Caray, Caray!

I would like to see a not typical or expected
ending.
 

I would like to see the female lead end up with the man of HER choice and not the choice driven by TN "Rules".

I would like to see a break from holding on to so many TN "Rules".

Fatima
 

I like to see someone digging up dirt on Greta's past in finding out if Paco or Octavio is Sofia's father.


 

UA - Great question.

A successful blended family. The ex doesn't have to be killed off in order for the golden couple to live happily after.
 

I think I'm getting old and there is a big generational gap between the writers and me. There are so many big things that bother me, I probably could not list them all, and I am sure others will. However, something as silly as seeing Ana (Silvia Navarro) running around in 6- to 8-inch spiked heels while carrying out Nanny duties on MCET really gets on my nerves! Stupid, I know.
 

Another thing:
I'm watching "Reina del Sur" from Telemundo. One thing I've noticed about the novelas that I've seen from Telemundo (versus those from Televisa) is that the Telemundo novelas seem to be filmed on location using "real-life" sets versus the "stage" sets that Televisa uses so much and which are so boring.

Do you think this may be because Telemundo films in the relatively safe US (Miami), whereas Televisa films in Mexico where the actors are exposed to more danger?
 

Televisa shoots on location a lot more than some other countries' networks do. Argentine novelas are done in studios and backlots and have a really claustrophobic feel to them.

What I'm talking about is things like stepfathers lusting after stepdaughters and step-siblings getting together. Also child abuse.

The latter has bothered many people in recent times. From a story perspective it doesn't bother me because it's a truth that's in the past of most adult protagonists who have controlling parents. Veronica of PEAM is the young version of many a controlling mother like Gabriela of FELS.
 

Yes, Urban, sorry. I do agree about the taboos. That was one thing that bothered me about LQLVMR with the kids, especially the scene where they were in cages. I hated that scene, think it was unnecessary, and think it took away from the storyline.

I refused to watch LM because I didn't like the idea of the husband having the hots for his stepdaughter, which is what I heard about the novela.
 

They are breaking the taboo of gay relationships, and even showing them in a positive light.


 

Since most of the telenovelas we are watching come from another country and culture where taboos are often different than they are here, or close to how they used to be here, I don't know how realistic it is to expect/hope that all of a sudden they start exploring some of these topics the same way US shows would.

I think we've seen quite a few tns break some of the taboos/rules from time to time. These are the ones I would like to see broken more often:

- Gay couples shown showing as much affection and passion for each other as other couples, and not always being flamboyant.
- Women allowed to be true supportive friends of each other, without jealousy, pettiness and cattiness getting in the way.
- The heroine allowed to sleep with someone else other than the hero, just as he is allowed to.
- The heroine getting to kick butt and rescue the galan.
- More dark-skinned Latinos/as in lead roles, and not relegated to servant/supportive roles.
- Poor people not being shown as being ignorant/rich people not being shown as being snobbish to the point of being evil.
 

MCET is my first tn, and I like it because it's lighthearted, and I can use it as a tool to learn Spanish. (Of course, reading the recaps and comments make it enjoyable, too!) That said, I see the commercial for the tn with the mom-stepdad-daughter triangle, which unsettles me. It reminds me of Oedipus Rex or Hamlet (I can't figure out how to italicize these play titles.).

Anyhoo, from ancient Greece to Shakespeare's Denmark/Elizabethan England to present day, society considers incest taboo, often worthy of drawing divine judgment - you know, like plagues, suicide, blinding oneself with pins, generational curses, haunting, insanity, and enemy invasions. Therefore, I believe "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" - or in tns about incest.
 

Victoria- We can't be watching the same shows, because I have seen some of the most beautiful locations in Televisa tns, including the beautiful ranches and old towns where La Malquerida is being filmed. While Telemundo shows a few establishing outside shots to show the fake/non-Miami location (Las Vegas in Reina) over and over again, where we don't see the actors because they were never there, and everything else is filmed in the studio or a nondescript neighborhood in Miami. I don't remember one gorgeous outside shot in Reina-- and I'm enjoying that tn immensely. I'm also really enjoying La Malquerida. Two very different styles of tns, but both good for what they are.
 

Ecuador Bound- The comparison of La Malquerida to Greek tragedy or Shakespeare is very apt. The tn is based on a play written at the turn of the last century, and it is a tragic play. If we enjoy Greek or Shakespeare tragedies, why can't we enjoy a tn with the same kind of themes? Are we not then saying that we want all tns to be the same boy meets girl- they fall in love- they separate- they get back together-they live happily ever after story? Do we want tn writers to be innovative (which means sometimes making the audience uncomfortable), or do we want them to give us the same things all the time?
 

You're absolutely right, Vivi, about tns having the right to innovation and alluding to themes from the classics. In that sense, tn writers should receive commendation for veering away from formula fiction. (Actually, La Malquerida is on my reading list.)

Perhaps I should have clarified my position better. I already have an over-full schedule, which mostly consists of analyzing complex texts with students. Moreover, I watch one hour of television on Mondays - Fridays, MCET, because I want to improve my Spanish-speaking skills. During this one hour, I just want entertainment and subtitles. For now, I prefer not to incorporate tragedy into that time.
 

I watch novelas as an escape. I don't want to see incest, child prostitutes,human trafficking and such. For that I watch the nightly news. I want to see for people of color in those novelas because watching them you would think they don't exist in any of these countries. I want to see women who are not backstabbing each other for a man. I want to see married couple who are faithful and in love just for the hell of it. Yea all these unrealistic things in novelas, I know.
Romy
 

Romy: I agree with you. I watch Novelas to escape, not to see what I might see on the news.
 

I too watch shows to escape, and I love the ones that just entertain without me needing to think much. But I also love the ones that make me think and tap into deeper feelings. I think there are so many different reasons why we like shows, so there doesn't have to be one formula that they all use. As long as they are done well, no matter what the genre or if they are riddled with cliches, or instead breaking taboos all over the place.
 

As a rule, I don't mind the "cookie cutter" story line, plot or ending. The thing that bugs the heck out of me is the scheming power that is given the protagonists, while the good guys are made to look like powerless idiots. I hate the fact that they reek unrelenting havoc on the good guys until the very end of the show.
Since it's a novela, I don't mind the fact that there are rich people who have live in servants. I do mind the way they talk to and treat the servants. I don't like to see servants serving teenagers and young adults. I don't like how submissive the servants are. It irritates me when they run to obey an order from patron.


 

I want more original stories. Even if it's a remake, I don't think it's always necessary to repeat all lines from the original stories. But in Televisa it's almost taboo.
And God, please, teach them to use condoms. Or not make girls pregnant after their first time. We need to break this rule.
Alegria
 

oops! make that the scheming power given to the "antagonists", (not the protagonists).
 

I'd like to see protagonists with brains. Let the antagonists come up with everything they want to throw, but let them be foiled at every turn. This is why I loved Amor Bravio so much. Of course, it also had the horrible rape of the pretty young girl by her disgusting uncle, which I could have done without, but the rest of the time it was awesome.

I'd like to see couples in love actually trust each other and not take everything someone else says at face value, particularly when that someone is your rival or can benefit from your separation.
 

Amor Bravio is one of my favorites as well and for that very reason...the bad guys would scheme but not everything would come out without a hitch in fact it was mostly a disaster.

it reminded me of sortilegio. Bruno would come up with a plan that was always foiled, it made it more suspenseful to watch.

I'm enjoying la malquerida precisely because its a break from the formula. I sometimes catch the tail end of the commercials for HAFDM and MCET and they might as well be the same thing. Its boringg after a while especially since I've been watching novelas for close to ten years.

If ratings dont go up I doubt we'll see more dark stories for a while and a whole lot more MCET.

As far as the incest in Amor Bravio I thought I was handled very well and gave an accurate representation of the trauma of rape and incest. It was always respectful and never seemed like a cheap ratings ploy. Its not to say every novels should be a news story but it to people talking about a very serious matter which is often overlooked.

I'd like to see more interracial relationships in telenovelas ala Destilando Amor. For me that was the best part.
 

I LOVED Elvis in Destilando Amor and I really liked the fact that he was totally welcomed by the whole family without a single mention of his race. Well, the abuela had to be won over, but it I believe it was because he was an "artist" and not because he was black. At first she didn't approve of her granddaughter's bohemian lifestyle with him.
 

Yes and it was so cool that Elvis saved the family while Rodrigo was in jail. I cried my heart out. I loved how this novela veered from the norm.
 

Great topic , Urban.
I love twisted stories , they make me cringe but they are different , a welcomed change once in a while. That's why I enjoy LM and loved Passion Prohibida last year . Of course some of these stories are dis guts in g( rape, child prostitution ) but traditional tns are nothing like real life , what do they teach us ?
 

I really don't want to see the "love story" between two men. I don't care! If I was interested in that, I'd watch the LOGO channel. Everything is a P.S.A!

Also, don't mind them showing a virginal woman. Modern values are not better. If they're gonna show a P.S.A, show woman that you can only trust yourself. Most bozos only want to get in your pants. Especially the young bozos. Get an education and find the best bozo...because they are all bozos. The odds are that you will not live happily ever after with him, but you will be left with his children...so take birth control if you can't say no. Make sure that you make him wear a rubber because men lie. He may or may not have a venereal disease.

P.S.A....TRUST ONLY YOURSELF!


 

Anon 2:31- Yes. More use of the pill and condoms in tns!
 

Agree with Romy, tns are my escape too. I find it difficult to hear news concerning human trafficking and incest, any type of child abuse, so when I watch telenovellas I certainly dont find those subjects entertaining. I watch tns because american programming is all abour vampires, serial killers.

Also it disturbs me when there is so much "maldad'. Sick of evil people.

My fave fave fave ending is in "teresa", when Rulli goes and picks up the broken and rejected "Teresa" off the floor and they way she looked at him. That is real love! For me best ending ever.
 

Novella Lover

The ending of "Teresa" with SR was one of the best novela endings of all time! Thank goodness they selected that ending over the other twi terrible endings.

"La Virgin Esposa" had the worse ending I've seen so far ( in my humble opinion).
 

Like Vivi, mainly I watch novelas for entertainment, and don't mind watching some of what would have been a MAJOR TABOO decades ago being developed... as long as it is developed realistically and not too graphically, and in the right time slot.
I have had issues with the violent scene between Johnny and Ana in MCET, and with incest, child abuse, spousal (or significant other, either gender) abuse... when it is extremely graphical, and especially when it is at the 8pm showtime or earlier. But we adults know that is the reality in our times and we can handle it, it is our choice to watch or not. But i have no problem with them chosing those subplots as long as it is not early enough that if my grandson is watching with me, I find myself having to explain why they are showing something 'bad' on tv.
I like to see mixed couples treated as normal, as well as gay couples developed without being constantly pointed as and talked about as 'defective'. Violence has its time slot too...
If you liked 'Elvis' in Destilando, you would LOVE 'Harold' in Cafe... 'Daniela' was played in Cafe (character's name was Marcela) by a very young Danna Garcia and she was made for the character... it is my favorite character for Danna to date, even including Que Bonito Amor or any of her Televisa roles.
 

I wish they'd show more gay couples of course since those storylines that seem so outdated with straight couples may work with gay couples ( just add in few modern twists and voila!).

Also would love to see the main protas actually ending up with someone else than the other main prota. You can fall in love and fall out of love. I just wish TNs would know this and not promote the 'one and only' plotline. It especially irks me when it's a really really young couple.

Maybe that's why I adore TNs that have older couples as leads. They've usually had a (miserable)life already and get the chance to start again with someone new.
 

Coming from someone who had to explain to her children that they couldn't see their father because they were sick...or why their father constantly gained and lost weight...or why their father has a dent in his head to drain the fluid off of his brain...or why their father lost his ability to walk normally...or why their father is 40 but looks 60. Yeah, please show gay relationships. But please include the other side of gay relationships as well. Just like the PSA about HPA on Mi Corazon is Tuyo and the young girl contracting HIV on that David Zepeda TN. Show it all.
 

I love the treatment of the Bruno character on MCET. He is a person who stutters, yet he isn't portrayed negatively like many people who stutter have been over the years. Stuttering is just part of who some people are and it doesn't mean they are less intelligent or defined by their speech differences. As a speech therapist, I love seeing positive role models for the children I treat.