Ugly Betty.
Sep 29th, 2006 by Kate
Eric Mabius and America Ferrera.
I was torn between sad and happy when Kasey sent me a text message telling me that our weekly get together this week had been cancelled due to tests. Haha, silly people still in college. I was sad because I wouldn’t get to hang out with the posse and drink to excess, but happy that I would be able to watch the premier of this new show on ABC, Ugly Betty at 7 which is when I’m usually stuck in traffic.
Based on “Yo Soy Betty La Fea,” a Colombian telenovela that became an international phenomenon, “Ugly Betty” is produced in the states by Salma Hayek who makes on screen appearances in the soap opera that Betty’s older sister likes to watch on tv. In my opinion, the show ended up being a let down: a mix between The Devil Wears Prada and Power Rangers. I’m pretty sure I’m not the demographic it was produced for but, ABC might have it in the wrong time slot by placing it right before Grey’s Anatomy (which was fantastic as usual!). I’m not sure which one came first, the Colombian tv show or the book, but with the movie out this past summer and all the press that the movie and book have been getting, I think the market is saturated and this tv show is going to have to do something to distinguish itself.
I spent most of the show comparing the plot to that of the book and movie version of The Devil Wears Prada. For instance, in this week’s episode the ugly girl goes to work for a popular fashion magazine with skinny anorexic head cases and impossible bosses. Sound familiar? Yes. Next week’s episode is all about The Book. Can you say TDWP, only in extended episode form? There are different twists, like the evil character hidden in her lair– assumed to be Fey Sommers, the former editor of Mode who is supposed to be dead– at the end of the show. That’s where the Power Rangers came in: all the fake, over the top drama that has no place in a Prime Time television slot.
And then there is Daniel Meade, the absolutely yummy character played by Eric Mabius. He’s only 13 years older than I am, and after a certain point age doesn’t matter any more, right? Eric plays the new editor-in-chief of Mode, “the bible of the fashion industry,” and his father specifically hires Betty as his new assistant, mostly because she’s the only woman in NYC Daniel won’t sleep with. When I wasn’t busy comparing the show to TDWP I was thinking about how I’d love to just sit and look at him. Naked. Maybe with just a tie on. Details, details.
In conclusion, I’m glad that I was able to watch the pilot episode. But I’m sure I’ll be able to wait until it comes out on DVD and I have nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon to watch the rest.