Ugly Betty

Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) is a cheerful and optimistic young Mexican-American living happily with her father Ignacio (Tony Plana), sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz) and nephew Justin (Mark Indelicato) in Queens, New York. With her heavyset physique, frizzy medium-length hair, eyeglasses and braces plus her penchant for wearing clothes with clashing patterns and colors, she couldn't be further from what would be expected of an employee in a fashion magazine. But she landed a job as assistant to Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius), son of the owner of Meade Publications and editor-in-chief of Mode magazine.

Betty's life in Mode faces untold challenges, mostly from creative director Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) who aims to be editor-in-chief as well as Wilhelmina's assistant Mark St. James (Michael Urie) and office receptionist Amanda Tanen (Becki Newton) who continuously bully Betty.

How Betty survives and triumphs in a hostile work environment is a delightful watch. Her transformation from ugly to gorgeous is as delightful. There is no dearth of romance as Betty's sunny and guileless disposition draw the attention of at least four young men. Other characters like Daniel, Wilhelmina, Ignacio, Hilda, Justin, Mark and Amanda also have their own romantic angles.

While some scenarios may be predictable and cliche, the witty and crisp writing keeps the dialogues freshly entertaining. Another thing I like is that crimes and misdemeanors, like murder and lying, do not escape consequences.

All in all, it's extremely entertaining.

Ugly Betty is one of my all-time favorite shows, the first season is still one of my favorite seasons, and in my opinion one of the best seasons of television ever produced. The way it blended telenovela sensibilities with the American sitcom was genius. I think the show is extremely underrated, by audiences and critics alike. The user score here is a testament to that, and while Ugly Betty might not be everyone's cup of tea it accomplished most of what it set out to do, and it did it well.

Although I think the first season and a half are excellent, near perfect television, the show floundered a bit in its third season, where a new locale and crew changed the tone and a post-writers strike group of writers took the series into new, and sometimes bizarre territory. I must say that Patricia Field taking over costumes from Eduardo Castro was extremely noticeable, and the quality was still high, but the show never matched its soap opera antics of its first season, instead it become a lighter family comedy with some dramatic elements thrown in, and it still worked.

The thing that amazes me every time I rewatch the show is how timeless it feels, how groundbreaking it was, and how it paved the way for so many shows, and originated so many trends. I don't think Ugly Betty truly gets enough credit for what it did, blending comedy, drama, heartfelt storylines with grittier elements, transgender storylines and gay youth representation, in a show centered on a Mexican-American family no less.

Today there are shows like Pose, where the cast is made up of mainly transwomen, shows like Jane the Virgin that feature telenovela storytelling mixed with comedy, and a noticeable trend in sitcoms to feature more long arc story structure and greater continuity, all while including some more dramatic elements. At the time of its release, Ugly Betty was a contemporary to The Office, 30 Rock, Glee and other mainstream sitcoms that kept the tone light and the stakes lower. Meanwhile, Ugly Betty wasn't afraid to feature surreal moments and serious stories about coming out, murder and alcoholism.

Ugly Betty will forever be one of my favorite shows. And although it's never gotten the credit it deserves, its influence lives on in the risks taken by the shows that came after it, and the people who were touched by it.

In the superficial world of Mode fashion magazine, few if any of the staff do not fit in with the world they sell. However publisher Bradford Meade changes this when he decides to hire a secretary for his son Daniel that he feels confident will not just become another sexual conquest for his offspring. And so the anti-fashion character of Betty Suarez enters the world of Mode – much to the irritation of Daniel. However her hard work and cheerful outlook win Daniel over, even if her colleagues see her as out of place and out of her depth. Both finding their feet though, Betty helps Daniel find his way through the treacherous world of Mode whether it be Wilhelmina Slater or the unseen hands of the mysterious masked woman.

Arriving in the UK on a wave of hype from the US, I tuned into Ugly Betty hoped that it would be an imaginative and funny affair not too dissimilar from My Name is Earl. This was my mistake but I quickly got passed in and settled into the comic spoof of the fashion world. And for the most part that is how this series gets by – on the comic charm of Betty and the parody of the high fashion world with all the easy targets that fill it. All this is well and good and makes for a nice piece of light entertainment but the series started to run out of novelty value and started to need more and more story.

Now, from the start of the series I never really cared about the mystery woman or the secrets held by Bradford Meade and throughout the series I didn't even find it silly – just dull. It doesn't help that the series got more and more prone to melodrama and sentimentality. This is seen in the various character subplots that take away from the central silly and superficial antics of Betty within this world where she doesn't belong. The latter is really what makes the series enjoyable but the former are mostly poor because there is no depth to support them or characters to really care about. The performances are OK then when this light comic air is at the fore but mostly struggle when asked to do more. Ferrera is great in the lead, bringing out a great heart that is the core of the story in the middle of all the superficial "beauty" around her. Mabius is a lot weaker by comparison and shows nothing of the character that Betty seems to be able to see in his Daniel. Dale is a curious find for those of us in the UK who know him only from Neighbours. Williams is OK but she looks a lot older than she is which I suppose suits her character. Supporting turns from Jensen, Plana, Newton, Urie and others mostly are good value when the material gives them the chance to be.

Overall then a reasonably amusing comedy drama that is better when it aims at the countless targets in the fashion world for comedy rather than trying to bring out a melodrama from the weak narrative in the background. Nowhere near as good as the hype will have you believe but sporadically amusing enough to dip into here and there.

Okay, yes, the theme is kinda like Bridget Jones's Diary. I got that from the title and ads. I'm sure you did too, so don't go wailing that you're SO disappointed, or that it's a ripoff. Does having one plot point in common (overweight girl) make a show a ripoff? A majority of Americans are now overweight. Is breaking the taboo against depicting someone overweight so out of the ordinary that it's derivative? But I digress...

Salma Hayek is behind this, and she clearly wants us to like this Latina girl and the show. So I'm sure she'll hire dialog coaches for those who have poorly feigned foreign accents. But other things that would otherwise have taken me out of the pilot didn't happen. Surely you thought they were going to do something trite and cliché with her idea, didn't you? But they didn't. People behaved like real people. What a concept.

The menace and intrigue they allude to in the future is kinda one dimensional, but I'm going to give this show a chance.

I have been an Ugly Betty fan since episode 1 back in 2006. The minute America Ferrera's plucky Betty Suarez walked through the doors of Mode in her Guadalajara poncho, I knew I was going to love this show. I've been a faithful fan for all four seasons and was truly sad to see it go. So much so that I put off watching the series finale until today - nearly a month after it originally aired. Throughout it's four seasons, Ugly Betty remained witty and engaging. Ugly Betty knew how to play up the drama, but what made this show so endearing was its expert use of comedy. Vanessa Williams, Ana Ortiz, and Becki Newton and the rest of the cast provided constant moments of hilarity throughout the years.

For anyone who needs a good laugh, a twist of drama, and a downright feel good show to watch, Ugly Betty is the show for you. It certainly was for me. It was definitely a bitter sweet goodbye. My only complaint is that the series was cut far too short. ABC tends to do that however. They tend to not know what a good thing they have until its gone. The Ugly Betty series finale is one of those finales you will watch with a nagging pit in your stomach as you realize your journey with these characters has come to an end. But after it's over, the resolution is so perfect that you can't help but feel relieved that despite the end of your journey, their stories will continue to live on in your head.