Week 1: The Serial

Zorro's Fighting Legion episode 1: “The Golden God” in a hundred word sprint:

Central Mexico, after independence. Mexico needs gold, but the only route from the only mine to Mexico City is beset by Yaqui Indians at the behest of their new leader, the golden idol Don del Oro. Don Diego is a fop, but as Zorro, he leads the titular legion. He wields a whip and sword, but Volita thinks he's gay. The gold train (one mule) is almost to the pass, where villains use barrels of black powder to blow up the ridge just as Zorro tries to warn the train.

Don del Oro is . . .

The cool bits: The Golden God shows up in an underground cavern with giant doors to reveal him to his followers and a bottomless pit for former followers.

The confusing part: There were a bunch of men on the council. I’m not sure what all their jobs are, although one of them probably has “Don del Oro” on his business cards.

Ah, they’re doing that again: Zorro’s horse likes to rear up on his hind legs. A lot.

The movie experience: When Zorro's secret identity shows up to prance about, I leaned over to tell my wife, "He's a fop." Then Volita told her maid, "Santa Maria save us, he's a fop!"

Movie Trivia: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded this episode a special award for Least Stirring Speech Imaginable Given by a Commander to the Troops. That award was not given again until 1996 for Bill Pullman’s speech in Independence Day.

Next, our feature, The Mark of Zorro.