Author: Tico (---)
Date: 06-03-03 03:22 PDT
If I had to make a list of the 10 best novelas of ALL TIME, including those produced in other countries, I definitely would list most of the Brazilian novelas made by RED GLOBO as well as some Colombian and Peruvian Telenovelas and a few from Mexico's TV AZTECA. However, i've decide to stick solely and exclusively with telenovelas made by Televisa in the last 25 years. Although I'm no longer enjoying most of Televisa's novelas (Most are bad remakes and the majority of novelas are mass produced and incoherent) there was a time when Televisa reigned as one of the best telenovela producers in the world and so here's my list for the top 10 TELEVISA novelas of the last two decades (approximately).
#10 Ramona A contemporary telenovela with a TRULY original story and excellent quallity of production. Wonderfully executed by the superb cast (Kate del Castillo, Helena Rojo, Eduardo Palomo) and exquisite in its production and detail.
#9 El Maleficio The first HORROR telenovela that deal with the subject of witchcraft and satanism. Excellent acting, great story and intriguing subject matter.
#8 Canaveral de Pasiones: The best telenovela produced by Humberto Zurita and Christian Back for televisa. The casting was A1, the story was remarkable and the twists and plot turns kept audiences mesmerized. The best novela of the 90's.
#7 La Venganza. (late 70's, televisa version, not to be confused with the crappy novela made by TELEMUNDO recently) This is the ORIGINAL AND EXCELLENT TELENOVELA that gave birth to two of the most succesful novelas of recent times "Marimar" and "Gata Salvaje" (Which are poor and horrible remakes of this great production). Helena Rojo, Enrique Lizalde and Beatris Sheridan were super in their roles.
#6 El Derecho de Nacer (1980's Version with Veronica Castro). Great adaptation of one of the most enduring telenovela classics. This was the novela that launched Ericka Buenfil and Laura Flores' career into orbit. Truly remarkable casting and quality of production. It's worth watching more than once. The remake produced by Televisa a few years ago (With Kate del Castillo and Saul Lizaso) chattered the storyline into pieces and turned it into a story about mafia and incestual obsession.
#5 Cuna de Lobos: Truly original, full of mistery and intrigue and definitely one of the most suspenseful novelas ever made. Thank God it hasn't been turned, YET, into a cheap remake like most of Televisa novelas these days....It's been aired several times in Mexico and Galavision had it all again a few years ago. If u get a chance to watch it for the first time...DO.....superb acting and this is the novela that turned Alejandro Camacho into the Villain of choice for other Televisa Productions.
#4 Soledad: Probably many people don't remember this novela but it was repeated twice by Univision a few years ago. This is the novela that catapulted the careers of Christian Back, Humberto Zurita and Salvador Pineda. It was later remade into "Bendita Mentira" (Angelica Maria, Ana Patricia Rojo) which actually wasn't so bad after all...but this novela was intense and definitely unique.
# 3 Viviana: The best Lucia Mendez Telenovela, back in the late 70's. Great CAst (Lucia Mendez, Hector Bonilla, Juan Pelaez, Maricruz Olivier, Sara Garcia) the novela that catapulted Lucia Mendez into Stardom. A groundbreaking novela that deal with prostitution and bigamy.......compare that to the horrible remake made a few years ago by TElevisa...."Camila" (Biby Gaitan and Eduardo Capetillo)
# 2 Tres Mujeres: I'll stick to the original 120 episodes that were completed before this novela aired in Mexico and the U.S.A. When the producers decided to extend in order to milk its huge ratings and popularity...this novela turned into a mess. Nevertheless....this was the first Televisa novela that dealt openly and very realistically with issues such as alcoholism, homosexuality, rape, and incest.
# 1 Los Ricos Tambien LLoran: A classic of classics....even thought it's been Rerun several times in several countries, it continues to be one of the most beloved telenovelas ever made. Its remake "Maria la del Barrio" ,with its ridiculous twists and poor acting, will NEVER match the wholesomeness that this novela embodied.
NOTE: I realize that many of these novelas haven't been repeated nor watched by many people, but they are DEFINITELY the ones that turned Telenovelas into an International phenomenon. I'm not even delving into classic telenovelas made in the 60's and 70's because many of them never made it to the U.S. and some of them are not even available to watch ever again. But as far as contemporary novelas goes (In the last 25 years or so) the ones I've mentioned are very well known by most telenovela followers and are true gems of the genre.
Honorable mentioning also goes to (In random order):
*El Angel Caido
*El Pecado de Oyuki
*Gabriel y Gabriela
*El Engano (its latest remake was "laberintos de Pasion" which was fairly ok but no match to the original)
*El Hogar que yo robe and its latest remake "La Intrusa"
*Luz Clarita (Much better than its earlier version "Chispita" with Lucero)
*Vivir un Poco (Its latest reincarnation "Para toda la vida" was a flop")
*Gotita de Gente (Turned into a horrible remake named "Gotita de Amor")
*La pasion de Isabela
*El Extrano Retorno de Diana Salazar (The last and third best TELEVISA novela made by Lucia Mendez)
*Rosa Salvaje
*Maria Mercedes (The only novela from the Thalia Trilogy that made some sense!)
*Monte Calvario
*Amigas y Rivales (Although it was absolutely absurd...this novela proved to be a delicious farse to watch and keep an eye on)
*El premio mayor (The first Televisa novela that portrayed poverty as a much better world than that of the rich and famous)
*Al filo de la muerte
*Lazos de Amor (LUCERO, LUCERO and LUCERO!!! Amazing triple performance, awesome ending, maybe too short, had lots of room to be extended).
*Teresa (Salma Hayek's first and last leading role in a TELEVISA TELENOVELA)
*Retrato de Familia
*Morelia (The first half, the rest was pathetic and very poorly produced) and yes, it was the first and last Televisa-produced telenovela made in the U.S.
*Al rojo vivo (whose latest version "El precio de tu amor" was no match for it)
*Marcha Nupcial (the original story that gave birth to "Marisol" of course without the horrible performance by Eduardo Santamarina and the insipid presence of Ericka Buenfil)
*Vanessa (The second best TELEVISA novela by Lucia Mendez)
*Alondra (Excellent acting, quality of production with an original and unpredictable story)
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