Caray, Caray!

Urban:

Thanks so much for putting this up. I have to say, LQLVMR has surprised me all along the way. Even with the extension it still grabs you every episode.

As far as comedies go, I have been recapping Que Pobres Tan Ricos since the beginning, and I have to say, all along the way it has been funny, but now in the final weeks they have thrown some drama in. I also have to say it is better by far that Porque El Amor Manda was. Comedies can be surprising. I haven't really looked at Mi Corazon es Tuyo, but from the little snippets I've seen it seems to be very funny. I hope that doesn't change.

I do like the Mysteries and Period Pieces. I too wish they would do more of them. If they did I think they'd rake in the viewers and surprise Televisia. We are due for another Period Piece. I hope it happens soon.
 

Easy ...novelas de epoca. I adore them..the costumes, the story lines, the romance, the music, the architecture and furnishings, the settings...love, love, love.
 

I love novelas de epoca and I like a good comedy novela as well as a strong drama. I definitely would like to see more novelas de epoca, but quite honestly I find one of the problem with Televisa novelas is that the modern day ones are by no means contemporary. They're still trying to do tired stories of dirt poor dumpster-living heroines who somehow mingle with wealthy men who seduce them for kicks but then of all women fall for them. With Brazilian novelas, you can see the difference and remember that oh yeah, Latin America actually is more like this — there are cosmopolitan cities and yes, even poor people know how the world works. This is one reason I like Lucero Suarez novelas (along with her talking time for actual character development including developing relationships between them), though DQTQTQ while not awful is one of her weakest novelas, with the fault having a lot to do with it being an adaptation of another novela. Honestly Argentine and Colombian novelas, and even most Peruvian ones do away with the poor, uneducated people tropes that Televisa just cannot resist still. And Argentine ones have such great rawness when it comes to the romance aspect, with not trying to make every kids perfectly beautiful and neat.

With LQLVMR, it's not genre, I just think it's an awful novela. It's full of novela stupidity from the good guys, the writing is incredibly lazy, with villain motivations that really make no sense, especially in hindsight, but even in the present, it goes on way too long, and going back to the terrible writing, most of the characters have no personality and when they do you're left wondering why on earth they love each other. I mean I still have no glimpse into what most of these characters do with their time that isn't purely to service the plot. The reason the main romances are so dull is because for the most part the objects of affection are dull as dishwater and we don't really get a reason as to why this everlasting love. Most of all (and this again goes back to lazy writing), it relies on the audience basically being ignorant of laws and having as many brain cells as its characters. It's such a huge pet peeve when novelas treat their audience like they're too stupid to question and know better, and this one, in this day and age, does this over and over. Okay, rant over.
 

I like novelas de epoca that are based on history (like La Pola) and also romantic novelas that are framed in an 'epoca' setting, like Corazon Salvaje and Luz Maria.
Both are definitely must watch tv for me, as long as they are good quality.
When the story of LQLVMR was set in earlier decades as in the original story by Caridad Bravo Adams, Bodas de Odio and Amor Real, it was quite wonderful.
But Televisa's attempt at injecting the suspense/naco parts with the 'Alacran' storyline made no sense to me ... it might make more sense to someone who has not seen the other versions.
Alborada, Pasion, etc might seem cinderella stories but the basic storyline makes sense in the time context the novelas were made in. You take a storyline of Pasion and try to bring it to modern times and it will make no sense at all since we don't have that feaudalistic relationship anywhere around for most viewers.

However, I still believe Televisa can turn it around by stopping to try to re-invent / re-can novelas the audience is already familiar with and come up with a setting that has not been seen before (say some white collar environment with a modern version of romeo and juliet where juliet is NOT poor from a vecindad...)
I also like tele-comedias well made, as I hope MCET will be. But please, no amnesia, blindness, etc etc... no need to use that. if Ana finds any parent, let it be Bruno... and let her mother be a normal fighter like her, not some rich woman who comes to ask her for forgiveness after building her own fortune elsewhere...

 

just gave a copy of La Pola to my husband for father's day and it was the present he has been the most excited about in years. Since he had shown interest in watching some of it when it was aired, I figured he would enjoy watching the whole thing. If Televisa wants more men and younger audiences, i think it has to be with separate projects.
 

like novelas that mix two or three things like La Hija del Mariachi which mixed romance, suspense, a little taste of comedy and lots and lots of great music.
 

I like ALL the genres of tns-- as long as I like the characters I'm supposed to like and I think the writers are treating them (and me) with respect. Good acting and great locations are also a top requirement/plus.

My faves include a main couple with great chemistry, where I like both characters; characters who actually seem like they care about each other and make me care about them, and/or make me laugh; a bit of suspense or a mystery to solve; and where the writers manage to hold my interest throughout. Period/historical pieces are fabulous, but they are like dessert-- you know you can't have it every day. It's a delicious occasional treat. Narco-novelas are like junk food, some taste great (Reina del Sur), some don't (Senor de los Cielos 2), all feel bad for me (all that killing and lack of morality) and I know I need to take it in moderation.
 

Just give me a good comedy and I am a happy camper. I love the broad, physical, slaptick humor I find so often as well as the creative use of language that accompanies it.

Having tried another drama with LQLVMR I always end up at the same spot wondering why they all end up being so very disappointing. Too bad the dramas just can't tell a good story without being extemely violent, depressing, and down right sordid. The only saving grace for LQLVMR has been the fast paced action.

Comedies or dramas they end up killing the golden goose when they extend these novelas ad nauseum but since it all comes down to MONEY I doubt we will see any changes. I sometimes forget that all entertainment on tv/radio is only a vehicle to support the advertisers not the other way around.

Jarifa
 

I like all genres except for comedies, but the writing has to be strong. I've actually tried to watch a few comedies but can never get past a couple of episodes. My favorites so far have been Amor Bravio, Alborada and Cuando Me Enamore - none of which had the poor girl/rich guy (or vice versa) silliness, which is the worse story arc, although the most prolific. They had intelligent protagonistas and awesome antagonistas. The good guys didn't suffer from brain meltdown halfway through. I can't stand stupid attempts at comic relief in a drama. And one of the reasons I stay away from comedies is that they always seem to feel the need for repulsive bodily function sound effects.
 

One of the main reasons I completely switched to Telemundo was the extreme length of Televisa's productions and their insane periods of showing two episodes back to back. The last one I watched all the way through was Sortilegio which had a decent cast. When I open up the Caray page I usually see a Lo Que La Vida Me Robo recap up there and now it's over 180 episodes. I get bored, bored, bored when the denouement takes that long.

With Telemundo I usually like at least one of the three nightly offerings and often watch two, catching up on DVR'd episodes on the weekend. The current one getting a lot of comments on El Mundo de Telemundo here at Caray is Reina de Corazones. Lots happens. It takes place in Las Vegas of all places. It has an amnesiac plot and a paralyzed girl - so some of the TN clichés are there, but it's pretty entertaining. And...it's not a refrito!!!

Univisión could win me back with a novela de epoca, but that doesn't seem to be in their plans.
 

I definitely will go for dramas, i just cant stand comedies, i usually find them forced and hard to watch, as for LQLVMR, I think it is entertaining and by far my favorite for this year so far, I understand it may not be as good as the previous ones but I still think, the cast and crew have done a good job.
 

One would think that the production companies (i.e., Televisa) would have enough clothes from previous novelas (Pasion, Amor Real, Alborada, etc.) that the expense of creating new novelas de epoca wouldn't be that expensive to produce. I think I read somewhere that Carla Estrada even used some of the same backgrounds for Amor Real and Alborada. I also remember seeing, during a brief advance of one novela, the inside of a part of the wardrobe room at Televisa (I think). It was jam packed with all different period clothes. Funny, but I remember seeing AB (in Abismo) and EG (in Amores) wearing the same lace short-shorts!

Also, look at how enlightening Amor Bravio was with all the knowledge about toros (bulls) it packed in. The scenery was beautiful; and I understand it was shot on location. Other novelas have been just as beautiful.

Also, I don't understand this current attraction companies like Telemundo have with NARCO novelas (even though I will watch the highly recommended LRDS soon). Our daily lives are full enough listening to the horrid stories about drugs, gangs, etc. on TV, can't they give us some good romance and exciting mysteries.

 

With Pasion, Alborada, and Amor Real (novelas de epoca) I think the production staff and especially the writers did a marvelous job! One could really relate to these stories because of the style in which the writers produced these period pieces and made them relevant to the time in which they took place. How many of us read, during our childhood and teenage years, "pirate stories" and “girl must marry man to save family fortune” books after finishing Nancy Drew books (showing my age here)?

These three Carla Estrada novelas were beautiful not only to watch but to learn something historical as well. I spent a good deal of time reading about the Mexican Revolution (something I knew nothing about even after living in Mexico for a few years) and Benito Juarez. I read about the Spanish Inquisition which affected my husband’s family lineage greatly.

I even noticed that when Enrique Iglesias sang "Nunca Te Olivdare" for the novela of the same name, the backdrop was the front side of the "Benito Juarez" theater!

Most of us from the US are so ignorant of the histories of other countries because of our lack of education, that we could use some more novelas that actually teach us something. I mean one doesn't even need to take foreign language courses in high school anymore to graduate. How pathetic!

Europeans, on the other hand, generally speak and write two or three, if not more, languages. My daughter-in-law, half French and half German and educated in Switzerland speaks five languages! I feel ashamed sometimes that my husband and I forced our children to speak nothing but English when we moved back to the US after living in Central and South America. Their first language was Spanish and what we did to them was unforgivable as now they really need to know Spanish for their careers (both in hospitality).

 

Victoria: LRDS was amazing. I especially liked the only 60+ eps--forced it to move quickly with no waste or filler. I hate these long TNs. Even the good ones suffer because of it. Plus, as a viewer, I'm so ready to move on way before they hit that 180 ep mark.

I found a station on my FiOS called Exitos that plays older TNs.

I've only seen one comedy: PEAM. I don't like broad comedy, bathroom humor or slapstick too much. PEAM started out all comedy then took a dark turn. My theory is that FC realized he wasn't cut out for comedy and had the writers change it to a drama which was more in his comfort zone. :)

Nanette
 

The language thing could fuel another discussion altogether. Would anyone be up for that?
 

I am with novelera when it comes to TNs. I really am willing to give almost anything a shot if I don't have to invest in more than 140 episodes. I find myself drawn to Telemundo more and more because of the short runs.

Though Amorcito Corazon was way more than 140 episodes and I really enjoyed it all the way through. I feel I would have enjoyed the 186 episodes of DQTQTQ more if the weren't edited and 2 months of 2 hour episodes is unbearable....no matter how good the show.

I've tried so hard to like the comedies, but I just can't seem to get into them. Que Pobres Tan Ricos is the closest I've come to keeping up with one. I watched for the first month and then just popped in once in a while. Now I'm following again in the ultimas semanas. I may have missed some things, but QPTR never seemed to fall back on batroom/gross sound effect humor (Which DQTQTQ has done recently. Ew.)

There are comic moments in Reina de Corazones that are pretty good. And I mean they were written to be funny'; not written to be dramatic, but I laugh instead.

I've never seen a narco novela and as I've said before I don't like the idea of supporting that kind of entertainment (that's just me.)

Honestly, I am becoming more and more annoyed by Televisa productions. I am currently watching a Chilean Telenovela (based on an Argentine one.) There is the economic class theme, but it's more like upper socio-economic class and middle class. No one is living in a jacal or trash dump. The acting is more subtle and there actually seems to be some sort of action every episode.
 

I too love he epoca's and agree that they are costly to produce but more important they require extensive research by the writers to keep them on track or you end up with a historic mess like Ramona where thy had the Yaqui Indians dressed like plains indians which were no where near Monterey Ca. The plus with them is that it does drive some viewers to check out the historic period.

The overwhelming lengths of Televia novelas is also something that has to be driving away younger viewers who don't have the inclination or time to stay with something that run close to a year even without the dreaded extensions.

Telemundo novelas are much shorter and
somehow manage to pack in plenty of story. You need only look at LP which was only 107 episodes. My problem with Telemundo is their seeming love affair with Narco dramas which even with the violence seem to glorify the drug world. I know they are timely but at least one every night is pushing it.

Nanette - I found Exitos as well and am totally hooked on Gitanes which has gorgeous clothes for the gypsies, sexy men and a riveting story the bases of which is racial prejudice. It was made in 2004 and shown again on Telemundo in 2007 and unusual for Telemundo is fairly long 162 chapters but it moves along at a good clip. It looks like the time frame of the story is the 1950's.
 

I would be willing to invest in longer shows if it weren't for the fact that they are on every night!!

I think UA once mentioned something like that once: doing a show 2 or 3 times a week. Am I remembering correctly?
 

Peyton Place started out as twice a week then three times. Back in the day it was only half an hour.

I would not want novelas to be in half hours here.

I don't mind the longer stories if the are done well. What is bothering me lately is when characters' actions make no sense (as in CI, which has to be the worst Televisa novela ever) and when producers get fixated on certain things, like when comedy relief is inappropriate.
 

I don't think 30 minutes is enough for a telenovela, either. But 3 one hour episodes a week may be interesting. I would love for Latin American telenovelas to use the Asian model of 2-3 episodes a week.

Does Spain produce telenovelas? I know they've done serialized historicals like Isabel and Red Eagle.
 

I really don't care as long as it is well done & not produced by Los Mejias. Another + would be not over 100 episodes.

Comedy= Por ella soy Eva

Historic = Amor Real, Alborada, Pasión & of course Fernando Colunga.

Drama = Amor Bravio, Santa Diabla

Narco = La Reina del Sur, Season 1 of El señor

The worst is when they have sth popular & decide to add chapters, always idiotic.


 

I also like a novela that you learn sth
Destilando Amor = tequila
Amor Bravio= toros for the ring
Historic = of course history, even though usually embellished

 

I love mysteries! I also love smart and competent main characters. I would love something like a Mexican Veronica Mars, with the mysteries and a little bit of humor in the form of clever quips, not idiotic pratfalls and bodily functions broad "humor". Or something like Chuck, with the spy stuff and the bad guys never winning by too much or for too long.
 

A Mexican Veronica Mars would be good.

This thread has got me thinking that I've actually never seen a mystery. They must not make a lot of them.
 

I HATE the comedies. I like the dramas, but I don't like the epocas because the bad wigs on the men distract me for the entire tn. I have to "fall in love" with the lead in order to like the show. If I don't like looking at the lead because of his wig, I've got to move on. I guess I won't be watching for a while because everything on Univision is a comedy.
 

I would love to see a really good mystery. Something really well done (like Inspector Morse in Spanish)would thrill me to no end. It doesn't always have to be about romance. Inspector Morse, Midsommer Murders, etc...there has to be a Spanish equivalent.

No matter the genre, I want to see well thought out characters and story lines. That is what pleases me the most.

Fatima
 

Hmmm...my comments went "poof" into the cosmos! ⚛

I would love to see a good mystery. A Spanish Inspector Morse or Midsommer Murders would be fantastic! Surely, something like this could be written.

What I really want to see most of all is bona fide development of the characters and the story line with no helter skelter add-ons which do nothing to support the story.

Also, the people who populate these stories (all genres) do NOT have to be beautiful people. I just want to see a good actor (yes, I enjoy the dresses, GQ clothes, etc), but I want good acting. The actors in "Inspector Morse" were not beautiful people (though the late, great John Thaw did have the most beautiful blue eyes), but they were trained and skilled actors. That is what holds my attention.

Fatima
 

Do the producers, production studios, pool their audiences to know what we want to see.

Maybe someone should tell them to read Caray, Caray!
 

I like mystery and novelas with action the most,something like Amor Bravio where the protangoists were actually smart or La Madrastra where people were always thinking " Who is that crazy murderer?" What i dont like is when novelas get silly extensions ,especially the weak ones like La Tempestad,Abismo De Dolor( Pasion) and Triunfo De Amor. I have a high distaste for anything Meija written after the flop that is La Tempestad.
 

Victoria, I think they pay attention to ratings. Also, if they have message boards for their programs, those provide excellent feedback.
 

what does it actually mean to be a Televisa subscriber? I'm on the EC and only get TW channels like unision, unimas, telemundo, tlnovelas,.etc.
does this just logging onto their website?
 

I think you can only subscribe in Mexico states to Televisa or the channel is already default there.The main issue is that Televisas website is region-locked so the website is really useless if you dont live in Mexico and that is a bit unfair..Unless you use VPN or proxies.I dont have access to Televisa so i view the novelas mostly on online websites.
 

CountxAlacran

Thanks for your answer. I hate the idea of alternate endings. Do you think someone will be able to post the other ending on YouTube soon after it airs or will there be restrictions on how soon one can download something on YouTube?
 

The alternative ending will be on the online websites probably,on Youtube i kinda doubt it because of copyryght restrictions..
 

I want to see new stories. I really mean new.I dont want to see 1589 remake of Cinderella story or whatever. Last year Televisa planned to make remake of one Korean drama. The storyline looked interesting, so I decided to watch a little and so I watched the whole dorama. It was sooo fresh. I dont really like acting, but still it was much more worth of watching then everything, that Televisa make now. I dont watch latin novelas almost a year. I cant find something interesting. It's sad, because there are a lot of very good actors, who waste their talant.
So for me its not the question of the genre. I was surprised, that I can easily watch asian dramas, comedy or epic stories. But as for novelas I cant see the same.
Alegria
 

I like Telemundo novelas more,some of them are La Patrona,La Impostora and Reina De Corazones.I also liked Santa Diabla,To me these novelas offer more twists and suprises like in Santa Diabla where the main galan suddenly turns into a cold blooded,psycopathic killer while the antangoist from the start becomes in the end gets the girl for a while until he is killed and the girl remains single.
 

OK---The weekend discussion. I'm a little late but there is still some weekend left at least here on the West Coast. I enjoy love story dramas. I'm a sucker for the Cinderella stories but any love story drama is great. Watching novelas, I have found that boy meets girl, they fall in love, get married and live happily ever after never isn't quite that easy in novela land. There always seems to be obstacles, often very big obstacles in their way that the young couple must overcome before they can ride off into the sunset with both sharing a state of marital bliss. Often they have to fight for their love. That can go either way or even both ways and
I like that as it only goes to make said love that much stronger.

I liked the fashion industry theme of Triunfo Del Amor with Maite Perroni and William Levy. I love just about anything with Susana Gonzales. I really go for stories which take place in rural settings or have a ranch/rancho theme.
Comedies? Yes I like a comedy every now and then. I just loved Una Familia Con Suarte. The combination of Sherlyn's singing
and the crazy voice of Poncho Lopez [Arath de la Torre] was a real winner for me.
NARCO stories? No not so much. We get enough of that every day on the evening news. However---If a favorite actor/actress was cast in the story, I would be tempted to watch.

Extensions---I love them. If you like the story and I usually do, then an extension makes the enjoyment last a little longer---
some extra frosting on the cake.

This is my comment for today and I'm sticking to it.
the gringo
 

Gringo- I'm kind of a sucker for Cinderella stories as well...but I don't like extensions.

La Malquerida is a rancho that's coming to Univision. I've been "craving" a rancho lately, so I might check it out. I hate that it will be on at 10PM though. Oh, and Victoria Ruffo will be in it. I liked her in TdA, but wow she can cry.
 

Yes Sara---I really want to see that one but 10:00--it's going to kill me.
the gringo

 

I may end up having to record it and play catchup on the weekends.

 

Victoria:

I think Televisia is aware of Caray Caray, as is Univision. We were mentioned on a Uni program some years ago, as a place that people go to read recaps in English. As far as Televisa goes, they probably read some of our stuff, but since these TNs are started in Mexico, and some way in advance down there, the writers probably can't change what they have already written. With Robo they could have, I don't know.
 

I like all genres except for Narconovelas.

I think it all depends on the producer and writers and they story they are telling. I've noticed that they are more important to me than actors.

For example, I'm more enthused with the idea of watching the remake of Yo No Creo en Los Hombres than I was of watching Mi Corazón Es Tuyo, in spite of YNCENL having Gabriel Soto as the lead and MCET having Silvia Navarro and Jorge Salinas (the best leading actors televisa has right now, in my opinion). Just because YNCELH has a story that I find very interesting and Giselle González produced a very interesting telenovela in a simmilar style to what I expect with Roberto Gómez Bolaños (Para Volver a Amar), while I've never liked a comedy from Juan Osorio and the only novelas of his that I've liked are the result of a great writer or writing team with a strong control over the material (Días Sin Luna and Mi Pecado), not necessarily of Osorio's own production values and choices.

Jarocha
 

Madelaine:
I think I stated this before, but this novela seems to leave out tidbits that we have noticed, for example, the DNA test on Peddy's body.
With this much time involved in a TN (195+ episodes), as a romantic, I'm going to be very upset if this novela ends on a sad note!
 

Very late to the party but I have to disagree on some of the things.
I actually enjoy narconovelas , always had a thing for bad boys with big hearts (and most NN's have someone like that) + they always seem to be fast paced and exiting.

Since love stories are really important to me I can't watch something completely dependent on mistery. If Midsummer Murders would be a novela I'd be bored as heckle just cause of the mostly lacking romance. If I find a couple or a character I really like I just can't abandon the show cause I just NEED to know what happens to them.

Lately I'm more intuned with Argentinian shows. I love how different the language sounds and how raw and real the material is.
Sometimes even watching the love scenes make me blush .. :) My favorites right now are definitely Dulce Amor and LaLola, good stories, good actors and lots and lots of great chemistry!