NWZ Unfilmed Script: "The Surprise Visit"

First off, I cannot share scans of the scripts for free. Please do not ask. I am bound by a promise to another person, and the scripts were very expensive. I cannot and will not give them away for free. If we would ever get people who would be willing to pay a fair price for copies, then we could get a return on our investment and more people would be able to read them.

In response to what people wonder about the most, there is nothing about the romance in any of the unfilmed scripts that I have seen and nothing that would further develop any parts of the overall plot of the series. I believe that we did see all of the shows which further advanced things, such as "An Affair to Remember" which was how they chose to wrap up the romance story. Of course, we wanted more than that, but at least they gave us something.

I have one unfilmed script that is from either the first or second season, since Ramone is in it. As an aside, the scripts spell the name as Ramone, which is why I use that spelling. It is the correct spelling of the character's name, even though it is not the correct Spanish spelling. While I don't know which season the script is from, my guess is second season since that season skipped over some production numbers.

The name of the script is "The Surprise Visit." I would rate this one as slightly above average.

Here is a fairly detailed summary:

Governor Maximiano Matorras arrives in Los Angeles, hoping to find evidence that the Alcalde is corrupt. Near the hacienda, Zorro overhears the governor planning to arrive in disguise as a doctor.

During a bean-eating contest in the tavern involving Mendoza and the blacksmith, De Frutos, Matorras arrives in disguise and gives his name as Doctor Frijoles. The governor is appalled at the way the Alcalde is forcing Mendoza to eat beans so that he will beat De Frutos.

Diego points the governor out to his father, and the men laugh at his disguise. According to the De la Vegas, Matorras is the best governor California has had in years. They hope that the governor will see signs of corruption during his visit and remove Ramone from office.

In the plaza, a woman cries out for help and collapses. Victoria has the woman's husband take her to the tavern. Victoria summons Doctor Frijoles because the woman is about to give birth. Frijoles hesitates, beginning to say that he isn't a doctor. Diego interrupts, stating that Frijoles is a Doctor of Mathematics, which is why he cannot help. Don Alejandro offers his services in place of the doctor. The Alcalde questions whether he can do anything. Alejandro comments that he helped bring Diego "into the world in the back of a wagon." He states that it is just common sense.

Mendoza recognizes the doctor from the portrait of the governor that hangs in Ramone's office. He whispers the news to Ramone. Ramone quickly forgets the traveler's tax he was going to impose on the doctor and decides to show him the cuartel. Later, Ramone takes the doctor with him when he repairs a peasant's fence. The peasant is bewildered by Ramone's kind behavior, especially since the soldiers were the ones who destroyed the fence.

Later, Diego and Felipe decide to have Zorro intervene. At sunrise, Zorro rides into the pueblo and forces the Alcalde to confess to several things, such as the traveler's tax and that he bet all of the money on the bean-eating contest. He dunks Ramone and suspends him upside down from a pole jutting out from the tavern's roof. Everybody is happy, since they are certain that the governor heard everything from his room in the tavern.

Later, inside the tavern, Victoria comes downstairs with a note left by the doctor. In it, he confesses that he was the governor and was posing as a doctor. He states that he decided to leave before sunrise because there was no reason to stay. Ramone is an excellent alcalde. Everyone looks dejected. The script ends with Diego stating, "Well, you win some and you lose some."

Note: Many of you are posting as "Anonymous," which I currently have enabled on this blog. I am kindly requesting that you add your initials or some identifier to the end of your comments. When the comments posted are by Anonymous, Anonymous, Anonymous, and Anonymous, it makes it hard to know how many people that represents. I really don't want to squelch the discussion, but I will change to Google ID required within a few days if necessary in order to force people to be counted as separate individuals. This would not affect any polls, but it would require you to create a Google account in order to comment. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

NWZ Unfilmed Script : "Reasonable Doubts"

I was asked about the unfilmed scripts in a comment to another post. It would be better for me to answer some of these queries in new posts rather than burying the information in the comments to an unrelated post.

First off, I cannot share scans of the scripts for free. Please do not ask. I am bound by a promise to another person, and the scripts were very expensive. I cannot and will not give them away for free. If we would ever get people who would be willing to pay a fair price for copies, then we could get a return on our investment and more people would be able to read them.

One of the scripts is called "Reasonable Doubts." This script is for an unfilmed episode from the fourth season. The fourth season was cut short due to one of the production companies pulling out, so only part of the season was filmed.

Here is a short summary of the events that occur in this script:

The Monterey stagecoach that is carrying the garrison's payroll is ambushed by bandits. DeSoto and his men arrive just in time to hear the wounded coach driver regain consciousness briefly and accuse a wounded passenger, Domingo Cano, of staging the ambush. The coach driver dies seconds later, leaving DeSoto no chance to question him. DeSoto assumes that Cano is guilty and plans to hang him the next day. After Don Diego hears of the arrest and planned execution, he decides to investigate. As Zorro, he frees Cano and quickly searches for clues at the scene of the ambush while pursued by DeSoto and the soldiers.

That is an incomplete summary that I wrote a long time ago, and I do not wish to pull out the script and try for a more complete one. My general impression after reading this script is that it would have made for an average episode.

Following is a scan of the first page of the script. Click on the image to see a larger version that can be read more easily.


Look for information on another unfilmed script in an upcoming post.

Note: Many of you are posting as "Anonymous," which I currently have enabled on this blog. I am kindly requesting that you add your initials or some identifier to the end of your comments. When the comments posted are by Anonymous, Anonymous, Anonymous, and Anonymous, it makes it hard to know how many people that represents. I really don't want to squelch the discussion, but I will change to Google ID required within a few days if necessary in order to force people to be counted as separate individuals. This would not affect any polls, but it would require you to create a Google account in order to comment. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.