Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Ugly Betty: How's it been?

Back in late October/early November when "Earl" and "The Office" were showing original episodes every week and "Survivor: Eugenics Wars" was starting to get good post-mutiny, "Ugly Betty" inadvertently dropped off my radar. I let a half dozen or so episodes build up on the TiVo, then kept saving them for a time when Marian and I could watch them together, and it never quite happened. I intend to catch up at some point, after life gets less hectic, but I'm curious whether the people who stuck with it remain pleased. Without getting too much into spoiler territory, how's our girl holding up?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

j'adore

Anonymous said...

well, thankfully, there aren't a lot of posts that I have to try not to read.
I fell off at episode three. The DVR was so full that I actually have most of my Pending Betty's on DVD. But I *do* have them.

the DVR ate Medium tonight when the load average hit 20 (eek!) Hopefully there will be a rerun someday (cause really, I'm farther behind on Medium than on Betty -- and I will probably *never* get to Numb3rs and Bones) cause it looked, just from the beginning like the most fun since they turned Angel into a puppet :)

dark tyler said...

I absolutely love it. When it comes to Betty's character, the show has been nothing short of sweet and funny, with the Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes being definite high points. I also love that they're trying stuff with Amanda, Wilhelmina and Daniel, not leaving them just be. They're not gonna be eternally the same characters.

And regarding the soap factor, which was the least appealing aspect of the show to me, Oh My!, they've taken it to another level! Embracing the camp, going over over-the-top, whatever you wanna call it. It's just damn fun. When you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about. :)

Todd said...

I actually really like this, more than I ever thought I would. The soapy stuff is still pretty weak, but the cast is one of the strongest ensembles out there, and the show is devoted to showing that our first impressions of ALL of the characters weren't accurate. It's deeply, deeply committed to making sure none of the characters are the easy stereotypes they could be. If you have the time and inclination, it would be something good to catch up with over a long, lazy weekend.

Kat Coble said...

It's morphing into one of the best shows on right now. Funny, but if you'd asked me to place bets prior to the start of the Fall 2006 season, I'd have ranked Studio 60 as my favourite newbie and been eager to see Ugly Betty fall of the radar.


My how times have changed. I've totally switched.

The cast ensemble is strong, there's just the right amount of humour to leverage the drama, the sweet bits aren't generally too saccharine and the soapy stuff is just enough to be camp but not so much that it overpowers the core show. It's really a treat and I look forward to it more than any other show, save The Office

Anonymous said...

The show hasn't really changed much in quality from those first episodes. For me, it's cute and entertaining enough for me to keep watching, but I do kind of feel like it's just not quite as "there" as it should be. I dunno why. I will say, though, that I'm glad Salma Hayek's arc is over. She was completely dragging the show down. The addition of Rebecca Romijn actually looks promising.

Anonymous said...

I still make time for Ugly Betty every week. I think it's lived up to the promise of the first few episodes (although I didn't love the Salma Hayek arc) -- it's cute, colorful and fun without being vapid. Now, if only Walter would go away ...

Anonymous said...

It's been great. Watch it, watch it, watch it! :-)

K J Gillenwater said...

I know on the original Spanish version of the show, they did the old Ugly Betty make-over and the boss eventually fell for the transformed Betty.

I am *so* glad they are not going there with the U.S. version. Yes, I wouldn't mind seeing Betty with better brows and braces removed and maybe a little more fashion sense. But she just wouldn't be Betty if she got all glammed up.

Here's to hoping they stay true to the character of Betty. I love that she is honest and kind and loyal and that it gets rewarded each and every week. Maybe not exactly in the way Betty was hoping, but doing the right thing inevitably works. Great message.

Oh, and I'd like to see more of the cute accountant!

Anonymous said...

It's pretty good. Go watch it before someone spoils The Thing That Happened Last Week!

Anonymous said...

I didn't like the 3rd or 4th episode, but then I happened to check out a few episodes later because I had nothing to do and got hooked. It's been superb the last 6 or so episodes.

Anonymous said...

Like you, Alan, I Tivo'd about half a dozen episodes before I managed to get back to it. Spent an entire afternoon one weekend over the holidays catching up and I'm totally in love with this show.

Anonymous said...

I'm half way through tonight's episode and it's BY FAR the best episode of the series so far. If it stays this good I will completely take back my comment about it not being quite "there." It's teriffic tonight.

Anonymous said...

This show is quite campy but so much fun. This really was the show at its best. I thought tonight's episode struck just the right balance of fun, fantasy and over-the-top naughty. I laughed the most I have this season. I mean, first Daniel, still clueless, hits on his "new" hot-sister-former brother then drowns his sorrows by making out with a drunk Betty's sister? The kid Justin as the seeing-eye fashion guide was great. So were Marc, Alexis, and a cameo Katherine McPhee to boot, gotta love it. The hairspray- torching model hair igniting was the best.

Anonymous said...

It's fabulous. I wasn't sure what direction it was going after the first couple weeks, but I think now it is my favorite show.

Anonymous said...

It really is a very entertaining show that I started watching reluctantly. I agree the Salma Hayak arc was not good and I was glad to see her go--every other character is charming and/or interesting. I hope that it has a great run. My only quibble is that there is so much on Thursday (and nothing on Wednesday until 'Lost' comes back)that I have to pick and choose. Very glad ABC runs all their stuff online!Give it a shot Alan--you'll be glad you did. Love this site!