach a wider audience.

Daryl reports that John Gertz is in the final stages of acquiring a distributor for the series. This means that the New World Zorro series will soon be on DVD in an official release in the United States and elsewhere.

John Gertz has requested that fans let him know of their preferences for a DVD release. Daryl is passing on the responses. Reply to this message if you would like to have input. Here are the questions:

Do you want the DVD set released one season at a time or all at once?

Would you like to see a bloopers reel?

Would you like to see a cast reunion? In what format: Interview, concluding episode TV show (keep in mind the cast is now 17 years older), concluding episode radio drama

Would you like to see writers, directors, producers, etc, reunion interview?

A release of some special memorabilia, or maybe cast autographed special edition DVD series?

Zorro on Telemundo Update

The Zorro telenovela form 2007 is currently airing in reruns daily on Telemundo. Several people who missed the show the first time it aired are recording it. Most people missed the beginning of the reruns and are not sure how to label their DVDs.

I recorded the show on Monday to see how far along the reruns are. On Monday, episodes 26 and 27 from the original run aired.

The current run does not match up with the original run because the original run aired in 112 episodes and the current run is airing as 120 episodes. The telenovela was filmed in 120 episodes. When the show first aired, quite a few episodes aired as 90 minute episodes. Each of those episodes was comprised of 1 1/2 of the original episodes.

#16-25 in the original run aired as 90 minute episodes. Using this as reference:

http://www.zorrolegend.com/zorro2007/episodes26-30.html

#16 on the above website is #16 with 1/2 of #17 in the current run
#17 is 1/2 of #17 with #18
#18 is #19 with 1/2 of #20
#19 is 1/2 of #20 with #21
#20 is #22 with 1/2 of #23
#21 is 1/2 of #23 with #24
#22 is #25 with 1/2 of #26
#23 is 1/2 of #26 with #27
#24 is #28 with 1/2 of #29
#25 is 1/2 of #29 with #30
#26 aired as one hour so is #31
#27 aired as one hour so is #32

If anyone sees anything wrong with this, please let me know. I have looked over it a few times, but I could have made a mistake.

If I have this right, then what aired on Monday is #31 and #32 as originally filmed. For those of you recording this, Monday's should be labeled as #31 and #32.

Zorro Is Back on Telemundo!

Check your television listings. Telemundo is now re-airing La espada y la rosa each weekday on Telemundo. Many people have wished that they had not missed out on seeing this great telenovela, and this is the first time the series has aired since its finale in July 2007.

La espada y la rosa tells the epic story of Diego de la Vega and his love, Esmeralda, who fight to be together against all odds.

From ZorroLegend.com:

This version of Zorro bends history and places Zorro in a setting that at times is almost like an alternate reality. The telenovela was filmed in Colombia, and the essence of Colombia and South America is very much a part of every episode. The setting is supposed to be Los Angeles, California, but it is as though Los Angeles is a part of Colombia, South America.

The novela contains every outrageous plot device that a person could want from slave traders to cannibals, mystical Indians, Amazon warrior women, witches, gypsies, piranhas, pirates, lepers, an exorcist, victims of demon possession, and even a dwarf and a hunchback. The amazing range of bizarre characters and plot elements combine to create a version of Zorro that is quite unlike any of the previous versions.

It is one of my three favorite versions of Zorro alongside the New Word Zorro and Walt Disney's Zorro. Purists might not like it, but I feel that this version incorporates all that is fun about Zorro into an intriguing romantic story. The fun is in the journey, and the telenovela is a very fun journey.

Advice Concerning New World Zorro DVDs

The people who have been selling bootlegs of the New World Zorro shows for years are still selling them. Since it now looks like we have a very good chance of seeing the New World Zorro series on DVD this year, please do not give the bootleggers your money. If you have waited nearly 20 years to see the shows again, you can wait a few more months.

Over the years, I have ignored the bootleggers and in some ways was glad that they made copies of the shows. By other people making and selling copies, it kept me from being harassed quite so much by people wanting DVDs. Of course people still harassed me, so I had to place a message near the top of my New World Zorro page. I also placed that message there because someone thought I was the one selling copies on eBay because an early bootlegger used my collage image on the sets and later bootleggers continued to use that image. I didn't want people to think I was the one selling copies. Some people do not understand that anybody can swipe an image off a website and use it however they want.

As I stated, I have not cared what the bootleggers did. My opinion has now changed. It would be a shame for someone to pay a lot of money for a bootleg set now when we have a good shot of seeing a legitimate release.

The bootleg sets are not the quality of an official release. There are three known sources of the bootleg DVDs. The first source is from tapes recorded from the Family Channel that have good picture quality and no missing parts, but the sound quality is not so good.

A second source of the bootlegs is from someone who recorded the shows from the Family Channel in a very sloppy fashion, cutting off much of the beginning and ending credits. The picture quality also has problems aside from the missing parts.

A third source of the bootlegs, which I have only heard about and never seen, is from tapes recorded from a station in Canada during the last ten years. I do not know the quality of this source, but it may be better than the other two. Even so, it cannot be the quality of an official release.

A prospective buyer has no way of knowing which source a set of DVDs has, so it would be unwise to buy one of the DVD sets at this point in time. Wait for the official release.

New World Zorro on TV and DVD

Zorro Productions announced via its Facebook account that it has acquired the rights to the New World Zorro television series. Here is the announcement:

[ZPI] is excited to spread the news - Zorro Productions (ZPI) announces that it has acquired the rights in the eighty-eight (88) half-hour live-action episodes of "Zorro" television series created by New World Television. Most recently, the series was controlled by Fox Home Entertainment for most markets in the world. ZPI’s rights cover most of the world but not Spain, France, or Germany.

Here is an additional update:

We just acquired the rights, and now we are looking for a distributor. The company CEO is going to NAPTE next week, so keep your fingers crossed.

ZPI also has added a page to its site that mentions its acquirement of the rights.

http://www.zorro.com/new_world.html

ZPI is looking to get the series out on DVD and back on television.

First and foremost, I would love to see the series back on television. This series has been absent from the airwaves since either late 1993 or early 1994... nearly two decades. A return to television would bring new fans to the series and to Zorro.

Second, it would be great to finally be able to purchase quality copies of the episodes. I have been very negative over the years about the prospects of NWZ getting released on DVD because nobody seemed to know who had the rights to the series. With the rights in question, there was never a chance of getting the series released. Now that ZPI controls the United States rights and is looking to pursue a DVD release, I feel much more positive. I feel like we now have a fighting chance to see the series on DVD.

The Rights to the New World Zorro

Apparently Zorro Productions, Inc. has purchased the rights to the New World Zorro. Keep your fingers crossed...

Zorro and Pirate Raiders Radio Drama

I have this information, posted by Daryl to the New World Zorro group, to share:

My initial efforts to bring Zorro to the world of full-cast audio drama are now complete. This particular quest began almost 3 years ago. But now… It's official!

Zorro and the Pirate Raiders, the full-cast audio drama produced by Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air has been released. It is available for download on Lulu.com. It has a running time of 163 minutes and is priced at $10.00.

A trailer of the show can be heard by going to

http://www.colonialradio.com/index.html

Just go into the blog and click on the new Zorro website link.

Show Description:

The Pirate Raiders, with the villainous Captain Bardoso in command, are employed by the vicious Captain Ramon to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy caballero, hoping to use her to trap Zorro. Battles on land and sea, flashing swords and booming cannon explode before your very ears in this exciting audio production.

Based on the book by D.J. Arneson, as adapted from a story by Johnston McCulley.

Featuring:

KEVIN CIRONE as Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro
SHONNA McEACHERN as Senorita Lolita Polido
J. T. TURNER as Captain Ramone
HUGH METZLER as Captain Bardoso
SAM DONATO as Sgt. Garcia
JOSEPH ZAMPARELLI, JR. as Friar Felipe
DAN POWELL as Sanchez / Don Audre
JERRY ROBBINS as the narrator

The show will eventually be available on CD's and also on Audible.Com, but this is where CRT likes to launch new titles as special "sneak previews" before they are released on a larger scale.

But STAY TUNED ~ Coming soon to radio drama (from another production company) will be `The Mark of Zorro'. Though cast information for this production cannot be released at this time; I can say, Zorro fans: Be ready for the biggest shock and thrill of your life!

Daryl

P.S. Also in the works: A Disney style Zorro and a New World Zorro concluding episode both as full-cast audio dramas featuring a Hollywood cast.

Would you be interested in a Zorro radio drama?

Would you be interested in a radio drama based on the New World Zorro and possibly featuring actors from the New World Zorro? Please indicate your interest in the poll at the left just under the Zorro image.

Zorro Site Stats

This list of site stats for zorrolegend.com gives an idea of which versions of Zorro are the most popular. These stats give the number of hits to the main page for each section of Zorro from the summer of 2007 through June 4, 2009:

La espada y la rosa (Telemundo telenovela) - 55,026
Disney Zorro - 18,712
Mask of Zorro - 11,500
Mark of Zorro (1974) - 8,474
New World Zorro - 8,076
Legend of Zorro - 7,789
Zorro with Alain Delon - 6,138
Zorro the Gay Blade - 4,352
Zorro's Fighting Legion - 3,292
Zorro and Son - 3,216
The Bold Caballero - 2,534
Mark of Zorro (1920) - 2,320
Ghost of Zorro - 2,317
Zorro's Black Whip - 2,247
Zorro Rides Again - 1,890
Mark of Zorro (1940) - 1,815
Son of Zorro - 1,283
Don Q Son of Zorro - 1,102

Henry Darrow's Biography

This page has information about Henry Darrow's biography:

Henry Darrow Lightning in a Bottle

Jan Pippins has stated that the book will contain quotes from some of the New World Zorro cast members. For me, this means that the book is a "must have" purchase. While I have not heard anything with regards to the Zorro and Son series, I assume that the book will also make some mention of Darrow's experiences in filming that short series.

If you want to contact me . . .

Please post a comment in this blog. I will respond by posting a comment. If you post a comment asking me to email you, I will ignore it. I use my personal email primarily for business purposes, and I do not use it to respond to unknown people about unknown matters. When I had my email posted publicly years ago, I received dozens of spam messages per day. I like to keep my personal email uncluttered for important correspondence.

This blog is the way to contact me. If you want to tell me something, then please state it in your comment. You will also be more credible if you provide your name. When you post anonymously, I automatically discount the content.

Whenever a comment is posted, it is sent to my personal email, so I definitely read it. As already stated, I will respond by coming here and posting a comment. It is really quite simple.

Zorro: Generation Z to air on Telemundo

Zorro: Generation Z will air on Telemundo in the United States beginning in Spring 2009. This animated version of Zorro is set 10 years in the future and has Zorro riding a motorcycle. The first season of 26 episodes was released on DVD in 2007. The second season of 26 episodes is currently in production.

Zorro: Generation Z is in English, but it is quite possible that Telemundo will have it dubbed into Spanish. It will be fun to have a chance to watch Zorro on Telemundo again, even if it is just an animated version. I have always preferred the live-action versions.

Information about Zorro

Sometimes comments get put in my spam box, but you can be sure that if you post a comment to this blog, I will get around to answering it within a week or so. When I had my email listed on my sites, it was a secondary account that I checked only infrequently. This setup is much better.

When you ask a question, please make sure I know which version of Zorro you mean. I have a question that was posted recently, but I have no idea about which version this person is asking. I know it is a television series, but there have been four of them. I cannot answer questions when I do not have enough information. Thanks!

Zorro by Isabel Allende

I did not purchase this book until last year, and I began reading it sometime during late summer or early fall. I had trouble getting through it and did not pick it up again until this week. I finally finished the book yesterday.

I have heard so much about this book and how it is the ultimate biography about Zorro. I give it three out of five stars. There is much good about the book, but it suffers from an excessive amount of verbosity. Take this passage from page 246 as an example:

This woman had very little to give, and she was weary of having beggars stop in, but she did not want to leave them without shelter. Because Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary could not find a place in the inn, the child Jesus was born in a manger, she said. She believed that refusing a pilgrim was repaid with many centuries of suffering in purgatory.

The first sentence would have sufficed. It was not necessary to go on and on about why. The entire book is like this. The above passage particularly annoyed me as it was near the end of a humongous paragraph—more on this below.

The background information from the beginning of the book about Don Alejandro and Toypurnia is interesting, but it lasts for far too long. Diego's childhood is far too long. Diego's time in Spain is far too long. It was during Diego's time in Spain that the book lost my interest, and so I put it away for many months.

The first half of this book reminds me of the first half of the fifth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The first half of Order of the Phoenix drags along at a snail's pace, and it is not until Harry and his friends finally arrive at Hogwarts that anything interesting happens. About half of the first half of the book could have been removed, and this is how I feel about the Allende book.

While the first half of Zorro is slow and tedious, the second half is pretty good. The last 100 or so pages is quite interesting, and personally, I would have preferred for the last part to have been longer than the first part of the book. I felt like there were things that should have been expanded upon near the end of the book that were barely mentioned. There would have been more time for those things if the beginning of the book had not been so long.

The main characteristic of this book that I did not like is the lack of paragraphs. A majority of the paragraphs run on for one and sometimes to nearly two pages. I am someone who will read small portions of a book at a time, and I like to be able to find easy stopping points. This is hard when every paragraph goes on forever. I have no idea if the lack of paragraphs is how Allende writes in Spanish, or if the lack of paragraphs was caused by the translation to English. Whichever it is, it is a serious flaw in this book.