Moments in the telenovelas of 2008

– The Good: Diana Bracho and Guillermo García Cantú. They managed to play two marvelous villains, and although they were over-the-top, audiences couldn’t get enough of them, or their bedroom scenes.

– The Bad: The guest stars were a bit much. Did they really need that many?: Niurka, Silvia Pinal, Cristián de la Fuente, Sofía Vergara, Susana Zabaleta, and so many more, we don’t even have the space for them.

– The Good: The performance given by Victoria Ruffo, an actress who’s never made a false move over three decades of acting, was respectable and gave the character, originated by Angélica Aragón a master’s touch. Mauricio Ochmann was fresh and believable, and Bernardo Romero Pereiro’s new story was shown in a whole new light.

– The Bad: Similar to its original version, Mirada de mujer (Azteca América), Telemundo extended some of the scenes, and what was perfect pacing turned into a dragged out and boring wait until the finale.

– The Good: Catherine Siachoque‘s villain and the unique finale–although controversial–in which everything returned to the beginning and audiences found out that it was just the main character’s promotion. Also, gay relationship were treated in a respectful and natural way, which was never seen before in telenovelas.

– The Bad: Lupita Ferrer‘s exaggerated tone, which went from credible to absurd, matched the performances of some the more inexperienced actors at times.

– The Good: Edith González‘s turn as the legendary character could easily make her the best actress of the year. Next to Victoria Ruffo, she’s one of the most acclaimed actresses to have graced the small screen. There’s a good balance between her and Génesis Rodríguez, and Christian Meier plays it well, as always.

– The Bad: The poor ratings which it has received is simply the fault of the audience, who prefers to watch three bakers in love have their cake and eat it too.

– The Good: Not since Cadenas de amargura has a soap launched three young actors to stardom overnight: Allison Lozz, Eugenio Siller and the great discovery, Altair Jarabo as the next Cynthia Klitbo, left a good taste in our mouths in this new version of Muñeca brava.

– The Bad: Honestly, there’s not a thing we can think of.

– The Good: This original story, which came to the small screen with a myriad of actors, including newcomer Carmen Villalobos, Aylín Mujica, and veteran Catherine Siachoque, and helmed by, Miguel Varoni.

– The Bad: It’s merely a shadow of the original version, which aired in Colombia, and cleaved more closely to the book by Gustavo Bolívar Moreno.

– The Good: Carmen Becerra‘s performance personified evil when she played Sara (what a great villain!), and the undeniable chemistry of Ana Layevska and Gabriel Soto lit up the TV.

– The Bad: Of course, María Rubio‘s turn as an over-acted villain that rivals a Greek tragedy.

– The Good: This Telemundo production was impeccable, and the story itself –taken from Caridad Bravo Adams’ La mentira– is well known, but still captivates audiences.

– The Bad: Casting could have been better, especially when it came to leading lady (Natalia Streignard), who’s already a mature woman who tries to play a young girl.

– The Good: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It’s one of the worst stories in a soap we’ve ever seen. The producer, Emilio Larrosa, was forced to do it, and admits he was never into shooting it. You can tell! – The Bad: Where do we start? The cast of four girls whose names are forgettable? The embarrassing roles of Cecilia Gabriela and Carlos. The apparition of Laura León who starred in the same story 20 years ago? And we don’t even know what to say about the kid who played the role originated by Alejandro Camacho?