Diego de la Vega, the son of a wealthy landowner, returns from his studies in Spain and discovers that Los Angeles is under the command of Capitan Monastario, a cruel man who relishes in the misuse of his power for personal gain. Knowing that he cannot hope to single-handedly defeat Monastario and his troops, Diego resorts to subterfuge. He adopts the secret identity of Zorro, a sinister figure dressed in black, and rides to fight Monastario's injustice.
The best episode of "Zorro" season 1 is "Presenting Señor Zorro", rated 8.1/10 from 203 user votes. It was directed by Norman Foster and written by Norman Foster, Bob Wehling. "Presenting Señor Zorro" aired on 10/10/1957 and is rated 0.4 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Zorro's Secret Passage".
The story of the masked rider in Old California opens as Don Diego de la Vega is returning to California from Spain, where he has been studying for several years.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Norman Foster, Bob Wehling
It is a calm morning in Spanish California, and Sergeant Dimetrio Lopez Garcia is putting up posters, with another soldier, which are asking for reward money for Don Ignacio Torres and the now famous Zorro.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Antony Ellis
Finding that Don Torres is in hiding at the Mission, Monastario forces the local Indians into hard labor until the Padre agrees to surrender the fugitive.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Malcolm Stuart Boylan, Jackson Gillis
After failing in his attempt to sneak food to the fugitive in the Mission where Captain Monastario has laid siege, Zorro tries to scare the soldiers away by spreading a rumor about the mad monk who supposedly haunts the place.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Norman Foster
In order to help the escaped fugitive Torres elude Captain Monastario's surveillance of his home, Don Diego decides that he must propose marriage to Torres' daughter.
Director: Lewis R. Foster
Writer: John Meredyth Lucas
When Captain Monastario arrests the fugitive Torres' wife and daughter, hoping to catch Zorro trying to rescue them, he instead catches Don Diego's chief vacquero Benito, who is in love with the daughter Elena.
Director: Lewis R. Foster
Writer: John Meredyth Lucas
Learning that a group of disgruntled landowners plan to seize the cuartel and free the political prisoners, Captain Monastario sets a trap to capture them, including Zorro's father Don Alejandro.
Director: Lewis R. Foster
Writer: Lowell S. Hawley, Joel Kane
After Zorro hides his wounded father in the secret cave, as Don Diego he must divert Captain Monastario and his soldiers who are searching for the old man.
Director: Lewis R. Foster
Writer: John Meredyth Lucas
With his father Don Alejandro now charged with treason along with Don Torres, Zorro must see that the judge sent by the governor arrives to assure a fair trial.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Bob Wehling, Jackson Gillis
Captain Monastario orders Sergeant Garcia to pretend to have been dishonorably discharged, so that the people of the village will take him into their confidence and reveal Zorro's whereabouts.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Antony Ellis
Captain Monastario's latest plan is to discredit Zorro by having a prisoner who killed a man in a sword fight pose as the masked avenger and rob the local landowners at a dinner party.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Norman Foster
Faking Martinez's death, Captain Monastario again tries to use him to impersonate and disgrace Zorro by robbing a church, leaving Zorro confused as to who could be the impostor this time.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Lowell S. Hawley
Captain Monastario finally realizes that Don Diego must be Zorro, and arrests him, but a Viceroy from the King of Spain who is visiting the pueblo turns out to be an old friend of Diego's, and this is just enough to allow Zorro to turn the tables and have Monastario discredited.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: John Meredyth Lucas
No sooner does the honest new commandante arrive than he is assassinated by a mysterious stranger who frames an elderly beggar for the crime and appears to be part of a larger conspiracy.
Director: Robert Stevenson
Writer: Lowell S. Hawley
Sergeant Garcia receives a mysterious note from Zorro. The happy soldier reads that Zorro will give himself up. When he returns for his sword, it is gone, so he sadly returns to the cuartel without having captured his foe.
Director: Robert Stevenson
Writer: Lowell S. Hawley
The King's tax collector and his nephew are stopped by conspirators, while on their way to Los Angeles. The conspirators threaten the men unless they cooperate, then they seize Morales' official documents.
Director: Robert Stevenson
Writer: Lowell S. Hawley
A quiet day in the pueblo is abruptly changed when a stranger is killed by an arrow, apparently the victim of an Indian attack. Diego helps Sergeant Garcia inspect the body for clues and finds another mysterious eagle feather, this time on the fake Indian arrow. Other than that, there is no hint as to who the stranger was or why he was killed.
Director: John Meredyth Lucas
Writer: John Meredyth Lucas
A peaceful protest by a group of peons upset with taxes turns violent when one of the Eagle's men throws a rock through the magistrado's window. Galindo uses this as an excuse to order severe measures against the peasants, a move that upsets Don Alejandro. The other landowners want to set up vigilante posses to punish the peons, but Alejandro argues on the side of reason.
Director: John Meredyth Lucas
Writer: John Meredyth Lucas
Ramon Santil has just inherited his father's ranch and holdings, and some bad news. The magistrado tells him there's a high tax that must be paid at once or he will lose the land, and Ramon doesn't have the money to pay it. In desperation, he sells all of his cattle to Carlos Urista, a recent arrival in town whom Diego suspects as another of the Eagle's men.
Director: John Meredyth Lucas
Writer: John Meredyth Lucas
Don Alejandro tells Diego he's received a letter from a friend in the capital telling him that the new commandante, Capitan Juan Ortega, has the reputation of being an honest and fair man. When Ortega arrives, he doesn't act that way. He treats Sergeant Garcia with contempt and is openly arrogant toward the civilians. The reason for this is revealed when Ortega meets the magistrado and informs him that the real commandante has been ambushed and murdered, on orders of the Eagle.
Director: Charles Barton
Writer: N.B. Stone Jr.
The fake Ortega and the magistrado announce they have captured Zorro, and a cart holding a masked man is dragged into the town square. A public unmasking will be held at noon, and Diego fears that an innocent man will be charged with Zorro's "crimes". He also realizes it may all be a trap, so when he dons his costume and rides into the square to free the prisoner, he watches carefully for soldiers.
Director: Charles Barton
Writer: Lewis R. Foster
The plans of the fake commandante and the magistrado go awry when Ortega spots Diego talking to Rosarita Cortez, a childhood friend who has recently returned from the capital. Ortega fears she will recognize him from her journey, for it was during that trip that he murdered the real Ortega and assumed his identity. Bernardo overhears the two villains planning her death, and notifies Diego.
Director: Charles Barton
Writer: N.B. Stone Jr.
Another stranger with an eagle feather spells trouble for Zorro when Perico, a recent arrival, sees a gypsy girl trying to pay for a purchase with several gold nuggets. Diego and Alejandro realize that news of a gold discovery will cause a rush of "gold fever" and their peaceful way of life will be threatened, so they try to suppress the news.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Norman Foster
The magistrado's plans to aid the Eagle may suffer a setback when a new commandante arrives in the pueblo. Unlike the fake Ortega, Capitan Toledano is loyal to the King and beyond corruption, yet he must be eliminated if the Eagle's plot is to succeed. Toledano's jealousy over his pretty wife Raquel is the key to the magistrado's newest scheme.
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Norman Foster
Magistrado Galindo has smuggled a supply of weapons into the pueblo, intending to use them when the Eagle orders the overthrow of the government, but he has been unable to get a supply of gunpowder. The army has a large stockpile at the cuartel, and the magistrado decides to steal it for his use
Director: Norman Foster
Writer: Norman Foster