For newcomers to "Lancer" if they watched the previous episode, the compelling, incredible, action-filled hour with believable, tender moments of a peerless love story involving one of the two appealing Lancer brothers and a luminous guest star (Melissa Murphy), 'Blind Man's Bluff,' they would surely think they were watching an episode of, if not a totally separate series, at minimum a completely reformatted, revamped show. Believable, well-crafted drama to a mindless, painful, embarrassing attempt at comedy. Furthermore, if "Lancer" newbies screened the outstanding pilot, 'The High Riders,' and next saw this sophomoric dribble they would scream, "Hey, 20th Century Fox Television; hey, CBS Network, WHAT did you do to that incredible foundation of a unique family situated in a true, western environment -- a widowed, powerful rancher with two completely different young adult sons, half brothers, plus an orphaned 17-year old, daughter of the murdered ranch foreman, and who grew up on Lancer -- making a challenging, yet determined, go of a 100,000 acre empire?!" 'Zee' is embarrassingly SO different in tone, style, credibility -- with no consistency in the story editing department. I am dumbfounded the gifted episodic director, Leo Penn, directed both shows. Surely he was confused by the back-to-back assignments of an adult-themed, serious drama and a grade school level attempt at slapstick. I am not surprised 'Zee' is writer Andy Lewis's only "Lancer" script. I felt sorry for Wayne Maunder, "saddled" with scene after scene of ridiculous situations forced upon him by an implausible premise and annoyingly smothered, verbally and physically, by the appealing, but over-acting, loud Stefanie Powers. No matter what the sheriff, mayor or town council instructed Scott, once the prisoner Zee (Powers) was locked up, he could split and say I need to get back to Lancer. I'd watch 'Blind Man's Bluff' a dozen times, back-to-back, rather than even two minutes of 'Zee' a second time. I'd rather watch Johnny and Teresa play horse shoes for an hour over a third minute of 'Zee.' I'm not a Jelly (Paul Brinegar) fan, but even a couple brief, cut-a-way scenes back to the ranch showing Teresa and him doing whatever would have lessened the pain in viewing 'Zee.' Alas, the two are MIA in 'Zee.' Guest stars Powers, Jack Elam, Ellen Corby and Dub Taylor are all gifted, appealing performers, but this script and its direction lets them down big time. Furthermore, the silly-acting town doctor portrayed by Charles Irving -- the previous show, again, 'Blind Man's Bluff,' soft-spoken, serious -- he's saving Johnny's eyesight, threatened by permanent blindness. And here his demeanor is 180 degrees opposite. He's loud, abrasive and treats our hero Scott (Maunder) like a 10-year old. Skeptical, I even consulted IMDB, because this COULDN'T be the same actor / character from the previous episode I thought. It is though. The dialogue, line delivery and style of acting by Irving are so different. After three and three quarters' acts of forced comedy, what a juxtaposition to see outlaw Zee wielding a double barrel shotgun with mandate from Elam's character to murder Scott right then and there. We got a clear indication of the gruesome death awaiting a victim of a shotgun blast (the week before) in 'Blind Man's Bluff.' Another Scott-centric episode, 'Glory,' had light moments, but it didn't totally unravel from the dramatic setting of the "Lancer" format. At least in 'Glory' Scott "held his own" / "stood his ground" against that appealing villainess, capably and appealingly played by Brenda Scott. I'll wager Scott enjoyed kissing Glory, in "a move" he initiated, more than being smothered by Zee, who'd endangered and annoyed him non-stop the previous hour. Poor story editing: At tag, Zee seductively inquires of Scott if he ever "gets to town," to which he responds, "Oh, a couple times a year." That would be a suitable answer to "San Francisco?" perhaps, but NOT to Morro Coyo or Green River where Scott, his father and brother are a close-to-regular presence, both for conducting ranch business and socializing. And recall how helpful and concerned Johnny was for Scott's well-being in 'Julie' (guest starring Susan Strasberg, as Julie, and Bruce Dern as her and Scott's nemesis) and here he tosses his brother to the wolves, in a manner of speaking. At the dinner table when bible thumper hostess Ellen Corby asks, "Would you oblige, Mr. Lancer?" I expected, based on previous scenes, she meant "Say grace?" but she simply meant slice the beef entree. Finally, this surely was one of James Stacy's (Johnny) easiest "Lancer" paychecks as his presence is noted, but overall of minimal significance. At the end, the trial's conclusion, a seated Johnny's only seen from the rear as he plays with his hat, then, trial concluded, he rises, steps towards the bar -- back remaining to the camera -- and speaks a generic, throw-away line, "How about a drink?" After watching 'Zee' no doubt a lot of individuals would concur.
I only enjoyed the beginning of this one Murdock waiting for Scottt to fill the wagon,Johny chewing and telling his brother two more, very good actors and actresses just wasted on this script, I know what you are saying !
I agree with you 100%, SC Vandy. Zee was one of the last episodes of Lancer that I saw, and based on the facts that (1) Zee won a Spur Award for its story, and (2) Stefanie Powers had done such an enjoyable job with the character of Moira in "The Black McGloins," I was looking forward to watching it. I was hoping for a bit more of the chemistry Maunder and Powers had hinted at in that previous episode. Well, what a disappointment! And an embarrassment! I don't know what the criteria were for the Spur Awards, but surely it wasn't the watchability of the final result of the Lancer teleplay. And Stefanie Powers screeched and "ooh ooh"ed her way through a role that had SO much more potential, even weak as it was. This can only be down to over-acting and bad direction. Like you, I can only conclude that director Leo Penn was dumbfounded (and subsequently completely lost) at the garbage he'd been saddled with after the wonderful "Blind Man's Bluff." I can't add too much more to what you've already said, except how stupidly unrealistic Ellen Corby's performance was as the Widow Hargis. I can see how Zee *might* have fooled her into believing Scott *could* have been coming after her in the cell the first time by appealing to her good Christan nature. But how could she possibly continue to support and protect Zee after Zee had overpowered her, tied her to a bed in her own home, and absconded in her nightclothes? (And I had the same reaction to the roast-carving line involving the Widow as you described.) Everything after the first fifteen or so minutes of the episode just beggars disbelief. If I had been Scott, I'd have said "To hell with the deputization, deal with Zee yourself! I'll take my punishment when the sherrif gets back." And stalked off home. There was no excuse for any of this mess to have unfolded the way it did, and I can't understand why "Zee's" IMDB rating is so high. An overall rating of 8.6 is usually a pretty reliable indicator of a reasonably good episode, so sometimes I wonder if I've missed something when I disagree with other reviewers so radically (and sometimes, in fact, I have missed something I see upon re-watch). But your excellent write-up hit all the problem nails right on the head. Thanks for putting into very eloquent words what I felt when watching "Zee" for the first time. Now I don't have to suffer through a re-watch. At least, not for a very long time. 😉
INSTEAD OF COMMENTS: I HAVE QUESTIONS. NO (1) DID JAMES & WAYNE DO THEIR OWN STUNTS, OR DID THEIR STUNT DOUBLES DO THEM.? QUESTION (2) DID THEY PRACTICE WITH THE FIREARMS ALSO? ESPECIALLY JAMES, SINCE HIS CHARACTER JOHNNY MADRID WAS A FAST GUNFIGHTER, WITH A QUICK DRAW? QUESTION (3) IS THAT WHISTLE TRULY BELONGS TO JAMES & JOHNNY? IT IS BEAUTIFUL TO HEAR. BECAUSE IT. BECOMES SO NATURALLY. QUESTION (4) WHO TAUGHT THE BEAUTIFUL PALAMINO STALLION BARRANCA TO RUN & STOP ON A DIME? AND ALSO TO HEAR & ANSWER JOHNNY'S CALL & WHISTLE. WAS IT JAMES STACY, OR A HORSE TRAINER.? JOHNNY & BARRANCA MOVES AS ONE. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PAIR THEY MAKE. SECOND PHASE(1) IS THE LANCER RANCH STILL IN EXISTENCE? AFTER ALL OF THIS TIME. ALSO ARE THERE ANY OF THE PROPS, SUCH AS GUNS, & WARDROBE LEFT FROM THE ESTATE. (SPEAKING OF WARDROBE THE HATS THAT MURDOCH, SCOTT, & JOHNNY WORE ARE IN COLLECTION OF THE ESTATE? WERE THE CLOTHES THAT THE CHARACTER JOHNNY MADRID LANCER WORE, WERE PART OF THE WARDROBE DEPT. OR WERE THEY JAMES STACY OWN PERSONAL WARDROBE? LIKE THE CONCHO PANTS, JACKETS, THE BELT. EVEN JEWERLY. THE BRACELET, & EVEN A GOLD CHAIN. BECAUSE THE CLOTHES MADE HIS CHARACTER TRUE TO BELIEVE & BECAUSE OF HIS MEXICAN HERTIAGE. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE. A LOYAL LANCER FAN.💝😍🎥
Wow! Lots of questions. Lol I'll address a few now then more a bit later. Wayne usually used a stunt double but James did many stunts by himself. He was very athletic. When he did use a stunt double it was his brother Louis Elias.
@@lancerfan4231 THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SHOW. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE OTHER ANSWERS.( I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED. DID JAMES STACY REALLY SPEAK SPANISH? SINCE HIS MOTHER WAS MEXICAN & HIS FATHER IS SCOTTISH. OR WAS SOMEONE ELSE SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE FOR HIM OFF CAMERA. THANKS AGAIN IN ADVANCE. 🎥🎥🎥😍😀
Scott was amazing and cute 💕
"Lancerfan" it's taken me about 4 days to get me here!!! I just want to say THANKS again for taking the TIME to SHARE this WONDERFUL SERIES!!!!!
Thrilled you found it! It was a wonderful and sadly forgotten show.
Stephanie Powers was always great back in the day in westerns.
Not enough Johnny, but still one of my fave episodes.Stephanie Powers was perfect as Zee
Awesome thank you so much 💓 💖 💗 😊 ❤️
I didn't realize that I named my son Scott after my childhood hero Scott Lancer
Zee showed Scott could do comedy. But as a whole Zee screeched too much for me..
Thanks for sharing this series,, This was really cute LOL !!!
That old guy is a hoot.
I think Johnny realized it was a girl but didn't want to say anything....he sure likes messing with Scott😊
For newcomers to "Lancer" if they watched the previous episode, the compelling, incredible, action-filled hour with believable, tender moments of a peerless love story involving one of the two appealing Lancer brothers and a luminous guest star (Melissa Murphy), 'Blind Man's Bluff,' they would surely think they were watching an episode of, if not a totally separate series, at minimum a completely reformatted, revamped show. Believable, well-crafted drama to a mindless, painful, embarrassing attempt at comedy.
Furthermore, if "Lancer" newbies screened the outstanding pilot, 'The High Riders,' and next saw this sophomoric dribble they would scream, "Hey, 20th Century Fox Television; hey, CBS Network, WHAT did you do to that incredible foundation of a unique family situated in a true, western environment -- a widowed, powerful rancher with two completely different young adult sons, half brothers, plus an orphaned 17-year old, daughter of the murdered ranch foreman, and who grew up on Lancer -- making a challenging, yet determined, go of a 100,000 acre empire?!"
'Zee' is embarrassingly SO different in tone, style, credibility -- with no consistency in the story editing department. I am dumbfounded the gifted episodic director, Leo Penn, directed both shows. Surely he was confused by the back-to-back assignments of an adult-themed, serious drama and a grade school level attempt at slapstick. I am not surprised 'Zee' is writer Andy Lewis's only "Lancer" script.
I felt sorry for Wayne Maunder, "saddled" with scene after scene of ridiculous situations forced upon him by an implausible premise and annoyingly smothered, verbally and physically, by the appealing, but over-acting, loud Stefanie Powers. No matter what the sheriff, mayor or town council instructed Scott, once the prisoner Zee (Powers) was locked up, he could split and say I need to get back to Lancer.
I'd watch 'Blind Man's Bluff' a dozen times, back-to-back, rather than even two minutes of 'Zee' a second time. I'd rather watch Johnny and Teresa play horse shoes for an hour over a third minute of 'Zee.' I'm not a Jelly (Paul Brinegar) fan, but even a couple brief, cut-a-way scenes back to the ranch showing Teresa and him doing whatever would have lessened the pain in viewing 'Zee.' Alas, the two are MIA in 'Zee.'
Guest stars Powers, Jack Elam, Ellen Corby and Dub Taylor are all gifted, appealing performers, but this script and its direction lets them down big time. Furthermore, the silly-acting town doctor portrayed by Charles Irving -- the previous show, again, 'Blind Man's Bluff,' soft-spoken, serious -- he's saving Johnny's eyesight, threatened by permanent blindness. And here his demeanor is 180 degrees opposite. He's loud, abrasive and treats our hero Scott (Maunder) like a 10-year old. Skeptical, I even consulted IMDB, because this COULDN'T be the same actor / character from the previous episode I thought. It is though. The dialogue, line delivery and style of acting by Irving are so different.
After three and three quarters' acts of forced comedy, what a juxtaposition to see outlaw Zee wielding a double barrel shotgun with mandate from Elam's character to murder Scott right then and there. We got a clear indication of the gruesome death awaiting a victim of a shotgun blast (the week before) in 'Blind Man's Bluff.'
Another Scott-centric episode, 'Glory,' had light moments, but it didn't totally unravel from the dramatic setting of the "Lancer" format. At least in 'Glory' Scott "held his own" / "stood his ground" against that appealing villainess, capably and appealingly played by Brenda Scott. I'll wager Scott enjoyed kissing Glory, in "a move" he initiated, more than being smothered by Zee, who'd endangered and annoyed him non-stop the previous hour.
Poor story editing: At tag, Zee seductively inquires of Scott if he ever "gets to town," to which he responds, "Oh, a couple times a year." That would be a suitable answer to "San Francisco?" perhaps, but NOT to Morro Coyo or Green River where Scott, his father and brother are a close-to-regular presence, both for conducting ranch business and socializing. And recall how helpful and concerned Johnny was for Scott's well-being in 'Julie' (guest starring Susan Strasberg, as Julie, and Bruce Dern as her and Scott's nemesis) and here he tosses his brother to the wolves, in a manner of speaking.
At the dinner table when bible thumper hostess Ellen Corby asks, "Would you oblige, Mr. Lancer?" I expected, based on previous scenes, she meant "Say grace?" but she simply meant slice the beef entree.
Finally, this surely was one of James Stacy's (Johnny) easiest "Lancer" paychecks as his presence is noted, but overall of minimal significance. At the end, the trial's conclusion, a seated Johnny's only seen from the rear as he plays with his hat, then, trial concluded, he rises, steps towards the bar -- back remaining to the camera -- and speaks a generic, throw-away line, "How about a drink?"
After watching 'Zee' no doubt a lot of individuals would concur.
I only enjoyed the beginning of this one Murdock waiting for Scottt to fill the wagon,Johny chewing and telling his brother two more, very good actors and actresses just wasted on this script, I know what you are saying !
I kind of like Scott being buffoonish and comical in this episode!!!
kkkkkkk I agree.
I agree with you 100%, SC Vandy. Zee was one of the last episodes of Lancer that I saw, and based on the facts that (1) Zee won a Spur Award for its story, and (2) Stefanie Powers had done such an enjoyable job with the character of Moira in "The Black McGloins," I was looking forward to watching it. I was hoping for a bit more of the chemistry Maunder and Powers had hinted at in that previous episode. Well, what a disappointment! And an embarrassment! I don't know what the criteria were for the Spur Awards, but surely it wasn't the watchability of the final result of the Lancer teleplay. And Stefanie Powers screeched and "ooh ooh"ed her way through a role that had SO much more potential, even weak as it was. This can only be down to over-acting and bad direction. Like you, I can only conclude that director Leo Penn was dumbfounded (and subsequently completely lost) at the garbage he'd been saddled with after the wonderful "Blind Man's Bluff."
I can't add too much more to what you've already said, except how stupidly unrealistic Ellen Corby's performance was as the Widow Hargis. I can see how Zee *might* have fooled her into believing Scott *could* have been coming after her in the cell the first time by appealing to her good Christan nature. But how could she possibly continue to support and protect Zee after Zee had overpowered her, tied her to a bed in her own home, and absconded in her nightclothes? (And I had the same reaction to the roast-carving line involving the Widow as you described.) Everything after the first fifteen or so minutes of the episode just beggars disbelief. If I had been Scott, I'd have said "To hell with the deputization, deal with Zee yourself! I'll take my punishment when the sherrif gets back." And stalked off home. There was no excuse for any of this mess to have unfolded the way it did, and I can't understand why "Zee's" IMDB rating is so high. An overall rating of 8.6 is usually a pretty reliable indicator of a reasonably good episode, so sometimes I wonder if I've missed something when I disagree with other reviewers so radically (and sometimes, in fact, I have missed something I see upon re-watch). But your excellent write-up hit all the problem nails right on the head. Thanks for putting into very eloquent words what I felt when watching "Zee" for the first time. Now I don't have to suffer through a re-watch. At least, not for a very long time. 😉
57,043 View's So Far:
Lancer: Episode 28.
Season 2. Episode 2. "Zee"
Tuesday, July 9 - 2024.
Isn't that Julie from a previous episode? Johnny and her brother were fighting on a bridge and her brother fell in to a River.
No, Susan Strasberg played "Julie"; "Zee" is played by Stefanie Powers.
@@marladavis9232Stephanie played in another episode the black Mcgloins
INSTEAD OF COMMENTS: I HAVE QUESTIONS. NO (1) DID JAMES & WAYNE DO THEIR OWN STUNTS, OR DID THEIR STUNT DOUBLES DO THEM.? QUESTION (2) DID THEY PRACTICE WITH THE FIREARMS ALSO? ESPECIALLY JAMES, SINCE HIS CHARACTER JOHNNY MADRID WAS A FAST GUNFIGHTER, WITH A QUICK DRAW? QUESTION (3) IS THAT WHISTLE TRULY BELONGS TO JAMES & JOHNNY? IT IS BEAUTIFUL TO HEAR. BECAUSE IT. BECOMES SO NATURALLY. QUESTION (4) WHO TAUGHT THE BEAUTIFUL PALAMINO STALLION BARRANCA TO RUN & STOP ON A DIME? AND ALSO TO HEAR & ANSWER JOHNNY'S CALL & WHISTLE. WAS IT JAMES STACY, OR A HORSE TRAINER.? JOHNNY & BARRANCA MOVES AS ONE. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PAIR THEY MAKE.
SECOND PHASE(1) IS THE LANCER RANCH STILL IN EXISTENCE? AFTER ALL OF THIS TIME. ALSO ARE THERE ANY OF THE PROPS, SUCH AS GUNS, & WARDROBE LEFT FROM THE ESTATE. (SPEAKING OF WARDROBE THE HATS THAT MURDOCH, SCOTT, & JOHNNY WORE ARE IN COLLECTION OF THE ESTATE? WERE THE CLOTHES THAT THE CHARACTER JOHNNY MADRID LANCER WORE, WERE PART OF THE WARDROBE DEPT. OR WERE THEY JAMES STACY OWN PERSONAL WARDROBE? LIKE THE CONCHO PANTS, JACKETS, THE BELT. EVEN JEWERLY. THE BRACELET, & EVEN A GOLD CHAIN. BECAUSE THE CLOTHES MADE HIS CHARACTER TRUE TO BELIEVE & BECAUSE OF HIS MEXICAN HERTIAGE. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.
A LOYAL LANCER FAN.💝😍🎥
Wow! Lots of questions. Lol I'll address a few now then more a bit later. Wayne usually used a stunt double but James did many stunts by himself. He was very athletic. When he did use a stunt double it was his brother Louis Elias.
James taught himself how to draw. He was a natural.
That is James' whistle. He was very musical and loved to sing.
Baranca belonged to James. The story goes he was originally owned by John Wayne.
@@lancerfan4231 THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SHOW. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE OTHER ANSWERS.( I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED. DID JAMES STACY REALLY SPEAK SPANISH? SINCE HIS MOTHER WAS MEXICAN & HIS FATHER IS SCOTTISH. OR WAS SOMEONE ELSE SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE FOR HIM OFF CAMERA. THANKS AGAIN IN ADVANCE. 🎥🎥🎥😍😀
Ellen Colbyseen among townspeopleafter Scott captured Ms.Powers,to the left front in the scene. Jack Elam.
Not one of the best a dark haired Stephanie Powers was a treat.
Funny how you say this isn't one of the best, yet it was the only episode of the series to receive an award!🏆🏆🏆