Caray, Caray!

I've got to think on it a bit, but my first thought is that I really had such a blast with Amores con trampa.

I was ready for Sombra to end, but that was a great experience as well.

Looking forward to lurking here and reading others' opinions.
 

Some of these shows I had forgotten even aired this year. If I had to pick an all-around favorite in just about every way...La Vecina wins. But a lot of the others, even when I didn't enjoy the show overall, there were still elements that I did enjoy.
 

Sara, I am right there with you. " Amores con Trampa" was a hoot!
 

I'm just holding out to see how La Vecina ends. I have faith that no sharks will be jumped nor will it descend into madness, but I need to see the "Fin" flash on the screen before I make a final assessment. As far as writing, story and continuity go, La Vecina wins hands down.

Yeah, the more I think about it, La Vecina is really good in so many cliche busting ways and good even when it does stick to cliches.
 

Right, Jarifa? I still think about the dance contest and all the ruined parties!
 

Sara, and abuelo!!! We kept thinking he was going to die but he never did.
 

Ha ha!! Yes!! Ignacio Lopez Tarso was "awarded" a bronze medal for that role on another Telenovela blog.
 

Only a bronze!!! He deserved a GOLD!
 

5ft - Great topic. Thanks for reviving my memory.

"Amores Con Trampa was such fun. That was a comedy that didn't get bogged down into serious drama for too long, and nobody got killed. Something made me laugh nearly every episode. Sara, great too see you here! Jarifa, like you, I like the comedies.

"La Malquerida" was great, after the early time jump. My favorite-ever downfall of a TN villain. He controlled women and got done in by women.

Most of "Duenos del Paraiso" was pretty good (and violent). But the Chile side story didn't work for me.
 

I actually really appreciated that La Malquerida didn't have a "happy" ending. It felt very fitting after everything that came before.

La Sombra del Pasado was one that dragged on too long and didn't live up to its initial promise, but Susanna Gonzalez' performance as Roberta was amazing.
 

Susana Gonzalez as Roberta was definitely the best performance of the year!
 

Niecie- I assume the Chile side story was for the eventual Chilean audience (Dueños later aired it Chile.... And flopped.)

I also think Boris Duflos gets my favorite newcomer award. He was Diego in AcT.

Oh! And Vladimir from La Vecina!
 

Diva--This is such a surprise and a help for future reference. Thank you. I love it. Yes, with so many telenovelas now starting and ending at different times, the memory gets fogged.

One telenovela we all just loved was Reina de Corazones. Regrettably, it ended on December 12, 2014. It didn't make it into 2015 because they chopped, minced and diced (I'm making chili right now) this show for about six weeks, lopping off what was brilliant work on the part of the actors, writers and crew.

You should all check out Mauricio's last gasp, littered with bodies, excellent photographs, each captioned hilariously and the subject lines are a hoot, too. You needn't have watched it to enjoy Mauricio's final gift to us Reinamaniacs.

You can find it on the sidebar and go to the finale, or try this link in your browser.
http://caraycaray.blogspot.com/2014/12/telemundo-y-menos-reina-de-corazones_12.html

 

YNCELH, WITHOUTa doubt to me, even tho it was well acted out, the actors were superb. I
Can really say I hated the characters and that they were the most repulsive disgusting folk
Ive ever seen on a tn. The bad guys, not the good guys. The good guys weren't to smart
At times. Nobody is happy on this show.

Quiero Amarte: I loved that show. I even had down loaded the opening theme song. When I was Stuck at the store and couldn't get a ride home, in time to see it, I'd sit On the bench and listen to the song and look At the video. I was so glad and happy when I Discovered you caray caray people, yall are My patio pals. Who knew I would I enjoy with Pleasure talkin to people from different parts Of the world about telenovellas/soaps. Hah!!!

Mi corizon es tuyo, I love romantic comedies.
That was a good one, sorta like "The Sound of Music" without the music, (thank the lord).
Jorge salenas and I can"t think of her name anyway they had good comic chemistry. By
The way does anyone if she had a boy or girl? In real life, I heard she was pregnant on the news last summer the one that played the lead female character in that one? Anyways good show.
LaGata: it was kinda frustrating to watch it seems at times she couldn't get a break either. Her husband was a blind airhead and she wasn't too much smarter than that either. the only sweet ones in the show with the twins. At least the two love birds had a happy End.

La Sombra: was misery with a happy ending.
Lo Imperdonable, was kind of annoying at
Times, I enjoyed it. I'll give it 4 ♡♡♡♡s for
Romance. Loved martin when he was being
Romantic.

Pasion and poder/passion & power: so far
Eladio's part Is a bit over acted. That guy
Is good, but those facial expression are from
Crazy to funny.

Ok thats all for me. I've had a good year with
You guys. Heres to the good times continuing in 2 0 1 6.

H A P P Y☆N E W * Y E A R patio pals.
 

LaDiva thanks for a year in telenovas in reveiw. This is good.
 

Thank you, Diva! Happy New Year, everyone! Well, 2015 saw me enter the wild and wonderful world of recapping for Caray Caray, joining La Gata somewhere after it had already started, joining the fantastic team of Diva, Sara, and Princess Juju. Forgive me, am I forgetting someone?

Anywho, La Gata was AMAZING . . .ly bad! It was so bad it developed a faithful, but horrified following caught in a train wreck rubbernecking kind of vibe, unable to look away. Pretty soon we got caught up in the fun of the ridiculosity of it all and had a blast lambasting the turkey!

Quiero Amarte was a quality show, the story, the pacing, the leads. I liked that the baddies weren't constantly winning and a couple of the main baddies, a mother and son, were wrong about major things which helped contribute to crushing anvils in the end. I liked the non-teeny bopper lovers. It was my first time seeing Cristian de la Fuente in anything and he was HOT! Spent most of his time with "the wrong woman" but I've learned that's the stock-in-trade of telenovelas. Anita, Sara, Kelly, Sneaky 2 Shoes, Corazon Salvage and I shared recapping duties on that one in the comments sections under weekly posts. QA was WAY more deserving of being primetime than that the stray La Gata. Oh, well.

By now I was hooked and began my first, from the beginning recapping of a novela with La Sombra del Pasado. Well, I almost lost my cookies and was deeply shaken when Sev raped Aldonza. After the crazy, spirited romp that La Gata was, that brutal act almost caused me to bolt. What I remember more than the show was the camaraderie and genuine affection I felt from the stellar team of Diva, Sara, Eli and Hellashelle! It was a rockin' Patio, too, where would often go well over 200 comments per show! What with all the killing and slobberin' by that snake, Severiano, that kind of Patio was needed!

Now I'm doing Muchacha Italiana Viene a Casarse with the incomparable Diva and we've shared the pleasure of recapping this show with Sara, Princess Juju and Sneaky 2 Shoes! It's a fun show. Yah, we, okay I fuss a lot, but like Lucy of Peanuts fame, I AM a fusbudget, so sue me! Smile! Anywho, too much time was taken up with this old dude who almost tricked the Muchacha Italian into marrying him and now several plot points have been repeated at least twice buuuut, we're having a good time. The leads are cute and have a brilliant chemistry when they're allowed to be together and there's a second tier couple who is even more adorable! So.

It's been a great year and I hope I can hang with this wonderful community throughout 2016 and beyond. Happy and Prosperous New Year Y'all!
 

This thread is going to get me going back and forth.

Nina and Lila-Quiero Amarte was really good too. The music/soundtrack really stood out to me. It was great.
 

sara, yes, Vladimir on Vecina! And Ela Velden (Gianna) on MIVAC, she's another new face for me and she's stealing the show.

Anita, no wonder I kept thinking that one should be on the list, until I looked at the dates :(

Nina, you're far more generous with some of those shows than I was :D Let's see, can I say one nice thing about That Show...I liked Carlos and Virginia. And the baby playing Leticia :)

Lila! Yes, indeed, we had some epic times recapping LG, and there were only 4 of us--Sara did 2 nights a week, I think? And I'm glad we stuck together through Sombra, because that show needed some post-show group therapy every night! Yikes!

Hey, who misses Solitario from Sombra? Best Equine Actor of 2015! The things he could convey with just a roll of one eye. Also one of the best galanes we've seen in a while. A true stud ;)
 

Sara, I need to go back to iTunes and see if I can find the theme song! The music WAS great!

You said it all about Solitario, Diva. Solitario would've kicked that mean old doggie from MIVAC in the doggie nuts!
 

Ha! That's fabulous, Lila! Yes, yes he would have!
 

Hi everybody!!!

GREAT to read everybody's comments, most especially because they give me a little bit of insight on telenovelas that- solely because of my own snobbishness (which, I must, alas, admit to)- I have missed out on.

For starters, though I may be an ignorant bigot, I simply can't forgive Juan Osorio for taking the 'Best Telenovela' prize last year from others so deserving. Full disclosure- my favorite movie in the whole wide world is Paddy Cheyevsky's 'Network'- a clever, savage, disturbing piece of satire. At the Oscar's that year, it pretty much swept the acting awards, but lost out to 'Rocky' for best picture. The subsequent post-mortems were clear- 'Network was a savage indictment of modern-day television, disturbing and thought-provoking to the end. 'Rocky' was an inspiring 'Cinderella/rags to riches' tale of a poor American fighter who defied all odds. Which do you think won?

Something similar happened a few years later at the 53rd annual Academy Awards where the Best Actress award was given to Sissy Spacek for her inspiring, feel-good role of Loretta Lynn in 'Coal Miners Daughter' over the jarring, antagonistic portrayal from Mary Tyler Moore (who, of course, at that time was considered 'America's sweetheart' as the emotionally bereft Beth Jarrett in 'Ordinary People' (which, like with 'Network' a few years prior) won the majority of the awards it was up for.

In both cases, the prize went to that which was more 'user-friendly' than that which- regardless of it's quality- disturbed people and ruffled a few proverbial feathers.

I see (delusional though I may be) parallels with Juan Osorio's 'Mi corazon es tuyo' being heralded as 'Best Telenovela' of the year over it's competitors (where 'Yo no creo en los hombres' beat everybody both in regards to award nominations, and awards given'). Full disclosure, here, I have something against Sr. Osorio because of the shameless way he shoves the 'talents' of his son Emilio down our throats ad nauseam (nepotism is one of my pet peeves). There was very little depth to any of the characters in this novela- Mayrin Villanueva went public saying that she didn't really enjoy playing a villainous character (this was her first villanous role) and who can blame her considering how paper-thin the character was that she was given to portray. But STILL, it had two beloved actors as the protagonists, and 'cute' was shoved down our throats ad nauseam. It was a 'feel good' production that required little of its viewing audience, and that's what was ultimately rewarded. Who cares that the ultimate 'castigo' of the villana was a) that she got fat, and b) that she was reduced to menial labor in a zoo. What kind of superficial message is THAT?? (Full disclosure again... one of my best friends is a custodian at the Toronto Zoo, a job that she loves and is totally and completely proud of. She doesn't speak Spanish, nor professes to have any knowledge or awareness of the wonderful world of telenovelas that we all share and indulge in, but I am speaking as someone who loves and respects her dearly, on her behalf...). I guess, in summing up, I must confess that I TRIED not to hate 'Mi corazon es tuyo', but ultimately failed...

 

Interesting, too, to read the plaudits and praise for 'Amores con trampa', as it's been widely regarded as an absolute failure down in these Southern parts (while ratings for most novelas have plummeted, 'ACT' debuted- in perhaps the most enviable of time slots- with a strong rating of 25.3, yet finished with an abysmal 17.5, a drop of almost a full 8 points. Cassandra's down here have wondered what- if any at all- production could possibly bring the realm of telenovelas back to the level it once was...

Full disclosure (yet again), it's after 4:30 New Years morning down in these Colombian parts, and I'm kinda more than half 'in-the-bag', so I should probably stop now. Will right more when lucid in the morning (or, er... 'afternoon')

Hope you all had a terrific New Years! :-)
 

I mean: 'will WRITE more'... half-drunk or not, I STILL can't forgive or abide bad spelling or grammar (on MY part, that is... I'm much more forgiving of others... ;-)
 

Head and shoulders above anything, YNCELH. It's not a TN though but in it's own lane, story, writing, directing, acting, music, no weak spots. Impressed

La Malquerida's story was incredible (based on a play) and many actors killed it. Unfortunately Univision used the scissors in the final two weeks and threw the timing off.

Bottom of the bottom of the barrel was La Gata
 

Like Tofie, I have to rate Yo No Creo en los Hombres head and shoulders above everything else for writing, acting, plot, everything. Followed by La Malquerida. Both tns had such tight casts, great direction, and interesting storylines that also brought surprises. And I agree that Danilo's ending was one of the most fitting I've seen for a villain. I was very shocked and disappointed with how Uni treated this in the final weeks.

I saw the last third of Preciosa Perla, and loved the acting, period setting and the costumes, and found the Buddhist spiritual component interesting.

Quiero Amarte had some fantastic acting, particularly by the villains. And Cristian de la Fuente is one of my favorite telenovios. He's just so pretty. :) I also really enjoy tns that center around main couple who are mature adults.

I'm really enjoying Que Culpa Tiene Fatmagul, and think it will end up being one of my all time favorites. Such a fascinating look into Turkish culture, top notch acting, particularly by the protagonists. And beautiful setting and camera work.
 

Vivi-I didn't follow La Malquerida faithfully, but agree with your and tofie's comments that Univision (and their propensity to edit) did a disservice to that show. I would be interested in comparing the ratings for it then with the ratings we typically see now. I wonder if they are not very different.

 

Amores con Trampa and La Vecina are two tns I enjoy just because I enjoy the cast, I like a lot of the characters and am rooting for them, the stories aren't heavy, but they don't fall into mindless stupidly like some other light tns (e.g. La Gata).
 

"...the stories aren't heavy, but they don't fall into mindless stupidly like some other light tns"

Well said, Vivi! It's such a shame that light TNs are often judged negatively because of the ones like La Gata.
 

Happy New Year and wishes for a wonderful 2016 to all.

I was disappointed by most of the telenovelas that I tried to watch this year. I gave up on Gata (sorry I said that name) and so many others. I liked Sombra even though there were so many people I loved to hate including the supposed galan (f)Art. Hated the nasty little stepdaughter and the awful , vicious, psychotic ex. Was Amores in 2015? If so, I liked that one with Big Ed Yanez , one of mi telenovios and all the prepositions he used. Miss Vicki was a lucky gal even though she never got to wear capris. (Ask Cynderella.) I also liked LM even though I had to record it because it was on so late. I loved hating Christian M. As he lusted after his stepdaughter in her teeny tiny , itty bitty bandage dresses .
 

Uhoh...I think that I wrote Sombra when I meant PSMA. I kind of liked Sombra . The villain was over the top evil , and the horses were gorgeous. Roberta of the Twirly Skirts was a train wreck you could not turn away from.
 

"Doggie nuts"... Gee, I've missed you, Lila !!!!

Shoutout to Sara, too!!
 

Susanlynn- Both Por Siempre Mi Amor (2014) and Amores Verdaderos (2013) were a while ago, but the memory of them lingers, for both good and bad reasons.
 

Vivi..Thanks. I am evidently in some form of time warp. Therefore, I guess I do not have a favorite tn for 2015. I watched Sombra regularly , but it was frustrasting. I am becoming disenchanted with telenovelas, and I may have to move onward to some other escape mechanism. I will give Grand Hotel a try.
 

Susanlynn - yes! Give Hotel a try! It has a lot of potential.
 

Being in the middle of Sombra definitely got in the way of even starting Yo No Creo En Los Hombres for me. I'm sure everyone who has praised the quality of the show is absolutely correct, but after having to deal with Severiano's predatory sexual behaviors night after night, the attempted rape five minutes in to Yo No Creo was just too much to handle and I had to turn it off.

Which makes me think that perhaps show preferences aren't necessarily about taste level or "snobbery" but what a person can handle given other things that are going on at the same time. "Good" and "enjoyable" aren't necessarily the same thing. Sometimes I want gritty realism, but sometimes I just want a fairy tale. What works best for me is when they can balance the two and not have it feel completely contrived, but still have good win out over evil.

I'm going to sound so repetitive, but I think La Vecina does that very well. We have organized crime and domestic violence sharing the stage with true love and cliched misunderstandings and it neither feels unrealistically happy all the time nor so dark that I can't stand it.

Susanlynn, did you see the post from Doris on MIVAC for 12/30? She's got a link for you to something about costuming for Outlander.
 

Diva...Yes, I just was surfing around here and found your message. Thank you. I am deeply into all things Outlander, and I prowl the Outlander blogs daily. The show , leading lady, and the villsin are up fir Golden Globes ! Those costumes for Season two which is set in Paris in the 18th century are gorgeous .

Sara..I miss talking to you. I am becoming disenchanted with the telenovelas, but I am trying to hang in and watch one because I like the patio people so much. How are you doing?
 

Susanlynn - I've been through disenchantments before. I understand that feeling. When it happens to me I just keep watching because I do want to keep hearing Spanish every day.

It does seem that in the last year or two there have been fewer and fewer offerings that really capture my attention, but that's just as much me as the show. Diva really has some good points up there about "good" and "enjoyable" And my tastes are all over the place.
 

Sara...I might pop into Muchacha again to see what's up. Now that the holidays are over, I will have a little more free time .
 

It's too bad that those of you who are thirsty for a really good TN are missing Yo No Creo En Los Hombres because it truly is head and shoulders above the rest. It would be riveting even if it were an American production in English. Nothing is predictable and when we think we have it figured out, we don't. It's going to be missed when it's done and will be a difficult void to fill.
 

Worst for me:

La Gata --so bad I couldn't watch the last week of it. HORRIBLE!
Lo Imperdonable --I finished it..barely. There was promise but the villains became to silly and campy. The last episode was a total WTF? for me.

Best for me:
Yo No Creo.. -- The writing, acting and over all story is superb. I cant find anything bad.
Sombra Del Pasada -- Dark, disturbing.. but good. I enjoyed all the actors and the story. I thought the ending was dramatic and wonderful. The showdown in the barn was unpredictable. Another thing this TN did well was the scenery and the horses. Galans on horses = WIN!

Honorable mentions:

Mi Corazon Es Tuyo --Fun, but it could have been less music and dancing by the kids. It got old fast.

Amores Con Trampa -- Just fun!



 

Sara and Susanlynn--

Disenchanted along with you. However, I watched two really good Brazilian productions this past year, dubbed into Spanish on Telemundo. (Not all their productions involve the narco-trade.) The Spanish is crisp and clear and surprisingly well synchronized with the Portuguese as it was spoken (so many words are very similar, if not identical.)

Avenida Brasil -- UA, talk about a toxic mother, she's one for the books.
Preciosa Perla (Joia Rara) -- this one involved a toxic single father head-of-household, who detoxed by the end.

If you get Galavision, they are running Cuando Me Enamoro at 11 am. I just adored the chemistry between Juan Soler and Silvia Navarro. They are just where Renata went to Jeronimo's apartment for their first tryst and got caught kissing at the door by her sister Roberta and her recently-made-into-an-ex, Mathias.

I'm really enjoying the repeat since the DVD was so disappointing. They cut out so much of Renata and Jero's happy scenes.

It would be wonderful if they would rebroadcast Amor Bravio, for the same reasons.

As a disclaimer, I do not care for comedies and didn't watch any of them, so I cannot speak to any of them.

The rest of the 2015 dramatic fare left me with a "meh." It was better than a lot of English speaking programs of 2015. (Of COURSE, Downton Abbey and Outlander the BIG exceptions.) There was too much dumbness stretched out over too long a period--I'm looking at you, Sombra (Severiano could accomplish unimagined physical violence against women with just one arm, gaahh.)

The small group who stuck with Quiero Amarte was rewarded, daily. If you wonder where Flavio Medina learned his chops as a sociopath, just watch him and Diana Bracho as his mother (Lucrecia was worse than Ursula, if that could be possible). Cristian was better after he got a haircut. I still think he was the BEST in Amor Bravio--but then he had the one and only Silvia to be paired up with.

I bailed on MCET--I didn't want to (it was Silvia, of course) but there were just too many kids and sorry, Jorge, you are no Christopher Plummer. I did try to catch Silvia whenever she was pole dancing. Extraordinarily lithe and beautiful to watch.

QTPD just couldn't hold my interest. Having watched Abrazame Muy Fuerte, I knew what was coming and preferred to watch Sombra. If it hadn't been for the Patio, I probably would have bailed on it, too.

YNCELH is way above average for the prime time fare, and not in any way resembles the telenovelas we're used to. Perhaps that is why. As I said in the YoNo comments--it was so dark and depressing, absolutely intense and gripping, that the 11 o'clock news seemed more like light fare.

I would have enjoyed watching BAJO, but I was already watching 4 tns nightly (or next dayish).

PyP is falling into a typical storyline with a couple of twists. At least the two young protagonists seem to want to stick it out together. As someone mentioned, it has an un-traditional music score that in my opinion, helps it rise above other more average telenovelas. (Is this what it's come to? The music drives my enjoyment of the novela? Hmmm, just ask me about CME--Enrique and Juan Luis, Manuel Carrasco and Camila. I still listen to them regularly.)

I'm looking forward to Hotel, Quien es Quien, Downton and Outlander in 2016.
 

Ditto Cathyx, on YoNo--Didn't copy...you were posting while I was still thinking and typing.
 

Maybe it is just my decreasing attention span that is causing my ennui. Every couple of years, I seem to land on a new escape. It all started with stumbling upon Highlander the TV series after my older daughter left for college and my dad died after a two year struggle. I became active on a blog that followed the show and even met somne of the wonen . I still communicate with a few of them. Then, I surfed into Alborada after my mother died and became infatuated with Telenovelas. Now, I seem to be wandering in the Highlands once again on a new journey .

I have never gotten into Downtown Abbey.
 

The best for me has definitely been YNCELH. Probably the best telenovela I've ever seen and I've seen a lot over the past 9-10 years. I can see why it was so successful in Mexico. Great cast and great story. It always has me on the edge of my seat. My second favorite has to be La Malquerida. As mentioned already, hands down the best ending for a villain I've ever seen with Danilo's ending.

The worst for me was Que Te Perdone Dios. Man, did that one irritate me! Absolutely zero chemistry between Mark and Zuria. I couldn't stand them! Worst leading couple ever. And I couldn't believe that Dianaconda got a worse death than Fausto. His was totally lame. In a close second is Lo Imperdonable. The editing was horrible in LI. And I don't know if Ivan and Ana Brenda had much chemistry either.
 

Sorry to arrive late to the party...
i did not watch that many novelas in '15, only the ones i was recapping and some parts of Sombra (I agree that Susana G did great there)... and QTPD (I have to agree no much spark between Mark and Zuria).
I stuck with the comedies and dramadys like Amores con Trampa and Mi Corazon es tuyo, which i loved for the light weight drama there ... although i have to agree that the kids singing stuff got old fast. I did enjoy QPTR since i had low expectations for that one. Was refreshing to see a more original story than dramas recycled like Sombra, QTPD, etc.
 

Happy late New Years everyone! I was away for a while but I couldn't resist commenting on this thread!

Last year i absolutely loved watching and recapping Yo No Creo. It was a fabulous show and it felt like a thriller. It's a hard guess to decide which one is better : La Malquerida or Yo No Creo. La Sombra is great too.

Que te Perdone had somewhat good plotlines in theory but horrible execution and non existant chemistry. It felt even worse because I was recapping it. Its hard to write about a show you don't like so you have to get sucked in for the best parts and those were the villains (Crazy Ana Bertha Espin was nice too) . The best actors there were SG, Ale Avila and Altair Jarabo which is about it. Speaking of it i think Altair is doing a fine job in Pasion! Atleast QTP was better than the slime that is La Guacka and Corazon Insoportable.

About Pasion , I am somewhat liking the show but I feel that Coluga and Salinas should have switched their roles. But either way I enjoy seeing Colunga as a baddie.



 

Hello Everyone!

2015 was a great telenovela year for me because Quiero Amarte, YNCELH and La Malquerida, in that order.

QA beats YNCELH, for me, because of its protagonist. I loved Amaya and I loved Karyme Lozano in the role. I loved that she was mature, had a cool head on her shoulders, had a career and knew when to leave her husband. She was the quintenssial modern woman and I couldn't have been happier a mature couple as the lead. I also enjoyed the dark turn Amaya took, while it might have alienated a lot of viewers, it felt real and a logical turn for her character arc. I loved the woman in general in QA, the friendships especially and how each woman built each other up and helped each other instead of fighting over men. I loved Juliana;s intelligence and Mariana's resilience and Flavia's growth. The best part was that the villains didn't always win, sometimes they were two steps behind and no one was naive or dumb. The cast gelled together in the best way possible and everyone behaved like one big family. THe subtle humor was also a treat.

YNCELH has been an amazing experience, especially considering this is Giselle Gonzalez's first sole producer telenovela. I see her as a future Carla Estrada. YNCELH reminds me a lot of Pura Sangre. It relies more on suspense, twists, unpredictable plot turns than romance or endless love. The cast chemistry is also amazing and I haven't cried so much in a while. RIP Julian and Alma, you deserved better than what you got but this is where YNCELH excels, it's not going to sugarcoat anything, the cruel reality is every present and maybe that's why it's so dark. It's not going to paint you a fairytale. I'm especially loving though that the protagonists have lasted and stuck it out through thick and thing these last few months. It's refreshing to see a stable couple front and center.

FInally, La Malquerida. I loved how original this story was for a telenovela, how it dared to touch on such a big taboo in society, forbidden love between a stepdaughter and stepfather. I liked how it took its time developing the relationships that would go on to create such chaos for everyone. It showed us that our first love might not be our only love and sometimes it's better to quit while you're ahead. I also thought the ending was amazing, it was so bittersweet but true to the story that it presented, much like YNCELH. The last two weeks, despite the editing, were especially brutal especially for Manuel but I'm happy to see everyone got exactly what was coming to them, especially Danilo.

Overall, a solid year in the world of telenovelas. Here's to 2016!
 

Happy 2016 everyone! :)

I'm late to the party but it was great reading your opinions and squinting slightly to avoid possible spoilers! I'll definitely watch YoNo and La Malquerida based on your recommendations! Many thanks.

Quiero Amarte was already in my list of TNs to watch this year because I like the producer's work, De La Fuente is delicious as always and the trio Medina/Bracho/Elías Moreno is very tempting. All 3 are such acting powerhouses, I'd watch any of them in almost anything.

I watched MCET this year and fast-fowarded A LOT! If it weren't for Silvia Navarro (whom I adore), I would've bailed out on this in episode 2. I share all your grievances about Osorio's "methods" and I think he's becoming a serious contender to dethrone Lartilleux from her top spot of "producer of TNs so bad they could be medieval torture devices"!

The second 2015 TN I've been watching is PyP and so far, I'm really enjoying it. The script could be better but the baddies are a delight to watch! Colunga, Raquel Olmedo and Luis Bayardo are doing a fantastic job and the newcomer/young(ish) "villanos" are holding their own as well. All in all, I'm very entertained by this novela and I hope to see more of you in the PyP Patio. :)

Here is a video made by Televisa last year to thank its faithful viewers. It stars the cast of many of the TNs you guys watched this year: MCET, La Gata, La Malquerida, MIVAC, YoNo and another TN starring Erick Elías whose name I don't know but i'm not sure if you got to see it in the US. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X51QbBwgUwU
Enjoy! :)
 

Nandicta, the Erixk Eliaa novela is El Color de la Pasion which they haven't shown in the US yet. I saw it online earlier this year and it was great. An amazing performace by Claudia Ramirez and Ximena Romo (in her first tn role). Its a more classic story but it moves quickly and its short. Hopefully it comes here soon so everyone can enjoy it
 

Superalfie - I just love your entire review of Quiero Amarte. I'm not sure I appreciated the show enough while I was actually watching, but I often find myself looking back on the show and the patio with great affection. Univision should have put QA in prime time. I am very glad I got to see it and I will be sure to be on the lookout for that producer's TNs from now on.
 

Due to my current viewing limitations it's a miracle I'm watching three at the moment.

MCET was fun at times although recapping it was a lot of work with the screen grabs. I liked getting ones of the best "reaction" shots and while I'm not generally fond of making children so front and center I did enjoy a few of the child actors, especially the twins. They were brilliantly cast because they really looked like their father. I was very dissatisfied with Hissabella's non-Karmageddon because she deserved huge punishments for her actions.

LSDP was good although it was hard to watch at times. SG's performance was stellar in a very unlikable character and Alexis Ayala made his villain so vile I started screaming at the screen for the first time.

YNCELH does that to me, too, and sometimes Poder. I'm afraid the first till end tragically and the latter seems mired in an antiquated mindset. However, it has an excellent cast and they are doing their best with a script that should be a lot better than it is.

MIVAC is a pure fairy tale which is entertaining because of the cast chemistry. Its current plot point with Pedro's blindness reminds me of the fairy tale Rapunzel in which the prince is blinded in a fall. Betting that at some point Fiorella's tears will hit Pedro's eyes and he will see again.

I bailed on ACT and La Gata early on, the latter right after the first episode. The garbage dump looked far too depressing and I didn't like The Beverley Hillbilles back in the day. QTPD had a prologue that made less sense than AMF's. I couldn't stand the daughter in La Malquerida so I bailed after a couple of weeks.
 

-- Superalfie: Cheers for letting me know. I hope I get a chance to watch "El Color de la Pasión" with the Patio peeps some time soon! :)
 

Hi everybody! My New Years hangover has finally diminished (two days later...) to the point where I can finally look at my computer screen without being painfully blinded by the brilliance of the screen. Yay!

I just wanted to add my two cents that it's been great reading everybody's thoughts and opinions. Food for thought from all of you, for sure!

Here are my thoughts:

Like a lot of you- YNCELH. Stunning novela, in every way- not always 'easy' to watch, no, but TRULY, a real credit to the genre. A classic.

Of similar high quality- QA, but I admit that I'm biased towards both the producer (CME, ENDA, etc.) as well as Diana Bracho in any evil role.

Telemundo-wise, am I the only one surprised at the quality of BAJO? For not really having major star power, the story and performances have been consistently engaging and strong, and I am glad it appears to be doing well. There are many actors to whom I hope it provides a serious boost to the careers, as they have well earned them. What a difference watching the actresses here actually... you know, 'ACT' after watching the inflated and pneumatic bodies of Aracely Arambula and Aylin Mujica battle it out in 'Los Miserables' in low-cut bodices and skin-tight minidresses.

I've expressed my antipathy towards MCET before, but 'light/romantic comedies' in general give me hives so I admit I'm in position to comment much on anything in this genre.

I will add my two cents that I didn't enjoy the rampant misogyny of LM, which I felt was a throwback to some show that might have aired in the 50's or 60's in featuring female characters who onlly served to be taken advantage of, suffer, be abused, compete with each other, turn on each other, and lie and manipulate about men in a phallocentric 'man's world'. I know it was popular with many people on here (whose opinions I value highly) but, erroneous though it may be, that's just the impression that it left me with.

HEFDM I loathed, without really knowing why. I wanted to scratch the eyes out of all three sisters, found both galans tiring (Pedro Fernandez's 'aw shucks' routine got old fast, and David Zepada was little more than a cypher), and couldn't they have given Mariana Seoane more to do that be a nympho tramp with (yet another) Julian Gil 'moustache-twirling' villain???

LSDP and QTPD both suffered by falling well below the standards of their originals, with LSDP coming out slightly ahead based on the quality work of Susana Gonzalez, the scenery, and the horse. Laisha Wilkins was great as the twins in QTPD, but I simply COULD NOT buy Sergio Goyri's aged senior citizen as the dangerous and seductive male villain, and most of the characters just acted like completely brain-dead idiots.


 

LI... well, the leads were good together, the scenery was great, Manuel was appropriately loathsome, I loved reading everyone's reactions to The Old Goat and what's not to like about Grettel Valdez (who looks and sounds like everybody's favorite cheerleader) as a serial killer in dusty pink ensembles with matching hairband? It also featured the wise snails but, still- Mejia, so... yeesh!

La Gata... Leticia Perdigon was good, as was Manuel Ojeda in a non-villainous role, and who didn't love the sweet and innocent romance between poor, blind Virginia and the gentle and valiant Carlos?? I enjoyed watching Rita early on as she manipulated her way through the dummp (before, of course, finding love and winning the lottery). I also enjoyed watching Monika Sanchez chew up the scenery playing a completely two-dimensional character with absolutely no basis in any kind of reality any of us could ever) and Laura Zapata is always believable when asked to play a selfish rich bitch (it's the only kind of role she knows). And, let's be honest here- who didn't love watching post-stroke Augie wheel himself around??? But La-toodley-do shouldn't be allowed near anything ever again. NONE of her telenovelas have anything resembling a consistent story-arc. They're just about a bunch of random things that keep happening to her protagonists!

AMQL- I'm really enjoying Maite in her role, surprisingly so, and Ingrid Martz really is proving herself to be a comedic genius who can chew up the scenery of anything that she is in. The lead galan is trying his best but I still find it creepy watching his agedness and and Maite's rather innocent Alicia. Still, this would be 'the least deplorable' of all the light-comedies this year, for me! (I know nothing about 'La Vecina' so can contribute nothing about it)

Am NOT enjoying PyP. The storyline just harkens back how things were in the 80's and I wish it would have stayed there. I am HATING seeing Susana Gonzalez in a powerless, damsel-in-distress role. Christ, the woman even has birds in a gilded cage she can gaze sadly at! Fernando Colunga is going to need jaw surgery for clenching his jaw so much and I don't feel that his character has any semblance of the depth that an actor of Colunga's stature warrants. They may as well just finish it off and give Eladio a black cape to twirl? I wish Marlene Favela was also given more to do than be a vapid idiot. The only saving grace this one has in my books is the David-Regina storyline. And this one had such PROMISING promos!! :-(

I don't watch, or have anything to do with Narco-Novelas. Drugs, the drug wars and cartels are absolutely destroying present-day Mexico, and I can't support or abide anything that glorifies or even involves them in any way.

I share with you all my wish that ECDLP comes up this way. It was an almost dark, almost 'gothic' story with an incredibly strong cast. It was a remake based on Carlos Sotomayor's 'Capricho' dating back from 1993 that starred Victoria Ruffo in the lead, and Diana Bracho in Claudia Ramirez's villainous role as her mother (for which Sra. Bracho won the award for Best Villain that year) and the producer- and actors- all really added their own stamps to the production, all of which for the better. Oh well... we shall see!

Anyways, thanks again for all the interesting comments. Best wishes to everybody for the best of 2016!! :-)
 

Oh god Stevey , you reminded me about Hasta el Fin. For me it was entertaining to watch until Pedro Fernandez was in it but then he suddenly dissapeared( Thank you very much Ms.Fernandez! ) and got replaced by that scmuck David Zepeda ( I never like him unless he plays a villian, he was made to play villians) . Grreta and her antics managed to ruin it for me but the final nail in the coffin was when DZ just came in the story without explanation. Spoiler Alert : PF just had a dream and he wants to get stronger and prettier. And then the dream ends and he suddenly "evolves" into DZ the scmuck like a shiny Pokemon! I was like QTH so I abandoned ship. Cesar Evora and Alejandro Tommasi were great in it though.

As for LI , I felt that the concept was great and all but I got bored by the Ana Perla plot. The cast lineups just didnt fit for me . Even though I adore Sendel I dont feel that he should have been in it despite that he did a good job with his character. Grettel Valdez is funny and scary as hell though so I might try it again. Stevey you gave a nice idea for Grettel Valdez potraying a cheerleader, that doesnt sound all too bad!

 

Nandicta- I enjoyed the Televisa holiday video last year when it came out, and enjoy it even more now that we've seen a few more of these tns in the the US. Someone usually posts the holiday video each year on the site, but I haven't seen one for 2015. Have you? Did Televisa not do one this year?
 

Vivi and Nandicta- I'm so glad you both mentioned it. I don't think Televisa OR Telemundo did a holiday video this year. I was looking for them too. I always enjoy them and I've missed them this year.
 

Sara- That's right. I haven't seen one over on Telemundo either. Hmmm...Have the grinches finally taken complete control?
 

Right? I confess I even found last year's Telemundo video on YouTube and watched it a couple of times. It's kind of sad how bummed I was about not having the Christmas videos this year.
 

-- Vivi and Sara: Indeed, it appears the grinches are running things now in Televisa! I've been on the lookout for their customary Holiday-themed star-studded video since before Christmas, and nothing. I told myself that maybe this year they'll do it for New Year's, we're January 4 today and still nothing. I'm not just bummed out, I'm actually ticked off! I'm even thinking of firing off a reprimanding note in mangled Spanish... Lucky for them I'm too lazy. :)
 

I keep seeing some sort of holiday ad in my ff>> through commercials, is that not the one?
 

There's been a Comparte la Felicidad spot, but it felt very Univision specific.
 

Yeah. It's specific to Uni and very short.