Captain Zeppos ( nl, Kapitein Zeppos) was a Belgian children's television series, which aired in 1964 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 Félicien P. I. (Senne) Rouffaer (19 December 1925 – 14 July 2006) was a Flemish actor and film director. One of his most successful films as a lead actor was ''The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short''. On television, he was chiefly known for his ...

, in the title role. All episodes, except episode 16 which is a recap, have been released on DVD with Dutch subtitles and extras.

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 Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

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

- Captain Zeppos/Uncle Nico *Raymond Bossaerts - Ben Kurrel *Raymond Verhaeghe - Alfred Kurrel *Jo Nupie - Agnès Kurrel/Erna *Herman Smits - Roel Kurrel *Alex Wilequet - Policeman *Henriette Cabanier - Grandma *Cyriel Van Gent - Gust the Postman *Paula Sleyp - Slien *Jan Reusens - Miel *Truus Demedts - Rita Mees *Fik Moeremans - Pukkel *Vera Veroft - Ariane Despinal *Robert Maes - Ivo/Baker Mees *Rik Bravenboer - Ward/Policeman *Marc Van Acker - Ben, as a boy *Marc De Munck - Wim *Fons Derre - Nelis, Forester *Bart Rouffaer - Zeppos, as a child *Jacques Germain - Plumber *Alice Toen - Martha *Dora Van der Groen - Beatrice *Ward Deravet - Baral *Jo Coppens - Blonde Frans/Slome Piet *François Bernard - Marinus *Jef Van Dalsen - Raf *Jos Simons - Max *Ivo Pauwels - Figaro *Mary Boduin - Usherette *Dolf Denis - Bernard Spriet *Jackie Morel - Blonde Frans/Slome Piet *René Peeters - Wittock *Piet Herman - Notary *R. Berghmans - Flower Girl *Frank Struys - Postman *André Delys - Policeman *Hans Caprino - Black Person *Jos Mahu - Doorman *Mrs Schepers - Manageress *Jaak Van Hombeek - Policeman *Paul Van Roey - Drillmaster post *Jaak Germain - Overseer

Music

The theme tune for the series was 'Living it up', recorded by

Bert Kaempfert Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the musi ...

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.

Location shooting

Most of the location filming was done in

Roosdaal Roosdaal () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Borchtlombeek, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Lombeek, Pamel and Strijtem. It is also situated in the Pajottenland. On January 1, 2016, ...

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Haina ...

In other languages/countries

Series 1 was dubbed into English and screened by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

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.

In popular culture

There are commemorative Captain Zeppos cafés in both

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

References

External links

{{commons category-inline
A dual-language Captain Zeppos tribute site
Flemish television shows Belgian children's television shows 1964 Belgian television series debuts Fictional characters from Flanders Zeppos 1968 Belgian television series endings Television characters introduced in 1968 Black-and-white Belgian television shows Television shows set in Belgium Eén original programming