Ugly Betty CANCELLED

Things aren’t pretty at Meade publications. The once popular series Ugly Betty is CANCELLED. Yes, folks the current season which is running in America will be the last. On the 14th of April, ABC will air the final episode of the show. To be honest after seeing Season 3, the writing was on the wall for me.It was clear, at least from my opinion, that the show has run it's course and now it's just silly.

What was right with it?

Ugly Betty was a story of an “ugly” girl from Queens, following her dreams to become a writer for a fashion magazine; a typical ugly duckling morphing into a swan as she grows and comes into her own. The ugly truth about the show was the fact that the plot was a sure audience puller. Everybody loves an underdog. 

You can never go wrong with a story of someone trying against the odds to make it in a world that seems too far from his or her reach. It’s a feel good, self motivating story. The "if Betty can do it, so can you" subtext resonated with the show’s viewers and earned the show many loyal fans and the awards came flocking in.

 

America Ferreira as Betty was a perfect fit for a show. She has that lovable thing about her. With that quirkiness, sweet voice and a down-to-earth personality, how could you possibly not like her? Mark Indelicato as Justin, on the other hand was just adorable as a little boy. 

In season 1 he totally stole the show. Even though it was obvious from the word go that he is gay, even the most homophobic of the show’s viewers couldn’t help but fall in love with the cute little boy with dimples.

Then there was the uber fab mean but oh so sexy biatch, Welheminah Slater. Vannesa Williams was great as the cold manipulative conniving creative editor of Mode magazine. I couldn’t get enough of her shenanigans. Have to say, the woman look more and more stunning the older she gets. 

Her moments with her sidekick, Mark left me in stitches episode after episode. Though feisty and at times crude, Wilhelmina was still human and had some vulnerability and I loved that about her. One could vilify her for the choices she made to get to the top but at the end of the day she was a woman with tenacity and she was great at her job. 

Her actions, though immoral at times, gave her the armour she needed to retain her place at the top… now who wouldn’t cross the line if they were in her shoes.

What was wrong with it?

Hot off The Devil Wears Prada’s success, Ugly Betty’s debut into the scene was a bit suspect and a bit too similar to DWP. In the very first episode of the show they even had a scene similar to one in DWP where Betty walks across the streets of New York with the track “Suddenly I see” by KT Tunstall belting in the backround… sounds familiar? Think the opening scene in DWP. 

By season 2 the show had become a bit over-the-top, the storylines were a bit redundant and plain mediocre sometimes. Firstly, how long were they going to be able to sustain the “Ugly” thing with Betty? 

It would be ridiculous to think that someone would work for a fashion magazine and still not be influenced by the fashion around her. Betty’s transformation was inevitably and unfortunately since the show’s core plot was rooted on that, the show wouldn’t have had a way forward from there. 

It would have been silly to call the show Ugly Betty when Betty wasn’t “ugly” anymore.

So this is what being "UGLY" looks like... hmmm

Let’s face it, there is nothing ugly about America Ferreira. She might be a klutz and have a bad taste in fashion but UGLY, the lady is not. Would the show have worked if they had used someone who was more “challenged” in the conventional beauty department? Probably not. 

America is what sold the show to the audiences. Who can forget her Golden Globe acceptance speech… I mean I got teary eyed watching her on that podium clearly overwhelmed by the reception she got. 

For a sec there the world was reminded that JLo is not the only latino star in Hollywood. Having said that, the idea of her representing the “ugly” women of the world was a bit ridiculous. 

Then there was Mark and Amanda; Amanda has to be the most annoying character in a popular show ever, well maybe second only to Generations’ Ajax. Her supposed stupidity seemed too contrived sometimes. 

Some of the stuff she said, though funny, sounded a little too much. Mark’s scenes with Wilhelmina were hilarious abut for some reason when he and his BFF Amanda got together, he seemed to dumb down a lot. 

I will definitely miss Betty, Wilhelmina, Ignacio, Justin, Daniel, Hilda, Claire, Mark… I’m on the fence about Amanda. I’m also happy that the show it’s ending while it still has some people watching it. Leave while everybody is still in the room!!! 

And the guest stars were awesome, Bow Wow, Naomi Campbell, Vic Berkham, Lindsay Lohan, James “Mr Dawson Creek” Van Der Beek, Vera Wang … the list is endless 

Betty adiós Fea, le echaremos de menos