Captain Zeppos

Last updated
Captain Zeppos
Hvd-011.jpg
shooting of Kapitein Zeppos, 1968
GenreChildren's series
Theme music composer Bert Kaempfert
Opening theme"Livin' It Up".
Composers Peter Thyssen
Maike Boerdam
and others
Country of originBelgium
Original languageDutch
No. of episodes31
Production
Running time30 minutes
Original release
NetworkN.I.R. (nowadays the VRT)
Release1964 (1964) 
1968 (1968)

Captain Zeppos (Dutch : Kapitein Zeppos) was a Belgian children's television series, which aired in 1964 [1] and 1968. It was based on a script by Lode De Groof. In all, the BRT made three series with a Flemish actor, Senne Rouffaer, in the title role. All episodes, except episode 16 which is a recap, have been released on DVD with Dutch subtitles and extras.

Contents

Storylines

Series 1 – Belderbos – 15 episodes (1964)

A strange man arrives in Belder on horseback, and introduces himself as Captain Zeppos. Initially, he is met with suspicion and jealousy, but he soon befriends a local, Ben Kurrel. It becomes apparent that Zeppos had a motive to come to Belder: when in Greece a stranger had made him an offer on a piece of land he had inherited near the town. Ben Kurrel and his friend Rita Mees help him investigate the mystery.

Series 2 – De Eglantier – 8 episodes (1968)

Strange things happen in Belder - a group of hunters are regularly spotted around town, and Zeppos' wife Arianne meets 'Aunt Cara' a mysterious woman who can stand on her head. All seems to revolve around art theft in nearby churches.

Series 3 – Tweng – 8 episodes (1968)

Tweng is a pacifist organisation led by Mr Elias, who asks Zeppos to take charge of his cause, as he is lacking the strength to continue. His daughter Marleen is Tweng's secretary and will help Zeppos.

Cast

Music

The theme tune for the series was 'Living it up', recorded by Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra. Featuring Kaempfert's characteristic trumpet sound, it became very popular at the time the first series was airing.

Cars

In series 1 Zeppos drove an Austin Champ ex-British Army Jeep style 4x4 vehicle powered by a Rolls-Royce engine. Zeppos drove an amphibious vehicle in series 2 and 3, resulting in this type of car being referred to as a 'Zeppos' in Flanders even years later.

An Amphicar, the type of amphibious car driven by Zeppos 64 Amphicar (9126294767).jpg
An Amphicar, the type of amphibious car driven by Zeppos

Location shooting

Most of the location filming was done in Roosdaal in Flemish Brabant.

In other languages/countries

Series 1 was dubbed into English and screened by the BBC [2] from October 1966. The dubbed version was also shown in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica and New Zealand, and was subtitled for broadcast in Japan, Egypt, Hong Kong and Nigeria. Short clips of the English dub are shown as an extra on one of the DVD sets.

It was broadcast in the original Dutch in Belgium, the Netherlands and (with subtitles) in Sweden and Finland.

There are commemorative Captain Zeppos cafés in both Amsterdam and Antwerp.

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References

  1. Harris M. Lentz III (24 October 2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2006: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 319. ISBN   978-0-7864-5211-8.
  2. British film and television year book. Cinema TV Today. 1970. p. 159.

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