Friday, July 19, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Broadcast Formats
In the last few years we've had our ups and downs with double episodes, episodes and a half, and time slot changes. Putting aside our specific issues about how this affects us, how do you feel about this?
I'm just old enough to remember the days when US soaps were only half an hour. That never felt right; I always felt cheated, especially about Dark Shadows. NBC's Another World was the first soap to go to a one hour episode length in 1978 and that was the beginning of the trend for the rest. A later attempt at 90-minute episodes failed and the program went back to 60-minute episodes.
The current broadcast pattern of QBA has an episode and a half with one commercial break and a slightly earlier start time not given to the cable and satellite systems that carry Univision. It seems to work for the network or they wouldn't be doing it. Televisa scripts are written to make for a major or minor cliffhanger at the halfway mark or the end of the standard-length episode so that they can air in any 30-minute increment, which is why we usually don't feel like the broadcast is ending on the wrong note. All this requires is (usually) deleting the "in last night's episode" section at the beginning and picking up where the previous night's episode left off. No objections from me!
If you weren't blogging this series, what is your preferred episode length? Would you want the networks to repeat the episode after midnight or on a sister network just in case? Do you prefer watching them on Hulu or anything similar? How do you feel about limited commercial breaks? Trust me; if a program remains in prime time with fewer ads, those advertisers are paying more for that time.
I'm just old enough to remember the days when US soaps were only half an hour. That never felt right; I always felt cheated, especially about Dark Shadows. NBC's Another World was the first soap to go to a one hour episode length in 1978 and that was the beginning of the trend for the rest. A later attempt at 90-minute episodes failed and the program went back to 60-minute episodes.
The current broadcast pattern of QBA has an episode and a half with one commercial break and a slightly earlier start time not given to the cable and satellite systems that carry Univision. It seems to work for the network or they wouldn't be doing it. Televisa scripts are written to make for a major or minor cliffhanger at the halfway mark or the end of the standard-length episode so that they can air in any 30-minute increment, which is why we usually don't feel like the broadcast is ending on the wrong note. All this requires is (usually) deleting the "in last night's episode" section at the beginning and picking up where the previous night's episode left off. No objections from me!
If you weren't blogging this series, what is your preferred episode length? Would you want the networks to repeat the episode after midnight or on a sister network just in case? Do you prefer watching them on Hulu or anything similar? How do you feel about limited commercial breaks? Trust me; if a program remains in prime time with fewer ads, those advertisers are paying more for that time.
Labels: QBA, telenovelas, weekend
Saturday, June 08, 2013
Weekend Discussion: The Cost of Novela Living
We often hear money being talked about and wonder what things really cost in Mexico for the characters we love, hate, and debate about. Lo and behold, a website called Nubeo provides this information. Another one called World Salaries gives average salaries in a number of countries, although it doesn't provide as full a list for Mexico as for the US.
Read more »
Read more »
Labels: Indomable, Manda, QBA, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, May 31, 2013
Weekend Discussion: An open letter from your fans; Televisa, you need our help.
High-definition
TV probably sounded like the greatest thing in the world … until we
realized that many of our favorite actors and actresses are aging
past the age your writers usually assign to protagonists. There does
not seem to be an easy transition for a still-handsome and still-fit
actor to go from the almost-innocent young Romeo to the worldly-wise
Prospero because there are almost no lead roles in between those two.
Actors like Fernando Colunga and Jorge Salinas are continually cast
as characters younger than themselves in remake after remake of older
stories without adequate story adjustment for their stage of maturity
and we think they deserve better. While telenovelas have much in
common with opera, there are a few casting limitations that Placido
Domingo never had to deal with.
People in
their forties and fifties still fall in love, can still leave
unsatisfying careers and start over, still move to distant places.
Women in their forties can still have babies and men in their fifties
can still become fathers (not that this is necessarily recommended).
These things were not all that relevant back when the network was
born, but they are now and will continue to be.
Labels: telenovelas, weekend
Friday, May 24, 2013
Weekend Discussion: What do you want from the novelas you watch?
It's 2013 and we're watching remakes upon remakes, many of which are barely updated to take more modern attitudes into consideration. We see more bare flesh than in 1990, but hear no discussion of birth control. Abortion is still a taboo subject and we see very little about pedophilia.
We're still shocked, however, when a female character is raped and especially when she is particularly vulnerable, like Solecita in Corazon Indomable. We should be outraged, indeed.
What do you want to see? How do you want to feel after you see an episode?
I want to see more stories that consistently reflect current human reality. Women with education and confidence who aren't afraid to face the world on their own terms. Current attitudes about religion, class structure, education, and human behavior. What are real workplace dynamics?
Please, no comic relief in the middle of something violent, serious, and/or emotional. That is bad writing because it interferes with the emotional impact of the main events. It also makes the whole episode less memorable.
No sudden detours or about-faces; think out a story before committing it to the computer screen. El Fantasma de Elena could have been a great supernatural story about ghosts and werewolves if some writer hadn't decided three weeks into shooting that they needed to change this to a psycho twin story (though I do give them credit for a great final fate for the villana).
Be consistent with the period of the story. If you're going to have the characters get DNA tests to show kinship, why don't they have cell phones?
Rant away, amigos.
We're still shocked, however, when a female character is raped and especially when she is particularly vulnerable, like Solecita in Corazon Indomable. We should be outraged, indeed.
What do you want to see? How do you want to feel after you see an episode?
I want to see more stories that consistently reflect current human reality. Women with education and confidence who aren't afraid to face the world on their own terms. Current attitudes about religion, class structure, education, and human behavior. What are real workplace dynamics?
Please, no comic relief in the middle of something violent, serious, and/or emotional. That is bad writing because it interferes with the emotional impact of the main events. It also makes the whole episode less memorable.
No sudden detours or about-faces; think out a story before committing it to the computer screen. El Fantasma de Elena could have been a great supernatural story about ghosts and werewolves if some writer hadn't decided three weeks into shooting that they needed to change this to a psycho twin story (though I do give them credit for a great final fate for the villana).
Be consistent with the period of the story. If you're going to have the characters get DNA tests to show kinship, why don't they have cell phones?
Rant away, amigos.
Labels: Indomable, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, May 17, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Las Mascotas; Animals in Telenovelas
We don't get enough animals in telenovelas that are characters. We saw many prize bulls [Salud!] in Amor Bravio, horses in others, but rarely do these animals have names or enough screen time. Animals are such big parts of many of our lives it's hard to believe that more novela characters don't have pets. The mascotas in novelas, though, are often amusing and endearing.
In El Cuerpo del Deseo, the hero had a dog who was smart enough to spot his master after his spirit changed bodies (Dog may actually be star Mario Cimarro's dog):
Cuando Me Enamoro had a beautiful horse named Gitana that was much beloved by the heroine:
Read more »
In El Cuerpo del Deseo, the hero had a dog who was smart enough to spot his master after his spirit changed bodies (Dog may actually be star Mario Cimarro's dog):
Cuando Me Enamoro had a beautiful horse named Gitana that was much beloved by the heroine:
Labels: Amores, bravio, Cuando, cuerpo, eva, familia, Fuego, Fuerza, Indomable, Manda, QBA, telenovelas, weekend
Monday, April 29, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Producers Novelographies - Updated March 9, 2015
These lists are not purported to be exhaustive, to name
every single producer and every single telenovela ever made. For the purposes of this list, most of the producers made telenovelas for Televisa, or were shown on prime-time on Univision and recapped on CarayCaray. The titles in Bold feature the current prime time line-up or coming soon. Since then, several have been added broadcasting on Telemundo and TV Azteca.
Producers with telenovelas currently broadcasting.
3 - 4 pm
Carlos
Moreno Laguillo – (1999-2013)
Quiero Amarte (2013) Karyme Lozano, Cristian de la Fuente
This is a remake of Imperio de Cristal (1994)
Quiero Amarte starts in the past, when Mauro Montesinos and Elena, the heiress to the coffee plantation, “El Paraíso,” fall in love. They have a child together, Juliana. Elena dies and Mauro is widowed and Juliana motherless. Mauro finds love again when he meets Florencia, the owner of some nearby coffee lands. Just before he is to marry Florencia, Lucrecia, an old "friend," reels him into a loveless marriage with the news she is expecting his child. Later on, Lucrecia finds out Mauro still loves Florencia, even though Florencia has married Mauro's best friend, David, who is also the administrator of Mauro's family coffee plantation. David and Florencia have one child, Amaya. Mauro and Lucrecia have two sons, César, the eldest, Maximiliano and twins Lucio and Flavia. In the present, Max and Amaya fall in love, but evil, secrets, ambitions and pain surround them to keep them from realizing their love.
It also stars Diana Bracho, Flavio Medina and Salvador Zerboni as the antagonists, with the participation of Alex Sirvent, Jose Elias Moreno, Otto Sirgo and Olivia Bucio. Andrés Mercado and Renata Notni star as the young protagonists.
Amor Bravío** (2012) Silvia Navarro, Cristian de la Fuente
Cuando Me Enamoro (2011) Silvia Navarro, Juan Soler
En Nombre del Amor (2008) Alisson Lozz, Sebastian Zurita
Sueños y Caramelos (2005)
Bajo la Misma Piel (2003)
Por Tu Amor (1999) Gaby Spanic, Margarita Magana
Nunca Te Olivdaré (1999) Edith Gonzales & Fernando Colunga (Moreno produced Part II)
** AB was a merger of “De Pura Sangre,” written by Maria Zarattini and "En los cuernos del amor," a new story by Martha Carrillo and Cristina Garcia.
7 – 8 pm
MaPat López de Zatarain
Read more »Quiero Amarte (2013) Karyme Lozano, Cristian de la Fuente
This is a remake of Imperio de Cristal (1994)
Quiero Amarte starts in the past, when Mauro Montesinos and Elena, the heiress to the coffee plantation, “El Paraíso,” fall in love. They have a child together, Juliana. Elena dies and Mauro is widowed and Juliana motherless. Mauro finds love again when he meets Florencia, the owner of some nearby coffee lands. Just before he is to marry Florencia, Lucrecia, an old "friend," reels him into a loveless marriage with the news she is expecting his child. Later on, Lucrecia finds out Mauro still loves Florencia, even though Florencia has married Mauro's best friend, David, who is also the administrator of Mauro's family coffee plantation. David and Florencia have one child, Amaya. Mauro and Lucrecia have two sons, César, the eldest, Maximiliano and twins Lucio and Flavia. In the present, Max and Amaya fall in love, but evil, secrets, ambitions and pain surround them to keep them from realizing their love.
It also stars Diana Bracho, Flavio Medina and Salvador Zerboni as the antagonists, with the participation of Alex Sirvent, Jose Elias Moreno, Otto Sirgo and Olivia Bucio. Andrés Mercado and Renata Notni star as the young protagonists.
Amor Bravío** (2012) Silvia Navarro, Cristian de la Fuente
Cuando Me Enamoro (2011) Silvia Navarro, Juan Soler
En Nombre del Amor (2008) Alisson Lozz, Sebastian Zurita
Sueños y Caramelos (2005)
Bajo la Misma Piel (2003)
Por Tu Amor (1999) Gaby Spanic, Margarita Magana
Nunca Te Olivdaré (1999) Edith Gonzales & Fernando Colunga (Moreno produced Part II)
** AB was a merger of “De Pura Sangre,” written by Maria Zarattini and "En los cuernos del amor," a new story by Martha Carrillo and Cristina Garcia.
7 – 8 pm
MaPat López de Zatarain
La Sombra del Pasado (2014) - This is a remake of El Manantial (2001), originally produced by Carla Estrada. Began broadcasting Feb 16, 2015. (See synopsis elsewhere)
Susana Gonzalez
Alejandra Barros
Cynthia Klitbo
Lissette
Alexis Ayala
8 - 9 pm
Susana Gonzalez
Alejandra Barros
Cynthia Klitbo
Lissette
Alexis Ayala
8 - 9 pm
Juan Osorio
Ortiz – (1999-2014)
Mi Corazón Es Tuyo (2014) Silvia Navarro, Jorge Salinas, and Mayrín Villanueva
Life hasn’t been easy for Ana who works as an exotic dancer in a club and has just lost the home she struggled to own. She knows she has to start over. Through a clerical error at an employment agency, Ana finds herself applying for the job of “nanny” to a wealthy widower, Fernando, with seven difficult children. Somehow, without credentials or a cultured background, Ana manages to charm the children and help in the recovery process from the loss of their mother. Meanwhile, Fernando pursues a woman with a suitable pedigree, but it becomes increasingly obvious that he is smitten with Ana and she is smitten with him.
Mi Corazón Es Tuyo (2014) Silvia Navarro, Jorge Salinas, and Mayrín Villanueva
Life hasn’t been easy for Ana who works as an exotic dancer in a club and has just lost the home she struggled to own. She knows she has to start over. Through a clerical error at an employment agency, Ana finds herself applying for the job of “nanny” to a wealthy widower, Fernando, with seven difficult children. Somehow, without credentials or a cultured background, Ana manages to charm the children and help in the recovery process from the loss of their mother. Meanwhile, Fernando pursues a woman with a suitable pedigree, but it becomes increasingly obvious that he is smitten with Ana and she is smitten with him.
Porque el
Amor Manda (2012) Blanca Soto, Fernando Colunga
Una Familia
Con Suerte (2011) Luz Elena González, Arath de la Torre
Mi Pecado
(2009) Maiter Perroni, Eugenio Soler
Tormenta en
el Paraíso (2007) Sara Maldonado, Erick Elias, Mariana Seoane
Duelo de
Pasiones (2006) Ludwika Paleta, Pablo Montero, Sergio Goyri, Erika Buenfil
Siempre Te
Amaré (2000) Laura Flores, Fernando Carrillo
Nunca Te
Olvidaré (1999) Edith González, Fernando Colunga (Produced Part I)
Marisol (1996) Erika Buenfil is in this
9 - 10 pm
9 - 10 pm
Nicandro
Diaz Gonzalez – (1999-2014)
Hasta el Fin del Mundo (2014) Marjorie De Sousa, Pedro Fernandez, and Julian Gil
Hasta el Fin del Mundo (2014) Marjorie De Sousa, Pedro Fernandez, and Julian Gil
This is the story of Sofia, the oldest of three sisters, who
takes the helm of her family’s chocolate factory after her father’s death.
Engaged to a man who is ambitious and using her as a stepping stone, she feels
an immediate and mutual attraction to Salvador, a race-car driver who, due to
an unfortunate circumstance, lost his job and gets a job as her chauffeur.
Sofia and Salvador learn that despite the hurdles, love is possible.
Amores
Verdaderos (2012) Erika Buenfil, Eduardo Yañez, Eiza Gonzalez, Sebastian Rulli
- Winner 2014 Permio TV y Novelas
Soy tu
Dueña (2010) Lucero, Fernando Colunga
Mañana es
Para Siempre (2008) Silvia Navarro, Fernando Colunga
Destilando Amor (2007) Angélica Rivera and Eduardo Yañez
(Carayers loved it)
Corazones
al Limites (2004) Erika Buenful, Arturo Peniche (for teens)
Alma
Rebelde (1999) Lisette Morelos, Eduardo Verástegui
10-11 pm
Angelli Nesme Medina (2004-2014)
Que te Perdone Dios (2014) Zuria Vega, Mark Tacher, Rebecca Jones, Sabine Moussier, Sergio Goyri, Erik del Castillo, Altair Jarabo. This is a remake of Abrazame Muy Fuerte.
Lo Que la Vida me Robo (2013) Angelique Boyer, Sebastian Rulli, Daniela Castro*
Abismo de Pasion (2011) Angelique Boyer, David Zepeda, Mark Tacher
Llena de Amor (2010) Ariadne Diaz, Valentino Lanus
Un Gancho al Corazon (2008) Danna Garcia, Sebastian Rulli
Al Diablo con los Guapos (2007) Alison Lozz, Eugenio Siller
Amar Sin Limites (2006) Karyme Lozano, Valentino Lanus
Apuesta por un Amor (2004) Patricia Manterola, Juan Soler
*an updated version of Bodas de Odio with some Amor Real thrown into the mix.
10-11 pm
Angelli Nesme Medina (2004-2014)
Que te Perdone Dios (2014) Zuria Vega, Mark Tacher, Rebecca Jones, Sabine Moussier, Sergio Goyri, Erik del Castillo, Altair Jarabo. This is a remake of Abrazame Muy Fuerte.
Lo Que la Vida me Robo (2013) Angelique Boyer, Sebastian Rulli, Daniela Castro*
Abismo de Pasion (2011) Angelique Boyer, David Zepeda, Mark Tacher
Llena de Amor (2010) Ariadne Diaz, Valentino Lanus
Un Gancho al Corazon (2008) Danna Garcia, Sebastian Rulli
Al Diablo con los Guapos (2007) Alison Lozz, Eugenio Siller
Amar Sin Limites (2006) Karyme Lozano, Valentino Lanus
Apuesta por un Amor (2004) Patricia Manterola, Juan Soler
*an updated version of Bodas de Odio with some Amor Real thrown into the mix.
Labels: proximas, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, April 26, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Food!
One of the things I love about novelas is the kitchen scenes. The kitchens of the mansions and haciendas all look like such welcoming places, full of Andalucian tile and gorgeous produce on the tables that one of the first things I would do if I won a huge lottery is buy a house large enough to have a kitchen like that.
We often note the food because hospitality is a dictate of the ancient gods and because it often demonstrates the relationship of the characters who are sharing the food. We all fell in love with the cooking scenes in Amor Bravio that showed the bonding of Viviana and Rafael and the love between Piedad and her daughter. The waitress in last night's restaurant scene in Que Bonito Amor explaining the dish she served Santos was clearly proud of it and of her country's cuisine. She had a most welcoming attitude. Gala of Un Refugio Para El Amor and Veronica in Porque el Amor Manda use food as a weapon of control; I cringe at the possibility that Valentina will have eating disorders when she's older.
So..... do you enjoy cooking? Do you get creative with it? Do you favor any particular cuisine? Do you have a signature dish you contribute to potlucks and other parties? Do you watch anything on the Food Network?
Finally, do you have a favorite food scene from a novela (just to keep this from being totally off-topic)?
We often note the food because hospitality is a dictate of the ancient gods and because it often demonstrates the relationship of the characters who are sharing the food. We all fell in love with the cooking scenes in Amor Bravio that showed the bonding of Viviana and Rafael and the love between Piedad and her daughter. The waitress in last night's restaurant scene in Que Bonito Amor explaining the dish she served Santos was clearly proud of it and of her country's cuisine. She had a most welcoming attitude. Gala of Un Refugio Para El Amor and Veronica in Porque el Amor Manda use food as a weapon of control; I cringe at the possibility that Valentina will have eating disorders when she's older.
So..... do you enjoy cooking? Do you get creative with it? Do you favor any particular cuisine? Do you have a signature dish you contribute to potlucks and other parties? Do you watch anything on the Food Network?
Finally, do you have a favorite food scene from a novela (just to keep this from being totally off-topic)?
Labels: bravio, Manda, QBA, refugio, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, March 29, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Novela Stars in Passion Plays
Since today is Good Friday, I thought this photo gallery would be appropriate. This features Passion Plays by novela stars. The first set -- from Paixão de Cristo -- is Brazilian, the second -- from Triunfo del Amor -- is Mexican. Most CarayAmigos will recognize the actors in the Mexican photos:
Read more »
Read more »
Labels: stars, telenovelas, weekend
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Las Primeres Actrizes; Grandes Damas de Televisa
As I did a few weeks ago with the mature gentlemen who populate our favorite tales about love, hate, and the seven deadly sins, here I will present the great ladies of same. Since this will be a handful of them presented in the same manner, I will do the same as before starting with the youngest of these fine actresses and age them in reverse:
Read more »
Read more »
Labels: enemiga, eva, Manda, stars, stud, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, March 01, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Is it always necessary to have a Felices Para Siempre?
In my
almost two decades of watching telenovelas I can only recall one that
had a tragic ending. I think it was technically a mini-series because
it had only 45 episodes (or it was originally shown in 90 half-hours;
couldn't find the info) but I haven't seen another since then. It
was 1989's Angeles Blancos and it ended with the death
of the male protagonist. It aired here in daytime in early 1994 and
I was shocked despite my relative inexperience with telenovelas.
I've seen
bittersweet endings since then, such as La Esposa Virgen,
Ramona, El Cuerpo del Deseo, and Aurora. Even
La Que No Podia Amar didn't have a full FPS, as Rogelio
didn't get out of the wheelchair. Ramona couldn't end
differently because of how the original novel ended, La Esposa
Virgen was given a surprise ending allegedly based on
audience feedback during production, Aurora was so
badly tampered with for reasons I can only speculate on. These three
productions flew in the face of what most viewers expect from
novelas.
Globo-TV,
the Brazilian network that produced the original El Clon,
doesn't follow Mexican novela rules. Their series are straight
dramas which don't usually have designated villains, their
protagonists are frequently flawed in ways that Mexican ones are not
(e.g., Lucas of El Clon was a wimp), and they can have
sad endings. Fans of Globo-TV's productions don't know what to
expect when they get a new series that is an original story.
Would you
prefer that to the fairy-tale endings typically provided by Televisa?
Would you prefer the characters to be more ambiguous? Would you
want to see the villains win once in a while?
Weigh in,
amigos.
Labels: no-podia, telemundo, telenovelas, weekend
Saturday, February 09, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Novela Writing; Should writers always listen to what viewers are saying?
This question isn't about outdated cliche storylines, but about viewer reaction to what happens on the screen while the series is still in production. It's also about viewer ratings and how that affects what they do. A few examples of past decisions:
Pasion de Gavilanes (Telemundo, 2003-2004): This was the most successful series Telemundo ever had in the 7PM EST timeslot. Good story, writing was decent, cast was attractive. At some point after the first third had aired, Telemundo made the episodes shorter so they ended five minutes early and the next program (Prisionera) began at 7:55 instead of 8PM. The last chapter of the story was extended to twice the length it should have been because the network wanted to keep the ratings up in the time slot. This series was rerun twice in the US, edited to its appropriate length in terms of the correct pace of the story.
Read more »
Pasion de Gavilanes (Telemundo, 2003-2004): This was the most successful series Telemundo ever had in the 7PM EST timeslot. Good story, writing was decent, cast was attractive. At some point after the first third had aired, Telemundo made the episodes shorter so they ended five minutes early and the next program (Prisionera) began at 7:55 instead of 8PM. The last chapter of the story was extended to twice the length it should have been because the network wanted to keep the ratings up in the time slot. This series was rerun twice in the US, edited to its appropriate length in terms of the correct pace of the story.
Read more »
Labels: fantasma, gavilanes, telenovelas, triunfo, weekend
Friday, February 01, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Destinos, An Introduction to Spanish
Since a number of us got started in Spanish by watching this excellent teaching tool (for me it was on PBS), I thought it would be fun to check our memories (with or without a little help from IMDb) to see where we have seen the actors since. I dug up some photos of varying quality for reference:
Read more »
Read more »
Labels: telenovelas, weekend
Friday, January 25, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Censorship, the Plague
What's the Point?
We complain about it all the time among
ourselves. We should be complaining to the networks about this.
Seven or eight years ago I heard this
subject covered on Anderson Cooper's program in which comments were
made about the body heat being generated before Mexican and other
Hispanic TV cameras on our favorite types of shows. The news team
was wondering why the English-language networks were being raked over
the coals and submitted to the rack to censor programs of this
salacious material while the Univisions and Telemundos were being
left alone. No answer was forthcoming and I don't recall them taking
the subject very seriously, but I took the attention seriously enough
to call a VP at Univision to let her know about it. I found the
transcript of the broadcast online and sent the link to her with a
cover note. After she read the page she let me know that nothing is
going to interfere with the content of the programs. No te
preocupes.
However, what she couldn't predict at
that moment has happened: Gringos are getting interested in these
programs to the degree that overall ratings are being affected. The
U.S. Broadcast of the finale of Alborada was the
highest-rated television program in the country. That's a
combination of a number of factors:
- Friday night tends to be a sleeper time slot for English-language television
- Fewer Spanish-language networks means less fragmentation among the perceived potential viewers
- Gringos are getting more interested in telenovelas because of the exciting stories and hot actors. For Univision and Telemundo, those viewers are more salsa on the taco.
So... it's possible that the moral
watchdogs in the U.S. have decided to attack these programs or the
networks themselves are trying to head this off at the pass.
In recent times we have seen examples of silly edits in love scenes that make no sense to those of
us who have seen the entire scenes in their previous broadcasts. In
the original broadcast of Telemundo's Pasión
de Gavilanes we
saw a long shot of the naked Oscar lying on top of Ximena through the
eyes of her sister from the top of the waterfall; in the rerun a year
later this shot was replaced with a duplicate of an earlier kissing
scene. In Televisa's Fuego
en la Sangre the
skinny-dipping scene between Franco and Rosario was edited to remove
shots of (oh, the horror!) side views of her boobage and a
skinny-dipping scene two episodes later that showed the bare bums of
the Reyes brothers was digitally censored to blur out the details
without removing any actual footage.
PdG's
original broadcast time was 7PM EST; FELS was at 9PM EST. How
ridiculous was this censorship?
We've seen more recent examples that
make just as little sense as these. Amor Bravío
has not been immune and will continue to be hit with this.
Sound
off, amigos.
Labels: Alborada, bravio, Fuego, telemundo, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, January 11, 2013
Weekend Discussion: Bodas Interumpti... y otros desastres, Part 1
Part
I
Sometimes
I think there is a deal between the bridal industry and the networks
that produce telenovelas. This thought first occurred to me in 2000
when Aracely Arámbula had no fewer than four bridal gowns in
Abrazame Muy Fuerte: one in the bridal shop that she rejected, one
for the interrupted wedding to José Maria, the third for the
completed wedding to José Maria, and the fourth for the finale
wedding to Carlos Manuel. Little did I realize at the time that this
was close to the norm.
Here we will look at weddings that didn't or almost didn't happen and two which did but which will always be associated with tragedy.
Labels: amor, Cuando, Talisman, telenovelas, triunfo, weekend
Friday, December 21, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Novela Violence; Has it been escalating?
Tonight's perverted torture of Camila in Amor Bravio has driven me to initiate this discussion.
In the nearly two decades I've been watching telenovelas I have noticed that the sexual content has increased, which I have no problem with. Has the violence also increased overall or is it just Televisa's programs?
Rape appears to be more explicit in most novelas I've seen in the last few years that have this plot element and now we have physical and psychological torture which is just as evil. The narcotrafficante sub-genre is more violent by its very nature, but are other countries' more traditional novelas getting more violent? If so, why do you think this is happening?
In the nearly two decades I've been watching telenovelas I have noticed that the sexual content has increased, which I have no problem with. Has the violence also increased overall or is it just Televisa's programs?
Rape appears to be more explicit in most novelas I've seen in the last few years that have this plot element and now we have physical and psychological torture which is just as evil. The narcotrafficante sub-genre is more violent by its very nature, but are other countries' more traditional novelas getting more violent? If so, why do you think this is happening?
Labels: bravio, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, December 14, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Novela DVD Sets; Do you own any and do you recommend them?
This comes up once in a while when we mention past novelas and this is a subject that deserves attention. I thought I'd bring this up tonight since we don't have any new episodes tonight and Amor Bravio is being shown as highlights of the story to date.
As of now I have found no abridged novela boxed set that even gets close to the original. They feel like highlights of events and no more. The main characters have less depth. Often some entire minor and even supporting characters end up on the cutting room floor and some subplots make no sense because of this. The greatest love scenes usually survive the editing process, but the equally great confrontations are usually missing. Original theme songs from the broadcast usually are missing and others are substituted, and in some cases that changes the entire soundtrack. I wonder why the networks bother, especially because the DVD set usually contains about 5% of the total running time.
If you have any of these, let loose with your praise and/or criticisms. If anyone from Televisa, Telemundo, or Venevision is reading this they need to know how we feel.
As of now I have found no abridged novela boxed set that even gets close to the original. They feel like highlights of events and no more. The main characters have less depth. Often some entire minor and even supporting characters end up on the cutting room floor and some subplots make no sense because of this. The greatest love scenes usually survive the editing process, but the equally great confrontations are usually missing. Original theme songs from the broadcast usually are missing and others are substituted, and in some cases that changes the entire soundtrack. I wonder why the networks bother, especially because the DVD set usually contains about 5% of the total running time.
If you have any of these, let loose with your praise and/or criticisms. If anyone from Televisa, Telemundo, or Venevision is reading this they need to know how we feel.
Labels: telenovelas, weekend
Friday, November 09, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Villains; They Who Make Our Flesh Crawl
Dirty
Dozen # 5 The Sleazebags
These are
the evil men who are not accepted in polite society. They mostly lack the social skills and the minimally acceptable-to-excellent
appearance of their higher-born and higher-educated brethren in evil. They normally cannot enter parlours or drawing rooms. They usually dress
badly, are often less than hygienic, and usually have no family ties
or any other kind other than to their paymasters who are usually the
mastermind villains. They happily do all the low-level tasks the
others are unwilling to do as long as they are paid for it. They
sometimes initiate evil acts of their own, but frequently they aren't clever enough to always assess risk vs. reward. They are usually
expendable once their dirty work is done, but sometimes clever enough
to outwit their masters.
Who is the most evil of them all?
Labels: abismo, amor, bravio, Karmageddon, no-podia, salvaje, telenovelas, Teresa, triunfo, weekend
Friday, November 02, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Gay Characters and Storylines in Telenovelas; Still a Long Way to Go
In the
nearly two decades I have been watching telenovelas I can count only
on one hand how many gay characters I've seen in them whose names I
can remember. There have been some (not necessarily Televisa's)
with minor gay characters (as in appeared in a handful of episodes)
who fit all the popular stereotypes: Swishy men in cliché jobs like
hairdressers, interior decorators, or fashion designers come and go
on novelas and we roll our eyes and ask when the producers will
finally get it right and show us some gay characters we can believe
in life situations that are realistic.
A few
productions did.
Labels: amar, barrera, reina-sur, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, October 19, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Misogyny in Telenovelas
What is it really about and will it every go away?
Alas,
even in the 21st century we are still dealing with
misogyny in our entertainment, in business, and in our lives. It's
one of my biggest pet peeves in all of these and what is particularly
troubling is that so many telenovela authors are women (at least in
Mexico).
We'll
leave out discussion of novelas de epoca as they take place in eras
where women's legal rights were so much less than today and where
women's voices were completely ignored (although there were moments
in the 1993 Corazón Salvaje where we saw the seeds of
feminism in Mónica) and address contemporary stories, starting with
the ones currently airing. In Thursday's discussion of Amor
Bravío I listed the following examples of misogyny expressed by
women:
Labels: bravio, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, October 05, 2012
Weekend Discussion: Leitmotifs and Love Themes; Novela Music
Ever
since ancient times music has been important in theatrical
entertainment to set moods and describe and comment on action.
Musicians were present in theatres during the time of Sophocles, the
Caesars, and later Shakespeare. The composer Jean Baptitste Lully
frequently collaborated with Molière
during the time of Louis XIV. During the days of silent movies music
was provided in theatres to accompany the action, either
by a full orchestra in New York or a pianist in Peoria. Special effects organs like “The Mighty Wurlitzer” were designed to also simulate other
instruments and were installed in large movie theatres. Classical
music that was in the public domain was often used and music cue
sheets were provided to conductors, organists, and pianists. As
films became more sophisticated they had scores uniquely composed for
them and now we almost feel cheated when the odd film is released
that has no music. It feels unfinished; artistically incomplete.
Labels: abismo, Fuego, salvaje, telenovelas, weekend
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