O Bem-Amado (English: The Beloved) is a Brazilian telenovela that first aired on Rede Globo in 1973. It is based on a play by Dias Gomes called Odorico, o Bem-Amado, written in 1962. It was the first Brazilian color telenovela.
It had 178 episodes and is one of the most acclaimed and popular Brazilian telenovelas. In 1980, a sequel was made in format of TV series, with the return of most of the the main cast. It lasted four years.
The telenovela tells the story of Odorico Paragaçu, mayor of Sucupira, a small town in the Northeast of Brazil. Odorico's biggest dream is to inaugurate the majestic cemetery he built, but to his unpleasant surprise, almost no one dies in the city. He begins to use unorthodox methods to get a dead man, but his political enemies and even the incompetence of his allies will make his task more difficult...
It stars Paulo Gracindo, Lima Duarte and Emiliano Queiroz.
The telenovela and the TV series provides examples of:
- 0% Approval Rating: Odorico suffers from this in several episodes due to his corruption, although he always manages to win the love of the people back.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Miúda loves to flirt with Dirceu, something that makes him tempted and terrified.
- Butt-Monkey: Dirceu Butterfly is a shy man and afraid of his own shadow. He is forced to marry a woman who is pregnant by his boss. When he finds out, he kills his wife in a fit of rage. He is released thanks to Odorico, and because of that he is forced to work for him again, putting up with all sorts of humiliation.
- Flanderization: It's more easy to say who didn't suffer this in the TV series. Dirceu and Zeca Diabo are probably the worst cases. Both were clumsy in the soap opera, but at least they were still smart. In the TV series, both become completely incompetent and easily manipulated by Odorico.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: A considerable part of Odorico's plans fail with alarming frequency, but the plot clearly portrays his defeats in a sympathetic way. It helps that Odorico's antagonists are just as manipulative and hypocritical as they are.
- Ms. Fanservice: Miúda, the Sexy Secretary of Odorico. She has several scenes wearing seductive dresses that reveal her legs.
- Sexy Secretary: Miúda, Odorico's secretary, is a beautiful young woman.
