View source for Thirty Cases of Major Zeman

{{Short description|Czechoslovak action-drama television series}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox television
| native_name              = {{Infobox name module|cs|Třicet případů majora Zemana}}
| image = MajorZeman.jpg
| caption = [[Vladimír Brabec]] as Major Jan Zeman
| runtime = 45-90 min
| creator = [[Jiří Sequens]]
| starring =  {{Plain list|
*[[Vladimír Brabec]]
*[[Rudolf Jelínek]]
*[[Miloš Willig]]
**[[František Němec (actor)|František Němec]]
*[[Ladislav Mrkvička]]
*[[Vladimír Ráž]]
*[[Josef Větrovec]]
*[[Radoslav Brzobohatý]]
*[[Ivana Andrlová]]
}}
| country = [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]]
| network = [[Czechoslovak Television]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1975}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1980}}
| num_episodes = 30
| list_episodes = #List of episodes
| language = {{Plain list|
*Czech
*Slovak
}}
}}
'''''Thirty Cases of Major Zeman''''' (''Třicet případů majora Zemana'') is a [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|Czechoslovak]] action-drama television show intended as a political propaganda to support the official attitude of the [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]]. The series were filmed in the 1970s.
Each episode encompasses one year, and investigations are stylized to that year. Most are inspired by real cases. The series follows the life of police investigator Jan Zeman during his career from 1945 to 1973.
==Cast==
*[[Vladimír Brabec]] as major Jan Zeman / Richard Lipinski
*[[Miloš Willig]] as colonel Václav Kalina
*[[Josef Větrovec]] as colonel Pavlásek, chief of criminal police
*[[Vladimír Ráž]] as medical examiner Veselý
*[[Rudolf Jelínek]] as major Jiří Hradec
*[[František Němec]] as major Žitný of StB
*[[Ladislav Mrkvička]] as first lieutenant Stejskal
*[[Emil Horváth]] as lieutenant Gajdoš
*[[Renáta Doleželová]] as Zeman's first wife Lída
*[[Jaroslava Obermaierová]] as Zeman's second wife Blanka
*[[Ivana Andrlová]] as Zeman's daughter Lída
*[[Radoslav Brzobohatý]] as Pavel Bláha, SNB first lieutenant who becomes western agent
==Plot of the first episode==
The first episode takes place in 1945. Young Jan Zeman is returning from a [[Nazi concentration camps|Nazi concentration camp]]. On the train he meets Václav Kalina, who tells him about his plan to join the police force. Jan returns to his home village and finds only his mother there. He discovers that his father has been murdered during the celebrations. The police are unable to find the murderer and close the case. Jan begins investigating on his own. He reveals a conspiracy and calls his friend Václav Kalina at [[Brno]] police headquarters; eventually, the murderers are captured. Kalina induces Jan to join the police and serve with him.
==List of episodes==
{|class="wikitable"
!Episode!!Date!!Title!!Aired
|-
|1||1945|| Smrt u jezera (Death at the Lake) ||1974
|-
|2||1946|| Vyznavači ohně (Fire Devotees) ||1974
|-
|3||1947|| Loupež sladkého I (The Robbery of the Sweet I) - About profiteering on deficiency of [[Insulin]]. ||1974
|-
|4||1947|| Rubínové kříže (Ruby Crosses) - inspired by [[Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists|Bandera's]] terrorist activities  on the Czechoslovak territory. ||1975
|-
|5||1948|| Hon na lišku (Fox Hunt) - section about [[Unor 1948|Victorious February]] ||1975
|-
|6||1949|| Bestie (The Beast) - about illegal crossing of the Czechoslovak state border, inspired by [[Hubert Pilčík]] ||1975
|-
|7||1950|| Mědirytina (The Copperplate) - about counterfeiting of [[Ration stamps]] used until 1953. ||1975
|-
|8||1951|| Strach (Fear) - inspired by [[Josef and Ctirad Mašín|Mašín's sons]] ||1975
|-
|9||1952|| Loď do Hamburku (The Riverboat to Hamburg) - one of the episodes about [[espionage|agent]] Pavel Bláha. ||1975
|-
|10||1953|| Vrah se skrývá v poli (The Murderer Hides in the Field) ||1975
|-
|11||1954|| Křížová cesta (Way of the Cross) - one of the episodes about [[espionage|agent]] Pavel Bláha. ||1976
|-
|12||1955|| Kleště (The Tongs) - one of the episodes about [[espionage|agent]] Pavel Bláha. ||1976
|-
|13||1956|| Romance o nenápadné paní (Romance of an Unobtrusive Lady) ||1976
|-
|14||1957|| Konec velké šance (The End of Great Chance) - one of the episodes about [[espionage|agent]] Pavel Bláha. ||1976
|-
|15||1958|| Kvadratura ženy (Woman Quadrature) - about dissected female body. ||1976
|-
|16||1959|| Dáma s erbem (The Lady with a Coat of Arms) ||1976
|-
|17||1960|| Prokleté dědictví (The Cursed Heritage) ||1976
|-
|18||1961|| Bílé linky (The White Lines) ||1976
|-
|19||1962|| Třetí housle (The Third Violin) ||1976
|-
|20||1963|| Modrá světla (Blue Lights) ||1976
|-
|21||1964|| Pán ze Salcburku (A Gentleman from Salzburg) ||1978
|-
|22||1965|| Tatranské pastorále (High Tatra Pastorale) ||1978
|-
|23||1966|| Šťastný a veselý (Happy New Year) ||1978
|-
|24||1967|| Klauni (Clowns) ||1978
|-
|25||1968|| Štvanice (The Hunt) - episode about end of [[Action Programme (1968)|political steps to the freedom]]. ||1978
|-
|26||1969|| Studna (The Well) - horror episode about apocalyptic deaths in a country house. ||1978
|-
|27||1970|| Rukojmí v Bella Vista (The Bella Vista Hostage)- episode about sabotage against Czech shipment for [[Chile]]. Spy story having allusion to political situation in [[Chile]] ||1978
|-
|28||1971|| Poselství z neznámé země (The Message from an Unknown Land) - continue of The Bella Vista Hostage ||1978
|-
|29||1972|| Mimikry (Mimicry) - episode about plane hijack, with allusion to the music band ''[[The Plastic People of the Universe|Plastic People]]'' and young long-haired sympathizers of rock music called ''[[mánička|máničky]]''. ||1978
|-
|30||1973|| Růže pro Zemana (The Rose for Zeman) ||1979
|-
|}
[[File:30pripadu majora zemana.jpg|thumb|right|Screenshot of the episode "Mimikry (Mimicry)", showing [[mánička|máničky]] as a harmful, criminal and drug-using social class.]]
== Controversy ==
A re-broadcast of the series in the Czech Republic in 1999, caused controversy and public criticism about the series, which was accused of conveying [[communist propaganda]] and portraying those who think differently politically as criminals.<ref>{{cite web | title=History or Propaganda?/ Communist-Era TV Show Stages a Controversial Return : 'Major Zeman' Leads Czechs to Question Their Past | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/01/news/history-or-propaganda-communistera-tv-show-stages-a-controversial.html | author=Peter S. Green | publisher=[[International Herald Tribune]] | date=1999-10-01 | accessdate=2021-08-31}}</ref>
==See also==
* ''[[Comrade Detective]]'', a show that parodies propaganda series like ''Major Zeman''
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0174369|Thirty cases of Major Zeman}}
* {{in lang|cs}} [http://www.csfd.cz/film/71550-30-pripadu-majora-zemana/ CSFD Entry]
* {{in lang|cs}} [http://www.majorzeman.eu/ Fan site]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thirty Cases Of Major Zeman}}
[[Category:1975 Czechoslovak television series debuts]]
[[Category:Czechoslovak television series]]
[[Category:Czech action television series]]
[[Category:Czech crime television series]]
[[Category:1970s Czechoslovak television series]]
[[Category:Propaganda television broadcasts]]
[[Category:Czech-language Czechoslovak Television original programming]]
[[Category:Czech spy television series]]
[[Category:Czech police procedural television series]]