Telenovellas take over TV
This is something that I have been considering for a while since watching all the new shows that have sprung up on network TV. Back in the good old days of Giles Hall, I did watch latin american telenovellas in Spanish - and tried to pass it off as Spanish "homework". Vimla did this as well, and this is how we learnt words like "putana di madre" and all those other things that Sr. Vera forgot to include in her lesson plans. Watching the drama unfold and watching almost everyone in the cast sleep with each other was riveting. That and the story followed a plot of some type so that the saga continued from week to week.
Suppodily, that is what we like to call a "soap opera" here in North America.
In this post- "Friends", "Fraiser" and "Seinfeld" world we are now bound to our TVs ever week to watch our shows, otherwise, we'll no longer understand the contrived story line. Examples are my old faves "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" and newbies "Six Degrees" and "Dexter". "Lost" and "24" are other examples of these serial shows that demand the weekly attention of its viewers, but I didn't watch the first season of either so I have no idea what is going on in either show at this point.
I am not saying that "Friends", "Fraiser" and "Seinfeld" lacked a plot. There was always something ridiculous going on that captivated your attention for all of 22 minutes. There was some connection from week to week, but ultimately all you had to have little knowledge of was the characters, and it was their interaction that made the show entertaining. This is why these shows have become very popular in reruns, it doens't matter what order you watch them in, as they remain endless entertaining (well, atleast to me!) And as addictive as the serial based/ telenovella like TV shows are... I don't see them living forever in syndication on TV land. Like, who watches reruns of 90210 or Melrose's Place? Some, but not as many as other shows that I mentioned before (oh! and I almost forgot Sex and the City!).
What I was aiming to write about was the inflitration of the telenovella approach to TV in recent years and wondering if this was based on California's exponentially growing hispanic population.
I guess it ended up more about the possible future of Grey's/Housewives/Lost/24 once they are off the air... which is probably continued success thanks to DVD sets. Oh, and downloading episodes on the internet.
posted by Mlle C @ 8:03 PM
3 Comments:
cherry, if you consider them in terms of old faves like dawsons creek they have a little more staying power, I think. Because I watch the endless reruns of dawsons whenever I'm bored and tbs is convenient. I will concede to you that not relying completely on a continuing storyline is important, though. Dawson's is always entertaining, whether you know what's going on or not. I think Grey's has the capacity to end up much the same, because of the new cases being like a brand new adventure every week. It's a case where continuity in serialization is a downfall, as opposed to a merit, brcause if the show doesn't rely on continuity syndication has a much better chance.
cat,
Grey's is probably the only one with that potential, but as the storylines become more contrived, it will be harder to follow/enjoy in reruns. I know you are a huge Dawson's fan, but I think it is easier to compare Dawson's and the OC. And honestly, I love the first season of both, but I haven't watched much of either since.
Maybe you don't want to agree just becauseyou are such a Dawson's addict. And I suppose it is thanks to fans like you that Grey's will live for ever on TBS one day too :P
hahahaha maybe we'll be alive when Grey's makes it to TBS! I'm gonna put up a campaign to have Perfect Strangers come back. I need cousin balki! One point that needs to be address is that the interaction between the Grey's characters is becoming a hell of a lot more complex and I don't think a newbie who watches a couple of episodes will understand it. Same with Desperate Housewives but each household is like a soap opera in itself. It's not even that captivating anymore which is why sometimes I trade DH for sleep...except this week. Something BIG is going down.
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