Ugly Betty

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.

Oh, words cannot express how much one actually loves this series! Like I was a teenager when this came out and since now I'm in my early 30's and have just finished watching it for the millionth time and revel in how iconic it is..... anyways...

Vanessa Williams - my god what an unbelievably talented, amazing, sensational actress she is. I mean her performance is utterly sensational. Credit to the rest of the cast they did a great job too.

I cannot fault anything with this series, the only negative thought about the show is that it ended so prematurely, after only 4 seasons.

So yes this show is legendary!

I just watched "Ugly Betty" Thurs. night and I have to say that I think it is a wonderful new series.

Star America Ferrara makes the show completely worthwhile. I have seen most of the new show's that have premiered this season so far and, in my opinion, Ferrara gives hands-down the best new female performance out there. The portrait that she paint's as Betty is realistic, humorous, and makes you feel for her in everything that she does or wants to do. I doubt there is anybody that won't root for this lovely girl (and yes, she is lovely and MORE, even in the "Betty" get-up because she is such a sweet, intelligent, accomplished, and kind person).

The show as a whole is a bit formulaic, but what show isn't up to a certain degree? The rest of the characters are pretty well done (most especially the girls who become Betty's friends at the magazine), though it will take some time to make them as interesting as the main character.

My wife wanted to watch this first episode more than I did, but I'm very glad I watched with her. This will easily be classified as a "chick show" but I believe that anybody will like it once they give it half a chance. Everybody has felt the way Betty feels at some point in there life & that will be a drawing point into her world, I think.

All I can say is WATCH IT. It won't be for everyone but many will be pleasantly surprised. America Ferrara is brilliant. I think she should get her Emmy speech ready now.

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.