Thirty Cases of Major Zeman

Thirty Cases of Major Zeman (Třicet případů majora Zemana) is a Czechoslovak action-drama television show intended as a political propaganda to support the official image and attitude of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The series was filmed in the 1970s. Most of the episodes are inspired by real criminal cases. The series follows the life of police investigator Jan Zeman during his career from 1945 to 1973.

Thirty Cases of Major Zeman
Vladimír Brabec as Major Jan Zeman
Czech	Třicet případů majora Zemana
Created by	Jiří Sequens
Starring	Vladimír Brabec Rudolf Jelínek Miloš Willig František Němec Ladislav Mrkvička Vladimír Ráž Josef Větrovec Radoslav Brzobohatý Ivana Andrlová
Country of origin	Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Original languages	Czech Slovak
No. of episodes	30 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	45-90 min
Original release
Network	Czechoslovak Television
Release	1975 (1975) – 1980 (1980)

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 turned western agent

Plot of the first episode

The first episode takes place in 1945. Young Jan Zeman is returning from a Nazi concentration camp. On the train he meets his friend Václav Kalina, who tells him about his plan to join the police force once he gets home. Jan returns to his home village and finds only his mother there. He discovers that his father has been murdered. The police are unable to find the murderer and close the case. Jan begins investigating on his own, wishing to expose his father’s killer. He reveals a conspiracy and informs Václav Kalina at Brno police headquarters; eventually, the murderers are captured. Impressed, Kalina induces Jan to join the police and serve with him.

List of episodes

Episode	Date	Title	Aired
1	1945	Smrt u jezera (Death at the Lake) - the first episode, following the young Jan Zeman who has just returned home from a concentration camp only to find his father dead.	1974
2	1946	Vyznavači ohně (Fire Worshippers)	1974
3	1947	Loupež sladkého I (The Theft of the Sweet I) - About profiteering on deficiency of Insulin.	1974
4	1947	Rubínové kříže (Ruby Crosses) - inspired by Bandera's terrorist activities on the Czechoslovak territory.	1975
5	1948	Hon na lišku (Fox Hunt) - episode about 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 the counterfeiting of Ration stamps used until 1953.	1975
8	1951	Strach (Fear) - inspired by Mašín's sons	1975
9	1952	Loď do Hamburku (The Riverboat to Hamburg) - one of the episodes about 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 agent Pavel Bláha.	1976
12	1955	Kleště (The Tongs) - one of the episodes about agent Pavel Bláha.	1976
13	1956	Romance o nenápadné paní (Romance of an Unconspicuous Lady)	1976
14	1957	Konec velké šance (The End of the Great Chance) - one of the episodes about agent Pavel Bláha.	1976
15	1958	Kvadratura ženy (Quadrature of a Woman) - about a dissected female body found in the Vltava river.	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) - based on the real-life murder of Milada Drexler in the High Tatras.	1978
23	1966	Šťastný a veselý (Happy New Year)	1978
24	1967	Klauni (Clowns)	1978
25	1968	Štvanice (The Hunt) - episode about the end of political steps to 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 with an allusion to political situation in Chile	1978
28	1971	Poselství z neznámé země (The Message from an Unknown Land) - continuation of The Bella Vista Hostage	1978
29	1972	Mimikry (Mimicry) - episode about a plane hijack, with allusion to the music band Plastic People and young long-haired sympathizers of rock music called máničky.	1978
30	1973	Růže pro Zemana (The Rose for Zeman) - the final episode.	1979

Screenshot of the episode "Mimikry (Mimicry)", showing 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 of the series, which was accused of conveying communist propaganda and portraying those with different political views as criminals.^[1]

See also

• Comrade Detective, a show that parodies propaganda series like Major Zeman