7 vidas

Very similar to FRIENDS, where Paz Vega acts like Jennifer Aniston, Blanca Portillo like Courteney Cox, Toni Cantó like David Schwimmer, Javier Cámara like Matthew Perry. There is also Amparo Baró, who is a mix between Phoebe's nonsenses and Joey's arguing with Chandler. Funny, but the cast is not as great as in FRIENDS.

The show clearly started as a vile 'Friends' copy, whoever denies this should pay more attention, some plots and scenes weren't changed at all. But the 'Friends's stage only lasted a couple of years, the post-coma plot disappeared and the series became a standard comedic show. Once there it became repetitive and bland. The kind of humour in this show was formulaic and predictable, just awful. A short conversation always preceded the punchline read by an angry character to the 'dumb' one followed by the canned laughter. Later, they included political jokes, giving a 'political' dimension to some characters, this was, in my view, a mistake.

The cast significantly changed throughout the years, and not for the better. I deeply respect Javier Camera and Amparo Baró's performances but I can't say the same about the rest of the cast. People like Eva Santolaria, Guillermo Toledo or Santi Millán should be kept miles away from a camera.

The success of the show can only be explained with the lack of competition and the abyssal level of Spanish TV.

It has been almost five years since "7 vidas" started running on Telecinco. Yeah, it's true that this series has suffered lots of casting and storyline changes, but this only have confirmed that this is a great show, 'cause it´s getting more and more popular, and has attracted many famous people as guest stars. The scripts are very original, truly hilarious; and the actors do a great work, specially Amparo Baró as Sole and Anabel Alonso as Diana. It's got to be mentioned its particular kind of humor, combining perfectly local spanish humour and universal jokes.

Although I try not to miss any episode of "7 vidas" now, I have to say that I never watched it on its first seasons. However, the impression I have is that, like it happens with wine, this sitcom has been getting better and better throughout the years. Does anyone really remember that its initial premise was the awakening of a young man who had been in a coma since his late teens?

Nowadays "7 vidas" portrays the lives of a bunch of people of different ages and backgrounds who constitute an atypical group of friends. However, the plot is the least important feature in this series, since it's mostly based on its humor. Puns, witty remarks, some physical comedy and an ironic view of Spanish society make a few millions of Spaniards await their weekly share of "7 vidas".

Amparo Baro is the heart and soul of the series, but very few remember that her character was originally a supporting one. Blanca Portillo and Anabel Alonso have proved their great ability as comediennes, but the great discovery here has been unknown Carmen Machi, who had mostly worked in theater before and is now heading for a spin-off based on her character, Aida. Javier Cámara and Guillermo Toledo are sorely missed since they decided to leave the series, but new faces like Santi Millán or Santi Rodriguez have managed to keep viewers stuck to their TVs.

This is, in fact, the live proof that a witty, well-written series can actually be successful in our country, and I hope it will still run for a few more years to come.

Maybe, "7 vidas" seems "Friends" at the beginning; but, actually, it isn't. "7 vidas" is one of the better TV series that have been made in Spain (also, in Europe) in all the times' TV history. Shining, delightful, and with a screenplay simply marvelous, the actors' and actress' job do the rest. Highly recommendable, a certain demonstration that here, in Spain, we can do "hi-fi TV" with all the guarantees...