Even though he retired 10 years ago, Manoel Carlos remains a present and important figure in Globo’s programming. His works are constantly replayed on the open channel and on Viva, in addition to delighting Globoplay fans.
The streaming platform, in fact, will come with yet another new feature for Maneco’s admirers. In family (2014), his latest soap opera, will get a new chance through the Originality Project, which replaces the chapters currently available on the platform with chapters with better image quality, in addition to the insertion of openings and vignettes.
The return of the plot, starring names like Helena Ranaldi, serves as historical value, since, for many, Em Família is the worst soap opera written by Manoel Carlos.
The last Helena
10 years ago, Manoel Carlos announced that Em Família would be his last soap opera. The author then created the last of the Helenas, the traditional protagonist of his stories. To close the cycle, he cast Julia Lemmertz, daughter of Lilian Lemmertz, who played the first Helena in Baila Comigo (1981).
Divided into three phases, Em Família narrated the love story of Helena (played by Bruna Marquezine in her youth) and Laerte (Guilherme Leicam/Gabriel Braga Nunes), which had a tragic outcome. Jealous, the boy attacked Virgílio (Nando Rodrigues/Humberto Martins) – who was always in love with Helena – and almost killed him. After what happened, Laerte left Brazil, while Helena and Virgílio got married.
Years later, Laertes became a famous flutist in Europe. There, he meets Luiza (Bruna Marquezine), daughter of Helena and Virgílio. Laertes is struck by the similarity between her and Helena. Back in Brazil, he ends up starting a relationship with Luiza, but his return also affects Helena, who lives in a lukewarm marriage with Virgílio.
Worst soap opera by Manoel Carlos
Expectations regarding Em Família were the best possible. Fans expected Maneco to return to his best form, after the mistake that was Viver a Vida (2009). However, the plot ended up disappointing viewers.
Em Família confused the public by being divided into phases. The change of cast made the viewer’s head spin and also generated inconsistencies, such as the fact that Vanessa Gerbelli was Julia Lemmertz’s aunt (in the first phase the aunt seemed older than her niece, and later this changed), or Ana Beatriz Nogueira is the mother of Gabriel Braga Nunes, even though their age difference is only five years.
Furthermore, the plot was not exciting. During most of the chapters, Helena showed herself to be a protagonist without strength, who just cried and lamented. The public expected better clashes with Shirley (Vivianne Pasmanter), the antagonist, which ended up not happening.
Audience failure
The developments in the story were also disappointing and the ending of Em Família was melancholic. All these errors were reflected in the audience, which was much lower than expected. Em Família closed with an average of 29.6 points, the lowest of the time at that time.
Maneco also faced health problems during the plot. The author even moved away from the soap opera, which was led in the end by his collaborator – and daughter – Maria Carolina. Furthermore, Globo management chose to shorten the plot.
The soap opera premiered on February 3, 2014, and the initial planning was to run it until the end of August. But, faced with the decision to shorten it, Em Família came to an end on July 19 of that year, with 143 chapters.
Em Família will be relaunched on Globoplay’s Projeto Originalidade in April, on a date to be announced.
