Members MarkH Posted November 7, 2009 Members Share Posted November 7, 2009 So, according to WeLoveSoaps, the Tuesday episode of this show outrated Y&R, and was in the top ten of all dramatic serials last week. Why is there so little anglo-pop consciousness of this show? And why--besides MyNetwork--have there been no earnest attempts to use this format in the United States? (I'm not counting that limited run summer horror thing on CBS either). There is such energy and drama in this opening...I can't believe that couldn't be calibrated to be wildly successful in the US. I gather, by the way, that an earlier version of this series DID come to the US long ago...Acapulco Bay? I never heard of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_lGHNt4i04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted November 7, 2009 Members Share Posted November 7, 2009 This is the fourth remake. Did you read the plot? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortilegio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarkH Posted November 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 7, 2009 Thanks for the link. It seems like such a "Calgon, Take me Away" kind of story. Is there truly no audience for such stuff in the US? I really like the idea of the contained miniseries. I wish it could be reborn in the US. For example, I'm watching Flashforward, which is based on a novel. I wish it could be contained in a single season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 There is something about these telenovelas that is very off-putting, to put it that way. Perhaps too naïve, often dumb, too predictable and reliant on a very firm set of clichés. Have you watched MyNetworkTV Americanised telenovelas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 There is also too much sap and sleaze, overbearing saccharine love tales so foreign to the cynical US audiences... The opening is very standard Mexican telenovela: he grabs her, shakes her, than slaps her, a prince comes with a rose and saves her... All that played over a background of portentous, lush strings and operatic voices of Latin American singers. Trademark Mexican. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 I think a telenovela type of format would succeed in the US if it weren't billed as such, if it just happened accidentally. Like Ugly Betty, at least early on, before people got sick of the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ReddFoxx Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 The closest we'll get to telenovelas in the US is epic miniseries based on huge novels, which have really become a thing of the past. The telenovela is strictly a Latin brand and their demographics is well accustomed to the style. If this show was done in English and put in Primetime on a major network or cable channel, there would be a lot of people scratching their heads, it wouldn't translate well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MarkH Posted November 8, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 See, I agree with what you write here...but I can't help wonder if all this is locked in stone. For example, I consider the HBO shows more akin to "novels for television"...brief, defined in time, few seasons. But let's return to the "Latin brand", and the attributes Sylph describes. America is becoming increasingly ethnic. We see Univision beating other US networks with this Sortilegio show. So it seems there IS a huge, mainstream audience for this. Let's say they did full on, lush, over-the-top romance driven escapism. There is nothing like that on the air right now. It would be different. Don't you think it could pull huge numbers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members miajere Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 Is anglo-pop conscious even applicable to anything produced outside the US? OLTL tried something like this: I imagine this would be successful, but only for a short run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ReddFoxx Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 It would have to be carefully done to be successful, it's one of those things that could end up being unintentionally comedic if the the wrong production team is in charge. I think a period piece drama would work, I think viewers would easier except heavy romanticism and escapism if the setting of the show wasn't modern. Many telenovelas have been set in past times. As for a show that could be set in modern times, One Mexican novella I think could translate well is Cuna De Lobos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuna_de_lobos, it's got a plot that is over the top, but could be adapted for US audiences quite well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 I think I asked a similar question here, now I remebered: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members marceline Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 The format could work in the hands of the right people. IMO, it would live or die in promotion (and writing of course.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 OMG! Look at the trailer! The narrator's voice makes it all one big farce! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLgzWNuFHcQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dm. Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 This is Televisa's telenovela, you can't exactly expect anything original or out of the ordinary from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted November 8, 2009 Members Share Posted November 8, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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