Caray, Caray!

The problem IS the length of the novela, in my opinion anyway. Before, since most novelas were short, sweet and to the point, there was an established pace (the classics did this very well).

I haven't seen Robo at all (thank god because that length would've killed me) but just taking into considerations all the horrible things these villains are are always do (which get meaner and more heavy handed as the novela's length grows) no end is ever satisfying enough. No dead, punished, eye touching, w.e. is every good enough for all the mean things they've done.

ALso, especially with Robo, by the time the "FIN" comes on, theres been so many characters, plot lines, misunderstandings, twists that the ending is never going to be something amazing because there's been too many peaks and way too many valleys.

Not to mention, the pace of secrets, revelations, twists int he story that, after 100+ episodes start getting ridiculous because most novelas use to reach the ending before the villain started getting invincible (Tia Carlota anyone?)

If Robo was the same length as Amor Real, another bird would sing. Sadly that's not the case.
 

I think that at the end of this telenovela we should list all the stupid things we, as viewers, noticed that were left unresolved or overlooked, or were just plain stupid. Just a few:

Don Benjamin's ring
The DNA test on Peddy's dead body
Why dont these characters take better care to protect their children from crazy Peddy
What is the background of Nadie's and Adolfo's parents to turn Adolfo from vagabond to assassin.
The 7-year ridiculous gap and coma
Etc., etc., etc..

These writers lack understanding regarding the intelligence of their viewers.
 

Victoria:

But we are the thinkers on this TN as Nanette commented over on the Robo thread. I have to give kudos to these writers because they have kept it mostly lively. I recapped the extention with Amores Verdaderos, did you watch that one? It dragged on forever! I like the droplets of info these writers gave instead of crying women constantly, that is a definite plus.

Urban:

As far as Peddy goes, I can't stand the fact no one has been able to spot him on the street, going where he pleases, and terrifying the whole town. And his Karmageddon better be a good one, or I'll be highly peeved, I must say. Thanks for this great weekend discussion.
 

Well, Robo is going on way too long, too, too too too long long long...get the picture Televisa????
 

Thanks, Urban, for this weekend discussion.

LQLVMR had an amazing pace going until the plane crash / 7 year coma plot twist. Then the show lost momentum to accommodate the number of episodes ordered. While I understand the reasons why the show was extended (it's a ratings winner), the lengthy run has damaged it. Here are some examples:

-Jose Luis' transformation into psycho stalker
-overuse of María's obsession with Alejandro (how many times did we need to see her dress as Montserrat? Couldn't the writers have varied her nuttiness so it wasn't so repetitive?)
-boring relationship of Victor and Nadia (when they first got together, the forbidden aspect of their relationship made them exciting to watch; once Nadia escaped from Pedro, it's a snooze-fest.
-introduction of Erick. (He's great eye-candy, and he sings well, but I don't see the point.)

If the show had ended earlier, it would have been like novelas from the past that everyone remembers fondly: Amor Real, Alborada, El Manantial (these are all Carla Estrada-produced shows - I wonder if there's a connection?)

In any case, if they want to keep the novelas running longer, they should introduce more evil characters so that one person (Pedro) is not committing all the evil acts. Maybe they killed off Juventino and Loreto too soon?

Thanks again for the opportunity to discuss the show!
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

I so agree with you Tracy, don't see the point about Eric, and about Virginia having the crush, etc, it's like starting a whole new TN; put the story out of its misery. Ya basta!
 

Madelaine:

I did see AV and thought it went on way too long with such stupid plot twists. The only saving grace was that there were two good guys (that stayed good throughout), EY and SR. The women in this novela (EZ and EB) were also characterized as somewhat lacking in intelligence. Even though the writers tried to portray EB as a competent businesswoman, to me her character lacked reeked of stupidity by being La Otra opposite Kendra. Is this the new "in" thing that writers are trying to get across to its viewers. When can we hope to see a really strong intelligent woman in a novela? If the novelas take place in Mexico, get real, this is the 21st century!

I loved AR and didn't see Bodias, so I guess I began seeing this novela anticipating something better than what the writers have given us so far and, especially, in the extension. For me, the extension, and the ridiculousness of such, ruined this novela.

I feel cheated out of what could have been a great novela, with great actors(SR and AB) and a great script until the producers decided to give us something so stupid that it lost its meaning for me.

As the ending nears, I have really lost hope; but I hang in there because I have too much invested in time watching LQLVMR.

Any novela over 150 episodes is not worth watching because one knows it will be filled with too many side stories and events that are unbelievable. Maybe I’ve gotten to the point that I only watch novelas to see gorgeous studs. So sad…..

PLEASE BRING CARLA ESTRADA BACK!
 

I think maybe these novelas were meant for a younger audience than many of us middle age and senior citizens are. Some of us watch mainly for the Spanish but base our evaluations on our wisdom and years of real world experience.

I agree that most are way too long.
 

Yes, It is so long that I forget a lot of details from the begining and some of the middle. Yes, I started rolling my eyes and laughing about the time when Alejandro woke up from his coma after 7 years and he didn't have atrophid muscles or anything, he looked exactly the same and then all he needed to do was give himself a few good stretches and he was good to go. Its a good thing BM didn't find out he was in a coma, she could have kissed and hugged him all she wanted for 7 years! Beats having to poison him, and herself. Thanks Urban for creating this side discussion, this way I dont need to try to duscuss with my mother because she says that is all I talk about. Although I don't enjoy it that much anymore because it is simply too much "maldad" I get creeped out, makes me really wonder about the writers.
 

I agree that Juventino died way too fast,he seemed like an incomplete character to me especially since they have been hyping his ambition to become the man in charge of the Hacienda then they suddenly kill him off.
And Hasta El Fin Del Mundo is coming,all i will say to prevent excessive spoiling that it is a bit more cheerful and the plot makes sense, so far .
 

I actually prefer the darker stories over the "sweetness and light". I'm tolerating that stuff now in MCET because of the cast.

When I first began watching these I got very annoyed with series like Agujetas de Color de Rosa because of the excessive cheerfulness of some of the characters. Drama is far more interesting and -- within my experience -- more humanly realistic. The dark stuff right now in LQLVMR isn't bothering me because I know it will ultimately be paid back. I was not satisfied with the Karmageddon of Fernando/Xavier in PSMA because he had previously escaped from prison. There was still the risk of him doing so again.

Killing off Juventino in the early weeks of LQLVMR may have been done for a reason having nothing to do with the story, but it left the stage wide open for Pedro.
 

Urban, Montserrat needs to grow a BACKBONE and kick some butt.
 

As long as these telenovelas get the viewers and ratings they do (Thursday LQLVMR was the #3 program in prime time nationwide here on the US) the networks are not going to change a thing. We telenovela fans are our own worst enemies in a way because we continue watching even when the plots go bad.

One thing that I am
enjoying about QPTR is that from the start the story was not going to be extended and it wasn't. So, at least I, the viewer can judge it on its merits as a complete work good, bad or average. I know what the writers intended.

Jarifa
 

My big problem is that extended or not almost all novelas have rushed endings. We spend weeks or in the case of Televisa months watching evil characters constantly get away with everything rotten while the good guys never seem to catch a break. The we're into final characters and boom, boom, boom the evil characters end up being shot, killed in car accidents or lately drowned . Their punishment never comes close to all the evil they have done and I feel cheated. I'd love to see a clever novela where throughout the course of the story the bad guys don't always s get away with thing until the end.

I know that the writers think building up a back log of evil deeds adds to the suspense but in reality it just gets ridiculous especially in the extensions which always go off the rails into stupidville. The instant i hear about or read about an extension or suddenly a handful of new characters show up in a novela I'm gone. Period.
 

Yeah Decie i too dont like extensions much unless it is a good novela and that the villians still receive their rightful punishments in the end.I actually liked Fernandos anvil from PSA,losing his eye and now is eating pork and bread in maximum security prison while trying to hopelesly escape from the Evil Efren & Friends:)
But what gets on my nerves the most is when the villian himself comits suicide like Fernando Escandon ...
 

I think the novelas should just be less than 200 episodes.
I know it aint gonna happen but I sure wish it would. It gets tiring seeing the protas always struggling,instead of having a few main issues to overcome during the series our protas get a s*itstorm and more. It just makes me want to tear my hair out.
It just always leaves that feeling that these people will never be happy.
 

I would like to see a villain TRY to commit suicide but fail and only maim him/herself and have to live the rest of his/her life as a freak in prison at the mercy of the other depraved criminals.
 

I loved the Armageddon Antonia Guerra in La Patrona got ,it was so fitting,she didnt die by alligators or by being shot,she was actually tortured ,humiliated and the heroes never contacted the witch ever again.
 

I'm currently watching scenes from El Amor no Tiene Precio; a Mejia Mess which starred Susana Gonzalez and Victor Noriega. This one is all kinds of depressing because the villainess Araceli (Eugenia Caudora) has a scene where she gives birth and the ne'er-do-well male villain is just watching TV while she is having contractions. Eventually, He cuts the cord and then takes her baby out into the rain where he leaves it in a trashcan; Araceli is crawling in pursuit after having given birth. She begs God for forgiveness and acknowledges she has never done good. Suddenly, her post-labor pains disappear since she bounces up in shock (well, she is still on the floor but she is butt scooting faster than she should) since a man or someone has come in to kill her off (Beanie Moment!)She is shot in the head and another character comes in and laments what has happened to her. Susana's character Maria Liz comes in and although Araceli had caused so much damage towards her, she laments as well (Celi had hurt her daughter a lot before.)

This show only lasted a month on Canal de Las Estrellas before being moved to Gala TV (It got tens and elevens as ratings.)

Celi's anvil is elaborate but still a bit much while Marcelo (the ne'er-do-well) had gotten off by being stabbed. I wouldn't put it past a Mejia Mess to be moved to a different channel altogether though LOL. (I watched the finale/ wedding scene and noticed Maria Liz begins to cry while she kisses her groom/galan. That's original.) Before I conclude, this show is also bad since it's 280 capitulos; if it was so bad that it was banished to another channel, why would you make this that long still? Geez.
 

CountxAlacran- I agree; his anvil was technically just the beginning of hell on earth.

There was backlash towards his fate and I'm here to make it sound appealingly appauling;

Complaint 1-He could escape jail again.

Hello, Maximun Security Jail! I doubt the employees are incompetent enough to not keep a watchful eyes on the inmates AND the employed guards. Especially since two out of three (the other 2 guys FeVer helped bust out) were caught and sent back; they probably told who was the guard whom had enabled their escape and the murder of the guy who was thrown into the fire as a fake FeVer. Also, he no longer has any lackeys or goons to help him escape (Sonia's dead and was the one who brought the womens' clothes to begin with, Marcela's insane, instituted and he betrayed her so to speak, Dante and Gonzo died and Efrain betrayed him. FeVer was and is alone and completely vulnerable.)

Complaint 2- He was disfigured already.

He was bruised; that would heal. This injury to his eye was permanent and with the vulnerability of blindness in 1 eye, it could happen to his only other eye left as well.

If anymore complaints, just list 'em and I'll be sure to help you guys through them. Also, am I the only one who thinks the way he escaped is STUPID?
 

CountxAlacran "But what gets on my nerves the most is when the villian himself comits suicide like Fernando Escandon ..."

I feel the same way. I've only seen it twice: Soy Tu Dueña (Ivana) and Abismo de Pasion (The Evil Orange...what was her name?) I felt cheated both times.

Decie Girl-I feel the same way about extensions. If I read about one I usually don't watch the show. Unfortunately, Uni is bringing us shows with little delay so I may not be able to avoid extended shows any more.

TomBoy-My limit is 150 episodes.
 

Traditionally, telenovelas had about 60 episodes . That number sounds about right to tell a story.
 

Thanks for the topic UA. Though I think we should make our unhappiness known about the length of tn. And as Decie Girl said, we should walk away when things go bad.

I have yet to see a tn get an extension and things turn out well. The one for LFMB I think ruined a great tn and the one for Robo hasn't help it either.

I don't know whether its the cumulative effect of having watched a lot of tns but I'm really thinking of taking time off as this set come to an end. I think the writers take the viewers for granted and don't respect our intelligence. The community here is so fun that I will probably watch at least one but on their own, I would have been long gone.
 

I have to cosign everyone who shouted-out La Patrona for being short and sweet, only 126 episodes, and the pretty realistic ending the villana got. She was paralyzed in the last ep but she didn't change. Her family stayed in town, lived better than she did and ignored her.

If Telemundo had been greedy, or Aracely Arambula and Jorge Luis Pila, hadn't basically said, no, definitively, since they have young kids, it was ripe for an extension since it was so popular. I loved watching that novela on YT, where it's still posted, because the community of viewers were great and a lot like CarayCaray.

I honestly don't like overlong tns seeing the classic ones were short and sweet. "Maria Isabel" was only 60 eps, "Cuna de Lobos" was only 80 eps; "El Manantial" 90 eps. Watching these tns you can't say you were missing in character development or anything like that. If anything, it made the writers tell a more meaty story and not go into estupidez because there was no room for it. There really is no need for novelas to be more than 120 eps in my view.

And on a more personal note, I don't like long tns because my work schedule doesn't allow me to watch. If you can't get to the point, I can't be bothered-which is why I end up watching classic tns on YT on the weekends. The last tn I watched was La Que No Podia Amar, and I read the recaps in the midpoint because it was filler. I love Jorge Salinas and Ana Brenda but I couldn't deal with Boca del boring. I can't comment on Robo since I haven't watched it, but I have been reading the recaps.
 

I wish Televisa would listen to its viewers regarding their unfortunate propensity to produce such ridiculously long telenovelas and instead keep them at least under 150 episodes.

However, I believe we, as an audience, are guilty of encouraging producers to continue with this insane tendency because we continue to tune in to watch, thus increasing viewer ratings.

Amor Real was the most wonderful novela I've ever seen. I really did not want to watch LQLVMR because I didn't want to tarnish the imagine I have of AR. I only tuned in because of the leading actors--SR and AB. Now I'm sorry I did.

If I learn beforehand that a novela is going to be more than 150 episodes, I will not tune in and waste my time.

Stick with YouTube or other sites, where one can watch at one's leisure.
 

The kicker is we often DON'T know ahead of time if a novela is going to be long. Ratings = extension and often producers start out thinking that there will be at least 140 episodes. Except for the producer of LFDD and MPV I don't think anyone plans a for a show to be 100 or less. From the start they are thinking 140.

It's also a problem for recappers. I have so much respect for the folks that signed on for Robo! And I would never volunteer for a comedy. Those get extended as well. Which is too bad because QPob has shown if you have a plan and stick to it you end up with a good product.
 

I've pretty much resigned myself to long series these days. My problem is the poor planning on the networks' part when the length isn't planned appropriately.

Some series are extended because the ones that follow them in the time slot aren't ready for production; that's on the network. Other times things happen off camera that get the story altered and it suffers. Usually that's temporary (such as in LQNPA) and it gets overcome, but sometimes it's a disaster (like CI).
 

Urban

I also think that extensions create problems with the novelas that are scheduled to follow them and certainly for the actors. If an actor in a key role in an extended story has commitments to another TN the extension causes a problem for TN number 2 since the actor isn't available and must either be recast, killed off in the extension or delay production on the second story.

MCET was originally scheduled to follow Pores, and that didn't happen. We got previews for La Gata which then disappeared and LQLVMR is now going to be followed by Hasta el Fin del Mundo which we'd never heard of and La Malquerida was supposed to follow Quiro Amarte but looks to be following Pobres.

Now that DQTQTQ is in its final weeks I'm wondering if La Gata will slot in to the very early time slot or we'll get a bunch of shuffling around.

No matter how you slice it extension while possibly good for ratings are not good for many viewers.

Telemundo seems to avoid the temptation of extensions and long stories which may be why they seem to be drawing talent away from Televisa. That and the fact that they don't seem to be holding actors to always playing the same kind of part. I can't imagine Televisa ever casting Juan Soler as the antagonist.


 

And Juan Soler as an antagonist has been a revelation. He's AMAZING!

I think the Uni FB page said La Gata will be premiering Sept 1. I hope there is no shuffling, though. I prefer the early time slot.

Despite the mess that was CI I really want to see La Gata. It's a risk though because we are so far behind that Uni may decide to edit if the ratings are bad OR give us marathons if it gets extended.
 

PS: And if La Gata stays in the early slot I can see Los Miserables on Telemundo. That looks really good too.

In fact, I am more interested in upcoming Telemundo productions than what Uni will be airing.
 

Sara

The early slot is bad for me because that means 6 o'clock right at the dinner hour. If i tape it then i have to figure out how to see it in time to comment cause God knows i always have something to say. I too am looking forward to Les Miserables and a modern take on the story and I know it won't be excessively long. Have you got a start date for that one?
 

No, but Telemundo has shown a couple of promos during Reina. I hope that means soon. I am assuming it will replace EOP and the new narco with Blanca Soto (snort) will replace ESDLC.

Telemundo's ability to keep things short is one reason I am migrating over there.
 

Sara
Sorry what does Uni FB page stand for?
I can't wait to see Miserables also. No crying Victoria Ruffo for me
 

Sara again:
Pls let us know if u find out when Miserables and BS's novela begins
 

Victoria- Uni FB= Univision's Facebok page.

I'm sure as soon as there is a date, several people will mention the Los Miserables and BS premiere :-)
 

LQLVMR was extended because of World Cup. It was very risky to start a new show. But as for me, I stopped watching it long before. I can only imagine how crazy last episodes will be.
As for Televisa, it's much more cheaper to make 150 episodes. And they can sell well novela with 90 episodes or 200 episodes. So novela should be really awful if they decided to cut it and made less episodes. But anyway I cant remember any good endings. When it comes to the endings, everybody losing their talents.
Alegria
 

I actually had some fun with the end of LQLVMR, it was like they decided to go full blown circus to get some sort of thrill in almost every episode. The writing was thighter at the begining but I didn't care for the main storyline when it was done in Amor Real (I've always HATED IT), so I had more fun with the thriller turn.

But I understand that those who loved Amor Real are feeling like LQLVMR did a disservice to the story. I felt the same when Cadenas de Amargura's storyline, which was originally 80 episodes, got turned into a circus at the end of En El Nombre del Amor with its 170 episodes. The extensions usually hurt the plot and characters and I wish more producers had the clouth to say no but I'm guessing one of the reasons Carla Estrada got "benched" was because she refused to do it. Extensions generate more money to the network than smaller, tighter stories, so money gets precedence over quality.

Jarocha


 

LQLVMR is not remake of Amor real. AR is also far from the original story. And I didnt like that final also. As far as I remember it wasn't Carla's Estrada choice to make happy end, so they changed it. I wish they made a tragic end, it fits the story more.
And, besides, I want to see more no-classic happy ends. Or even tragic. That is why I like the end of "Te Sigo amando". It makes me think, that lead couple didn't end together and its the best choice. I want to see logic end but not happy end no matter what
Alegria
 

I LOVE the end of Te Sigo Amando. I actually consider it a happy and empowering ending for the heroine.

I wish more heroines would realize in the end that what they need to reach happiness is not an immediate marriage but a healthy time to find themselves.

Jarocha
 

http://masquetelenovelas.blogspot.com/2014/08/avance-largo-de-los-miserables-con.html#more

This is an avance for Los Miserables.

La Patrona fans: it's by the same writer.
 

Sara

Thanks for the link. This novela looks very promising. I liked AA in LP and AMF. I hope I don't miss the beginning.