Telenovelas Are Hott



Don't talk to us about Telenovela's. We don't speak Spanish but that won't stop us from watching them. We have spent endless hours -- mostly drunken -- staring at the outsize breasts, the scenery-chewing acting and the ov ercosmeticized good looks of South American telenovelas, especially "Xica da Silva," a particular Mwangaguhunga favorite.

The success of "Ugly Betty" and the sudden rise of Ben Silverman augur well for the cult genre, which is presently getting The Big Push. From Variety:

"Ben Silverman's first major move as an NBC programmer looks a lot like something Ben Silverman the producer would have set up.

"Peacock has bought the rights to the muy successful Colombian telenovela 'Sin tetas no hay paraiso' ('Without Breasts There is No Paradise') and is developing it as a likely primetime project. Simulatenously, NBC sister net Telemundo will produce a Spanish-language version of the format with a different cast and script.

"'Sin tetas,' from Colombia's Canal Caracol, focused on a young woman determined to get bigger breasts in order to escape poverty. She ends up working as a prostitute, getting involved with drug dealer in the process. Sudser is based on the novel of the same name by Gustavo Bolivar.

"Broadcast last fall, the skein's finale set ratings record for Colombian telenovelas, attracting nearly 7 million viewers. Silverman's last scripted hit as a producer was ABC's 'Ugly Betty,' which is based on another successful Colombian telenovela."

See -- Now if only the Powers-That-Be could see what we have always seen about "El Show de Walter Mercado," and -- above all else :"Chespirito."