A TV blessing in Mexico City

Just when I started to get depressed about not being able to watch Law & Order SVU — I’m a junkie, it’s sad — guess what popped up in the cable guide. Law & Order U.V.E. — Unidad de Victimas Especiales. Even better, it’s in English with Spanish subtitles! Although Detective Stabler’s pecs only speak one language, if you know what I mean…

Most American shows have subtitles here, actually. My other faves are CSI and The Graham Norton Show. But they’ve also got E! True Hollywood Story, Gossip Girl, the Ghost Whisperer, Dancing with the Stars (the Mark Cuban season), NCIS, In Plain Sight, 90210, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives and a bunch of others. Strangely, old reruns of Friends are always on at the gym.

In Spanish we tend to watch Rebelde, which always seems to be on. It’s like the Law & Order of Mexico, with cheaper production values. And it’s set in an elite boarding school and not a New York City Police Department. (Okay, so maybe it’s not like Law & Order at all.) However, since it’s a novela based around teenagers, it’s good for learning slang. We’ve already learned the word “neta,” which seems like it could mean “For real?” or “awesome!” or “Yeah!” or “bottom line.”

My favorite character on Rebelde is Roberta, who’s real name is Dulce Maria. She likes to dye her hair crazy colors.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFfiKkp-BEU&hl=en&fs=1]