I might be the only non-Spanish speaking gringo that watches this show, yet I must admit that I'm hooked. Luckily if you activate the closed-captioning, the subtitles appear in English, so I can follow what the characters are saying. This seems to be the only show on Telemundo with English subtitles. I probably would never would have discovered this show, if not for my Peruvian wife, who started watching it before me. I missed the first month or so, and would like to see the whole series. Hopefully the'll run it again, or make it available on DVD.
Probably the best thing about the show is the characters. There and plenty of interesting characters, some good, some evil, and some in-between. One of my favorites is Monterro, the evil blond commander who is the thorn in everybody's side. He has a dark sense of humor and the best sneer of any villain I've ever seen. There is also an obsessive hunchback, a freaky looking Marquise (reminds me of The Joker), a sorceress, gypsies, fugitive nuns, a woman prisoner with an iron mask, tortured evil one-eyed governor, a fat comic-relief soldier, vengeful Indians, an evil red-haired vixen, and of course Zorro himself. He fits the role perfectly, much better than Antonio Banderas did in those silly movies. Esmerelda is pretty hot as well. She reminds me of a more buxom Jessica Alba. I also like the ruthless bald soldier Pizzarro. You never know if he's going to help somebody or kill them. The bad-ass monk who mentors Zorro is quite a noble character as well. Like I said, there is a plethora of characters, pretty much all of which add to the show in a positive manner. This is probably because there are no bratty kids in the mix, come to think of it...
This "novella" appeals to me mainly because there is a good deal of action mixed in with the obligatory romance. Also, unlike the sanitized American movies, there is quite a bit of violence, murder, torture, and even rape. The characters suffer quite a bit. A lot of this is implied, since it airs on regular network TV. There is some humor as well, to balance out the drama. There is also quite a bit of cleavage on display to appeal to me and other male viewers. Overall, I can't think of anything I dislike about this show. The opening sequence is very well done and enjoyable. I must have seen it a hundred times and have not grown tired of it. I've read that this show is a hit; I'm surprised nobody else has commented on it. Well, I definitely enjoy it and look forward to watching it!
