O Semideus (Portuguese: The Demigod) is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by TV Globo. It premiered on 22 August 1973 and ended on 7 May 1974, with a total of 221 episodes in Black and white. It's the thirteenth "novela das oito" to be aired on the timeslot. It is created and written by Janete Clair and directed by Walter Avancini and Daniel Filho.
Contents
Plot
Journalist Alex Garcia begins a report on the Leonardo family's industrial empire at the same time as the president of the companies, Hugo, is the victim of a conspiracy set up by his enemies - Alberto Parreiras, Gildo Graça and Lafaiete Pontes - to seize the family's assets. Accidentally kidnapped, Hugo is replaced by a look-alike within the companies and the family, the unknown Raul, who has agreed to take part in the farce in order to fatten his bank account and also pay for the treatment of a sick sister.
No one suspects that Hugo is really someone else, except Alex and Angela. She is Hugo's girlfriend, who becomes suspicious of his behavior after the accident, especially when he breaks off their relationship to marry another woman, Estela. The climax comes when the real Hugo Leonardo, having escaped from captivity and recovered from his accident, reappears to retake his place in the business and with his family.
Production
In 1973, Janete Clair submitted the synopsis for a new soap opera, entitled Cidade Vazia (Empty City), to be shown on TV Globo's 8 p.m. slot, with Tarcísio Meira and Francisco Cuoco in the cast. However, shortly before recording began, the plot was vetoed by the censorship service of the military dictatorship of the Brazilian government, but was released to air the following year as Fogo sobre Terra. The impasse resulted in the end of its predecessor, Cavalo de Aço, being delayed so that the author could hastily create a new story in which she would reuse Meira and Cuoco as the protagonists, which was released by the government censorship in July of the same year with changes, including to its title, which was initially O Selvagem (The Savage), then A Cidade Nua (The Naked City) and finally O Semideus (The Demigod).
Scenes from the soap opera were shot in locations in Portugal such as the Belém Tower, the São Jerónimo Monastery and the São Jorge Castle, with portable cameras belonging to Globo - previously, in experiments with filming abroad, the equipment had been borrowed.
According to journalist Valério Almeida of the Jornal do Brasil, the telenovela's high ratings were due to the low level of competition, as the story “is full of absurdities”.
Cast
Tarcísio Meira - Hugo Leonardo / Raul de Paula
Glória Menezes - Ângela
Francisco Cuoco - Alex Garcia
Maria Cláudia - Estela
Juca de Oliveira - Alberto Parreiras
Yoná Magalhães - Adriana Penha
Nívea Maria - Soninha
Ziembinski - Padre Miodek
Yara Cortes - Sula
Miriam Pires - Dulce Leonardo
Felipe Carone - Gildo Graça
Paulo Padilha - Dr. Lafayette Pontes
Monah Delacy - Santa
Ary Fontoura - Mauro
Stênio Garcia - Lorde José
Renata Fronzi - Paloma
Antônio Patiño - Horácio
Mary Daniel - Joyce
Castro Gonzaga - Azevedo
Gracinda Freire - Juventina
Ênio Santos - Santana
Macedo Neto - Dr. Fausto
Ana Ariel - Clara
Jardel Mello - Dr. Paulo