Caray, Caray!

Thanks for the weekend discussion! Some novelas need massive reality checks and others only a little.

One that immediately comes to mind (despite my love for it) is Mi Pecado where the gal an gets shot, has an impromptu surgery in a cave and then has sex with the girl a few hours after in a river. While the scene was long awaited and beautifully done, how was this even possible?

Another one was Angel Rebelde when Lucia found a day body and proceeded to walk around the crime scene and pick up the murder weapon and look at it. I don't know what person would do this in reality.

Just to name a few.
 

I almost forgot about Julian's terrible cave surgery and river make outs. I loved the scenes tho but watching them for the first time made me shake my head in a very disapproving manner.

And the good twin bad twin situation was ridiculous in Corazon Salvaje,even if the novela wasn't set in this century it still didn't make any sense.
 

Too many unbelievable coincidences: Corazón Indomable comes to mind. This was just one of way too many: Maricruz arrives from the countryside in Mexico City (one of the biggest cities in the world with millions and millions of people) and just "happens" to be hired at her lost father's house. ????

Jarifa
 

Psychology/counseling/mental health in general! They keep throwing around terms that even most laypeople now know are not correct. Bipolar disorder does not mean you get really, really happy when good things happen and really, really violent when bad things happen--I'm looking at you, MPV!
 

Women do not faint because they are pregnant!!!!!!!!!Even the super fantastic Reina del sur did that one.

Women do not cry constantly when sth bad happens, a la Victoria Ruffo & Adela Noriega, pls get more realistic like Silvia Navarro in Amor Bravio. It is soooooo annoying.

Main character marries someone else because for some, usually stupid, reason sth goes wrong with the true love.

Galan is played by 50 yr old who is still a virgin, he can't have sex with other than his true love.

Just watch Corazon Indomable, it has every single stupid cliche.
 

I am so completely over the plot point that ONCE AGAIN came up in La Impostora on Telemundo.

Some young woman, in this particular case not even the 100% evil other woman, manages to undress either a drugged or passed out on alcohol galán, take off her own clothes, jump into bed with him, and convince him they did the deed when they both wake up. A faked pregnancy follows in due course. Bah! Estoy harta!
 

Novelera--You hit a sore point for me, too: drunken rolls in the hay the galan doesn't remember, resulting in pregnancy.

It's about time, ITA, that the early warning sign of pregnancy stops being a fainting spell. Maybe the directors feel that throwing up in the morning is too gross for tn prime time watchers?

Sofia in FELS, bless her heart, got dizzy and sick to her stomach...and I bet AN insisted to the directors that this is the way it should be.

Then there is the category of DNA tests switched or altered to determine paternity. It's time the directors and producers stop making it so easy to do. (At least we got one half right in Robo, where the test on an unrooted hair clip determined the sex of the child, but wasn't enough to determine paternity.)

My own pet peeves are reserved for hospital scenes:

1) where the bed is too short for the patient
2) where the sides of the bed are not raised for comatose, seriously ill patients or children
3) where patients with serious injuries are shown with the head of the bed elevated (for a better camera angle)
4) where a simple hospital room is suddenly transformed into a suite with couches and easy chairs even in clinics for people of modest means (Luciana in Refugio)
5) where a patient going into a crisis supposedly monitored from a nurses' station never gets a rapid response until the loved one starts shouting and running into the hallway.


Jarifa--CI probably takes the prize for the most unbelievable coincidences in tn history. And what happened to the monkey????

 

Oh and I forgot pet peeve no. 7

7) where hospital corridors are always empty when the antagonistas are up to no good and are never seen entering rooms after visiting hours
 

Guess I'll have to come up with a no. 6...

6) where just about everyone in a tn ends up with a stay in the hospital. I think it was CME where that happened. We kept a running count.
 

How about the prison scenes where the cell has floor-to-ceiling bars on one wall and absolutely anybody can walk up to said cell and visit or torment the prisoner?
 

When someone gets a gunshot, knife wound to the stomach or back then recover and next time their shirt comes off not one stitch is found.
 

There is only ONE restaurant, hospital, doctor, taxi driver in any town & even in Mex DF. And you can get from the class vecina to the pobre vecina in 5 min in DF traffic.
 

Anita, good question about the moooonkey!!!

Jarifa
 

Variopinta, I had to LOL! at your vecina in DF traffic. Teresa was awesome at this. I have a theory everyone ran everywhere lol LMDV did this the other day and my mom was like, "no que el pueblo estaba lejos???" Haha! It's only far when it's convenient.

Hospitals in telenovelas have the most empty hallways don't they? And the most unprofessional doctor (s ha!) who broadcast everyone's medical condition.
 

Let's see:

- everyone insisting on going HOME when they are hurt or sick and then the doctor comes to visit before deciding to go to the hospital.
- Characters that are on death's door or have major surgery one day and within two-three episodes ( and no fast forward) they are up and ready for the next plot line
- the spotty use of cells to suit the story. I'm sorry-- anyone here not make sure they have their cell phone with them when they are out and about?
- More stories that show people with REAL jobs for the 21st century. There have been a few, but not enough.
- Can more heroines be like our Silvia and not be afraid to work, where every day clothes and get a little dirty once in awhile. Heck, I know wealthy women, and they don't sit around in designer dresses and heels all day either.
- Rape is not a plot point to be used and tossed after it's over. There are lasting effects of that and to show otherwise is insulting.
Boy...this can be addictive!!

Daisynjay
 

unfortunately, in real life could happen everything.
I can't believe, that its my words, but it's truth. Last few months of my life changed me absolutely and now I believe, that almost everyone could do everything.
When you are living in a bad written novela, it's hard to understand that it's a reality. So now it's difficult for me to criticise screen-writers. Of course, they wrote very often a lot of absurd things, but still.
Now I feel that I want more fairy-tales
Alegria
 

In regards to locations: one restaurant, one hospital, etc. That's probably due to production costs.

I hate the get the galan drunk and make him think he boinked you and then fake a pregnancy storyline, too.

I hate stupid good guys. Amor Bravio was a breath of fresh air. The good guys one-upped the bad guys all the time.

Nanette
 

Another annoying plot device: the obligatory unexpected pregnancy(cies). I have already complained about this repeatedly. Yes, this happens in real life but I always get the feeling that nobody is using birth control. They are always carried away in that moment of passion.

Jarifa
 

The homosexual characters being extremely flamboyant and camp. I think it's played for laughs but Lalo from UGAC and Luigi from LFMB come to mind. I remember someone commented, "why can't there be gay guys a la Amar sin Limites like Arnoldo?" I agree with the Amar sin Limites comment and contribute to it with Renato from PESE.
 

Men, even the most worthless kind, with no job or known delinquents, always threatening the mothers of their children that they will take their children away, especially in Mexican novelas. I know nothing about Mexican juridic system but I'm pretty sure it's not Iran.
 

Alegria, my heart goes out to you. What is going on in your part of the world is shameful. Please know that my prayers and best wishes go out to you... I'm hoping that you finally get your very own fairy. I miss your input here... you helped make CI more fun than it deserved to be. I hope that you are safe and well.

Carlos
 

Carlos, thanks. I'm safe for now, but I'm not ok
All this time I tried to watch LQLVMR but realized, that my reality is much more crazier.
And I really started to think, that CI wasn't so bad. I'm sure, that Romero simply copy-past the plot and he made a bad job. But in real life now I everyday met persons even worse "written" then all characters in CI.
For me the main message of novelas is to show the difference between good and bad. Now I understand how it's important to show normal difference. It's a shame when in novelas bad guys become winners. It's not ok, if there is no karmagedon. As for me, it's the worse message.
By the way, now I'm sure that in my country we have medical professionals who are psychiatrists, pediatricians, and cardiologists at the same time. Few months ago it was our sad reality, that helped to save lifes.
Alegria
 

I only remember one novela mentioning condoms, Mentir para vivir.

As I was driving a few wks ago, I noticed a new business, Condom World.
 

I have a bunch of medical ones. Yes, the surgeries to remove bullets and then the person recovers. News flash, TN writers! Often in real life even the surgeons don't remove the bullets, removing would often cause more damage-ESPECIALLY when the surgery is done in a cave/on a ship/in a dark bedroom with a kitchen knife or whatever primitive instrument they have, by shipmate/girlfriend/friend.
O2 masks hooked to ventilators with no intubation tube-what's with that?
Medications are never in prescription bottles-why?

Suicidal people not sent to mental hospitals but kept in locked room at home.
 

And mentioned by Urban in the introduction, about rich people losing their fortunes and you'd never know it, they have all the same servants, lifestyle, etc.

The attitude toward wealth in the first place, that wealthy people have unlimited funds. That wealthy people share their money for the most trivial reasons-poor migrant farm worker saves life of rich guy and becomes rich.
Hello, most wealthy people I know do not throw their money around like that, and they do not strut around the house in sparkling cocktail dresses and 4 inch heels with pearls on.
 

The newly poor rich people who still have servants...That's not so far-fetched. At some point after my sister's first husband left her, he stopped paying support of any kind, and my sister--who had never really worked in her life--had no idea what to do and was either too embarrassed or too depressed to ask for help. According to my stepmother, the first she knew of my sister's problems was when one of my sister's maids pulled her aside and whispered to her that the señora just sat around and cried all the time, that there was no food in the house and the children were hungry, and that she herself hadn't been paid for weeks.
 

The thing that bugs me most right this very moment is the son/ younger bro who is going to med school and his mother/ sister is paying his way cause he can't work. It drives me nuts and the guy is usually feckless or selfish or just plain stupid and the self-sacrificing mother or sister is working her but off or in the case of in otra piel gets attacked because of him. Makes me want to reach through the tv screen and grab the kid by the shoulders and shake him and yell GET A JOB! Other people work their way through med school all the time or take out loans arrrgghhhh
 

Algeria...I am keeping you and your country in my thoughts and prayers. I have had many students from your part of the world. I am so sorry for what is happening.

It is scary when something happens in your own life that makes you realize that in reality, people can be as evil as the characters in telenovelas. This is an awful and depressing realization.

I am sending you and yours love, prayers, and good vibrations )))))
 

Susanlynn, thanks. It really helps. We feel, that we are alone in all this. But simple people all other the world pray for us, so we will win. Karmagedon will find everyone.
You know, almost 70% of russians believes, that USA paid us to protest against Putin. How many times did we say: dont believe him/her, evil is his/her second name. But no, they did. I always thought that it's soooo stupid and in real life no one could be so naive. No way. Now I can't explain those normal russians with whom I talked about novelas for few years, that I'm ok and they shouldnt come to save me. It's absurd, but it's fact.
So now I can believe in all absurd situations in novelas. In real life people could be much more stupid.
Alegria
 

Great topic
So many cliches...protagonist has to go to jail and is nearly murdered by in jail evil thugs usually at the direction of the antagonist.
Women of modest means dressed in expensive clothes and rarely wearing the same outfit twice,
Scantily clad women, most often with excessively ROUND cleavage exploding into the camera. Does any one appreciate a somewhat natural look in TN land?
In many novellas the bad guys coming out ahead for 120 of 121 episodes and then hastily wrapping up all story lines in one unsatisfying hour. Usually leaving some ends hanging loose.
 

Plot changing information that is not communicated in a timely manner. In LQLVMR, how long did it take for Montse and Ale to find out that Maria had hit Carlota in the head to steal and had stolen their baby Lauro? Way too long. The witnesses were so lackadaisical since they got Lauro back right away. Nobody called police or made any attempt to notify the parents immediately.

Criminal behavior that is tolerated rather than reported. The same example as above.

Jarifa
 

Alegria! Good to hear from you again. Been thinking about you, and wishing you a telenovela ending to everything. As silly as these things can be, at least we can count on that happy ending which makes all the ick a little more bearable. That's something we might want to bring into real life.

That, and these men who are still capable of performing well despite being sh!%-faced drunk. Imagine if they were sober! Fun times.

Kelly
 

How could I forget the magic novela suitcase.
They pack all their worldly goods in ONE suitcase. Camila did it in Pasión, all those dresses & never wearing the same one twice.
The funniest was Damián (Sergio Sendel) in MEPS literately throwing his suits on hangars in the suitcase.

Don't you wish you had one for your air travel?
 

ITA on fainting in pregnancy and young women who don’t give birth control a thought. But I actually like all the other fantasies, especially the little magic suitcase that holds all. I hate to pack.

On LQLVMR, Ale is in prison trying to hide a secret letter. In reality, he'd have to stick the letter in a body cavity to keep it, so give me fantasy.

Alegria - So awful what's happening in your part of the world. Please know that others are watching and praying for better times soon.
 

Alegria--Thank goodness you are safe. We feel so powerless on this end to do much more than hope and pray for things to calm down.

OK, here are my last reality checks.
* Why do guys who punch each other in the face alwaysget blood dripping from their lips. Is that for our benefit?
* Why do the women who want to minister to guys who have gotten beaten or hurt use the tiniest bit of cotton to dab with, which doesn't seem to wipe off any blood. Is that so it won't mess up their make up?
 

I fainted the first time I was pregnant. That's what made me think I was.
Sue in Miami
 

Late to the party: one of my faves is the attempted murder by push down the staircase...or, as somebody dubbed it, escaleracide. Often attempted on pregnant women or inconvenient old folks.
I enjoyed reading all these.
J in Oregon
 

Can u suggest few telenovelas based on this plot plz?