Category: Ugly Betty

TVGuide.com says

Betty's a fish out of water in her first job at a glitzy fashion magazine, but she feels even worse when her bed-hopping boss assigns her a series of humiliating tasks in a scheme to make her quit.

A few thoughts to begin the series with...

Oh, Betty. There are so many things I could say about her, but they will all come in time. I will say that the first thing I really noticed about her is, "Hey! This girl's got nerves of steel!" And of the many things I love about Betty, this is one of the most important.

One thing I both love and hate about this show is that it tends to take some of our social tendencies (making fun of fat people, not being very nice to people who don't have a great first impression, etc.), have some "shallow" character realize what a great injustice they've been doing to the world, and then have Betty come and save the day, or somehow prove her point. One of the complaints I've often heard made about this show is that it can be way too over-the-top in the sense that the writers seem to be pounding us over the head with "Betty is all things good, and she is going to make everyone at Mode see the light." Well, don't worry folks, because there are always going to be Wili's and Amanda's out there to beat you down. However, I do agree with the idea that there is too much "fashion is shallow, and there is more to you than how you look" dialogue...but only in the first few episodes. Honestly, I love the first few episodes, but the show gets a lot better when it moves towards the relationships between the characters.

My one huge exception to my "Not everyone needs change" mentality, however, is Daniel. My one real disappointment with the series is that there is so much room for character development here, and even though he grows to be friends with Betty despite obvious differences, he needs a bit more to him. He's the character with the most potential, and I'd really like to see that explored. This episode shows a lot of that said potential -- career wise, and also personally.

As much as I love Amanda, Marc, and Wili, I didn't really notice them that much. Their dynamic and what it provides to the show is better left for another episode. And Walter -- I wish this had been the only episode he was in. That's all I have to say.

This episode also introduced the strong family dynamic the Suarezes provide. Though I think it definitely comes off stronger in later episodes, it's interesting to see how the Suraez family vs. the Meade family is already up for observation.

My least favorite moment in all of season on was when Betty wore the red shiny-skimpy thing...I almost skipped it. Just....ugh. However, Betty verbally kicking Daniel's ass was a good time for all, right? And even though Daniel's little epiphany of how horrible everything he had done to torture her was predictable, as a young woman who doesn't look like a supermodel by any means, I still cheered. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a happy ending! However, I think it would have been interesting for Daniel and Betty to have been at odds (big odds, not just little tiffs) for a few more episodes...but maybe that's just me.

Oral sex is now a "dictation"? Good one, Bradford.

Overall rating: 7/10 -- a solid, entertaining start, and definitely a great springboard to a great show. However, I thought the show really improved from here on out.

As a pilot, how do you think it faired? I can definitely say I've seen better ones, but this clever twist on a common "underdog" theme grabbed my attention pretty quickly.

This post was Authored by Beth, Our Resident Authority on all things Ugly Betty

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