TELENOVELA WATCH: MENTIR PARA VIVIR Finale; Thoughts on LO QUE LA VIDA ME ROBO

Tonight is the finale of MENTIR PARA VIVIR at 7 p.m. ET on Univision. It was probably the best telenovela from Televisa last year over its first fifty episodes, but its quality dropped significantly over its second half and it is limping to the finish line.

Even the masterpieces of the telenovela format often have hiccups of a couple or so weeks, usually about two-thirds of the way through the run. You can take the bumps in the road because a good telenovela has already earned your trust, you believe the writers and producer will eventually right the ship, and usually they do. Not this time. Characters acting stupidly to drive plot, subplots stalled, a character ramping up to murderous insanity seemingly overnight, a significant addition to the cast occurring far too late in the telenovela’s run – the final weeks have been an unfortunate mess.

TELENOVELA WATCH: Best & Worst Telenovelas in 2013

BEST AND WORST IN TELENOVELAS IN 2013

This look back at the year in telenovelas is US based, covering works that aired at least 50 episodes this calendar year on a US broadcast network.

2013 was a down year for telenovelas. In 2012, I was able to list nine quality telenovelas; this year, only four, and I don’t know if any of those four would make my top five from last year. The one that might, SECRETOS DEL PARAÍSO, is impossible to fully evaluate as its final weeks were heavily condensed by its US broadcaster.

There was some improvement in the final months, so 2014 is already looking brighter with the hugely entertaining bodice-ripper LO QUE LA VIDA ME ROBÓ and the familiar, but finely acted POR SIEMPRE MI AMOR now gracing Univision’s primetime; and the return of Brazilian productions to US network television with LA VIDA SIGUE on MundoFox and the upcoming AVENIDA BRASIL on Telemundo.

It is impossible to follow everything and there were two Colombian telenovelas I regret not being able to delve into this year: CINCO VIUDAS SUELTAS (Caracol, aired on Telemundo) and ALLÁ TE ESPERO (RCN, aired on MundoFox). Both seemed respectable, quality works, but I simply was not able to see enough episodes of either to make a meaningful critique.


BEST TELENOVELAS OF 2013

SECRETOS DEL PARAÍSO (Vista/RCN, aired on MundoFox)
A remake of the 1993 Colombian telenovela LA MALDICIÓN DEL PARAÍSO, there are many elements that on the surface are familiar – the central love triangle involving a woman coming between two brothers, the odious mother of the brothers, past crimes coming to light, secret paternities, and even an actual curse – all the stuff of countless telenovelas, but beautifully rendered here with an aching, languid, cool ambiance and a delicate melancholy that feels extraordinarily modern. This is a soulful, mood indigo telenovela, filled with a sense lost and longing, the lonely characters, adrift, searching for some human connection to assuage their sadness. Top to bottom, SECRETOS DEL PARAÍSO featured the strongest ensemble in a telenovela this year with memorable performances from Juan Pablo Espinosa, Natalia Durán, Iván López, Patricia Tamayo, Ernesto Benjumea, Silvia de Dios, Alina Lozano, Carlos Hurtado, Linda Baldrich, Carlos Torres, Mateo Rueda and Gloria Gómez.

TELENOVELA WATCH: U.S. Premieres - POR SIEMPRE MI AMOR Tonight, ALIAS EL MEXICANO Tomorrow; Thoughts on LO QUE LA VIDA ME ROBO and MENTIR PARA VIVIR

Tonight is the US premiere of POR SIEMPRE MI AMOR at 8 p.m. ET on Univision. A Mexican-produced telenovela from Televisa, it is a remake of MI SEGUNDA MADRE from 1989. Produced by Ignacio Sada Madero who is coming off the very fine remake UN REFUGIO PARA EL AMOR, this adaptation of Abel Santa Cruz’s original story is by one of the writers of UN REFUGIO, Nora Alemán, joined here by Denisse Pfeiffer.

The story: Arturo de la Riva and Isabel López, both suffering from personal tragedies – his wife of ten years suddenly dies, she discovers the man she married was a fraud and cheater – find true love with each other. But their happiness is marred by Arturo’s daughter Aranza resistance to accept Isabel and the nefarious plots of Isabel’s ex-husband Fernando and Sonia, the wicked cousin of Arturo’s deceased wife.

TELENOVELA WATCH: LO QUE LA VIDA ME ROBÓ Premiere; PORQUE EL AMOR MANDA Finale; MENTIR PARA VIVIR; A CORAZÓN ABIERTO; Karla Álvarez

LO QUE LA VIDA ME ROBÓ premieres tonight on Univision at 9 p.m. ET, a mere three weeks after its debut in Mexico. LO QUE LA VIDA ME ROBÓ is based on a story from Caridad Bravo Adams that has already yielded two highly regarded telenovelas - BODAS DE ODIO in 1983 and AMOR REAL in 2003 - raising expectations which may work against this new version. The previous two versions were both period novelas, the latter set more than a hundred years in the past; this remake, adapted by Juan Carlos Alcalá and produced by Angelli Nesma (ABISMO DE PASIÓN), moves the story to the present.

The story is a classic love triangle. Monserrat, a young woman in love with José Luis, a humble soldier, is manipulated by her mother into marrying a rich man, Alejandro.

Angelique Boyer (ABISMO DE PASIÓN) plays Monserrat and Sebastián Rulli (AMORES VERDADEROS) plays Alejandro. The two were previously paired as protagonists in 2010 in TERESA. Luis Roberto Guzman (EL PANTERA) makes up the third side of the triangle. Daniela Castro (MI PECADO) plays the mother.

TELENOVELA WATCH: Thoughts on MENTIR PARA VIVIR; EL OCTAVO MANDAMIENTO Premieres Tonight; The End of DAMA Y OBRERO

MENTIR PARA VIVIR
After two weeks, MENTIR PARA VIVIR (weeknights at 10 p.m. ET on Univision) is by a wide margin the best telenovela to premiere on Univision this year. This is perhaps faint praise in what has to this point been a decidedly poor year for Televisa – the mere fact MENTIR PARA VIVIR features a fresh, original story that develops swiftly, characters who behave as recognizable humans with actions and feelings psychologically motivated, and good acting and direction, is enough to place it above the other Televisa productions we’ve seen on Univision this year.

TELENOVELA WATCH: MENTIR PARA VIVIR Comes To Univision Tonight; Plus, LA TEMPESTAD, MARIDO EN ALQUILER, DAMA Y OBRERO

MENTIR PARA VIVIR makes its US premiere tonight on Univision at 10 p.m. ET. A Mexican production from Televisa, MENTIR PARA VIVIR reunites the creative team behind the 2011 telenovela LA FUERZA DEL DESTINO: producer Rosy Ocampo (POR ELLA SOY EVA), writer María Zarattini (ALBORADA), and lead actor David Zepeda (ABISMO DE PASIÓN). The lead actress is Mayrín Villanueva (UNA FAMILIA CON SUERTE), and the cast also features Diego Olivera (TRIUNFO DEL AMOR), Altair Jarabo (ABISMO DE PASIÓN), Leticia Perdigón (POR ELLA SOY EVA) and Cecilia Gabriela (CACHITO DE CIELO).

It did not take much for MENTIR PARA VIVIR to be my most highly anticipated telenovela to come to Univision since AMOR BRAVÍO. First, the fact MENTIR PARA VIVIR is the only telenovela from Televisa to reach our screens this year that features an original story. Second, the fact that original story is by Zarattini, one of the foremost telenovela writers in Mexico. And finally, the fact MENTIR PARA VIVIR is short by recent Televisa standards, only about one hundred episodes long.