El Chavo del Ocho (partially lost Mexican sitcom TV series; 1973-1979)

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El Chavo Los Novilleros.png

"Los novilleros", one of the undistributed episodes.

Status: Partially lost


El Chavo del Ocho is one of the most famous Mexican sitcoms ever, gathering legions of fans all over Latin America and crossing generations, remaining popular even after 40 years since its original airing. First conceived in 1972 by Roberto Gómez Bolaños (popularly known as "Chespirito" - a nickname that means "Little Shakespeare"), "El Chavo" is a homeless, orphaned child who overcomes the difficulties of being poor (starvation being a recurrent theme explored in the series) as they fuel his will of living and having fun with his neighbors.

From the more than 300 episodes that aired between February 1973 and January 1980, about 39 are absent from Televisa's current distribution pack. It's impossible to pinpoint the exact moment where these episodes were cut, but it's believed that some - if not all - were still distributed until the late 80's, as evidenced by a pack sent to Brazilian network SBT in 1987, which included several now discontinued episodes. Unsurprisingly, many episodes from El Chavo del Ocho's sister series El Chapulín Colorado suffered the same fate.

Reasons Behind the Removal of Episodes

One of the biggest obstacles to the finding of reasons behind the removal of these episodes is that official reliable information by Televisa is non-existent. The group refuses to acknowledge the existence of the missing episodes, stating to customers that their current pack is composed by every episode ever made, even though fans, through several external sources, had already debunked their speech.

Florinda Meza, a prominent cast member and widow of Chespirito, has already expressed interest in the 'disappearance' of the episodes, contacting Televisa on occasions to report airings of discontinued episodes in foreign countries, in hopes of getting them back to distribution. Televisa, however, couldn't have cared less.

It's to be noted, however, that two once discontinued episodes - El Chavo del Ocho's "El robachicos" and El Chapulín Colorado's "Las bromas del tío Ramón", both from 1973 - have regained their 'common' status after a new package was issued by Televisa in 2006 with no fanfare. The reason behind their removal is unknown, just like the reason behind their comeback.

In front of the lack of official info, there are many rumors about the actual reason behind the removal of these episodes. These include:

  • Damaged tapes: the most accepted reason, where poor conservation of the master tapes eventually caused video and/or audio damage. This is evidenced by the massive cuts done to the currently distributed episodes, as well as scene replacements done to hide video imperfections.
  • Erased tapes: it's theorized that many early episodes from Chespirito's works had their master tapes wiped to make room for newer shows or even other episodes, as Televisa executives did not expect that there would be demand for such material decades later. This theory was supported by cast member Rubén Aguirre during an interview for Brazilian fan-site Fórum Chaves.
  • Censorship: Televisa executives or Chespirito's relatives picked by hand episodes that shouldn't be distributed. For example, in the 1976 episode "Festival de la Buena Vecindad - parte 2", the first song sung by the kids was apparently registered by Carlos Villagrán after his departure from the cast, which possibly caused the cancellation of the episode's distribution due to internal conflicts between Chespirito and Villagrán. This theory is also supported by the fact that all versions of Chapulín Colorado's "La bella durmiente era un señor muy feo - parte 1", including a remake from the 80's Chespirito era, are out of the current distribution package.
  • Earthquake: an earthquake hit Mexico in 1985, affecting Televisa. Although the only archive that was affected was the sports archive, some people, mostly misinformed, still believe that this is a plausible reason for the apparent loss of episodes. This is proven untrue by the aforementioned pack sent to SBT in 1987.

Lost Episodes

Below is a complete list of all episodes whose existence is proven through information gathered by fans. According to Lista CH, in addition to the 32 episodes listed, eight more completely unknown episodes are currently undistributed by Televisa.

Green - Found episodes available in Spanish.
Gold - Found episodes not available in Spanish.
Orange - Partially available episodes/excerpts.
Red - Completely missing episodes.

Note: the episode titles used in here are not official, given that unlike El Chapulín Colorado, El Chavo del Ocho episodes did not feature narrated titles during the intro sequence. Original airdates are either taken from Tele-Guías, or determined through deduction.

Season 1 (1973)

Episode No. Title Original Airdate
2 "Tratando de bañar al Chavo" March 05, 1973
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[1] Includes a Los Caquitos segment.
4 "Los pensamientos del profesor" March 19, 1973
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[2] Includes a Los Caquitos segment. A remake, made in 1975, is also missing.
10 Compilation #4 April 30, 1973
The fourth of eight segment compilations from the 1972 Chespirito era. Its contents are unknown, but it's believed that it includes the 1972 El Chavo del Ocho segment "La Independencia", along with a Los Caquitos segment and another El Chavo del Ocho segment.
29 "Los novilleros" September 10, 1973
Found through a tape recording from 1991. Only available in Brazilian Portuguese, rendering the original audio missing. A three-episode remake, whose first part is missing, was made in 1976.
33 "La caja de madera" October 8, 1973
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[3] Includes a Los Caquitos segment.
34 "El perrito callejero" October 15, 1973
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[4]
35 "Jugando con las cosas de don Ramón" October 22, 1973
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.
36 "Goteras en casa de Don Ramón" October 29, 1973
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[5]
40 "El zapatero - parte 2" November 26, 1973
Announced by don Ramón in the end of "El zapatero - parte 1". A synopsis from Tele-Guía is also available.[6]

Season 2 (1974)

Episode No. Title Original Airdate
56 "El vendedor de globos" March 18, 1974
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[7]
69 "Los cuernos del profesor" June 17, 1974
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[8]
70 "Corto circuito" June 24, 1974
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[9]
73 "La carpinteria - parte 2" July 15, 1974
Found in 2012 when it first aired in Brazil. Only available in Brazilian Portuguese, rendering the original audio missing.
80 Unknown Episode September 2, 1974
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[10]
81 Unknown Episode September 9, 1974
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[11]
87 "La locura" October 21, 1974
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía. Includes a parody of My Fair Lady. Brazilian TV network SBT supposedly owns a copy of this episode.

Season 3 (1975)

Episode No. Title Original Airdate
96 "Dinero perdido" February 17, 1975
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.
98 "Confusión de cartas" March 3, 1975
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[12] Remake of the 1973 episode "Los pensamientos del profesor", which is also missing.
100 "El perico" March 17, 1975
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[13]
127 "La chirimoya" October 27, 1975
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.

Season 4 (1976)

Episode No. Title Original Airdate
130 "Los niños faltan a clases" January 5, 1976
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[14]
134 "La nueva profesión - parte 1" February 2, 1976
Aired regularly through Brazilian network SBT. Only available in Brazilian Portuguese, rendering the original audio missing.
143 "Los novilleros - parte 1" April 5, 1976
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía. First episode of a three-episode saga. Partially a remake of the 1973 episode "Los novilleros", which is also discontinued by Televisa.
146 "Jugando a la escuelita" April 26, 1976
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía.[15]
149 "Exámenes - parte 1" June 21, 1976
Discovered through a synopsis from Tele-Guía. First episode of a three-episode saga.
167 "Festival de la Buena Vecindad - parte 2" October 25, 1976
Aired regularly through Brazilian network SBT. Only available in Brazilian Portuguese, rendering the original audio missing. Second episode of a four-episode saga.
175 "Sin piñata no hay posada - parte 2" December 20, 1976
An announcement is made in the end of "Sin piñata no hay posada - parte 1".

Seasons 5-7 (1977-1980)

Episode No. Title Original Airdate
181 "En esta vecindad están prohibidos los animales - parte 2" February 28, 1977
Found through a tape recording from early 90's. Only available in Brazilian Portuguese, rendering the original audio missing. Second episode of a three-episode saga.
184 "El juego de béisbol" March 21, 1977
Footage of this episode was featured in a Venezuelan vinyl ad from early 90's, as well as in a 1994 interview with Edgar Vivar.
241 "La fuente de los deseos" July 17, 1978
Discovered through a Tele-Guía synopsis.
252 "El amor llegó a la vecindad - parte 1" October 2, 1978
Aired regularly through Brazilian network SBT. Only available in Brazilian Portuguese, rendering the original audio missing. First episode of a four-episode saga.
271 "El actor Héctor Bonilla - parte 1" March 26, 1979
Found through a tape recording by Chespirito.org webmaster Reniet Ramirez. Before this, the only available footage was used in the summary present in the beginning of "El actor Héctor Bonilla - parte 2".

Videos

Excerpts

Missing Original Audio

The following episodes are only available in Brazilian Portuguese:

Found Episode

"El actor Héctor Bonilla - parte 1" (1979)

References

Special thanks to Cássio Ferreira, Guilherme Leão and several other members of Fórum Chaves (a complete name list is available on the "Guia de episódios..." link below), for their priceless contributions on the finding of synopses related to missing episodes.

  1. Tele-Guía #1073: “Todos los inquilinos de la vecindad deciden bañar a cubetazos al "Chavo del Ocho" ya que éste lleva varios meses sin tocar el agua. Entremés de "Los Caquitos".”
  2. Tele-Guía #1075: “"El Chavo del Ocho" rompe el romance que sostiene el profesor Jirafales y la mama de Kiko. Entremés: "Los Caquitos"”
  3. Tele-Guía #1160: “"El Chavo del Ocho" juega a las escondidillas mientras "La Bruja del 72" [sic] convierte a Kiko en una bicicleta. Entremés con "Los Caquitos", "El Chómpiras" y "Peterete".”
  4. Tele-Guía #1105: “"El Chavo del Ocho" ha sido mordido por un perro. Todos en la vecindad están muy preocupados.”
  5. Tele-Guía #1107: “"El Chavo del Ocho" ayuda a don Ramón a sacar el agua de su casa, inundada a causa de innumerables goteras.”
  6. Tele-Guía #1111: “Don Ramón enseña el oficio de zapatero remendón a "El Chavo del Ocho".”
  7. Tele-Guía #1126: “"El Chavo del Ocho" confunde al señor Barriga con un globo.”
  8. Tele-Guía #1140: “"El Chavo del Ocho" se quiere comer los cuernitos de nuez que doña Florinda preparó especialmente para Girafales.”
  9. Tele-Guía #1141: “"El Chavo del Ocho" está muy entusiasmado por ver los juegos del Mundial y se va a la casa de don Ramón, pero, cuando están más divertidos, llegan a cortar la luz por falta de pago.”
  10. Tele-Guía #1151: “"El Chavo del Ocho" y Kiko le hacen la vida pesada al profesor Jirafales que está perdidamente enamorado de la "bruja".”
  11. Tele-Guía #1152: “"El Chavo del Ocho" y "Kiko" se dedican a inflar globos hasta reventarlos, causando gran escándalo en toda la vecindad.”
  12. Tele-Guía #1177: “'El Chavo del Ocho' provoca un tremendo pleito entre don Ramón y el profesor Jirafales.”
  13. #Tele-Guía #1178: “Todos los niños de la vecindad creen que la bruja de 71 ha convertido en perico a "El Chavo del Ocho".”
  14. Tele-Guía #1221: “"El Chavo" y "Kiko" planean irse de "pinta".”
  15. Tele-Guía #1238: “"El Chavo" y Kiko juegan a la escuelita en el patio de la vecindad y utilizan como pizarrón la ventana de la habitación de don Ramón.”

External Links

Lista CH - Episode guides to Chespirito's works, idealized by Thomas Henrique (in memoriam) and maintained by James Revolti. (in Portuguese and Spanish)
Guia de episódios e esquetes mundialmente perdidos - Discussion on the topic of 'Missing episodes' from Chespirito's works. (in Portuguese)