Tonight is the finale of the second series of Telemundo's narco fantasy EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS at 10 p.m. ET. A success for the network, it seems likely there will be a third series, so it also seems likely tonight's finale will be as unsatisfying as last year's finale.I did not care much for the first series of EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS and found this second series substantially worse. Indeed, I think EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS 2 is the worst telenovela I've seen this year. Sure, Telemundo's EN OTRA PIEL features worse acting, writing and production values, but EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS 2 is morally reprehensible in its deification of its drug lord protagonist.
I've mentioned in a previous article the crude tactics these narco-novelas use to manipulate viewer sympathies for their drug lord protagonists through the constant imperiling of their family members, but EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS 2 takes this device to shameless extremes. Over the course of this season, the protagonist drug lord has had his young children threatened with a knife to their throats, his mother shot, lost a baby through a miscarriage, his son shot, his daughter kidnapped and finally his ex-wife shot. He is ever the wronged party, ever the victim, so his violent acts are always justified. Even a final hit gone wrong resulting in an unintended loss is presented so the scenes can ultimately be about his pain.
The persistent victimhood of the drug lord is accompanied with incessant lionization of his virility. Has any fictional character since the also vile James Bond needed such overkill to bolster his supposed sexual desirability? The female cast is virtually reduced to the role of harem. The only detractor is the cop played by Carmen Villalobos, whose role in this second series was reduced to little more than standing miffed with her hands on her hips and looking stupid, bested again and again by the intellectually superior drug lord.
These objections aside, EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS 2 is just a lousy telenovela. The story is dull narco clichés where you just wait for the various scumbags to kill each other, the performances long became monotonous and tired, and the production looks cheap compared to the similarly themed telenovelas coming out of Colombia like ESCOBAR: EL PATRÓN DEL MAL, EL CAPO, ALIAS EL MEXICANO and LA VIUDA NEGRA. A climactic gunfight in the penultimate episode was pure amateur hour - horribly lit and badly staged – Telemundo's inept action directing at its worst.
SEÑORA ACERO
SEÑORA ACERO replaces EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on Telemundo. It is (surprise) yet another narco-novela. Like EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS, it is a Telemundo co-production made in Mexico with Argos Television
From the press materials, SEÑORA ACERO “tells the story of Sara Aguilar Bermúdez, a stunningly beautiful, charismatic and intelligent woman who goes from housewife to someone capable of shaking up the entire structure of a government. After the unexpected murder of her husband Vicente Acero, Sara learns that her late husband was not the man she thought. From that moment, her life and her son's life become an endless battle to escape authorities and the enemies of her late husband.”
Already, just from the official description and the promos, it seems the dishonest cycle of the so-called narco-novela will continue as yet again the protagonist is given a young child to be imperiled and provide motivation for the no doubt vile things the protagonist will do. Can the monsters ever be depicted for what they are without the BS extenuating justifications?
SEÑORA ACERO is written by Roberto Stopello, whose 2011 adaptation of Arturo Pérez-Reverte's novel LA REINA DEL SUR was the biggest hit in Telemundo's history and whose 2012 adaptation of the Spanish television series FÍSICA O QUÍMICA into RELACIONES PELIGROSAS was one of the network's biggest flops (though I thought the first half of that latter telenovela was not without interest).
Of course, LA REINA DEL SUR starred Kate del Castillo, one of the strongest telenovela lead actresses, while SEÑORA ACERO stars Blanca Soto, one of the weakest. She is a gift to those who enjoy telenovelas ironically with her uncanny ability to make every line sound stilted and every moment inauthentic. In bad telenovelas like EVA LUNA, PORQUE EL AMOR MANDA and particularly EL TALISMÁN, the adventitious pleasures derived from watching Blanca Soto's non-acting were often the most enjoyable and memorable aspects of those telenovelas, the gratification of genuine camp. Unfortunately, these qualities in Blanca Soto's acting will no doubt be more problematic in a presumably serious telenovela like SEÑORA ACERO.
Outside of Soto, the cast for SEÑORA ACERO is a good one with Andrés Palacios (CAMELIA LA TEXANA), Rebecca Jones (PASIÓN PROHIBIDA), Litzy (UNA MAID EN MANHATTAN), Rossana San Juan (LA MUJER DEL VENDAVAL), and listed as a special guest, Damián Alcázar.
UNIVISION DAYTIME
After a six month drought, first-run telenovelas will be returning to Univision's daytime line up starting today with the US premieres of COSITA LINDA and QUIERO AMARTE.
COSITA LINDA (weekdays at noon ET) ends an even longer drought of two years since the last telenovela from the company formerly known as Venevision International, now Cisneros Media, aired on Univision.
COSITA LINDA is a Miami-produced adaptation of the 2003 Venezuelan telenovela COSITA RICA. The story is a love triangle between a young woman and two brothers. A beautiful young woman named Ana Lorena and the heir to an advertising agency named Diego fall in love prompting him to cancel his wedding plans to a model named Viviana. Viviana manages to set up Ana Lorena who is arrested for drug trafficking. After a few months, Ana gets out of prison and discovers Diego is again set to marry Viviana. Matters are further complicated with the arrival of Olegario, the half-brother Diego never knew existed, who also falls in love with Ana.
Christian Meier, who is also the leading man of another telenovela currently airing on Univision, LA MALQUERIDA, plays Diego. Pedro Moreno (UNA FAMILIA CON SUERTE) plays Olegario. The fledgling lead actress is Ana Lorena Sánchez, who was one of the students in Telemundo's RELACIONES PELIGROSAS. Zuleyka Rivera (AURORA) plays Viviana.
The cast also features Carolina Tejera (CORAZÓN VALIENTE), Adrián Di Monte, Scarlet Gruber (CORAZÓN APASIONADO), Alma Delfina (EL TALISMÁN), Anna Silvetti (EVA LUNA), Gisella Aboumrad (PASIÓN PROHIBIDA, and Henry Zakka (REINA DE CORAZONES).
QUIERO AMARTE
Also premiering today on Univision is QUIERO AMARTE at 3 p.m. ET, a Mexican telenovela from Televisa. It is produced by Carlos Moreno, whose previous telenovela, AMOR BRAVÍO, was one of the better Televisa productions in recent years. QUIERO AMARTE is a remake of the 1994 telenovela IMPERIO DE CRISTAL.
The story from Televisa's summary: “Mauro is the owner of a coffee plantation that he inherited from his dead wife. He falls in love with Florencia, the young owner of some coffee lands next door. However, the love between Mauro and Florencia cannot be because when they are about to marry, Mauro discovers that Lucretia, an old friend of his, is pregnant with his child. Mauro and Florencia separate despite the fact they are in love. Thirty years pass and Florencia and Mauro's past is brought back to life when Mauro's son falls in love with Florencia's daughter.”
QUIERO AMARTE stars Karyme Lozano in her first Mexican telenovela since AMAR SIN LÍMITES in 2006. The leading man is Chilean actor Cristián de la Fuente (AMOR BRAVÍO), one of the more recognizable telenovela actors to US audiences thanks to his crossover work in shows like IN PLAIN SIGHT and participation on DANCING WITH THE STARS. The protagonists worked together before in the 2005 telenovela SOÑAR NO CUESTA NADA.
The fine cast also includes Diana Bracho (FUEGO EN LA SANGRE), Flavio Medina (PARA VOLVER A AMAR), Alejandra Barros (PARA VOLVER A AMAR), Adriana Louvier (CORONA DE LÁGRIMAS), José Elías Moreno (AMOR BRAVÍO), Olivia Bucio (HASTA EL FIN DEL MUNDO), Salvador Zerboni (ABISMO DE PASIÓN), Luz María Jerez (UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR), Diego Amozurrutia (AMORCITO CORAZÓN), Cassandra Sánchez Navarro (CORONA DE LÁGRIMAS), Ricardo Franco (CORAZÓN INDOMABLE) and as the juvenile leads, Andrés Mercado (GRACHI) and Renata Notni (QUÉ BONITO AMOR).
EL CHIVO
EL CHIVO, the fourth first-run telenovela making its US debut this week, premieres Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on UniMás. It is the latest co-production from Mexico's Televisa and Colombia's RTI, the partnership that produced LA VIUDA NEGRA and LA MADAME.
EL CHIVO looks to be more serious fare. Adapted from the 2000 novel LA FIESTA DEL CHIVO by 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature recipient Mario Vargas Llosa, EL CHIVO is a biographical fiction depicting the regime of the Dominican Republic's brutal dictator Rafael Trujillo in the 1950s.
Mexican actor Julio Bracho (LA CLÍNICA) plays Trujillo. He is joined by a largely Colombian cast. Eileen Moreno, the best of the three portrayers of Griselda Blanco in LA VIUDA NEGRA, plays Trujillo's wife. The cast also features Diana Hoyos (COMANDO ÉLITE), Juan Sebastián Calero (LA PROMESA), Manuela González (EL SEÑOR DE LOS CIELOS 2), Leonardo Acosta (ESCOBAR: EL PATRÓN DEL MAL), Julio Sánchez Cóccaro (LA MADAME) and Iván Arana (EL MARIACHI). Veteran Venezuelan telenovela writer Humberto “Kiko” Olivieri (LA TORMENTA (2005)) wrote the adaptation.
FAVORITES FOR WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 12-18, 2014
Favorite telenovela: HASTA EL FIN DEL MUNDO (weeknights at 9 p.m. ET on Univision)
Favorite performer: Marcela Mar in MANUAL PARA SER FELIZ
Favorite scene: from HASTA EL FIN DEL MUNDO, Sofía (Marjorie de Sousa) retreats to her country house for some self-reflection accompanied by Salvador (Pedro Fernández).
R.G. Morin writes a regular column for We Love Soaps, "Telenovela Watch: A weekly look at the world of telenovelas for non-Spanish speakers." For feedback or questions, you can email R.G. Morin at [email protected].
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