Friday, December 12, 2014
Weekend Discussion: 2014 Novela Faves
What are some of the 2014 faves of my Caray Mates? Some things like Lo Que La Vida Me Robo or Que Pobres Tan Ricos may come to mind. I will remind you guys about Mentir Para Vivir before it frayed haywire for the last few capitulos. My favorites were Por Siempre Mi Amor, De Que Te Quiero, Te Quiero, Quiero Amarte so far, Amorcito Corazon, Pasion and Las Vias del Amor during their repeticiones.
Labels: telenovelas, weekend
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Black Friday and Retail Creep
By now most of us will have eaten our turkey, stuffing, etc., and are thinking about the next episodes of our favorite series or hanging with family or friends. How many of you are heading out to shop tonight?
About ten years ago when the early morning madness started a friend commented "In a few years we'll all be finishing our pumpkin pie and heading to the mall." And this year Target opened at 6PM and Walmart at 5. None of us at that table shops on Black Friday; I personally vowed ages ago to finish my holiday shopping before that and haven't broken that promise to myself. Anything purchased after that date is bought online.
This article sums up how I feel about this.
BTW, according to Wikipedia's article on this subject, Latin American also observes it.
Your thoughts, por favor!
Labels: weekend
Saturday, November 08, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Do Things In Novelas Change Your Life?
Has your taste changed in anything since you became a regular novela viewer? Did you find you love Latin music, did you want to try more Latin foods? Do you think nothing of shopping in the international aisle of your supermarket? Are La Costena and Goya products on your shelves or your shopping list?
Do you treat your family or friends differently? Do you dress differently?
Enquiring minds want to know!
Labels: telenovelas, weekend
Friday, October 10, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Past vs Present Telenovela Conventions: What's the best combination?
What would you rather see again vs what's happening now? What do you miss about novelas of 20 years ago?
Let's not get into discussions about series length; we have done that to death.
I personally would prefer scenes to be longer. Sometimes when watching novelas now I get whiplash from the quick scene changes after two or three lines of dialogue. It gives the illusion of more action happening when in reality no more information is communicated in that episode than in an episode shot 20 years ago.
Let's have fewer situations about pregnancy entrapment or at least demonstrate that it mostly doesn't work, We have all witnessed at least one example of this in real life and all know that the consequences aren't pretty. The Isabelas of this world don't usually get what they want.
Force producers to make up their minds about the period of the story. It really annoys me when they can't make up their minds and we have no idea whether it's 1950 or 2010.
Add yours, my friends.
Labels: telenovelas, weekend
Saturday, October 04, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Sob Stories and Snob Stories
The snobbery expressed in telenovelas reminds me of a lot of things I've witnessed in life. I've previously explained some of them, but the baby gift incident in Mi Corazon es Tuyo last night made me remember the following story:
My college buddy recently became a grandfather for the first time (I think he's freaking out about it). I remember when his older daughter was born his now-ex bought her a Laura Ashley nightgown in a thrift shop for $3. It looked absolutely brand new; I'm sure its previous owner barely wore it a handful of times before outgrowing it. She showed it to me and another woman and we commended her on her practicality (which in this case she had learned with their firstborn). She begged us not to tell her husband, who had an issue with thrift shopping. This is the same man who wouldn't have made it to the IBM boardroom for not having attended an Ivy League university.
For a while they drove leased cars (Lexus and Mercedes) until they couldn't afford to continue to do so. It was all downhill from there and he is still recovering. Much of that was her fault 20 years ago but I won't bore you with the details. Interestingly she came from a family with a lot of reverse snobbery.
Tell your tales, amigos, and you can change the names to protect the guilty.
My college buddy recently became a grandfather for the first time (I think he's freaking out about it). I remember when his older daughter was born his now-ex bought her a Laura Ashley nightgown in a thrift shop for $3. It looked absolutely brand new; I'm sure its previous owner barely wore it a handful of times before outgrowing it. She showed it to me and another woman and we commended her on her practicality (which in this case she had learned with their firstborn). She begged us not to tell her husband, who had an issue with thrift shopping. This is the same man who wouldn't have made it to the IBM boardroom for not having attended an Ivy League university.
For a while they drove leased cars (Lexus and Mercedes) until they couldn't afford to continue to do so. It was all downhill from there and he is still recovering. Much of that was her fault 20 years ago but I won't bore you with the details. Interestingly she came from a family with a lot of reverse snobbery.
Tell your tales, amigos, and you can change the names to protect the guilty.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Weekend Discussion: The Galans of Opera
I'm always comparing telenovelas and opera and they have more in common every day. And there are tons of great videos online to prove it.
It is no longer necessary just to be able to sing well; opera stars are now expected to be good actors and also to be hot. Today I will present a line-up of tenors. If there is adequate response, I'll do a sequel featuring baritones and basses.
Read more »
It is no longer necessary just to be able to sing well; opera stars are now expected to be good actors and also to be hot. Today I will present a line-up of tenors. If there is adequate response, I'll do a sequel featuring baritones and basses.
Read more »
Labels: weekend
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Taboos
Telenovelas have been breaking a few taboos in recent times and the comments in this blog indicate that people's buttons are being pushed by some of these. What does it for you? What would you rather see?
Labels: telenovelas, weekend
Saturday, September 06, 2014
Weekend Discussion: What Are Novelas Teaching Viewers?
Some recent discussions are provoking this question. What are viewers learning from novelas and what are they meant to learn instead?
La Malquerida is treading into some dangerous territory regarding misogyny and incest, La Gata is perhaps more heavily into class-consciousness than any of the others, and Mi Corazon es Tuyo shows us a large family about to explode over a marriage contracted for the wrong reasons which will have a domino effect on everyone in the entire household. Since that series is popular in Mexico we can anticipate a long period during which a wicked stepmother will reign supreme over a previously controlling (but loving) father. Nothing new, but this will be the largest-scale example to date.
What effect do you think this has and what should be instead? Sound off, amigos.
La Malquerida is treading into some dangerous territory regarding misogyny and incest, La Gata is perhaps more heavily into class-consciousness than any of the others, and Mi Corazon es Tuyo shows us a large family about to explode over a marriage contracted for the wrong reasons which will have a domino effect on everyone in the entire household. Since that series is popular in Mexico we can anticipate a long period during which a wicked stepmother will reign supreme over a previously controlling (but loving) father. Nothing new, but this will be the largest-scale example to date.
What effect do you think this has and what should be instead? Sound off, amigos.
Labels: gata, malquerida, mcet, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, August 22, 2014
Weekend Discussion: To the Manor Born -- How Much Does That Really Matter?
The class distinction that happens in telenovelas obviously fuels more than a couple of plot points per series. In the Americas there are no titles like those in Europe such as Sir or Dame for KBEs; Baron, Count, etc., in other countries, and there are equivalents in the Middle East. Here in the Americas it's usually about money or where you went to school.
In all our stories these things are used by those who choose to ignore that all human beings are the same in all important things. But so do people do this in life and it extends beyond how much gold is in your parents' coffers when you're born.
A college buddy of mine worked for a major global corporation for a number of years. He was smarter and more articulate than many of his colleagues. However, he didn't attend an Ivy League university and isn't a WASP; he's a first-generation American of Irish Catholic parents. That alone was going to keep him out of the board room. He didn't care about that once he got to the advertising department of his company where creativity was valued.
Do you think this is outdated or have you witnessed this in your own lives? Have you beaten it on occasion?
Be articulate, amigos.
Labels: weekend
Friday, August 01, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Ultimos Capitulos and What Drives Us Loco Now
Getting
the Right Balance
I
had a thought just as I got up yesterday morning about how in past
Ultimas Semanas discussions people have ranted about how ridiculous
it was to finish off all the villains in the last two or three
episodes. I agree, but now that we have a series where it's
happening across the last three weeks it feels like the pain is just
drawn out, like a prolonged attack of sciatica.
The
explanation for this phenomenon seems all about the writers' need to
maintain a high level of suspense to keep viewers tuned in. We know
that's because cost-cutting is creating longer and fewer series to
make up the standard number of original hours. Nothing about that is
going to change anytime soon, so we need to stop complaining about
it.
In
view of this situation I think it's time that the writers give
themselves a reality check on two things:
Labels: robo, siempre, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, July 25, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Novela Genres; What is your preference?
Some people seem to be bailing out on Lo Que la Vida Me Robo because of the turn the story has taken. As long as Televisa (and other production companies) are in cost-cutting mode we can expect story extensions that do things like this one. I certainly will agree that doing this to a series that begins as a comedy without an advance set-up (such as we are probably getting in Mi Corazon es Tuyo) is completely wrong, but when novelas depend on suspense, we need to deal. I'd much rather have this than filler scenes that just attempt to inflate the original story.
Personally, I'd like to see more mystery-oriented novelas if we're looking for more male or younger viewers. The gratuitous violence and gore in narco stories is something I find as unappealing as the glorification of their lifestyles.
I mourn the absence of a good novela de epoca, but I guess the networks think they're too expensive a risk against the bleeding of younger and male viewers. Que lastima.
Be verbose, my friends.
Labels: mcet, robo, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, July 11, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Karmageddon in Aguazul (Lo Que la Vida Me Robo)
It's
that time again, amigos! Although this is a little early, the number
of bad guys in this tale is such that we already see the villains
turning on each other. Let's cut loose now and dish about what
should happen to the evil ones in our story. As previously, we
should think about it both ways:
- What do you think the writers will do to them?
- What do you think should happen to them?
Let's start with their queen and work our way down:
Labels: Karmageddon, robo, weekend
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Your Favorite Novelas
For the benefit of any newbies who want to catch up on novela classics, what are your favorites and why?
Read more »
Labels: amor, no-podia, por-ella, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, June 20, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Children and Secrets
In view of the recent trend in novelas to have children in the position of keeping secrets, I thought this an apt discussion point.
Lauro and Victoria had the secret of Alejandro being alive and he and Victor being in Aguazul (which has now been blown to pieces). Victoria still needs to keep the secret of the cell phone in Nadia's possession and we know that one won't last long. It won't necessarily be her fault, either, as the close of last night's episode wasn't about the kids.
I personally don't believe that children should be burdened with secrets of any kind. Children the ages of Victoria and Lauro aren't quite old enough to have a real grasp of the purpose of these secrets. During that scene at school recess I started wondering who would overhear them.
There is also the issue of keeping secrets from kids. If Lauro doesn't end up in a dangerous situation before this tale is over, what do you think Monserrat should do about what he doesn't yet know (Not that Alejandro should be left out of this decision but she knows him better due to the circumstances)? What sort -- if any -- of family secrets should be shared with kids? When? How?
The floor is open
Labels: weekend
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Weekend Discussion: The Narcissism Epidemic
Narcissism is one of the most common mental disorders of telenovela villains. Many people have a very simplistic definition of it: Muhammad Ali. His "I am the greatest" is how many people see narcissism. The sad truth is that it's far more complex than that.
Narcissists see themselves as the center of the universe. Everyone else exists for their purposes and once they cease to satisfy them, they either become evil or non-existent. They are incapable of dealing with their own faults and assign them to others as a way of ridding themselves of them. In extreme form they can be diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Read more »
Narcissists see themselves as the center of the universe. Everyone else exists for their purposes and once they cease to satisfy them, they either become evil or non-existent. They are incapable of dealing with their own faults and assign them to others as a way of ridding themselves of them. In extreme form they can be diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Read more »
Labels: amor, bravio, Fuego, QBA, robo, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, June 06, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Crimes of Fashion
One of the things inciting constant comment here is the fashion felonies committed by many female characters in novelas (or by the fashion consultants for the shows). It seems that femme fatale rivals and villanas are the biggest offenders, although heroines can be guilty, too. For our purposes today we will cover the villanas, particularly since we have such a stunning example in our current prime time.
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Labels: abismo, amor, familia, no-podia, robo, telenovelas, triunfo, weekend
Friday, May 23, 2014
Weekend Discussion: TVyNovela Award Shows
By CorazonSalvaje:
Ignacio Sada Madero has a
Simplemente Maria remake in the works (He is one who is capable of
writing good novelas which are often overlooked but honestly mentioned
with affection. La Intrusa comes to mind and I think the ONLY reason(s)
Bajo Las Riendas del Amor was rebuffed at the Premios TVyNovelas is
because Mejia was associated with it. That and Destilando Amor robbing
everything cough-Pasion-cough. I think the only awards I agreed with
that year were the ones going to Lola Erase Una Vez and Pasion albeit 2
each. I think-
TBLMOE or Ed. Santamarina deserved best homme lead (but let's be real, all three leads were worthy of the prize. The only other lead was Gabriel Soto whom I can't stand.)
Angelica Rivera or Adriana Fonseca deserved best femme lead (Tie please!)
Adamariz Lopez deserved best femme fatale (but Daniela Castro was worthy as well. Keep in mind I include Bajo Las Riendas since it WAS a Carla Estrada refrito which was harassed by Mejia. So in a way, she has 2 things for her LOL)
Bouffy or Alexis Ayala deserved best homme fatale)
Ana Martin deserved her award but I'm a sucker for Silvia Mariscal.
Marisol and German from Pasion deserved their awards.
Direccion de Camaras- Lola Erase Una Vez just because.
Escenas-Destilando Amor (was there a love scene in a barn? I remember one that was hot. Either that or Pasion because of Bouffy's decapitation scene.)
The revelation award does deserve to go to Eiza but her nominee Ariadne deserved it as well. Maybe a tie (in 2012, there was a tie for it with Laura Carmine and Alejandra Garcia.)
Best kid role went to Octavio Ocana which I agree with just because I wanted Lola Erase Una Vez to win in all it's 3 nominations LOL. (Danna Paola could have begged for a tie however.)
What is your opinion on these shows?
Hey I wanted to make a Weekend Discussion. Since you guys are
always saying the TVyNovelas Award Shows are rigged, we can discuss to
whom we'd give the prizes to.
(I'll start it like this.)
So I noticed you guys make remarks about the TVyNovelas
Award Shows which I have come to agree with. I feel as well that these
shows are unfair at times but the fairest I think I've seen are 1999 (El
Privilego de Amar taking them all is perfectly fine.) and 2014 (Amores
Verdaderos taking a majority is OK as well.)
TBLMOE or Ed. Santamarina deserved best homme lead (but let's be real, all three leads were worthy of the prize. The only other lead was Gabriel Soto whom I can't stand.)
Angelica Rivera or Adriana Fonseca deserved best femme lead (Tie please!)
Adamariz Lopez deserved best femme fatale (but Daniela Castro was worthy as well. Keep in mind I include Bajo Las Riendas since it WAS a Carla Estrada refrito which was harassed by Mejia. So in a way, she has 2 things for her LOL)
Bouffy or Alexis Ayala deserved best homme fatale)
Ana Martin deserved her award but I'm a sucker for Silvia Mariscal.
Marisol and German from Pasion deserved their awards.
Direccion de Camaras- Lola Erase Una Vez just because.
Escenas-Destilando Amor (was there a love scene in a barn? I remember one that was hot. Either that or Pasion because of Bouffy's decapitation scene.)
The revelation award does deserve to go to Eiza but her nominee Ariadne deserved it as well. Maybe a tie (in 2012, there was a tie for it with Laura Carmine and Alejandra Garcia.)
Best kid role went to Octavio Ocana which I agree with just because I wanted Lola Erase Una Vez to win in all it's 3 nominations LOL. (Danna Paola could have begged for a tie however.)
What is your opinion on these shows?
Labels: telenovelas, weekend
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Karmageddon Thoughts
Let's start with a theme song for this (which in another sense is Pedro Medina's anthem).
We've had discussions in the past over this essential Televisa element. They always include elements of satisfaction or dissatisfaction we have with the writers' decisions. If the original audience in Mexico (Televisa) or the US (Telemundo) isn't satisfied with the villains' final ends I'm sure they're vocal about it.
Read more »
Labels: Karmageddon, telenovelas, weekend
Friday, April 18, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Karmageddon Awaits!
Karmageddon
in Por Siempre Mi Amor
OK, with
17 or 18 hours to go on this story, it's time for this all-important
discussion. The villains in this tale are some of the vilest
excuses for human beings we've seen to date, so this will be lively.
As in a
previous discussion on another series, this will be a two-part
question:
- What fate do you think they deserve?
- What do you think the writers will do to these perverse creatures?
Labels: Karmageddon, siempre, weekend
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Weekend Discussion: Novelas en Ingles?
Is this a viable idea?
There were two unsuccessful attempts a few years ago to do English-language novelas by two of the smaller networks. They failed for two reasons:
1. Poor acting, possibly due to poor writing
2. Not ready for prime time in terms of gringo viewing habits
Read more »
Labels: weekend
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