Grand Hotel

[Jason73]

I loved the original, Spanish version, Gran Hotel, and mainly I was just curious about how badly ABC was going to ruin the wonderful soapiness that was the original.

I watched the first episode trying to figure out who everyone is compared to the original but the problem is I can't really remember a lot of details from the original. Naturally ABC has made a bunch of changes--for example instead of the patriarch being dead, the matriarch is and the patriarch is remarried and their are step-siblings. The main characters--Julio, Alicia, Diego, Andres and Angela are all there in one form or another but none of them are as charming and charismatic as the actors from the original.

The main plot line is basically the same--Danny (Julio in the original) has obtained a job at the hotel to investigate the disappearance of his sister. In the meantime he's also going to fall in love with the daughter of the hotel owner, Alicia.

The pilot was fairly boring, which is something the original never was. I might have found it more interesting if I wasn't comparing it to the original the whole time. I'll probably watch another episode but unless the second episode is significantly more fun, that will probably be it.

 

[tommie]

I thought the pilot was okay, but didn't catch that Danny was related to the disappeared girl... maybe it's a secret or I'm really dumb not to catch that?

 

[Jason73]

I did enjoy Bryan Craig from General Hospital as Javier.

And I'm liking the actor they've cast as Mateo (Diego in the original).

If those two are featured a lot in the second episode, maybe I'll stick around for episode three.

 

[Jason73]

but didn't catch that Danny was related to the disappeared girl... maybe it's a secret or I'm really dumb not to catch that?

It was revealed at the end of the pilot. Danny was walking around glaring at everyone he thought might be the culprit, having an inner monologue and revealed he was going to find out what happened to his sister and who was involved.

 

[tommie]

It was revealed at the end of the pilot. Danny was walking around glaring at everyone he thought might be the culprit, having an inner monologue and revealed he was going to find out what happened to his sister and who was involved.

LOL, this reveals how much I paid attention because I didn't catch that at all.

 

[MarkSinacori]

What did you guys think of it? I'm sure a lot of you must have tuned in. It's a soap!



My take on it:



What I didn't like:

It's fast. Too fast.
It's too much sex and too fast. All the women are the same slutty way. Not good
They needed to explain the family structure a little better. I was too confused as it was too fast





What I liked:

It was about LOCATION and FAMILY and FAMILY BIZ
Nice scenery



Ratings are bad. High 3 million is bad for an ABC series.

I know I could be wrong, but my guess is that it will just be a summer series and conclude in early September after 13 eps. It won't get a back 9 because of low ratings. If ratings improve, maybe.


It's a show I would watch compared to all the reality crap they have today on TV and other genres of soaps that are all about police/law/hospital as usual...

 

[Zable]

Sorry to be a wet blanket: It’s somebody ripping off the Spanish original to make the American Dynasty spin-off starring John James and Pamela Sue Martin that never got made. Jeff and Fallon were supposed to go off and set up a business of their own running a hotel – in Miami, wasn’t it? I haven’t got past the trailers, but it sounds like it would be more engrossing than Peach Dynasty. You’re right about the speed though, they talk like they are catching a train.

 

[Brian Kinney]

I tend to like it. Yes it is too fast but I like the location. While a lot of characters are unlikeable (Carolina and Gigi) there are enough likeable for me (Javi, Yoli and the Parkers) or in the grey because there are more interesting than others (Mateo). I continue to watch but I'll probably don't miss it if they cancel it.

 

[tommie]

I tend to like it. Yes it is too fast but I like the location. While a lot of characters are unlikeable (Carolina and Gigi) there are enough likeable for me (Javi, Yoli and the Parkers) or in the grey because there are more interesting than others (Mateo). I continue to watch but I'll probably don't miss it if they cancel it.

Yeah, as a summer show it kind of works. I'm not sure if I'd watch a full 22+ episodes of this, but in the summer when nothing else is on it's acceptable. A bit like how felt about Mistresses that aired for a few summer seasons. Add that they know their audience by having the guys get their kits off for pointless workout scenes.

 

[tommie]

I did laugh when the lesbian daughter said she was supposedly in the closet - I just kind of assumed she was already out!

 

[MarkSinacori]

How many episodes did this get? 13? Or a limited number to be decided if it will get the rest of the season to equal 22 in the fall months?

It doesn't look like it will air after August/early September as the ratings aren't good at all. There's no Netflix deal like Dynasty. They are getting somewhere in the 2 million viewers range an episode now. The first 2 episodes they had 3 million or so. I think the last episode should end with what happened to that maid and it be over and done with. It's not intriguing enough. We aren't getting a lot of suspense, just centered mostly on that maid who disappeared and it's not really worth finding out what happened.

 

[tommie]

How many episodes did this get? 13? Or a limited number to be decided if it will get the rest of the season to equal 22 in the fall months?

13 episodes. It's a summer show a la Mistresses that ran for four seasons - it's not supposed to air in the regular season.

I believe the mystery will wrap up in episode 13 and if there's another season a new mystery will take its place like Desperate Housewives or Devious Maids.

 

[Monzo]

I didn't really like Grand Hotel, and even though it's only been a few years since I saw it, I barely remember it. The reason I'm bringing this up is the Spanish original, Gran Hotel, which didn't really have much in common with Grand Hotel.

It speaks volumes for Gran Hotel that there were a total of four remakes. Besides the American one, I also saw the Italian one, which was a complete copy of the Spanish original in terms of plot. What I found interesting was that Austrian characters and actors were also involved, but I remember with horror that the score in the Italian Gran Hotel was intense and loud.

I've also watched two other Spanish series by Gran Hotel creator Ramón Campos: Velvet and Tiempos de guerra. I have to say, Ramón Campos has a way of making it immediately obvious that a series is his. While Gran Hotel had likable main characters who I hoped would find their way to each other, Velvet was the complete opposite: I didn't like the supercouple at all, regardless of whether they were together or not. Furthermore, the villains in Velvet weren't nearly as good as those in Gran Hotel. I'm amazed that Velvet lasted four seasons on Spanish television, while Tiempos de Guerra was canceled after just one. The season finale was fantastic, and in the version I saw (the German-dubbed one), there was a scene after the bombing during the wedding (it was a kind of Spanish Moldavian Massacre) where one of the characters wrote in her diary, revealing to the viewer that everyone had survived. I've always wondered if Spanish viewers got to see this resolution, or if the series ended with the chaos after the bombing.

Ramón Campos seems to have a fondness for Amaia Salamanca, as I've seen her in three of his series. First, she was the heroine in Gran Hotel, then a bitch in Velvet, and then the heroine again in Tiempos de Guerra.

Does anyone else have a soft spot for Ramón Campos's series?