The Michael Urie and Ugly Betty Fan Blog

Ugly Betty Airing Reruns On DADT

2011-03-21T18:53:00.000Z

U.S channel DADT - Disney-ABC Domestic Television - will be airing re-runs of Ugly Betty in the U.S during the weekends.

And in anticipation of its return on our screens, there is an Ugly Betty Photo Challenge game that you can play by clicking on the link below.

It's very good too! :-) Check it out!

Series TV.com

Happy 2011!

2011-01-06T15:35:00.000Z

Happy belated new year Ugly Betty fans! Just to let you know I posted 2 new-ish poll questions- please vote when and as you can.

Thanks.

Waiching

Michael Loves Hoodies!

2010-12-31T16:11:00.003Z

Michael Urie: Hoodies are stylish

Michael Urie says he wears hooded jumpers like they are “fresh pieces of couture”.

The 30-year-old actor achieved worldwide acclaim for his portrayal of stylish personal assistant Marc St. James in the popular US comedy series Ugly Betty about life at a hip New York fashion magazine.

Despite always looking trendy on-screen, Michael admits he isn’t particularly interested in fashion in his spare time, and prefers relaxing in tattered casual wear. Nevertheless, the actor does concede that whatever he wears, he wears it with panache.

“Probably the hoodies that I wear almost every day. They’re falling apart, but I wear them like they are fresh pieces of couture,” he replied when asked what the most shocking garment in his wardrobe was.

Michael admits that in real life he has much more in common with the title character of Ugly Betty, played by actress America Ferrera. Betty is famous for looking un-groomed and un-coordinated, which the actor admits is a look he frequently sports.

“In real life, I’m much more like Betty than Marc in the fashion department!” he blushed.

Yahoo.com

Michael Urie & Ugly Betty Fan Blog On Evri

2010-12-30T13:47:00.000Z

As well as Google, The Michael Urie and Ugly Betty Fan Blog has been mentioned and featured on Evri on more than 1 occasion, thus enabling fans to find this site with ease.

Evri- pronounced as 'Ev-ree'- is a discovery engine, website based in Seattle, Washington USA which finds certain key words, terms, like Ugly Betty and generate related articles, sources from it.

If you visit the link below, you will see how many times my Ugly Betty blog is mentioned on there and the posts appear in chronological order!

Suffice to say The Michael Urie and Ugly Betty Fan Blog is generating web traffic- yes!! :-)

Evri- Ugly Betty

Ugly Betty Violated Ethics Code ?

2010-12-30T12:58:00.005Z

Above: Claire (Judith Light) with Amanda (Becki Newton) and Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams) (ABC)

Most people are hardly P.C (politically correct) constantly violating ethics in the workplace. According to findings by Global Compliance, many TV characters are rarely P.C as they constantly 'violate' rules whilst at work.

Ugly Betty was singled out of course for this. The series and "Glee" each had 2 violations per episode.

The Global Compliance wrote:

On "Betty," Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams) forces a receptionist to reveal personal info about Claire Meade (Judith Light), then uses it to influence business decisions (Misuse or Misappropriation of Information or Assets).

Marquee Blogs- CNN

But of course, if it were NOT for this to happen, would it make the show less enjoyable, interesting to watch? The answer to that would be, yes it would.

As much as these grievances may be annoying in real life, in TV, especially on Ugly Betty, people forget that these types of situations, no matter how unethical they may be and sound, keep the show moving and fans interested. Without it, there would be nothing remote to talk about.

Besides, it's only a fictitious TV show, right?

Ana Appearing In London Tonight!

2010-12-30T12:30:00.002Z

Just noticed this on my Ugly Betty time-line on Twitter a few mins ago:

UGLY BETTY FANS! Come see ANA ORTIZ (Hilda) tonight at Ronna & Beverly show at the Soho Theatre in London! 9:30 PM

Tickets are £17.50

I have no idea if one has to book tickets or if it is pay on the door. Please visit the website and call the phone number and ask for details.

Soho Theatre

Hello And Good Bye - My Betty Highs & Lows Of 2010

2010-12-28T15:40:00.000Z

By Waiching

The idea for the blog post title came after watching Hello Goodbye in season 4, hence the Hello and Goodbye part. Get it?!

The Lows and Goodbyes

January 26 2010 - This was the day fans dreaded as the nightmare became a reality; the sudden announcement made by ABC that Ugly Betty will not be renewed after season 4 and that the last ever episode will air in April of this year.

Watching the series finale episode - I was slightly disappointed by it, but that didn't compare to realising and coming to the terms with that it was the last one, ever and that there were no more episodes after that. Sadly, Ugly Betty didn't even manage to achieve 100 episodes in its 4 year run. As it deserved a 100th ep.

ABC - ABC treated this show and the fans appallingly throughout season 4, and yet the worse was yet to come after they-yes ABC- cut the original episode order for season 4 from 22 episodes to 20. Nuff ' said.

Ugly Betty News - Fans were bemused after seeing a replacement showbiz news site when they typed the web address for Ugly Betty News. Alas, UBN was gone as early as in March. It was a great site too- shame it went away.

Ugly Is In - The disappearance of fan site Ugly Is In, although frankly speaking the site hadn't been updated regularly. Nowadays, the site is replaced by a advertisement selling dietary, slimming pills. WTH.

The Highs and Hellos

It was a show that was like nothing else on TV- It was different, unique but also warm, heartfelt, funny and dramatic all at the same time. In contrast to the Reality and drama shows, Ugly Betty proved to offer a different type of dramedy series, encompassing many different characters, story-lines, scenarios and themes.

The great ensemble cast- Even though they are all doing different things and projects, individually but led by America Ferrera, it was one of the best male and female TV castings, ever. They were like family altogether as they turned up every day to work on the show. Just amazing.

The fans of Ugly Betty - In spite of all the shipping wars, the differences in opinion over the seasons and episodes, Ugly Betty was THAT show that enabled fans from across the globe to get together and share their thoughts, ideas and form friendships on Twitter, Facebook etc.

Fans who continuously visit this site - 9 months on since the last ever episode, I am so pleased that fans who love Ugly Betty as much as I do continue to pay a visit to the Michael Urie and Ugly Betty Fan Blog site and whenever possible post comments, feedback.

I knew I did the right thing to keep this website going and NOT shut it down like the others have done with theirs, months after the series ended because you guys love Ugly Betty and are always interested in what I have to offer. So thanks! :-)

Meeting Michael Urie back in October - When I first read that Michael Urie was bringing Celebrity Autobiography to London, I knew I just couldn't pass up on this opportunity to see the show and to perhaps meet him in person as well, if I could.

Well guess what? I managed to succeed in both! - I was very lucky to meet Michael and to talk to him after the show. He was wonderful and a really nice guy. He signed my Ugly Betty 2010 calendar as well. It was a memory I will never forget. Ever. I do hope he returns to London next year.

ABC Gets Lowly 'F' Grade For Lack Of Minority Characters By U.S Latino Groups

2010-12-28T12:25:00.005Z

TELEVISION | JOANNE OSTROW

Latino-light networks kill off two Hispanic shows

Joanne Ostrow
The Denver Post

POSTED: 12/28/2010 01:00:00 AM MST

ABC canceled "Ugly Betty," the ground- breaking show that was both created by a Latino executive producer and populated by America Ferrera and other Latino actors.(ABC )

Score a couple of losses for Latinos in broadcast television in 2010.

First, "Ugly Betty," the ground- breaking show about a Latino family —created by a Latino executive producer and populated by several Latino actors — was canceled by ABC.

Second, the Jimmy Smits drama "Outlaw" turned out to be a real stinker with a ridiculous premise, and was promptly — deservedly — canceled by NBC.

A coalition of Latino groups this month gave the broadcast networks poor-to-fair grades on diversity in front of and behind the cameras. All the networks but one, CBS, got either "Ds" or "Fs" in at least one of eight categories scored.

These so-called "report cards" on diversity are always sketchy. Does it make sense to count Hispanic surnames in a cast and crew and then score points, or is it more important to have three-dimensional depictions of minority characters on the screen?

Does a lousy show starring a Latino actor do anything to promote the image of Latinos on television?

It's a bit of a muddle (maybe they should switch to a pass-fail system?). Still, the groups make some points.

The National Latino Media Council noted that while ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox increased the numbers of African-Americans and Asian-Americans on both sides of the camera in 2010, they have allowed the presence of Latinos to decline.

Alex Nogales, head of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, warned that if progress isn't made next year in terms of Latino inclusion, he would consider charging the networks with 'racism'.

At the same time, the coalition folks should be careful what they wish for: One complaint the coalition had was the lack of Latinos in reality TV series. This might be a blessing in disguise, because many reality TV personalities exist solely to be mocked.

ABC got an "F" for its lack of a Latino executive, "the only network without a Latino entertainment executive with influence over the network's creative decisions."

NBC was knocked for having "a pathetically low number of Latino actors on its scripted programming, and disappointing numbers of Latino writers, producers and directors."

Fox got an "F" for procurement of Latinos and was dinged for a "lack of transparency."

Denver Post.Com

2010 End Of Year Comment

2010-12-26T19:35:00.009Z

Comment:

It is hard to comprehend the fact that 2010 was in many respects a year fans never anticipated would turn out the way it did.

At the end of 2009, fans were talking about Ugly Betty surviving the ratings drop and even believing that there would be a fifth series to follow in September of this year. Yet who expected 2010 to be the year that Ugly Betty would be no more and the show would end for good from April?

Fans are still mourning this show; I still am- it deserved a 5th season. Unfortunately, poor ratings throughout season 4, not to mention audiences in the U.S were losing interest in Ugly Betty had killed all hope it had to fulfil its potential. Some even labelled the show a 'one-hit season wonder', which as harsh as that may sound, is in many respects, actually true: the next 3 seasons tried to match or better the success of the first season.... with little success. I guess that even with the debacle move to Friday then Wednesday nights with the fourth season, after the (harsh) trashing of season 3 - which I thought wasn't bad- by many fans on Thursday nights, it didn't make that much of a difference to the show's eventual fate later on.

Its run ended too abruptly and thus, with the show's demise all but confirmed, questions were being asked precisely over who or what was accountable for Ugly Betty's short run- we can't blame the actors of course, they didn't do anything wrong that led to it being cancelled. ABC- the show's network became the target for criticism, condemnation over the way they had treated season 4's scheduling and how they managed to pull the plug on Ugly Betty. Many others also blamed the executive producer and creator, Silvio Horta and the writers for the show's erratic approach and inconsistent -yet messy direction it took from the middle of season 2 onwards. Whereas a small minority pinpointed the so-called 'former fans', i.e. ex- Betty audience who eventually gave up on Ugly Betty and never returned during season 4. In truth, it wasn't just ABC at fault but other fractions were too.

Of course ABC gave the show and Horta time to improve on its figures, but they especially should have been more understanding towards the fans and the cast, in that the show was no longer attracting nos.of 10 million or more each week. It was still a big show, but its impact and quality wasn't quite what it was compared to 4 years ago. Nonetheless, the figures were getting lower and lower- below 5 million-, hence, the writing was on the wall for Ugly Betty.

If say ABC had cancelled Ugly Betty based on just season 4's figures-alone-, and I'm presuming that they did, rather than taking into consideration season 3's figures as well as season 4's-, then that is just rather sad coming from them. Unfortunately, and as I mentioned previously, ratings and viewing figures count more than anything, no matter how good the writing is, because unfortunately that determines whether or not a show gets renewed.

Coincidently, the final episode eventually became the highest rated of season 4, which wasn't that much of a surprise given news of its cancellation, as millions of Americans turned in to see what would happen with Betty and the fate of Marc, Amanda, Wilhelmina to name.

I am sad just as much as every other fan that Ugly Betty is no more; I miss Ugly Betty but also as I re-watch some of the episodes from seasons 2-4, I often asked myself that I just wished they should've been like season 1, as well as be as good as season 1. I love Ugly Betty, but this series would've became an excellent one in its own right; not to mention a huge ratings success- if it hadn't been for all those issues, problems that plagued it. However, like I said before it will be perceived and seen by many as a fan favourite than a cult classic that people loved; as after season 1, many people stopped watching the show onwards.

The last episode aired in April in the U.S, but it feels like a long time ago to me. 2010 started well but as we enter 2011, us fans will do so without Betty, Daniel, Marc, Amanda.

I've already posted and wrote blog pieces on my love/hate affair with Ugly Betty on here. Yet one thing I will remember 2010 for was Ugly Betty being cancelled- I was shocked and upset when news broke over this and I do miss this show dearly. The news spreaded right from the media all the way to Facebook and Twitter.

Ugly Betty through its issues, both morally, socially, culturally did the right thing; it highlighted themes and topics of discussion ranging to gender, ethnicity and sexuality. It was majorly successful in that respect. Yet sometimes, in the world of U.S T.V, having a show emphasising about being Latina, Latino, a woman, a gay man/teenager, a successful Black woman is just isn't enough to warrant ratings. The show clearly struggled with the writing, scripting aspects and often Horta and co were back-peddling with certain characters in different seasons- an example of this is the difference between seasons 3 and 4: season 3- Marc, Amanda, Wilhelmina, Daniel were progressing, the Suarezes were regressing; in season 4, the Suarezes were progressing along with Willie, Daniel- yet Marc and Amanda were very much 'static' if that is the right word. They lost their 'spark' in S4 which made them bitchy- yet funny, unique from seasons 1 and 3. individually, Amanda I noted especially was regressing a lot. In other words, we didn't see much of them as a partnership and growing together as friends. That disappointed me a lot.

To say or ask what, when, how and why it all went wrong in 2010 for this series and for us fans, we all know the answers to each of those questions, from a personal point of view.

If someone told me that Ugly Betty would only last for 4 seasons, say 2 years ago, I'd say no, but as that has happened, well it is sad for me as a fan that a show as popular as this around the globe with such wonderful characters, can get cancelled; it deserved another season.

Its run was too short.

2010 was the death of Ugly Betty.... and of ABC as a TV network.

Waiching

*Image Owned by ABC -2009

Poll Results

2010-12-26T18:18:00.000Z

Here are the results from the last 2 polls:

Who is your favourite out of Betty's love interests?:

Henry Grubstick
6 (28%)

Giovanni Rossi
7 (33%)

Jesse - 9%
2 (9%)

Matt Hartley
6 (28%)

Votes: 21

If you could work with anyone at Mode, who would you choose?

Betty
4 (20%)

Daniel
3 (15%)

Amanda (10%)
2 (10%)

Marc
4 (20%)

Wilhelmina
3 (15%)

Christina
0 (0%)

Amanda & Marc
3 (15%)

Marc & Wilhelmina (5%)
1 (5%)

Votes: 20

Comments: both questions attracted lots of replies and it was these 2 questions that I wanted to answer but held off from asking them, until when I had posted them.

Gio won many of your votes as your favourite love interest of Betty's, thanks to Freddy Rodriguez's performances as the sandwich owner. Matt Hartley came in second place, and for me he probably made a much bigger impression on the show in comparison to Betty's other boyfriends. Arriving during the middle of season 3 and leaving by the end of the beginning of the second part of season 4, Daniel Eric Gold's turn as Matt was mostly impressive. Well in season 3 at least for me.

Henry also tied with Matt at 6%.

The second poll question again generated some good choices and again, it ended in a tie with Marc and Betty coming top. Both Betty and Marc have done well to further their careers, and people's reasons for wanting to work with either of those probably stem in their character, loyalty, trustworthiness and being hard- working. Bit surprised to see that no one voted for Christina- as I thought she would get a few votes.

Anyhow, thanks to everyone who voted! :-)

Merry Belated Xmas!

2010-12-26T17:58:00.000Z

Hope you all had a great Xmas this year as well as getting some wonderful presents. Thought I'd let you know that an end of year review is coming up shortly. So look out for that. :-)

U.K: Series Finale Attracts 857, 000 On E4

2010-12-24T14:31:00.000Z

Final 'Ugly Betty' grabs 857k for E4

Thursday, December 23 2010, 18:05 GMT

By Paul Millar, TV Reporter

Ugly Betty ended on a high for E4 last night, according to the latest audience data.

Airing for the last time having been axed in the US, the season four finale double bill of the show managed 837k (3.4%) and 857k (4.1%) at 9pm and 10pm.

Following poor ratings on Channel 4 last year, the America Ferrera-fronted dramedy has seen a year-on-year audience increase while being screened on E4.

Digital Spy

Ugly Betty Has Role Models, Morals, Twists, Turns Of Charles Dickens

2010-12-23T21:06:00.006Z

Ugly Betty: Brace yourself

Ugly Betty ends tonight, and DJ Taylor is bereft. He believes the show has everything – morals, adventure, positive role models and all the twists and turns of a Charles Dickens novel

Wednesday, 22 December 2010

Come nine o'clock this evening, sofa-tethered, mug of hot chocolate to hand, teenage sons attentive at my side, ringing telephones and sleepless 10-year-olds calmly ignored, I shall be sitting down to oversee the last rites of a ritual that has been going on for nearly four years, ever since the night in January 2007 when its first pale preliminaries shifted enticingly into view over an otherwise torpid horizon.

History's longest poker game? A slow-motion chess tournament played out at the rate of three moves a night?

No, in a spirit pitched somewhere between mild exaltation (finally all those puzzles will be solved) and growing despair (the problem being that there won't be any more of them) I shall be attending to the last – the very last – instalment of Ugly Betty.

Since the very beginning, 90-odd episodes ago, I have been with Betty all the way. I have flinched at the deadly insults flung at her by power-crazed Wilhelmina, creative director of the New York fashion magazine where our modest, unassuming heroine plies her trade. I have marvelled at her ability to rescue playboy employer Daniel from countless career-threatening scrapes involving everything from honeytraps to absconding CEOs.

A series of significant others – lame TV salesman Walter, nerdy accountant Henry, sandwich-merchant Gio, trustafarian flake Matt – has been and calamitously gone. Meade Publications has wavered, disintegrated and been revived, endless emotional knots have been zealously unpicked before a Greek chorus of bitching fashionistas and still, rapt and indefatigable, I have hung in there, rooting for Betty, monitoring her shaky yet determined progress through the Mode hierarchy, and wondering – a mystery that will be presumably be revealed in a few hours time – whether she really will end up marrying her boss.

Why is this? Why, over the past 48 months, while governments have risen and fallen, economies collapsed and been punitively overhauled, has an hour each Wednesday evening been set aside in this way; social life and familial obligation cheerfully jettisoned if they threaten to intrude? Even tonight, I shall be leaving a friend's pre-Christmas drinks party half a mile away at 8.15, just to be on the safe side. It is not that I am a soap-opera fanatic. It is not that I even spend more than a few moments a day watching television. In fact, prior to Ugly Betty my sole weekly TV stakeout was in front of five-year-old reruns of The Simpsons. Why should Betty Suarez, the orthodontically challenged Mexican girl from Queens, forever ribbed and satirised by the style sharks prowling the deep waters of the New York fashion industry, succeed where so many soap operas, from EastEnders to Emmerdale have so conspicuously failed?

The answer, you imagine, is that Ugly Betty, like most classic soap operas, is "about" something beyond the signature quirks of its characters and the immediate contingencies of its plot-lines. Plump, ethnic-minority, poncho-wearing Betty is not only from the wrong side of the tracks: the very fact of her hiring at Meade Publications is a running-joke, lynx-eyed boss Bradford Meade having engaged her on the premise that here at last is a PA his bed-hopping son won't end up sleeping with. The loud, bright, excitable Suarez clan, of whom she is the most upwardly-mobile member, have their problems too: Dad turns out to be an illegal alien with a contract on his head; elder sister Hilda is a neurotic, one-parent family.

Lurking beneath the jokes about Betty's incipient moustache and nightmare fashion sense is a pointed little fable about female empowerment, multi-culturalism and the best jobs not always going to six-foot gazelles with investment-banker fathers and Vassar degrees.

Curiously, this tendency is historic. Watching the very first episode of Coronation Street, re-run on ITV a fortnight ago as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, practically the first thing one noticed was the social agenda that its scriptwriters itched to prosecute. It would take a very dim viewer to ignore the juxtaposition between, say, scholarship-winning, aspirational Ken Barlow and Elsie Tanner's scapegrace son from two doors down, or the exacting brand of Northern nonconformity peddled by dissenting chapel-frequenter Ena Sharples, or Ken's determination to meet his decidedly up-market girlfriend in a hotel bar rather than in the brooding squalor of "The Street". This, after all, was the era of grimy Northern realism – the era of Billy Liar or Karel Reisz's film of Alan Sillitoe's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning – and one of the oddest things about the early episodes of Coronation Street is the feeling that one is watching a kind of dramatised sociology, in which issue after issue leaps neatly into place like iron filings obeying a magnet.

On the other hand, no soap opera ever got the viewers on its side by offering exercises in dramatised sociology. In his famous essay Boys' Weeklies (1940), George Orwell once considered the likely commercial prospects of a left-wing children's magazine. They were negligible, he maintained, for no editor would be able to resist preaching at the expense of that desire for simple entertainment which was his readers' motivation for buying it. And so the line of dialogue that sticks in your head from that first episode of Coronation Street is not Barlow senior telling his la-di-da university-educated son that he's too posh for his own parents, but Elsie Tanner reminiscing about her late mother-in-law, who was "so bandy-legged she couldn't stop a pig in an entry".

The same fundamental rule applies to Ugly Betty, where no matter how serious or fashionable the issue at stake, character will always triumph over the public image of whichever minority group is quietly having its interests advanced. A pattern demonstration of this comes in its treatment of homosexuality, notably in the portrait of Marc, Wilhelmina's irretrievably camp assistant, played with consummate bravura by Michael Urie. Marc is a comic character responsible, together with his sidekick Amanda, for some of the wiliest put-downs this side of Oscar Wilde, but he is also a tragic one: insecure, unloved and self-destructive. At the same time, no one is allowed to forget that Marc is also vain, shallow, duplicitous and hypocritical; a back-stabber and an ego-massager who deserves a fair amount of what he gets. There was a terrific moment, a year or so back, in which, having delivered an impassioned homily on the prejudice levels afflicting gay men in the fashion industry, he turned to greet a mincing associate. "I got you the Madonna tickets. And the backstage passes," the newcomer whispered as he sashayed by. This even-handedness extends to Betty herself, the one character with whom the viewer is most obviously asked to identify: thoughtful, resourceful, concerned, proud front-row champion of every good, brave cause on the block, but prey to an occasional self-righteousness ripe to remind us that ethnic minority champions can be just as tiresome as anyone else.

And, as the four series ground on – as a heart-attack felled Bradford at the altar, while Wilhelmina stood deviously by; as Daniel's brother Alex returned from the dead sex-changed into Alexis; as Connor, Wilhelmina's Antipodean latest squeeze, plundered the company bankroll; as Daniel's wife Mollie, his one true love after a decade's philandering, perished of cancer – the attentive viewer will have noticed something well-nigh elemental at work.

Generally speaking, Ugly Betty's lasting themes are to do with inheritance, wills, long-lost children, twitches on the thread, mysterious strangers with the ability to mess up a great many people's lives (see, for example, Daniel's half-brother Tyler, whose destiny, as I write, hangs in the balance).

Essentially, these are the themes of classic Victorian literature, played out in a form that classic Victorian literature may be said to have pioneered: the weekly, or monthly, serial built on Wilkie Collins's famous prescription – "Make 'em laugh, make 'em cry, make 'em wait". And, as in most Victorian novels, with their grand canvases and their scent of teeming, unregulated humanity, what is also being peddled here is an almost mythological projection of human activity. Most of everyday life was so dull, EM Forster once proposed, that the books set to encapsulate it had to exaggerate to justify their existence. So Ugly Betty's realism is of an odd, hypertrophied sort.

Implausible things happen in it, but not fantastic things. The dead may turn out not to have died and the face at the bar morphs into someone long-since forgotten, but there are no royal marriages or little green men.

Its communalism, too, is wholly seductive: a sense of individual personalities drawn together by profession or family tie who, though they might not always like each other, are driven by some greater dynamic: a solitary's dream in which all the humdrum aspects of home and office life are mysteriously absent. All that remains for the characters is a kind of eternal maelstrom of drama, intrigue, alliance and counter-alliance and for the viewer the immense, vicarious satisfaction of following the whole mess through.

Every so often – most recently when the BBC commissioned Andrew Davies to dramatise Bleak House in umpteen nightly parts – a cultural pundit will proclaim that Dickens or Thackeray, had they been alive today, would have been hard at work scripting episodes of EastEnders. But this is merely historical fast-forwarding, that dreary assumption that the past, in however convoluted a way, has to shape up to our own modern arrangements. Dickens was a novelist: what he might have done in a medium he had no access to is speculation. What is significant, though, is how regularly the behavioural givens of the soap opera tend to follow the moral underpinning of the Victorian novel. If one had to summarise Ugly Betty's moral code, it would go something like this:

* At the heart of all human life lies the family;

* A long-term relationship always beats promiscuity;

* No career is worth pursuing at the expense of personal happiness;

* It is better to fail well (ie honestly) than win via subterfuge;

* Nice people are better than nasty people.

And so, for all its sexual sophistication, its well-manicured liberalism, its proud Big Apple inclusiveness, Ugly Betty turns out, at bedrock level, to be as conservative as the Daily Mail, even if this moral salubrity is always tempered by its habit of giving the worst characters some of the best lines. And now, inexplicably, the whole glorious enterprise is hastening to an end.

Will Betty marry Daniel and, more important, preserve her ideals? Will Hilda marry supposedly Mob-connected Bobby? Will Amanda get a proper career? Will Wilhelmina finally bag that editorial chair? And, most important of all, where will I be on Thursday morning? I can tell you.

Bitter, desolate and abandoned, with one of the chief cultural stanchions of my existence brutally and irrevocably hewn away.

Independent- Ugly Betty Brace Yourself

Ugly Betty Always Been About Self- Acceptance & Goodness & Kindness Winning Out

2010-12-23T20:52:00.000Z

The Beauty Of Ugly Betty

Posted by Kira Cochrane Wednesday 22 December 2010 11.08 GMT guardian.co.uk

The seeds of Ugly Betty's demise were probably rooted at least partly in its premise: it was a show about an "ugly" woman, who wasn't actually ugly at all. At the very most she was "Hollywood ugly", in the sense that she had glasses, braces and a fearsomely loud poncho, but it was always obvious that as soon as these were removed it would be a case of "but Ms Suarez, you're beautiful!"

Despite being built on ground so shaky that it could only ever cave in when Betty finally took a trip to the orthodontist's office (as she did in a recent episode), it has nonetheless been fabulous, funny and human, a joy to watch with a large glass of wine or a lurid blue cocktail. It will be sad to see it end tonight.

Set at New York fashion magazine, Mode, where Betty Suarez was initially appointed as assistant to feckless young boss, Daniel Meade, the show has blended murder with musical interludes, feather boas with feminism, and included plot lines about everything from the difficulties of immigrant life to the difficulties of being a gay teenager to the difficulties of trying to inseminate yourself with a dead man's seed in order to bear his child and lay claim to his family's magazine empire.

Brilliant scripts have been central to Ugly Betty's success. They have popped with high camp lines; quips that zip and zing past your ears and would, in some cases, have been almost good enough for the mouth of Tallulah Bankhead (sample Bankhead: "I have two words to say to you, and the second one is 'off'") or the pen of the great Dorothy Parker (sample Parker: "If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn't be a bit surprised").

So, for instance, there's Betty, retorting to a friend's suggestion that she try online dating: "Why don't you just chop me up into little pieces yourself?" Or Claire Meade, Daniel's mother and a former alcoholic, commenting that people's treatment of her is "Ridiculous. One DUI; OD a couple of times; show up naked at a garden party – and suddenly everyone treats you like a child".

Then there are the performances, which in most cases have been superlative. In Betty America Ferrera has created a character who is at once worried and optimistic, clumsy and impressive, driven and naive. In the penultimate episode Betty turned down what seemed like her biggest break – a fashion column for a magazine in London. Viewers will be rooting for her to find the sort of life she really wants in this final episode.

Ana Ortiz has been perfect as Betty's wilful, vivacious sister, Hilda, who has ultimately found love with her hot former high school boyfriend, Bobby, after years as a fiercely loving single mother to her son, Justin ("Honey, don't dance near the guy with the hand under his coat!" she yells, as Justin sings to her on the subway). Marc Indelicato has been equally brilliant as Justin, depicting one of the first openly gay teenage characters on TV, a boy negotiating his sexuality with the love and support of his close, extended family, including Tony Plana as his calm, caring grandfather, Ignacio.

And if anyone has ever had more fun with a role than Vanessa Williams has with editor-in-chief Wilhelmina Slater, I'd be surprised; she sweeps into those white-walled, ultra-modern offices in her latest high-shouldered, low-cut outfit, her expression a bold mix of protruding pout, narrowed eyes, and the occasional painfully raised eyebrow ("Even if I wanted to express sympathy, I physically can't", her character once remarked of her legendarily glacial face). Not to forget Michael Urie and Becki Newton as office assistants, Marc and Amanda, a duo whose meanness, cattiness and empty-headed enmity towards Betty has gradually been inched to the side to show the human beings beneath the cartoons.

While there have only been occasional musical moments in the show – such as the time Amanda gave an impromptu rendition of Milkshake in a church, at a wedding – it has always brought to mind some of the best stage spectacles, those filled with wild outfits and wilder songs, which make you laugh with one breath before ripping out your heart with the next. And like so many of those musicals – La Cage aux Folles with its chorus of I Am What I Am, Hairspray with its vivid celebration of outsiders – Ugly Betty has always, in the final analysis, been about self-acceptance and happiness, about the triumph of the underdog, about the moment that outsiders trump insiders, that the marginalised take centre stage, that goodness and kindness win out.

Oh Betty, you really are beautiful!

The Guardian- TV and Radio Blog

Vanessa To Be Honoured At International Press Academy Awards

2010-12-15T11:31:00.000Z

Ugly Betty star Vanessa Williams has been chosen to be the recipient of the International Press Academy's Mary Pickford Award.

The 47-year-old star was given the award in recognition of her achievements on stage as well as on screen, television and her music. She will receive the award at the 15th Annual Satellite Awards gala luncheon on December 19 at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, Calfornia.

Williams became the first African-American woman to be given the Miss America title in 1983 but after a nude photo scandal her crown was taken away. She then relaunched herself as a singer and in 1988 she released her debut album The Right Stuff. Williams also performed the vocals on Colors of the Wind, the title track for Disney flick Pocahontas. Williams has also performed in Tony Award-winning musical Kiss of the Spider Woman and Into the Woods and has starred in TV shows Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives....

Metro Lyrics

Vanessa Williams Makes 2010 Essence Black Actresses List

2010-12-12T15:46:00.002Z

Vanessa appears on page 16 of the Black Actresses list on the Essence website for 2010, alongside the likes of Chandra Wilson of Greys Anatomy, Jada Pinkett Smith and Gabourey Sidebe!

Lakeia Brown writes:

'Two different shows, same diva. The former Miss America beauty queen and Grammy-nominated artist said goodbye to her audacious Wilhelmina Slater character during the 'Ugly Betty' finale this spring. She can now be found stirring up drama on Wisteria Lane on 'Desperate Housewives'

2010: Black Actresses On TV- Essence.com

Very cool! :-D

Betty Timeline for 2010

2010-12-12T15:18:00.003Z

I have created a time-line to coincide with some of the events that took place this year, most of which are related to Ugly Betty. An end-of year review is coming up soon as I look back on a eventful-yet disappointing 2010, insofar as Ugly Betty is concerned and for us fans.

*created on Timetoast

UPDATE Double Episodes Of Ugly Betty On Dec 22 On E4

2010-12-11T14:40:00.000Z

I guess I was wrong about Ugly Betty not finishing before Xmas on E4 after all- I just saw that the final 2 episodes, The Past Presents The Future and Hello Goodbye- the series finale, have been pushed 'backwards' to Dec 22, hence, making it one 2-hour episode. Therefore, it WILL be completed by that date.

As opposed to the original end date of the 29th Dec.

I'm also predicting that the DVD box set will come out by Jan, Feb time in the U.K.

Ugly Betty Guest Wishlist- Part 5

2010-12-11T14:04:00.005Z

Name: Bette Midler
Date of birth: December 1, 1945
Place of birth: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Most known to everyone as: A multi- award winning singer, actress and comedienne
Well- known fact: The role of Delores in the 1992 movie, Sister Act- which later went to Whoopi Goldberg- was originally written for her; however, she TURNED it down

Vanessa Williams stated in an interview earlier this year that her ideal guest star on Ugly Betty would be Bette Midler. And quite frankly, who can argue with that?! With 4 grammys, 4 golden globes, 1 tony and 3 emmys, Bette is seen and regarded by many as one of the most accomplished and established entertainers in Hollywood and showbiz; making her debut in 1979 as rockstar Janis Joplin in Rose, she later went on to secure roles in Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune, Beaches, Big Business and Hocus Pocus to name!

Bette is more renowned for her singing and movie efforts rather than TV roles; however, with years of acting experience under her belt, she would be a great fit on Ugly Betty. She is funny, can sing, act and seeing as she regards herself as a comedienne, and Ugly Betty is a dramedy-type of series, this is an ideal show for her to be on.

She'll fit right in and provide some more light-hearted moments, which in truth, have not always been there outside of Mode, not since the appearance of Gina Gambarro in season 1. As much as it would be great to see her at Mode alongside Wilhelmina, Marc, Amanda, I cannot really picture in what capacity Bette's character would be in. And if it was to be that case, I think the role would most likely to be serious.

As to who she should play, based on her previous roles and experience, I think she would make a great drama teacher at Justin's high school or she could be the Suarez's (wacky) new neighbour, who moves into Queens and later develops a crush on Ignascio! I know, that would be crazy, but she won't be as crazy and over-the-top as Constance! No way would she be as mad as her!! Yet it'll still be funny to watch! :-D

As for seeing her belt out a song, well, that could happen, but this would then turn into a musical type episode. Or she could be singing the last song at the closing of the ep, which we won't see her do.

I know many of you fans out there would've had Bette on your list of preferred 'Betty' guest stars (great idea btw!) and let's face it, she'd be a hoot!

Waiching

Michael Interview With Broadway World

2010-12-10T17:01:00.003Z

BWW Interviews: Michael Urie Talks AMADEUS & ANGELS

(Photo from Michael Urie.Net)

Michael Urie, best known for his charming portrayal of Marc St. James on ABC's "Ugly Betty," will star as Mozart in Amadeus at the Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh, North Carolina. The show, which will play this weekend only, marks the first-ever collaboration between the North Carolina Symphony and PlayMakers Repertory Company. In 2009, Urie received a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor when he originated the role of Rudi Gernreich in the off-Broadway play, The Temperamentals. And, beginning in February 2011, he will be taking on the role of Prior Walter in the first New York City revival of Tony Kushner's Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes.

Broadway World Reporter Nick Orlando had a chance to speak with Urie before his first Amadeus performance.

You are opening tonight in Amadeus. I know this is a life-long dream of yours to be in this play.

Yes, I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina right now. PlayMakers Rep is in Chapel Hill and the North Carolina Symphony, who we are doing this with, is in Raleigh. That's where we are performing. We have been rehearsing for about two and a half weeks. It has been very quick. I just drove over to the venue with my onstage wife, Janie Brookshire. Amadeus was the first play I have ever read.

I was a terrible French horn player in school. My teacher made me play Mozart. My band teacher then suggested I watch the movie and my drama teacher suggested I perform a scene from the play. That was my first acting scene. And I now get to perform this with a big symphony behind us. It is pretty cool.

What does Mozart mean to you?

Mozart is my first favorite composer. This is such a fantastic example of genius meets childishness. It's like Shakespeare. His music will live forever. People can do different versions of it. The audience will be blown away by this production. It will be an Amadeus crowd, but also a symphony crowd. Mozart uses profanity, makes fart noises and then you hear this brilliant, sophisticated music. You hear one thing, but then when you get to see who created it, it is very different.

On February 2nd, you will be back in New York, playing the role of Prior Walter in the current revival of Angels in America. How did this role come about?

I actually auditioned for it back in the summer with Michael Greif, but I didn't get the role. With the extensions the production has had, they called me and asked if I was still interested. It worked out really well.

What are you looking forward to about working with Michael Greif?

I am a long time admirer of his. I saw Rent at 16 years old; I saw Grey Gardens and Next to Normal. I've been a big fan. While auditioning for him, I was inspired.

What is the greatest highlight of your career?

"Ugly Betty" was easily the most beneficial and rewarding. From "Ugly Betty," I had the fame, money and great friendships. From being on the show, people knew who I was and I got gigs I normally wouldn't have gotten. Over the course of four years, my character changed immensely. This time of my life is very thrilling. I landed this role, and have Angels in America.

Are you sorry that "Ugly Betty" ended?

I'm totally sorry. I would have loved for it to continue. We were all sad to say goodbye. However, I am not displeased by what has happened to me since.

Any reunions in the works?

Not formal ones. We see each other all of the time. I am close with Becki Newton and Vanessa Williams. I touch base weekly with America Ferrera and Ana Ortiz.

What would be your ultimate role?

When Bernadette Peters did "Ugly Betty," I told her that she had to do Hello, Dolly! and I would play Cornelius. I would love to do a new show as well.

Can you tell us about the new TBS pilot you are working on, "Brain Trust?"

It's like "Monk" meets "Big Bang Theory," I think. It's about three geniuses who help a cop solve crimes. It's really funny. The cop is played by D.B. Sweeney. My character is a nerdy genius who loves robots. Keep your fingers crossed. I think it has a good shot of getting picked up.

Broadwayworld.com

Michael Brea Incident and Media Mishandling of Ugly Betty- Part 2

2010-12-10T16:09:00.000Z

Ugly Betty and Media Responsibility

By Shilo Adams on December 7th, 2010

“Ugly Betty Actor Arrested in Sword Slaying of Mother”. This is a mock-up of the typical headline that I saw when it was revealed that Michael Brea had murdered his mother in their New York apartment. Only I didn’t know it was Michael Brea who did it. Heck, I didn’t know who Michael Brea is and still couldn’t pick him out of a line-up if he had a t-shirt on that said “hey, I’m Michael Brea”. Oh, no, because whenever something juicy breaks, there’s no need to specify who someone actually is…right?

No, you see, when I woke up the morning that the story broke, the first thing I saw was headlines. Headlines. Being a huge Ugly Betty fan, I was initially stunned by the announcement. I mean, who could it have been? Eric Mabius? Adam Rodriguez? Surely Michael Urie and Marc Indelicato didn’t go on a Thelma & Louise style rampage. No, the Ugly Betty actor was actually a man who worked at a sandwich shop in the city who had a bit part in a single episode of the show as well as Step-Up 3D.

If Michael Brea is an Ugly Betty actor, then I’m a member of Mikaila’s entourage (I mean, I was on her street team when I was 13 and she thanked us in her liner notes, so same thing, right?), Estelle’s best friend (I mean, she’s tweeted me multiple times, so same thing, right?), and a dancer for Christina Aguilera (I mean, five years ago my uncle dated someone who knew someone in the "Dirrty" video that was supposed close with Christina, so same thing, right?).

My point being that the media needs to rein things in a little bit in terms of getting clicks. Trying to get an “exclusive” is one thing, but deliberately misleading the public to increase your traffic is beyond reprehensible. It’s my feeling that Brea shouldn’t have been reported on entertainment websites because he’s not a member of the entertainment industry; the only reason his name was mentioned was the heinousness of the crime and the long-shot connection to the entertainment business was weak at best.

As much as I love entertainment/gossip journalism, sometimes it really just makes me sick.

TV Overmind - Zap2it.com

Metro: Make-Over Didn't Mask Over Show's Struggle To Weave Message Into Series

2010-12-10T15:45:00.000Z

Here is a review/comment in reference to the episode Million Dollar Smile shown on Wednesday on E4 from the Metro website:

Ugly Betty's makeover was a massive anti-climax

Keith Watson - 8th December 2010

TV review: As the braces came off in Ugly Betty (E4), the show was clearly creaking under the strain of trying to spin its message into a drama.

Way back, some three-and-three-quarter series ago when Ugly Betty (E4) first metal-mouthed into our hearts, it looked like we were set for a sharp satire on the superficiality of fashion culture. The moment when Betty’s braces came off, she got her hair done and got kitted out in a fit little black number would surely mark the climax of the story.

Well, last night it happened and it was, well, kind of so what. It’s been pretty obvious since the start that actress America Ferrera was a minx in a minger’s poncho and so it proved in a fantasy makeover which – after a bump on the head – found her entering a parallel universe where everyone nice was nasty and vice versa and Betty Suarez was transformed into an orthodontist’s dream. The sting in the tale: she had perfect teeth but she was a total bitch.

Here at last, after meandering around numerous plot-lines that went nowhere, Ugly Betty was sinking its teeth into its supposed subject. ‘How could having perfect teeth change me so much?’ whined Betty and her gleaming smile – some people are never happy – to which her dental surgeon-cum-imaginary tooth fairy responded: ‘Perfect teeth, Betty: people fawned all over you and it went to your head.’

There we had the moral of this fable: the beautiful are damned because they are vain and shallow, the plain are blessed because they have to work for what they get. The trouble is, we knew this from episode two and Ugly Betty has spent a devil of a lot of energy trying to spin its slim but telling message into a drama that was creaking under the strain.

Now it has been given the axe, there are just three episodes to wrap up Betty’s loose ends and, given that we’ve already had the makeover, romance is the only way to go. If the show is true to its heart she’ll get a geek not a god –love between the ugly is the most beautiful love of all (not my line, I’m borrowing from the mighty Todd Rundgren) – but don’t hold your breath. It’s more likely she’ll clank off into the sunset as Mrs Daniel Meade.

Metro TV Reviews

Becki Newton Welcomes Baby Boy! :-D

2010-12-10T15:13:00.002Z

Many, many congratulations to Chris Diamantopoulos and Becki who gave birth to a boy, born in L.A, last month.

No further details were immediately made available at the time though I'm sure whatever name they will give to their son will be great.

E Online! Ugly Betty's Becki Newton Has A Baby

via The Press Association

Michael To Star In New TV Pilot!

2010-12-03T15:28:00.005Z

(at premiere of Jack Goes Boating; Photo by Jeff Ufberg via WireImage- 16 sept 2010)

It seems that every ex-cast member of Ugly Betty has landed a role, since the show ended for the exception of Michael Urie. So far, he has finished appearing with ex- Dr Who's David Tennant in The Decoy Bride and appeared in London for Celebrity Autobiography back in October.

Now, it is revealed that he is appearing in a new TV pilot called Brain Trusts: according to the article, it is about a detective played by D.B Sweeney, who teams up with a trio of 'brainiacs' played by Michael Urie, Jed Rees and Lindy Booth to solve a murder case. The show is produced for the TBS network and it is a 'comedy- detective'-type of series.

As of now, the company are hosting casting call sessions for people to be extras.

It sounds interesting- it's a completely different turn of fortune from Ugly Betty, which was a dramedy series for Michael. I get the feeling this is going to be more like NCIS and the character that Michael will play will be more toned down than Marc and yet he will be more serious.

Michael's going to do great, although ideally, it would be nice to see him in a comedy-type of series; alas a Marc and Mandy spin-off, but what with Becki doing Love Bites, it sounds as that is not going to happen for the foreseeable future, unfortunately. Still, it's good to see him on another show. In accordance to the Advocate website, his character is named Professor Franklin Gordon, which may I add sounds kind of suave!

With Vanessa Williams, Eric Mabius, Becki Newton, Ana Ortiz all landing roles on TV, Judith Light doing stage work and America Ferrera doing movies, it seems as if the entire Ugly Betty cast are no longer unemployed, which is good to see. :-)

If this show is good based on other people's views on it, I may give this one a watch.

Season 4 U.K Ratings Update & Forthcoming Episodes To Come

2010-11-30T17:50:00.001Z

Here are the viewing figures for episodes 10- 13 of season 4 of Ugly Betty

October 13

The Passion Of Betty
E4 - 800 viewers
E4+1 - 316

Total: 1,116

October 20

Back In Her Place
E4 - 824 viewers
E4+1 - 247

Total: 1,071

November 3

Blackout!
E4- 738 viewers
E4+1- 338

Total: 1,076

November 10

Chica And The Man
E4 -650 viewers
E4+1 -248

Total: 898

November 17

Smokin' Hot
E4 - 655 viewers
E4+1- N/A

Total: 655

November 24

Fire And Nice
E4- 670 viewers
E4+1- 212

Total: 822

*Courtesy of Wikipedia

*From E4 and E4+1

Forthcoming episode titles with dates:

All the World's A Stage - tomorrow December 1
Million Dollar Smile - Dec 8
London Calling - Dec 15
The Past Presents The Future - Dec 22
Hello Goodbye (series finale)- Dec 29

A few months ago, I was expecting season 4 to finish before Christmas with a DVD release to follow afterwards, but that is not going to happen now. Season 4 started airing on E4 in August; therefore, HAD it been shown sometime during say April, May of this year, season 4 would've finished by August. Thus, by November/December, the DVD set would've came out in time for Xmas.

Unfortunately, it looks like us Brits will have to wait until early next year in 2011 for that.

Waiching

More Details Emerge Of Michael Brea; Appeared on Blue On Blue Season 4 Episode

2010-11-30T16:52:00.000Z

Seems as if the Michael Brea story hasn't gone away, as more revelations about his career were revealed in the New York Post. Full story is below:

(From the New York Post)

Michael Brea -- the sword swinging " 'Ugly Betty' actor" accused of beheading his mother in a gruesome, religious sacrifice -- turns out to be no more than a $10-an-hour background extra.

"He worked two days on the first episode we filmed [for] Season 4," second assistant director Jim Nickas tells The Post.

The scenes for the episode titled "Blue On Blue" were shot at the former Craftsteak restaurant on 10th Avenue and 15th Street.

"We have 90 background actors the first day and 70 the second day," Nickas says. "Some [posing as] restaurant staff, but mostly patrons. So it is pretty lame that the headlines have read: ' "Ugly Betty" actor Michael Brea.' "

Before consulting the show's casting records, Nickas admits, "I had never heard of him.

"He has also been reported as being on 'Step Up 3-D', which is kind of funny because my wife worked on that movie, and she didn't remember him, either."

The mystery behind Brea's showbiz credentials has been growing since a Hollywood trade magazine first reported the story last week.

NY Post - TV

So he DID appear in an Ugly Betty episode in season 4 titled, 'Blue On Blue'? I didn't even notice him in that one and before I knew that this had surfaced.

Still, he is not an Ugly Betty actor that the press wrongfully have labelled him- Eric Mabius aka Daniel, Michael Urie aka Marc and Mark Indelicato aka Justin ARE Ugly Betty actors, or were. But not Michael Brea.

The headline still should have read 'TV actor murders mother with samurai sword', instead of Ugly Betty actor. Headline fail methinks.

Comment: Arguably, The Most Misleading Use Of The Ugly Betty Tag, Ever

2010-11-27T14:22:00.002Z

'If you have been following the story about that bit-part actor, who later killed his mother with a samurai sword, you'd be interested to know that he appeared in an episode of Ugly Betty at one time.

The guy was named Michael Brea, of whom doesn't have an IMDb page at all either.

The story sort of made headlines in the U.S- although the media had used the words 'Ugly Betty' to emphasise the fact that he was not only on the show, but due to the popularity of Ugly Betty, they had to get people's attention and what (better) way to do this but come up with this headline 'Ugly Betty Actor Hacks His Mother To Death'. Even though it is the lowest way to do such a thing.

He was and is an unknown actor; NONE of us Ugly Betty fans realised he was on an episode but neither could he be considered part of the cast and show. I still can't recall who he played. He is NOT part of the (main) cast- he never was to begin with, so therefore, the media especially the press had to tie him in with Ugly Betty as it is big, as I said before.

Likewise, I believe it is mis-leading to us fans of the show to make them think that through Michael Brea, who violently hacked his mother to death with a samurai sword, they could be giving bad publicity to Ugly Betty and attracting more readers. In spite of the show ending over 6 months ago. These are typical tabloid tactics these journalists and reporters employ to get their story AND to provoke a 'reaction'. When a TV show or movie is extremely well known and popular, when something negative or bad happens, journos try to always tie it in with the series.

Nonetheless, just because an actor appeared in one- and ONLY one episode of a TV show, even if it is a small part, it does not make that argument that he was an 'Ugly Betty character' any more valid, because to many, a cast member who has played a character on the show throughout the series IS seen as a regular. For fans, it is arguably the most misleading use of the Ugly Betty tag, ever.

As horrible and appalling that crime was, the press are somewhat wrong to mention Michael Brea's name alongside Ugly Betty and to associate him with that programme. As far as I'm concerned, familiarity-wise in the showbiz world, he is a nobody.'

Waiching

America Ferrera Voted More Beautiful Than Angelina Jolie!

2010-11-27T12:40:00.001Z

America Ferrera was voted in fourth place by Brits in the 'most beautiful women than Hollywood superstar, Angelina Jolie' poll beating the likes of Courtney Love and Amy Winehouse! The poll was conducted by search engine Bing:

Uma Thurman 5.4 million - 14.1%
Cate Blanchett 5.3 million - 13.85%
Dawn French 2 million - 5.2%
America Ferrara (Ugly Betty) - 1.9 million 4.95%
Courtney Love - 1.8 million 4.75%
Juliette Lewis - 1.78 million 4.7%
Fern Britton - 1.78 million 4.7%
Amy Winehouse - 917,670 2.4%

Grazia Daily

Vanessa: Playing Willie Gave me 4 Tremendous Years

2010-11-27T12:24:00.001Z

Williams: 'Ugly Betty role was tremendous'

Wednesday November 24 2010, 10.50 GMT
By Ryan Love, Entertainment Reporter

Vanessa Williams has admitted she loved her "tremendous" role as Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty.

The actress told What's On TV that she was heartbroken when the show was cancelled due to falling ratings earlier this year.

"It was heartbreaking," she said. "We finally got the show perfect and running smoothly then the rug was pulled up from under us. But playing Wilhelmina gave me four tremendous years."

Now part of the Desperate Housewives cast, Williams confessed that her character Renée Perry is not as dangerous as Wilhelmina.

"She has a large personality and is someone to be reckoned with, but she's a lot less harmful than the wrathful Wilhelmina on Ugly Betty."

Digital Spy

Design & Get Your Own Personalised Ugly Betty T-Shirts, Mugs etc with Your Design!

2010-11-21T16:21:00.001Z

(above: mouse-mat I prepared earlier for illustrative purposes)

I came across this website and whilst it isn't Ugly Betty related, I thought it would be ideal for those who want to create their own Ugly Betty- style gifts such as keyrings, bears, T-shirts, mugs, mouse mats to name.

Using the on-line designer method on the site, you can add text, images such as characters and choose your colours. You upload the photo that you want to use, say Marc, Wilhelmina or whoever you like from your USB stick or computer and it'll appear on the shirt etc.

Usually, it takes around 3 working days for it to be delivered and unless it says otherwise. Postage and packaging in the U.K is free. If you are ordering from outside the U.K, delivery would take a minimum of 2 days and will be dispatched during the next day. The site decides what postal method they will use to send your gift.

With Christmas coming up very soon, this is a great way to treat your friends, relatives who are Ugly Betty fans, and what better way than to give them a personalised T- shirt, mug etc!

For more details, visit the links below:

Your Design- FAQs
Your Design

Ugly Betty Cast: 'Where are they now ?'

2010-11-21T15:40:00.000Z

Here are some recent photos I've found of some of the Ugly Betty cast, post- Ugly Betty courtesy of PicApp:

Poll: Series Finale.... Did You Enjoy It?

2010-11-20T17:52:00.005Z

Did you like the series finale?customer surveys

Anyone else think the finale sucked? by Cheqs

Allusions to Daniel and Betty getting together were totally uncalled for. She could have started afresh. Why'd she have to have him tagging along from her past?

Daniel's giving the company to Willy was totally INSANE! Even though it's been handed down to him, but it's more important what he made of it, like he told Betty earlier in the season. Moreover, it's hard to imagine that he did not feel any attachment to the company whatsoever? And... he could have looked for a editor- in- chief, why give it to the villainous Willy? Besides, why'd he have to give it away? At the very least he could have sold it to her.

What happened to Claire? Why didn't she object? And does this mean she would still be a part of the company?

What about Tyler?

And Papi was left alone?

It seems like the finale was made in a hurry. Either way, it was totally crap. The thing at the end with the "ugly" disappearing was cheesy as hell. Worst episode ever.

IMDb - boards: Ugly Betty

Comment:

Personally speaking, in re-watching it again, it felt rushed to me and there were some story-lines, things that didn't make sense. I think it was good that they didn't leave it hanging; having said that, Horta and co ought to have handled the remaining story-lines much better than they did. Did I, hand on heart love the final episode? No, although frankly given my views on season 4, the ending pretty much summed up my thoughts on it; I didn't find it amazing and it was lacking in places, especially when it came to the humour and I didn't love it as much as other fans.

Season 4 was satisfactory for me at most and that last episode was, well, above average and nothing to write home about.

Waiching

America Ready To Make Big Screen Impact

2010-11-20T12:54:00.000Z

Ugly Betty star ready for the big-screen as hit fashion show comes to an end

Nov 14 2010 Exclusive by Steve Hendry, Sunday Mail

THE glitzy world of fashion has made America Ferrera a star.

Starring as Ugly Betty Suarez, the dowdy secretary who uses her brains to negotiate the bitching and backbiting of the fashionistas at glossy magazine Mode, has hurled her into the big-time.

The fourth and final series of the hit Channel 4 show ends next month but America is ready for new challenges.

The 26-year-old, who finished filming on the show in April, said: "It's scary and exciting but my memories of my experience on Betty will forever be beautiful.

"I got so much out of those four years of my life, not just as an actor but in friendships and family.

"I grew up. I learned a lot and I got to work in a really great job. I was a Close couple: America is making a film with her fianc› Ryan part of something which meant a lot to other people.

"All I have are good memories. That's the reason why it's easy in some ways and hard in others to walk away."

The actress was brought up in LA by her mum - who emigrated to the US from Honduras and is also called America - after her dad walked out.

She was the youngest of six and was encouraged to work hard at school to get the A grades which took her to the University of Southern California, where she studied international relations.

With money tight, she also worked at weekends as a waitress from the age of 15. She got up at 4am to start the job, where she developed an attitude to work which has remained with her through early roles in films such as Real Women Have Curves and The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants.

But Ugly Betty was the biggest break of her career.

America said: "Every day I was grateful - we all were. The cast would look at each other every now and then and say, 'Look at how lucky we are'.

"There was always that air of knowing how fortunate we were and knowing it could be gone in a second.

"I showed up every day with the intention to take the most out of the experience, this character, this story and these people and just relish that. I lived it."

Ugly Betty is a world away from her new movie, The Dry Land.

America plays the wife of a US soldier - Ryan O'Nan - who returns home to Texas from Iraq suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

As he battles his demons, he trashes their home in a drunken rage and almost chokes her to death in the middle of a nightmare.

It is tough, gritty stuff but America takes full responsibility for the dramatic change of direction. She acted as an executive producer on the film, which was written and directed by her fianc›, Ryan Piers Williams.

She said: "I signed on to be an executive producer on the project before the first draft was written.

"I didn't plan on acting in it and then, as the project went on and we developed the script and found Ryan (O'Nan), we started talking about me.

"I was kind of drawn to the character anyway but we had to get the lead guy and see what made sense."

America threw herself into it and prepared for the role by talking to women who have lived with the effects of PTSD.

She said: "Ryan had submitted the script to the US Army for their support, which made it much easier for us to contact people.

"I spoke to women whose husbands had come home from the war, some with PTSD, some without, some with symptoms which weren't diagnosed.

"Those conversations were the central point of my research.

"Ptsd or mental wounds are very isolating for the surrounding family and friends, not just when they come back but when they are away as well. Spouses are just left to carry on, take care of the children, provide income, go about life with your partner in what you think is constant danger.

"What kind of extra stress and toll does that put on a spouse and how invisible do they feel when they are sacrificing just as much and working just as hard?

"But that's not really what anyone thinks about. It's always how is the one who is away - are they safe, are they okay, when are they coming back?

"When they do come home, it's be sensitive, walk on egg shells and give them time. Yet, as a spouse - as anyone who has been in a relationship will know - you are meant to be in it together."

She is obviously proud of The Dry Land which, with Ryan, she brought to the Edinburgh International Film Festival earlier this year, where it picked up the Best International Feature Award.

Her trip to the Scottish capital saw her showing off her engagement ring in public for the first time and she enjoyed her stay in the city, which lived up to all her expectations. She had been briefed, after all, by Scots actress Ashley Jensen, her friend and co-star in Ugly Betty.

She said: "Flying in, I could not have imagined how gorgeous, green and breathtaking it would be, especially as we were coming from the desert of Iraq.

"I had heard about it, of course. Ashley is one of the funniest, sweetest and most talented people. We don't get to see each other all the time because she lives in LA and I live in New York but I consider her a dear friend."

Next up America will once again be adding her vocal talents to animated sequel How To Train Your Dragon 2 and is in talks to make her London theatre debut next year.

America does not like to plan too far ahead but, whatever she does, it will be noted. In 2007 she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy, the first Latina to win in that category.

And her high-profile success in Ugly Betty has made her a role model.

She said: "If you put yourself where people can see you and see what you are doing, you immediately become a symbol or role model, whether you asked for it or not. It can be daunting but it doesn't have to be.

"It can just be beautiful and nice that your hard work and successes can be an inspiration for someone else to think, 'I come from a small town, from a big family with no money, and nobody thinks that's a reality for me - but if she can do it, I can'. I think that's great."

Daily Record

Poll Results

2010-11-04T21:17:00.000Z

Here are the results of the previous poll results: *Favourite Season Opener:* I Am Not Going To Sell Herbalux: The Pilot- season 1 11 (64%)
How Betty Got Her Grieve Back- season 2 0 (0%)
The Manhattan Project- season 3 3 (17%)
The Butterfly Effect- season 4 3 (17%)

Votes: 17

Comments: the pilot episode received the most results and it's not hard to see why- it was funny and heartfelt at the same time. It was also the episode where we first see all the main characters and find out what they are like. The season 2 ep 'How Betty Got Her Grieve Back' got no votes- it was very depressing in places and sad, but it was well written and acted as well. I quite liked The Manhattan Project, though of course for many Gio and Henry fans, they were pretty peeved off that Betty chose neither of them. And as for The Butterfly Effect, I was quite surprised that that ep scored highly. I thought it was the weakest opener of the 4, and didn't do much for me at all.

Favourite Mode Partnership/shipper':

Betty and Daniel	2 (6%)
Amanda and Marc	11 (36%)
Marc and Wilhelmina	8 (26%)
Betty and Christina	1 (3%)
Daniel and Wilhelmina	3 (10%)
Betty and Marc	1 (3%)
Amanda and Betty	1 (3%)
Other	3 (10%)

Votes: 30

Comments: This one was pretty close! Results-wise, the most popular choices were Marc and Wilhelmina and Amanda and Marc. I would've chosen the latter as you can tell from my shipper-ness. Ugly Betty wouldn't be the same, nor be as funny as it is without those two-although many of us were disappointed by their showing in season 4. Or be it a lack of.

Marc and Willie were great too- the chemistry, well not love-wise between those 2 was a hoot to watch most of the time. And Willie would often come up with funny quips that were sometimes directed at Marc!

I also love the other Mode ships in the show.

Thanks for all your votes! :-)

Selma Hayek Teams Up With Former Betty Writers To Adapt Another South American Hit

2010-11-04T20:49:00.000Z

Hayek To Launch 'New' Ugly Betty

03 Nov 2010 | Source: WENN

Ugly Betty actress/producer Salma Hayek is re-teaming with the TV bosses behind the hit comedy, to adapt yet another Hispanic melodrama for the U.S.

Hayek struck success when she brought the global telenovela phenomenon of Betty La Fea stateside, and now the actress and her business partner Jose Tamez are hoping for similar success after selling an adaptation of Argentinian series Los Roldan to America's ABC network through their production company, Ventanarosa.

The show chronicles the exploits of a man hired to run the company of the woman whose life he saves. The show has already been produced locally in Colombia, Mexico and Cyprus.

Hayek has tapped Ugly Betty veterans Veronica Becker and Sarah Kucserka to write and executive produce the U.S. version, according to Variety.

Ugly Betty's run came to an end earlier this year (Apr10) after four years of TV success.

Love Film.com

Michael & Ana At Disney D23 Destination

2010-10-30T15:39:00.002+01:00

Ohh, Arrgh! Me Hearties!! Shiver me timbers! This was posted by c2giraffe on Twitter this week: it's a photo he took of Michael and Ana Ortiz at Disney D23 Destination that was held this week I think. Both look like they had fun, especially Michael! :-)

http://twitpic.com/31nmve

Thanks to c2giraffe for this!

Ugly Betty Fan Art

2010-10-24T16:19:00.002+01:00

Not So Ugly by ~mjOboe

Besties By OtherButtonJones

Ugly Betty By ~lozzer (below)

Amanda and Marc by Nisselmann123456789 and sketched by E-J-C

Ugly Betty by ~Katarina-f on deviant ART

Katatrina F - Betty Suarez (season 2)

Above is some more fab Ugly Betty fan art courtesy of Deviant Art- check it out! :-)

Ugly Betty Will NOT Be Coming Back For A 5th Season

2010-10-23T14:20:00.001+01:00

I have been treading on various websites and people asking about Ugly Betty and how amazing this show is and some are still expecting when it will come back on our screens.

It won't. Sorry, but that is true.

Season 4 is still airing in the U.K as I type this- and yet fans are wondering if there is going to be a 5th season.

To those still wondering when and will series 5 will be on TV, the answer is it isn't. The final ever episode aired in April of this year in the U.S, and just finished airing around a month, 2 months ago in Australia and other parts of the world.

The reason why Ugly Betty won't be coming back is because it was cancelled as far as back as JANUARY of this year when ABC network announced that the show would be axed, as a result of the low viewing figures in the U.S. The show had been struggling in the ratings during seasons 3 and 4, and it never managed to surpass beyond the 6 million viewers mark. Contrast that to season 1 which attained 9 million or more a week.

So yes, Ugly Betty only lasted 4 seasons/series, which is a shame but yes, sadly it happens in the world of American TV- if a show, no matter how big a fan-base it has, doesn't do well in its native country, then unfortunately, networks are in no hesitation to get rid of it or stop airing the show altogether.

That is the harsh reality of television these days.

Waiching

Ugly Betty Airings Around the World This Week & Next Week

2010-10-22T21:09:00.001+01:00

Australia

Saturday October 23, 6.30pm- 7.30pm
Arena (Cable)
Grin and Bear It- Season 2

Sunday October 24, 9.00am-10.00am
7TWO
I'm Coming Out- Season 1

South Africa

M.Net are airing repeats on Sundays at 11.30pm and Mondays at 5.30am and 11.30am

U.K

Sunday October 24, 12.00pm- 1.00pm
Channel 4
Back In Her Place- Season 4

Wednesday October 27, 9.00pm- 10.00pm
E4
Blackout! -Season 4

U.S

TV Guide Network is currently airing all four seasons of Ugly Betty in a marathon style block

Sunday October 24 11.00am - 3.00pm
TV Guide Network
Odor In The Court, A Thousand Words By Friday, 24 Candles, Burning Questions, Betty's Baby Bump

By next week, they will air the last 2 season 2 eps, as well as air season 3 episodes out of order with some season 1 episodes thrown in as well.

TV Guide- Listings

China

Saturday October 23 4.10pm - 5.10pm
Star World
Title of episode not stated

Season 4 U.K .Ratings Update

2010-10-22T20:04:00.001+01:00

Here are the figures for season 4 of Ugly Betty from the U.K on E4 and E4+1

From September 8- October 6 2010

Plus None

September 8

E4     801
E4+1 200

Total no. of viewers 1,001

Backseat Betty

September 15

E4     827
E4+1 N/A

Total no. of viewers 827 (down from 174 viewers)

Level (7) With Me

September 22

E4     842
E4+1 N/A

Total no. of viewers 842 (up by 15 viewers from last episode)

The Bahamas Triangle

September 29

E4     938
E4+1 268

Total no. of viewers 1, 206 (up by 364 from last episode)

Be Shure

October 6

E4     892
E4+1 316

*Total no. of viewers 1, 208 (up by 2 from last episode)

Wikipedia: Ugly Betty Season 4 U.K Ratings

America On 'Betty' And Facebook Fan Questions

2010-10-21T13:26:00.000+01:00

Another America clip during her visit to Australia- she talks more about Ugly Betty and how she got the role, as well as her transition from that show to doing 'How To Train Your Dragon'. She also answers Facebook fan questions that users submitted recently.

This one is from Video Ezy Online taken from You Tube.

America's Interview On Sunrise

2010-10-21T13:07:00.000+01:00

Here is the short interview with America on Sunrise - this was on the Yahoo!7 TV website:

She discusses briefly about Ugly Betty and How To Train Your Dragon, so it only lasted for under 10 mins. But as ever, it is still interesting.

My apologies to those of you who can't view the video.

America Appearing on 7's Sunrise on Thursday

2010-10-20T19:09:00.000+01:00

I managed to find out on Twitter that America Ferrera will appear on the Australian breakfast show, Sunrise on Thursday morning, which is today's day in Australia. currently it is 7.07pm London time as I type this and it's now 5.07am in the morning in Sydney. Therefore, Australia are 11 hours ahead of us Brits, and 12, 13 hours or more ahead of those in the U.S.

Don't forget to make sure to tune in, if you are in Oz! :-)

Vanessa Loves Halloween

2010-10-18T20:17:00.000+01:00

Vanessa Williams dresses up as Marilyn Monroe in an upcoming Halloween episode of Desperate Housewives. And you can bet that in real life she'll be slipping into a costume and celebrating huge on October 31st – she's a big fan of Halloween.

Vanessa tells People that she loves dressing up and throwing an annual costume party – she'll spend over four weeks preparing for the big night. "I start decorating October 1st. It's a favorite holiday for any kid, and I live through my kids," she says. "Plus it's a chance to dress up and be creative, and I love having parties...We do bobbing for apples and we watch scary movies."

And not only her younger kids get caught up in the excitement – her second daughter, Jillian, has big plans for her costume this year.

"My 21-year-old daughter called me today," Vanessa says. "She said, 'Mom, I'm gonna be you this year for Halloween - can you help me with my outfit?'"

Williams is also mother to daughters Sasha, 10, Melanie, 23 and son Devin, 17.

Celebrity Baby Scoop

Season 1-4 Episode Guides Finished!

2010-10-18T14:04:00.000+01:00

The Ugly Betty episode guides for seasons 1- 4 are all completed: just completed the final season now and added it to the site.

Waiching

Interview With Vanessa Williams From Daily Record

2010-10-17T12:11:00.002+01:00

Vanessa Williams on going from Desperate Housewives to life as a single mum of four

Oct 17 2010 Steve Hendry, Sunday Mail

Daily Record

WHEN it comes to playing a bitch, Vanessa Williams is an expert.

She's spent years perfecting her nasty side as Ugly Betty's mag boss Wilhelmina Slater - now she's sharpening her claws as she prepares to walk amid the perfectly-manicured lawns of Wisteria Lane.

The 47-year-old is joining Desperate Housewives as Renee Perry, a rich and successful college friend with a barbed tongue - a 'frenemy' - of Lynette Scavo, played by Felicity Huffman.

She makes her bow tonight, paying an unexpected visit to the Scavo household, as the show begins its latest run on Channel 4. Her character likes it so much she decides to stay and Vanessa is delighted to be playing a mean girl once again.

She said: "Renee comes to visit because she's got some problems in her marriage.

"She is a New Yorker who is married to a Yankee and comes to Wisteria Lane because she used to be room mates with Lynette and they had a pretty racy past together as college co-eds.

"She likes Wisteria Lane so much that she buys a house down the street. She is there to stay and starts stirring things up.

"Those type of characters are a lot more fun to play than the realistic stuff. It's wonderful to have such fantastic dialogue and fantastic ensemble. It's a ball being able to have this character come to life - it's not like I have to do any major method acting and treat everyone like crap around there!
"The luxury of having great writers is it's on the page so it's just a matter of execution."

While she plays nasty all too well, in reality twice-divorced Vanessa says she does not have the time or energy.

The single mum is too busy flying back and forth from Los Angeles to her family home in New York to see her kids, Mel, 23, Jillian, 21, Devin, 17 and 10-year-old Sasha.

She has managed to stay close to her first husband, former manager Ramon Hervey, who, along with her parents, looks out for the children while she is busy at work.

Her second ex, former NBA basketball player Rick Fox, has recently been showing off his dancing skills on Dancing With The Stars, the American version of Strictly Come Dancing.

Doing it on her own means she really does know what it is to be a housewife, although as a single working mum she manages to keep desperation at bay when she has to be away from her family.

She said: "There is no balance. That's the first principle - it's not going to be balanced when you're working. You're not going to be able to be at home with your kids. When I'm at work, I try to get the kids to the set as much as possible. I love when people say, 'How was your time off?' My time off? My time off is doing what I would normally do as a mother of four.

"You have to make each moment work for you and surrender to the process. You can't be guilt-ridden. Every time I jump on a plane to head back to work, my kids know they'll see me as soon as possible. I'm never gone more than five days a week.

"Luckily it's built into my contract that I get Monday or Friday off, so at least I have a three-day weekend. That's how it works for now."

As the show returns for a seventh series, the residents of Wisteria Lane are stunned to discover that Paul Young is out of prison and back in the neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, Susan (Teri Hatcher) sees a glimmer of hope in getting her life back on the Lane when she's offered an unorthodox job.

Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) finds herself keeping secrets from husband Carlos and Bree (Marcia Cross) is tempted by her handsome young handyman.

Vanessa was particularly delighted to step into Wisteria Lane because Ugly Betty, the fashion comedy drama in which she appeared alongside America Ferrara and Scots star Ashley Jensen, had come to an end, cancelled after four seasons.

She said: "It is a smooth transition from Ugly Betty for me. As an actor you finish one series and go, 'Oh my God, I'm out of work' and luckily I had a wonderful Broadway show to jump into. Then I got a phone call from my agent, saying 'Marc Cherry wants to meet you' - he is the creator of the show.

"We sat down and he asked me if I'd like to be a character on the show. Four days later it was all sorted out."

From the outside, the female stars of Desperate Housewives appear a fairly formidable group but Vanessa says she has found them, and the rest of the cast and crew, both warm and welcoming.

She said: "They become like family. It's very similar to doing a Broadway show, doing eight shows a week with the same people, with the same roles and the same crew." Of course on Wisteria Lane, you have to look the part too and Vanessa works hard to stay in shape.

She said: "I have a trainer in New York and a trainer in LA. I have a food delivery service which I absolutely love and it just makes it easy. But you have to work and move your body, especially at 40 plus."
While she is no slave to fashion, Vanessa enjoyed her time as the ultra-fashionista with a heart of stone Wilhelmina on Ugly Betty and took away a load of tips.

She said: "Learn what looks suit you best and what you feel comfortable in, because there's always a way to make it work. If it's just a crisp white shirt that fits well and has some kind of detail with a great trouser and a great shoe, that might be it. Spend money on good shoes, that's the other tip - but don't hurt your feet.
"I can always pick out Donna Karan clothing because it looks comfortable and you just want to live in it. But there's not one particular person that I live by or think is absolutely timeless.

"You just have to pray and hope. I have my own style, which is more relaxed and casual than anything. I do think I have a fashion sense but I'm not obsessed with labels. I'm not a trend follower. That's pretty freeing. I can go from classic to bohemian and feel comfortable. I definitely love comfort."

Vanessa has also had a successful career as a singer, reportedly selling more than six million records and gaining 15 Grammy Award nominations.

As an actress, she has appeared on TV in a variety of shows including Saturday Night Live, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Ally McBeal and in films like Eraser with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hannah Montana: The Movie with Miley Cyrus. It's been hard work but worth it.

She said: "Being professional is a big key - come prepared, and people want to work with you. I'm happy that I've been in the game for over 20 years. You've got to have a sense of humour about riding the times."

Desperate Housewives is on Channel 4 at 10pm tonight.

Celebrity Interviews: Daily Record

Culture & Identity In Ugly Betty

2010-10-16T13:39:00.001+01:00

This is a short essay piece that I wrote a year ago for the Ugly Betty Fan Pop website; it wasn't for university, college or anything like that. It just dawned on me as I studied media a couple of years ago at college that being familiar with some concepts from media studies, as well as being a fan of Ugly Betty that I wanted to do an academic-style essay that looks at the ideas, themes, story-lines in the show which centres on culture and identity. Because Ugly Betty is a great example of a programme that looks at these ideas and issues and manages to incorporate and weave them into the story-lines and narrative and apply them. As well as explore them in a way that gets fans watching the show and tuning in.

Hope you will find this of interest, even if you know practically nothing about media studies concepts or have never studied media studies in your life; many of the ideas and terms I use here are very straightforward, generalised and easy to understand once you grasp them. :-)

*N.B: this is a slightly edited and extended version of the essay that was originally published on the Fan Pop site

Waiching

Themes of Culture and Identity Explored In Ugly Betty
*image owned by ABC

As a television show, Ugly Betty has been a worldwide success. From its original Columbian telenovela: 'Betty Le Fea', the show has spanned various international versions of this comedy. The most well known incarnation that is televised in the Western world is the US's Ugly Betty.

But what attracts viewers and fans especially to Ugly Betty per se isn't just the humour and the dramatic aspects of this series but the characters, story-lines and situations.

These characters, story-lines, situations all deal with and explore themes and concepts relating to culture and identity.

From Marc's sexuality to Betty's attempts to fit into a society, of which at the same time she is trying to maintain her cultural and ethnic roots. And it isn't just Marc and Betty: the other characters are also somewhat (cultural) stereotypes of what people perceive as the 'norm' in society- the so called bitchy (and dumb) blonde in Amanda, ladies man Daniel who has a habit in sleeping with women; the Scot Christina, the transsexual Alexis- Daniel's sister, who used to be a guy up until he had the sex change and became a 'she'; teen Justin's (blantant and) implied homosexual characteristics via the clothes he wears, his feminine voice and his interest in performing. Wilhelmina, the only Black African-American character, who is seen by many as the villian of the piece.

Even Hilda, who for a mother, is perceived as a slut for the way she dresses, and that she couldn't afford a college education because when she was a teen, she was pregnant and thus, had Justin. By the third, fourth season we see her opening and running her own beauty salon business.

From a cultural aspect, Ugly Betty is diverse in this area- this includes gay culture, Latino culture, femininity, fashion, class and celebrity and fame. It is rare to find a show as appealing and entertaining as Ugly Betty itself, whilst at the same time, as a cultural commodity- i.e TV show, it finds the time to highlight and acknowledge cultural and social ideas, within a dominant mass culture- i.e entertainment and as a means to inform the masses.

It realises that the message it is trying to convey is more than just 'beauty is only skin deep'. It is that of culture itself and its significance on other people and themselves and how it impacts them, on a general and personal level. In spite of the show being mainly about Betty, as she is the central character to which many of the story-lines tie in with, the significance and roles played by the supporting characters such as Marc, Amanda, Hilda, Christina, Justin etc is what also makes this show stand out from the rest in this respect, as we see each of their own situations and what they go through from their perspective.

Cultural theorist Stuart Hall once said that language use and the way people communicate to other people, works on the basis of institutions, power, class and wealth.

In applying that concept to Ugly Betty, the manner in which the likes of Wilhelmina, Marc, Amanda, Daniel and Christina interact with or behave towards Betty is often based on or down to their social or cultural status as individuals in society. It's not just what they say but the way they say it and how it comes off, and how that other person on the other end interprets it. Therefore, are they generally being mean, nice to her- or are they doing it just because she is Betty and she is different to everyone else? However, with say Daniel, he comes from a wealthy background and thus, we'd tend to associate wealth with arrogance and snobbiness. Yet Daniel is the opposite, as he treats Betty with respect and courtesy as a person. And Betty's influence on him is making him become a better human being.

A structural anthropologist, Belgian Claude Levi Strauss based his notion of culture and meaning, in reference to what he calls 'binary oppositions' where two sets of terms or concepts are joined in relation to each other. Examples of binary terms include black/white, male/female and young/old. Alas, meanings and ideologies are generated through the comparisons of two different- yet similar concepts.

In Ugly Betty, the binary oppositions as featured are beauty/ugly, gay/straight, hispanic/western culture, work/family and good/evil, as symbolised by Daniel and Betty (good) and Wilhelmina and Marc (evil). Another example of binary ops at work is the contrast between the clean White Mode offices and the bright and vibrant red, yellow and green colours which decorate the Suarez home.

In Betty Suarez, as much as it is argued that she is an outsider and she is having to conform to certain rules and standards at work, being the protagonist that she is, Betty is integral to the show because she is the main focal point within the programme. Despite her appearance and the bad clothes she wears, it is her down-to-earth, nature which keeps her grounded-, and she tries to use it to help the likes of Daniel, Marc and Amanda to change their negative ways and make them realise they do not lack compassion and heart as individuals.

It's interesting to note however that the likes of those characters rely on Betty and for her to help them get out of the mess they are in; as this shows that they manage somehow to see through the physicality of Betty and understand that deep down that there is a person who not only tries to do the right thing, but of whom wants to be there for others.

In a culture where how you look and the way you dress often determines whether or not you'll be accepted, the situations the characters find themselves in, say something about their individual personality, behaviour as well as social and cultural backgrounds. Ugly Betty is the type of TV show, which attempts to make inroads in emphasising that in a society where the dominant classes are making progress in every mass sector, the so-called lesser groups in society, i.e, ethnic minorities and gays and lesbians are just as much of a high priority.

Once branded the new face on television, Ugly Betty is making the type of positive impact it is attempting to achieve on audiences everywhere. Hopefully, through hard work the achievements and attempts by the characters, particularly by Betty, make them realise that anything is indeed possible.

University Professor To Write & Complie Studies On Latina Issues Via Ugly Betty

2010-10-16T12:01:00.002+01:00

Professor Looks at Role of Latino Families in 'Ugly Betty,' Other Tv Sitcoms

Released: 10/15/2010 10:15 AM EDT
Source: Kansas State University

Newswise — For a Kansas State University English professor, television sitcoms such as "Ugly Betty" provide more than an hour of entertainment. They also offer an analysis of the Latino family structure and its increasing prominence in sitcoms during the past decade.

Tanya Gonzalez, assistant professor of English, is writing several essays that relate to Latino culture and families as they are portrayed in entertainment, particularly in ABC's former show "Ugly Betty." Gonzalez and Eliza Rodriguez y Gibson, assistant professor of Chicano/a studies at Loyola Marymount University, are co-authoring the book "The Word on Ugly Betty: Latina/o Cultural Politics on Television." The book explores themes such as feminism, masculinity and immigration.

"The book is about using 'Ugly Betty' as a way to talk about Latina studies and Latina issues today," Gonzalez said.

Since 2002 ABC has become the leading network to develop Latino comedies, Gonzalez said, noting that current or former ABC shows such as "The George Lopez Show," "Ugly Betty," "Desperate Housewives" and "Modern Family" either focus on a Latino family or feature a Latino family. Even shows such as "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" have included Latino characters.

Gonzalez's latest essay, "Modern Familias? ABC, Comedy and Latino Masculinity on TV," focuses on representations of Latino masculinity in contemporary television. She presented her research earlier this year at the Pop Cultural Association conference in St. Louis, and will include the research in her book.

Gonzalez was inspired by the work of Richard Rodriguez, a University of Illinois associate professor who has closely researched the history, culture and patriarchal structure of the Chicano, or Mexican-American, family.
"Because we have all these comedies on ABC, I was curious to see how families and representations of family were either changing or producing the paradigm that Rodriguez traced from the past," Gonzalez said.

"In 'Ugly Betty' the father is always wearing aprons and cooking, and doing things that typically you would expect to see the mom in the show doing," Gonzalez said. "I thought that was very fascinating, especially thinking about Rodriquez's research about the traditional notion of patriarchy."

Gonzalez found "Ugly Betty" especially interesting because it achieved an unprecedented amount of success for television adaptations of Latin American shows.

An important part of her project is an emphasis on the comedy genre of television shows. "What is it about comedy that allows us to have nontraditional representations of family?" Gonzalez said. "Why is comedy the safe place for that to happen?"

In her research Gonzalez is finding instances on television shows where male characters exhibit "macho man" qualities, and times when they don't portray such qualities. She is also using information from pioneering feminist media studies critics, such as Mary Beltran, Isabel Molina-Guzman and Angharad Valdivia.

The book also will feature one of Gonzalez's previously published essays, "Is Ugly the New Sexy? The Complexities of Latina Sexuality on Ugly Betty," which discusses how Latina femininity is represented on television. The article was published in the fall 2010 issue of the journal Chicana/Latina Studies.

Several undergraduate students have been involved with Gonzalez's research. Two students in the Developing Scholars Program, Linda Jeanette Aldana, senior in life sciences, Garden City, and Michelle Foster, sophomore in political science, Lansing, are involved this semester. Jessica Reyes, a senior in English and history, Manhattan, helped Gonzalez through K-State's 2010 Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program.

"This is a very interdisciplinary project," Gonzalez said. "I'm in the English department, and I do textual analysis. Since this project is about television, it's allowing me to use research from different areas and to develop an interdisciplinary approach to the project."

Newswise.com

Michael Urie: I Don't Feel The Stereotyping & Typecasting Is Hurting My Career

2010-10-15T17:55:00.000+01:00

Yet another good interview with Michael, this time from GaydarRadio of the U.K. As for whether he is or isn't gay- which shouldn't really be an issue itself as I couldn't care, well this interview will explain all:

GaydarRadio’s Neil and Debbie spoke to actor Michael Urie- best known for his role as Marc St. James, gay assistant to super bitch Wilhelmina in Ugly Betty – about the show's success, typecasting, and being out and famous.

Ugly Betty has been such a huge success.

It was the greatest four years I could imagine and I’m so sad that it’s over.

Is it true that, when you first auditioned for Ugly Betty, your part was only meant to be a one-off?

That’s right. The original idea was that Wilhelmina goes through assistants like Kleenex and she would have a new one every week. Actually, it was mostly Vanessa Williams who turned that around. She was so accepting of me being a part of the comedy - she would include me in bits and ask me for my opinion.

We became inseparable right away - I think the producers saw that and decided that would be the dichotomy. It’s not going to be that she’s so awful she has no allies, she’s gonna have this guy instead. Obviously for me it worked out really well. But I think for the story and characters it worked out really well too. It was unique.

That onscreen chemistry really brings something to a show, doesn’t it?

Absolutely, and that’s how I think this show lucked out in so many ways. I always said when we were doing it that any pairing of characters you threw together on that show brought some kind of interesting, unique magic, whether it was my character with Ashley Jensen’s character or the little kid with Vanessa – anything.

Did you base the character of Marc on anyone in particular?

You know, at first he was based on a few people that I knew. I knew people in fashion and I knew bitchy people I could draw from. Also, when I first got the job, I was still doing Shakespeare plays in rep. I was doing A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titus Andronicus and Othello, and – believe it or not – the characters I was playing in those plays really helped inform Ugly Betty.

Interestingly, Ugly Betty – unlike most television – is sort of Shakespearean because the characters say what they’re going to do and then they do it. There’s not a whole lot of lying. In Shakespeare, people say what they mean and then they do it, and that’s sort of how we were in Ugly Betty. The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good.

"A casting director very early on in my career told me that you have to get typecast before you get cast – and I have definitely been pigeonholed and typecast now.

It’s good to play bad though, isn’t it?

Oh, it’s the best.

So did you get a call from production to say that you’d got the part?

My agent called me and she was very sneaky. I think I’d been in three times and we kind of thought I had it. It was one of those things where I thought, ‘I think I’ve got this job’. She called me up and she said, “Well, I really thought you had this one”. And I said, “Oh, not happening?” And she said, “No, it is”.

Did you have any concern about taking on the role of a gay character in a big show and how it might affect your career in the future?

When I took it, it was only a one-off, a small part, and it was a pilot, so I thought, ‘If this goes ahead, they probably won’t use me again because it really will only be this one thing’. So I wasn’t thinking that way.

But, truth is, I never really thought that way. I never really cared one way or the other. A casting director very early on in my career told me that you have to get typecast before you get cast – and I have definitely been pigeonholed and typecast now.

The truth is, I still have lots to do. I might not be playing Keifer Sutherland’s partner on 24, but I’ve still got plenty of options and the great thing about entertainment these days is that there are tonnes of parts for gay people. I could play only gay characters forever and still have lots of interesting things to do. Luckily, that’s not the case, but I don’t feel like the stereotyping and typecasting is really hurting.

"Regardless of whether an openly gay actor is actually on the frontline fighting the gay rights fight, just being famous and out is a form of activism."

You were very outspoken about the Newsweek journalist Ramin Setoodeh who basically said that if you’re gay, you can’t play straight.

Yeah, that was very frustrating. Actors in general and regardless of their sexual orientation are so restricted by look and type that we have such a disadvantage already. For someone to say that certain kinds of actors can only do certain kinds of things is so short sighted and so unfair to so many actors, especially actors who are activists just being who they are.

Regardless of whether an openly gay actor is actually on the frontline fighting the gay rights fight, just being famous and out is a form of activism and to tear them down for that is just cruel.

Rainbow Network.Com

Ugly Betty Voted Third In Most Inspirational Shows For Jobseekers In UK

2010-10-15T17:11:00.005+01:00

Press Release October 2010: The Apprentice Most Inspirational TV show For Jobseekers

From Hirescores.com

New research by the UK's only dedicated recruitment agency review site has revealed that a third of Britons have been inspired to embark on their chosen career by a television show, with the most popular programme being The Apprentice. A further fifth of women admitted that they would like to have the career of one of the leading characters in the show Sex and the City.

A poll by the UK's only dedicated recruitment agency review site has revealed that a third of Brits have opted for their chosen career after finding inspiration in a TV show. The research revealed that The Apprentice was the show that inspired them the most to pursue a career in business.

The research was conducted by www.HireScores.com which wanted to investigate the reasons and factors behind jobseekers choosing a particular career. As a result, the site subsequently polled 1,286 members of the British public to find out.

When the site asked the question: 'what led you to choose the career you are in now?' 52% of respondents admitted that they had just ''fallen'' into their current profession, with over three quarters of these confessing that they now felt ''trapped'' in their day job. A third of respondents, 34% admitted that they opted for their current profession because of a TV show or film.

When these respondents were asked to stipulate which TV shows they were most inspired by the majority, 17% said that The Apprentice inspired them the most. When asked why 34% admitted that Lord Alan Sugar's wealth was the biggest attraction for having a career in business.

Masterchef came in second with 15% of respondents confessing that it had inspired them to pursue a career in food. Ugly Betty came in third with 13% of those polled confessing that it had led them to work in fashion, whilst just over 1 in 10, 12% confessed that their career related to music or performing arts was as a result of being inspired by the X Factor.The shows that have inspired jobseekers the most are:

1.   The Apprentice - 17%
2.   Masterchef - 15%
3. Ugly Betty - 13%
4.   The X Factor - 12%
5.   Sex and the City - 10%
6.   Mad Men - 9%
7.   Britain's Next Top Model - 8%
8.   Other - 7%
9.   Scrubs - 5%
10. CSI - 4%

Of the women that were surveyed, a fifth admitted that they were inspired by one of the main characters in the TV show Sex and the City, with a third, 36%, wanting to be a writer like Carrie Bradshaw, whilst a further 32% wanted to work in public relations like Samantha Jones.

Lisette Howlett, managing director of  HireScores.com said;

"Looking at the factors behind a jobseeker choosing their career is quite often an interesting one, as no two stories are ever the same. It seems such a shame that over half of those polled just fell into their career with 76% of this group admitting that they now felt trapped."

She continued;

"The fact that so many people have been inspired by a TV show doesn't come as a huge surprise, as so many people look up to those they see on television.

Recruiter.co.uk

Comment: Ugly Betty Is An Escapist Route For Fans And People Wishing To Work In That World

This is a very interesting article and besides, who of us fans wouldn't want to work for MODE?! These findings are very intriguing though and shows that through TV shows such as Ugly Betty, people envisage themselves working in their dream or ideal job.

I'd love to work at a place like MODE and alongside characters such as Betty, Daniel, Willie, Marc and Amanda- however, my dream job would be in the arts as an artist as opposed to working in fashion, unless I chose to be a designer, like Christina for example.

Through the medium of TV for example, TV shows, but more-so programmes predominately set in the workplace, seeks to project a vision of what it considers to be the ideal working environment, or at least portray work-life as experienced by the characters and the problems, situations they encounter in their own way. Especially if it bears very little or no resemblance and relation to the actual working lives of people and/or of that particular industry.

If anything, Ugly Betty offers an 'escapist' route for the person who feels perhaps trapped in a job they are unhappy with and in doing; in watching the show, they see themselves in that Ugly Betty world and making connections and banter with the Mode characters that they'd not normally do in real life. By being subsumed in that 'world', and doing something they enjoy doing, they become more happy and content with themselves as a result of it. Therefore, it is not so much of a surprise that there are people who dream of their fantasy job, but also the ideal place for that to happen.

In particular with and in a TV series such as Ugly Betty.

Waiching

America To Appear on Channel 7's Sunrise Show in Oz

2010-10-15T14:07:00.002+01:00

Attention all Australian Ugly Betty fans: just got this off You Tube and the Ugly Betty Live Journal Community- America Ferrera will be on the weekday breakfast show, Sunrise and talkshow The 7PM Project next week.

It doesn't say what day America will be appearing on the shows, so you'd have to tune in to find out. Hopefully, she will discuss more about Ugly Betty and her thoughts on it now that the series has ended.

Though do check your TV listings for more updates and details on this. Here's a promo clip from the Sunrise show:

Jack Black And America Ferrera Star In Ad For Healthcare For America Now

2010-10-15T13:42:00.000+01:00

Watch <a href="http://www.fanpop.com/spots/ugly-betty/videos/16285633">the misinformant with jack black and america ferrera</a> on <a href="http://www.fanpop.com/">Fanpop</a>

This has a political and social message behind it- I am not very familiar with the U.S's political policies and issues with the current Obama administration and judging by this video, it is a bit of a dig at some guy named Nathan Spewman. Of whom I am to believe is a republican candidate, but again like I said, I'm from the U.K so I'm not wary about the political goings on in America.

I don't know what to make of this: it is trying to be funny, but it isn't really. I think it is trying to send a message that Nathan Spewman's policies are not to be trusted and relied upon.

Nevertheless, it's definitely worth viewing still.

Could America Ferrera Be Making Her London West End Debut?

2010-10-15T12:32:00.001+01:00

Ugly Betty's America Ferrera is on her way to the West End

By BAZ BAMIGBOYE

Last updated at 9:04 AM on 15th October 2010

Not so ugly: America Ferrera could be gracing the West End stage in a play about superficiality and beauty, just like in Ugly Betty

America Ferrera, who starred as Ugly Betty on television, is in talks to make her London theatre debut in a play that explores the same topics of inner beauty and outer superficiality that her hit show does.

Ferrera and fellow American Julia Stiles are favourites to star in Neil LaBute's scathing drama, reasons to be pretty (yes, it's deliberately in lower case), in the West End in the spring.

Howard Panter, joint managing director with Rosemary Squire of the Ambassador Theatre Group, declined to discuss the casting.

The drama ran on Broadway 18 months ago, and is expected to be in one of the group's London Theatres in March.

'It's about people being drawn to the superficial, and how we all get seduced by the surface - and how that can be a thorny path,' Panter told me.

America made a similar comment when Ugly Betty began back in 2006.

'it's so reassuring to have a heroine who triumphs with more than just what she has on the outside,' she said. 'To me, the tragedy about this whole image-obsessed society is that young girls get so caught up in just achieving that, they forget they have so much more to offer the world.'

Reasons to be pretty, which first played off-Broadway two years ago and was extensively revised for Broadway, is the final part of laBute's trilogy exploring the topic of appearances. Its precursors - The Shape Of Things and Fat Pig - were both staged in London.

Panter is producing reasons to be pretty with Tali Pelman. The pair were behind the recent production of The Misanthrope, which ran at the Comedy Theatre with Damian Lewis and Keira Knightley.

: Daily Mail Showbiz Article- Baz Bamingboye

I think after the success of Celebrity Autobiography with Michael Urie last week, I'm pretty certain many Betty fans from the U.K would love to see America perform in the West End, particularly if she lands the role in this play.

The plot and theme does sound remarkably similar to Ugly Betty, and yet it will be a completely different type of production altogether. Either way, it sounds interesting and worthwhile. And with America on board, this should be worth the ticket fee alone.

Vanessa Williams To Fans: Renee is NOT Wilhelmina

2010-10-14T14:09:00.001+01:00

Vanessa Williams: 'Renée is not Wilhelmina'

Wednesday, October 13 2010, 13:54 BST

By Ryan Love, Entertainment Reporter

ABC

Vanessa Williams has admitted that her Desperate Housewives character will remind viewers of her previous role as Ugly Betty's Wilhelmina Slater, but insisted that they are not the same.

The actress joined the ABC show as Renée Perry when Ugly Betty came to an end earlier this year.

"I think they are playing to an audience that expects something like that," she told RTÉ Ten of similarities between the two characters. "I think they want to make it as interesting and get as much bang for their buck in bringing people who are fans of mine and what I brought [to Ugly Betty] for the last four years to the Lane."

However, she added: "She is certainly not Wilhelmina, but she is no shrinking violet either."

Williams confessed that she is missing the wardrobe she was able to access while playing the Mode magazine editor-in-chief in Ugly Betty.

"Well, it certainly will never be like Wilhelmina again," she said. "I certainly miss the racks and racks of couture that were available on a per episode basis. There is really no comparison.

"On Desperate Housewives, we try to make Renée seem like she has money and make her different from the gals on the Lane."

Digital Spy- Desperate Housewives

Ugly Betty Francise Still Thriving In South America

2010-10-14T14:03:00.002+01:00

By Gloria Goodale, Staff Writer / October 13, 2010

The soap opera may be struggling in the United States, but it is alive and well around the world, says Alicia Quarles, global entertainment editor for the Associated Press.

In many other countries, she points out, such as Britain ("East Enders") or Latin America (the "Ugly Betty" franchise), soaps air at night, so they have a prime-time feel. "They can push the boundaries more than a daytime broadcast can," she says via e-mail.

Also, soaps are able to gain wide-ranging viewership because people are actually home at night, Ms. Quarles adds, versus in the US, where many people are working during the day and are not able to keep up or watch recorded episodes of soaps.

In Latin America, soaps are a cultural phenomenon. They provide water-cooler moments and are literally something most of their society watches or keeps up on, she says. Telenovelas are not long-running and wind up in less than a year. This creates must-see TV because there is an end in sight.

"In the US, our story lines can go on for decades and people know they can tune out for a year and then pick it up easily, which is not the case in Latin countries," Quarles says.

All Voices.com- Christian Science Monitor

Now Added: Social Networking Sharing Buttons In Each Post

2010-10-12T22:40:00.002+01:00

I just added some social networking buttons, which can be located underneath each individual blog entry: they are email- so you can email the article to someone else-, blog this for blogging sites Blogger, WordPress, Posterous and Tumblr, as well as Twitter, Facebook and Google Buzz.

So if you find a post of interest for others that you might wish to share, click on one of those corresponding buttons!

Ugly Betty Succeeded.... It Mattered To Us Because We Cared Enough For It

2010-10-12T14:07:00.008+01:00

Comment:

Why Ugly Betty Mattered To The Fans From A Cultural, Social Perspective, and succeeded in that respect

*N.B: This is in response to the article and post written by Katherine Fung of the Huffington Post from April 14, 2010 'The Secret To Ugly Betty's Success'- which can be found on here

By Waiching

When Ugly Betty debuted in 2006 in the U.S, the first season exploded into life- it was heartfelt, warm, funny and was nothing like any other show at the time. This was also the first Western dramedy show to showcase the fish-out-of-water, fairy tale type of story; normally, this type of cartoon-y world would be seen in a kids animated show.

Ugly Betty was almost like a live-action version of a cartoon series- it was wild, out of bounds, colourful; it was shot differently, the way the show was depicted on-screen, there was an element of Saturday morning cartoon in it. You had bad guys, as well as good guys in it; the plots were very social, culturally-related to life, family, work, ethics, respect. It was, wholesome and families would enjoy it. Sure there were adult themes as well, such as homosexuality, but that for instance, was dealt in a very positive and encouraging way without demeaning the gay lifestyle itself. Especially when it handled the Justin storyline and his progress from the first season as a young boy to a male teen in the final season where he knows who he is as a person by coming out as being gay.

The way the main characters acted, behaved in different ways- you'd laugh, cry and sympathise with them. Throughout the 4 years, it has been a journey of finding out not just who this Betty Suarez is, but of the other characters in Wilhelmina, Marc, Amanda, Daniel, Justin, Hilda etc.

In spite of the mixed feelings that I do have regarding the entire series, I think what Ugly Betty succeeded in doing is emphasising cultural, socially- related plot-lines not just within a mainstream context but also via its culturally diverse cast. It told them in a way that resonated and appealed to audiences of every social and demographic background.

Therefore, I think the loss of Ugly Betty is a huge one, not just for us fans but for U.S TV in general.

Of course American audiences fell out of love with it, right during the middle of the third season onwards; it was painful for me to see viewing figures take a massive drop every week, no matter how much I wished this decline had stopped. It didn't, sadly. And frankly, moving it to Friday nights turned out to be the worst mistake because that had all but killed off the show, ratings-wise. Story-lines wise, the show was too-ing and fro-ing, going forwards and backwards; the levels of story-writing throughout was just so.... messy and inconsistent. And that is a crying shame, because had that high level of writing from the first season had maintained throughout, as well as the figures, then Ugly Betty would've been on air for another 2, 3 more seasons after season 4.

Still however, its impact elsewhere is immense. Like I pointed out in one of my other posts, though the series struggled consistently with the episodes and story-lines, what Ugly Betty was really good at was highlighting the issues, talking points that normally do not get addressed or highlighted in other mainstream TV series, especially in today's reality TV saturated world. Particularly throughout the first season.

Ugly Betty deserves credit for the fact it was so different to every other show around at the time and in portraying a so-called outsider/ social outcast- who wasn't physically attractive-, as a role-model to young people and to emphasise that being smart, successful and being beautiful comes from deep within yourself- and not through outer appearance. Seriously, what other TV show right now evokes strong, positive social messages with regards to not judging people for what they look like on the outside but at the same time make people laugh with the characters and making them feel good about themselves, personally? THERE ARE FRANKLY NONE. Most shows right now are either reality shows, shows about people sleeping with each other, shows about murder, people dying; i.e. set in a hospital. And that really is just depressing and says a lot about the sorry state of Western TV in this decade.

Race, LGBT... and Fame

It had a racially diverse cast with diverse story-lines - Ugly Betty took what was a Columbian telenovela, where it was originated and through that diverse cast- of whom are mostly Western based, the show hit a nerve with audiences from every part of the world, of every ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation and moulded its show into its very own. Not many had seen or heard of Yo Soy Betty, La Fea, the original version of Ugly Betty from Columbia. Not even me. But since the show ended, almost everyone had seen Ugly Betty, and the U.S version will go down as the most recognisable out of all those that have aired in the world.

Somehow, Ugly Betty's worldwide, global success kind of reminds me of another TV show, Fame where it ran longer than the latter show for 6 seasons during the 1980s. That is 2 more than Ugly Betty.

I say 'Fame' because even though both shows are completely different, in terms of its appeal, popularity, plot and narrative, from a (popular) cultural standpoint, like Fame itself Ugly Betty was more than just a TV show. Its success and impact in U.S and North America was then mirrored in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and beyond. Its fan-base became more global and diverse. There was merchandising and branding through T-shirts, DVD sales, posters to name. It was often the main talking point within the framework of cultural, media studies and popular studies.

Ugly Betty diversified the image of Latinos and the Hispanic community and the show became a voice for many fans, who are of Latino/Hispanic descent. Through the Suarez's, they were the quintessential bi-Mexican and American family, who through their strong, cultural roots were perceived to be very much grounded and level-headed compared to many of the Mode employees. Through the concept of diaspora, it showed how 3 Suarez children in Hilda (Justin's mother, Betty's elder sister), Betty and Justin (son of Hilda, nephew to Betty)- all born and raised in the U.S-, coped with life at home and beyond whilst retaining a strong sense of belonging in an American society through their social, as well as 'personal' identity as Latinos. And thus also taking care of their father, Ignascio, who was/is an immigrant from Mexico and of whom arrived in the U.S.

The show also gave voice to the LGBT- lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-gendered community- a social group who rarely get as much as coverage and attention within mainstream Hollywood media and TV. Characters such as Marc and the trans-gendered Alexis - who were both openly gay and lesbian were not your so-called average drag-queen types, who'd act overly- flamboyant. They were both gay-yet were complete opposite characters from each other in terms of personality. Marc in particular has over the 4 seasons made a transition from being bitchy, flamboyant and mean into someone who is human, sensitive and cares for other people and their feelings. Gay characters on TV tend to be very effeminate, flamboyant and over-the-top in their manner, but thankfully the writers managed to 'humanise' Marc and not to turn him into an outright, blatant gay stereotype.

These are just a few of examples of just why Ugly Betty succeeded- not in terms of its story-lines because like I said, that has been a grey area for the show that Silvio Horta and co never managed to overcome.

Ugly Betty, in its short run, struck a chord with fans and by doing so, they made us think, discuss about the issues and themes in the show. As well as take into heart how those very same issues, situations and themes relate to us as people and how we view and identify our own selves through them.

It meant and mattered so much to us fans because WE cared enough for them and the situations to happen....we cared enough to know the fate of the other characters, and that the ones we cheered loudly for had got what they wanted and deserved in the end. Which was a happy ending- yet also we cared enough to know that minorities not only have a voice in society, but that people of all minorities have a PLACE in society too and can be on screen representing AS one group through this show by being there for each other. Irrespective of their differences.

Culturally, as opposed to series-wise, Ugly Betty, was without a doubt, a success in this respect.

Michael Urie Signed Calendar!! Woo-Hoo!!

2010-10-11T21:29:00.001+01:00

Here is my Ugly Betty Calendar signed by Michael Urie, well the Marc part- interesting that Marc is October and Michael Urie signed it last Friday this month, October! Spooky huh? ;-) And before you ask, no it's NOT fake, nor forged. It's genuine. I was there that night to see him sign it in person.

And below is my receipt/print- out that I had to show on arrival at the theatre.

Huffington Post: Ugly Betty Had Universal Appeal

2010-10-11T21:00:00.005+01:00

Found this really good piece on Ugly Betty- yes, it is a few months old but still worth a read, and Katherine touches on some important and valid points throughout:

The Secret To Ugly Betty's Success

Katherine Fung

Blog team intern

Posted: April 14, 2010 04:12 PM

When the curtain closes on Ugly Betty, fans will lose a show that's been hailed as ground-breaking and smart -- and equally important, one of the most beloved heroines and families on television today.

Though it came as little surprise after the show's sad move to Friday night and declining ratings, the January announcement of the show's cancellation was no less disappointing. Ugly Betty made its first splash with a heroine who didn't fit conventional standards of beauty. Throughout its run, it continued to draw accolades for its portrayal of Latinos, an immigrant family and gays and trans-genders. Echoing what fans have said since the show's debut in 2006, the Associated Press hailed "Ugly Betty" as ground-breaking last week. Laura Wides-Munoz writes:

Betty Suarez was an educated, hard-working and family-oriented Latina, who was ambitious and career-driven. Such a character never existed before on American television, says Federico Subervi, a communications professor at Texas State University-San Marcos, where he's the director of the Center for the Study of Latino Media & Markets.

"The show has had an impact. It's diversified the images of Latinos on television. It's created a new role model for Latinos," Subervi says of the Betty character.

Ugly Betty isn't the first show to star Latinos or a loving family with immigrant roots. In recent memory, George Lopez and Freddie, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. as a bachelor and established chef living with his Puerto Rican grandmother, sister, niece and sister-in-law, both featured positive Latino role models. When it comes to comparing TV shows, we can't deny that every step that challenges stereotypes of racial minorities is an important one. But what was different about Ugly Betty was that it was a prime time hit.

Where many shows with heavily minority casts failed, Ugly Betty succeeded. It was able to become a crossover hit, with non-Latinos comprising the majority of its audience, because it had a universal appeal. I loved watching Betty Suarez because she was the quintessential underdog. Who couldn't help but cheer as she went after her dream job, covered her boss's behind, and won the trust of her worst enemies and even a compliment from Wilhemina ("It's not terrible" on Shakira's photo shoot in the Bahamas)? No one could stop the girl from Queens.

I loved the platonic friendship between Betty and Daniel. Remember when Renee, Wilhemina's sister and Daniel's then jealous girlfriend, convinced him that Betty was in love with him in Season 2? To which Betty sarcastically retorted, "I just wish I could be your morning bagel so I could get caught between your beautiful, beautiful teeth."

I loved seeing Marc become an empathetic character as he guided Justin through turbulent times in high school. I loved watching Justin's renditions of Broadway musicals. And I loved watching the Suarez family.

After months of convoluted story lines, the penultimate episode was one of the best I've seen in a while. It reminded me of Ugly Betty's greatest elements -- the comedic and endearing Marc ("Hello, Aunt Spanish! You look bonita!") and Amanda ("How could I set up shop without my Sleeping Betty?"), and the poignant family moments (too many to list).

That Ugly Betty held a universal appeal was what drew millions of viewers to watch a show about "a Latino family in a non-stereotypical way." Tonight's finale leaves me wondering what networks will come up with next to fill the void left by the end of Ugly Betty. Will their attempts be able to achieve the same popularity? In 20 years, will we remember Ugly Betty as ground-breaking in the 2000s as The Cosby Show was during the 1980s? Maybe not.

But one thing's for sure: Ugly Betty's success can largely be attributed to the personal chord that it struck with its audience. Television networks would do well to remember this as they look for the next big hit -- no matter who it stars -- come fall 2010.

Huffington Post - Katherine Fung: The Secret To Ugly Betty's Success

America Ferrera: From Ugly Betty To Viking Bombshell

2010-10-11T19:31:00.000+01:00

New on DVD America Ferrera, from ugly to Viking bombshell

Sailing to Dragon Island in hopes of ending their centuries-long feud with the beasts once and for all, Chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, right) and blacksmith and Dragon Training drill sergeant Gobber (Craig Ferguson, left) prepare for the worst in "How to Train Your Dragon." (DreamWorks Animation)

Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 1:15 am | Updated: 11:26 pm, Sun Oct 10, 2010.

By SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS Associated Press Writer | 0 comments

NEW YORK (AP) -- America Ferrera got her break as a curvy teenager in "Real Women Have Curves" and broke into stardom as the lovely "Ugly Betty."

A few months before the hit ABC series reached its finale, the actress says she found some of herself in the blond Viking bombshell she voices in "How to Train Your Dragon," the DreamWorks Animation movie arriving Friday on DVD.

Based on Cressida Cowell's children's book, the 3-D movie follows the adventures of Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), the scrawny, misfit son of Viking chief and master dragon-slayer Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler).
With no heart for killing these creatures, Hiccup discovers his skills as a dragon whisperer and becomes a local hero among the villagers and a rival for fierce classmate Astrid (America Ferrera), also his love interest.

"She's a fantastic actress and she has a very beautiful and powerful voice, and Astrid, the character that she plays, I think is a great role model," DreamWorks' CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said. "We wanted to have somebody who could really deliver the strength and the power of a great Viking warrior woman and she did it beautifully."

The 25-year-old Ferrera talks about this new adventure and the end of the "Ugly" era.
Excerpts from the interview:

AP: It was refreshing to see you as someone so different from the actress we have seen before. How was it to play the bombshell in this movie?

FERRERA: It was really fun, you know. They had created the character Astrid before they cast me so I was just glad that they were very open minded to casting someone who didn't look like the character. ... It was nice to play something that wasn't really a version of me at all.

AP: This is not your first animated film. Can you tell us a bit about this particular experience?

FERRERA: It takes a while to get used to being in a studio and just having you and a microphone and no other actors to work off of. ... But once I did, it was freeing to just be able to play around.

AP: As different as you and Atrid are, do you find anything of her in you?

FERRERA: Definitely. In the way that Astrid wants to be the best of what she's doing regardless of whether she's a boy or not. You know, I was always the girl on the boys' baseball team, one of the only two girls in the Little League playing baseball, so I think there is a little bit of Astrid in me.

AP: What is the most powerful message for you in this movie.

FERRERA: It's about the Vikings and the dragons and how from the beginning of time all they've known is that they're each others enemies and they fight each other and no one really asks why. And the fact that Hiccup, the main character, dares to ask why turns the whole world upside down, and they realize that what they think is their enemy is actually their strongest partner.

AP: Do you think "Ugly Betty"ended too soon?

FERRERA: I don't think so. I mean, I think from the beginning I had a concern that we wouldn't get enough time to kind of complete her transformation. ... Could it keep on going? Maybe. But you know, I think we found a really good sort of peace with the character in her journey and now that it is the way it is it feels like it was always meant to be this way.

AP: Were you emotionally ready to leave Betty behind?

FERRERA: I don't know. I think that no matter when it happened I was going to be sad, because she's been a big part of my life, but yeah, I think that I'll be fine (laughs). I'm excited about the future and moving forward.

AP: Besides fame and recognition, what did Betty give you as an actress and as a person?

FERRERA: Being on the show and playing her gave me a place to really grow as an actor and show up every day and challenge myself again and know if I felt not great about the works that I did, I can always wake up the next day and come back and do it again.

Daily News Online- Entertainment

20 Fun and Interesting facts On... Amanda Tanen and Becki Newton

2010-10-10T00:59:00.003+01:00

Here are 20 facts on character Amanda Tanen Sommers and the actress who plays her, Becki Newton compiled from various sources:

Amanda Tanen

Amanda is a combination of both Patricia Fernandez and Marcela Valencia from the Mexican telenovela, Betty La Fea.

She was a former receptionist- now turned stylist, who is best friends with Marc St James.

Amanda and Henry both have one thing in common- they each share the same surname as the UB writers Brian Tanen and David Grubstick

She was born on January 14 1982 and raised in the Hamptons, Long Island

Amanda was once the ex-lover of Daniel Meade- they had an on-off relationship during season 1 which was later rekindled in season 4. After finding herself in a love triangle with Daniel, Tyler, Claire's son and Daniel's brother, in the end she decided to not to opt for either of them, rather to end her relationships with both Daniel and Tyler.

She tends to go on eating binges whenever she feels threatened or panics, as a way to control her insecurities - best examples of this, watch episode 4 Fey's Sleigh Ride, Secretaries Day from season 1, How Betty Got Her Grieve Back in season 2

Despite coming off as being 'ditzy' and conceited, she tends to be quite intelligent and has a good heart

Before she worked at Mode, her previous job was working as an actress and appeared in a commercial for the Middle Ages restaurant (Hence, the episode Secretaries Day in season 1 where Marc plays a video of her promoting the eatery- kids under 12 eat free on Sundays! Hehe!! :-)

Amanda once had a dog named Halston, who once belonged to Fey. She looked after him but he later died

In season 4, she finally buried the hatchet with Claire Meade, Daniel's mother, as well as found her long- lost father.

Becki Newton

Born on July 4th, 1978 as Rebecca Sara Newton in New Haven, Connecticut, she was raised in Guildford, Connecticut and is of English descent.

Started performing in local productions and theater at the age of 13.

Graduated with a BA in European History at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. During her 3 yr stint at uni, she spent a few semesters in parts of Europe.

Becki can speak 4 languages: as well as English, she is native in Spanish, German and Greek! Smart girl!

She moved to New York from her home-town and landed several roles in commercials and bit-parts in TV shows.

Her favourite movie is Dirty Dancing.

She made her first TV début in an episode of Cold Case in 2003.

She has a brother named Matt- of whom played Marc's boyfriend, Troy in season 4 of Ugly Betty. He too is an actor.

She is currently starring in NBC's romantic comedy Love Bites in a leading role, since the cancellation of Ugly Betty.

Is currently married to another actor, Chris Diamantopoulos, of whom she first met in a New York subway! Becki is also about to give birth to their first child.

*collated from IMDb and Wikipedia

Image owned by ABC 2009

Vanessa On Wendy Williams Show

2010-10-09T14:05:00.000+01:00

I saw this video whilst visiting the Ugly Betty Live Journal community just now- Vanessa was on The Wendy Williams Show this week and mainly talks about her current role as Renee in Desperate Housewives. Plus, she briefly mentions Ugly Betty as well, which is nice for us fans.

Check it out!

My Night Out At Celebrity Autobiography

2010-10-09T12:45:00.006+01:00

Celebrity Autobiography
Leicester Square Theatre
Friday October 8
7.30pm

Review:

There I was standing outside the Leicester Square Theatre in the queue to see Michael Urie in Celebrity Autobiography. I was then chatting to someone, who had attended the previous night of Celebrity Autobiography on Wednesday night already so she had a idea of what it is like. I turned up to see Michael mainly out of the other the comedians really. It was about 6.45pm ish- the doors at the event opened at 7pm. When it did open, I showed my ticket to one of the theatre people and I entered the Main house where all the action took place.

When I found my seat- I booked on-line for this event, to which I selected one of them in the front of the stage so that I could see Michael-, I took off my bag, sat down and waited patiently until it started. Of course, many more people were arriving before the show had kicked off so there were lots of standing up so that we can make room for them.

The show then began at 7.30pm- the first person out was Eugene Levy- he is the main man behind Celebrity Autobiography and devised the whole concept. He explained to us what it was about and that the words we were about to hear, came from those actual celebrities and were not made up. When Eugene introduced Michael Urie to everyone in the theatre by mentioning his name, the crowd were clapping aloud. I was clapping and smiling!

There were a few celebs who took turns reading their biographies, both individually and in small groups; when Michael Urie came out to read, there was a huge rapturous cheer in the theatre. I was literately sitting in the second row right in the FRONT where Michael was standing and reading David Hasselhoff's autobiography. For a while there I felt a sense of happiness knowing that THE Michael Urie- our Marc St James- was performing live in front of an actual crowd of people and that I was there to see it. Like I expected from Michael, he was fab- he delivered his lines in such an endearing and humourous way, it made people in the audience laugh out loud. After all, it is the fact he was funny as Marc on Ugly Betty that we first noticed his comedic chops.

His hair was cropped- which interested me as I expected him with the curly mop; he wore a dark blazer-type jacket with a white tee and jeans and brown shoes. Celebrity Autobiography is an interesting show because the humour doesn't involve making jokes about people etc based on their autobiographies and what's written in them. The performers literately read the passages out loud to the audience and as they are written in the books- YET it is the manner in which they turn something that serious or not considered funny into something that is funny. It's not like they twist the words up in order to make it funny; they deliver it straight as it is.

Other comedians on last night's bill in attendance to name were Doon MacKichan, James Lance, Eugene Levy, Fiona Allen and Sadie Pickering. Both Doon and Fiona were part of the Channel 4, Smack The Pony series in the U.K. Those were the only ones whose names and faces I could recognise. They were great too and like I mentioned though I came to see Michael, those guys didn't disappoint. I was laughing most of the time; it was truly side-splittingly hilarious. I never laughed as much as this since, well, during a few episodes of Ugly Betty in season 3, 1. Autobiographies covered included Miley Cyrus, Debbie Reynolds, Tommy Lee (Pamela Anderson's ex), Destiny's Child, Britney Spears, Madonna, Peter Andre and Katie Price, Diana Ross and Mr T. As well as Tiger Woods' How To Play Golf ! Read by Eugene Levy and he was hysterical :-D

The show ended at 9.00pm and lasted for 1 hour 30 mins. I was enjoying and lapping up the experience along with the crowd. When everyone left the theatre, I stayed behind to look around to see if Michael was around. And he was. I went up to him in person in a calm, relaxed manner, shook his hand and introduced myself. I told him I enjoyed the show and that I was happy to see him. I told him I was on Twitter and gave him one of my drawings I did of him. He seemed to like it a lot. I gave him my Ugly Betty calendar and got him to sign it- well the Marc part, which he did. I wanted to take a photograph as well but the camera I had wouldn't work- which did annoy me, so this guy had his mobile phone with him and took a picture of me and Michael. He smiled, I smiled. I also left the man who took the picture- of whom I presumed was representing Michael or the Theatre-, my email address so he can email the photo to me. I'm still awaiting for it as I type this.

I shook Michael's hand and wished him well in his future projects. After that, I exited the theatre and made my journey all the way home. I was so glad I decided to see him in the flesh in this show, after years of seeing him on TV and watching my Betty DVDs.

Celebrity Autobiography was a blast. It is a show I thoroughly recommend to anyone who enjoys a laugh. But evenso for me, I was glad that Michael was part of it and I was there to witness him in action and being his comedic best last night. Not forgetting I got to meet and chat with him-yay! :-D

Thanks so much Michael and for coming to London. :-)

Waiching

N.B: *pictures coming up shortly in a separate post!

Michael's last showing at Celebrity Autobiography is tonight. Then he is done- the show will continue running at the Theatre every second Monday night until January 10th next year.

(Poster via Celebrity Autobiography website)

MTV Picks Up Ugly Betty Meets Hanna Montana & Glee Pilot

2010-10-08T12:03:00.002+01:00

MTV Picks Up Comedy Pilot

By Kelsea Stahler , Hollywood.com Staff | Thursday, October 07, 2010

Accept it; the days when MTV truly stood for Music Television are over. They aren’t coming back, so stop your whining. While the music video programming continues to dwindle, the cable channel is taking a tiny step back towards its roots with a new half-hour comedy pilot that features a strong musical component.

Patito Feo (Ugly Duckling in English) is based off of the Argentinian teen sensation of the same name. In Argentina, the show was wildly popular, running for 300 episodes and enjoying a hit soundtrack and sold-out concert tour.

The show’s main character is a young Mexican girl who moves to America where she finds herself in conflict with the lifestyle of the American teenager and the mean-girl hierarchy at school. It sounds a little like the teeny bopper hybrid of Ugly Betty meshed with Glee. Like Ugly Betty, the original Argentine version has enjoyed adaptations in more than 32 countries. In fact, this isn’t the first time an adaptation will reach American viewers – Univision happily aired 262 episodes of Mexico’s take on Patito Feo, called Dare to Dream.

Teen RomCom scribe Bert V. Royal (Easy A) worked to adapt the series for MTV, and after seeing what he did with Easy A, I’m hoping he lends some of the snark and wit he worked into Emma Stone’s character to Patito Feo’s little leading lady. While they nabbed a relative newcomer with Royal, MTV is also in talks with Andy Fickman (She’s the Man, You Again) and the young teen scene is kind of his jam. Together, I think they’ve got the power to get American teenage girls to tune in.

Deadline.com- MTV Picks Up Latin-Flavoured Comedy Pilot

This sounds like a case of a Betty and Glee combo- type show aimed at late Generation Y-ers. One thing is for certain- this won't be set in a fashion magazine company but in a high school instead.

What do you think about this? Would you be open to another Ugly Betty-type of TV show- or do you think nothing will replace our favourite series? Sound off below or through the C-box feature!

Seasons 1 and 2 Episode Guides Already Up!

2010-10-08T11:35:00.001+01:00

Hey guys, I finished completing the season 2 episode guide yesterday. You can find it along with the season 1 episode guide I wrote up a few days ago on the right hand column of this blog, right below the world map of visitors. I'm going to get cracking on season 3, then season 4.

I will add a few promo pictures to them as well to make each page look interesting and to accompany them but that will happen later on.

Pink Paper Interview

2010-10-06T18:58:00.003+01:00

This is yet another interview Michael did in the UK, this time with the Pink Paper, which is a newspaper that covers news and issues of interest to the gay, lesbian and bi-sexual community in Britain.

This was posted on-line today. Very interesting too.

INTERVIEW: Michael Urie

Known for his role as Marc St James in Ugly Betty, actor Michael Urie is on stage this week in the West End show Celebrity Autobiography, reading from - you guessed it - celebrity autobiographies. Pink Paper finds out more about the show and his busy career, including popping the big question to his partner...

Bob Henderson

Pink Paper Magazine

6 October 2010

So the two main characters you did last night were pretty macho. Do you have to do the same characters each night on Celebrity Autobiography?

It changes. But I do Tommy Lee a lot, he is just out there. Hilarious, and kind of great writer, he intends it to be comical, but he doesn’t intend it to be funny. I’ve done David Hasslehoff a lot lately, but I’ve also done David Cassidy in the past, Miley Cyrus. I’ve also done Lance Bass from the N*Sync book, that’s really funny. I love doing that because I give it a nice little ‘ssss’ on the Lansssce and the audience loves it. But yes, David Hasslehoff is very macho, as is Tommy Lee.

Is playing these macho roles refreshing, or is it annoying that it’s being played for comedy given that the audience will know you for your Marc role?

No, I think it’s really fun. It’s probably my only real opportunity to play macho parts, I’m probably not going to get cast as a mercenary or a boxer. So it’s fun, you don’t have to be super genuine and it can be a bit tongue in cheek. Although it always works best when you play it straight. The minute you play it for laughs, it doesn’t really ring true.

That’s the thing, you can’t quite believe celebrities actually wrote these things.

Literally what they wrote, I mean it’s edited obviously and tweaked, but unless we mess up, it’s their words.

So we’ve got to talk about Ugly Betty, obsessed as we are with that show. We were so upset when we realised it was finishing.

It's so refreshing to hear that over here, because your series don’t usually last very long, it’s usually about two years. Except for Doctor Who.

Oh god, we’re not going there...

But certain shows, EastEnders, Neighbours, right?

They’re not weekly, they’re more soaps with a show every week day, rather than a series.

I see. So we’ve gone much longer... I felt like the last season, specifically the last half of the last season was the best we did. And it certainly could’ve gone on. It’s heartbreaking, really sad.

But last time we spoke, you were talking about Mode UK, an English spin off…

That’s what I wanted to do. Did you see our webisodes? They’re all on YouTube.

The afterhours thing?

Yeah, we did one where I had to interview for Yetti, someone who had my same job, but it was too late in the day – after hours – so Amanda says lets wait up until the London offices open and you can interview your London counterpart. So we stay up and call and the receptionist is Samantha and is played by Becki [Newton] and we speak to Clark, and that’s me, so I have a conversation with myself. And then we talk for hours, flirting and set up a date, then he’s going to send me his picture, he sounds really hot. At the same time the pictures pop up and we see each other we’re like ‘Aaarggh!!’ [does Edvard Munch The Scream face] ‘Why are American’s so fat?’ And that was me and Becki’s idea. Because we wanted to do Mode UK, we always said that when the show is over, Wilhelmina should go and run Mode UK and take Marc and Amanda with her.

What about a film? There must be mileage in an Ugly Betty film.

I think there would be, I think people would love to go and see an Ugly Betty movie. But right now that’s just a rumour.

So do you still hang out with Vanessa, Becki, everyone?

Yeah, I just got a text from America [Ferrera] last night. They’re having an Ugly Betty reunion in LA this week. I can’t be there, and Judith Light is doing a play on Broadway too, so she can’t be there.

Well, at least you’re both working...

I know, it’s a good reason to skip the party. But we were such a family, for a lot of us it was our first big break, I mean Vanessa [Williams] has been around but this was a huge show for her, she’s been nominated for an Emmy every year, major career change for her. The kid was 11 when we started and now he’s a little man, me and Becki we’d barely done anything – I’d done lots of theatre, she’d done lots of commercials, pilots and guest spots and what not. We all grew together and it was so much fun, love and we definitely kept in touch. I just saw Becki the other day, she’s so pregnant. So pregnant, with her little baby.

So from playing Marc, what advice would you give, say, a Deputy Features Editor looking to take over a media empire?

Ahhhhh [laughs]. Aim high. If it were Marc, he would say find whoever is closest to you in line and destroy them. That was Betty. And basically, kiss up and s*it down. [laughs] That’s part of what Marc would say, kiss up and s*it down and s*it sideways.

That’s a great epitaph... Okay, tell us a bit about your new film Decoy Bride.

We’re done, we shot it in July in Scotland and the Isle of Man. I play a high powered Hollywood manager, sort of like Jeremy Piven in Entourage, only quieter, he’s a little bit more menacing and quiet. But my client, Lauren Tyler – sorry, Taylor – whenever David Tennant says it comes out like Tyler. So David Tennant, Alice Eve, Sally Phillips, Kelly MacDonald and myself.

Alice Eve is this movie star and I’m her manager, she doesn’t want any paparazzi at her wedding, shes about to get married to David Tennant – not really David Tennant, the character. So it order to throw them off the scent, I arrange a decoy bridge, and Kelly MacDonald plays this mild mannered Scottish girl on the island of Hegg which I think is fake, and she only does it because her mom is sick and she needs the money. She accidentally get married to David Tennant in this fake decoy wedding and hilarity ensues. But it’s super adorable and Sally Phillips wrote it with Neil Jaworski, she had the idea a long time ago when Ben Affleck married J-Lo and she read somewhere that there were seven decoy brides.

We had a great time, we shot for two weeks on the Isle of Man, which was a long time. I was a supporting character, so I was there for five weeks but I didn’t shoot every day. On the Isle of man I had quite a bit of down time, so I watched quite a bit of British television during the day time and my god…

Jeremy Kyle?

Oh god, he’s a mess! That show is a mess! And wow, are you guys obsessed with Friends. I saw more in those two weeks, I could not believe it. Some of the styles of the 90s… why did we wear such baggy clothes? When did guys wear such baggy shirts? I remember that, I thought it was cool to wear baggy shirts. Just get a tailor!

Do you think you’ll ever get married? And how many decoy brides will you have?

[Laughs] Decoy grooms? Maybe. I’ve been with someone for two years, we don’t really talk about it. I mean, it’s not entirely an option in the United States for people of the same sex to get married, I mean you can, there are certain places you can go. Like my sister is married to a woman, she’s in California, it’s legal. But they’re not honoured in other states, so if my sister and her wife were on a road trip in say Utah and god forbid had an accident, my sister wouldn’t necessarily be allowed in the hospital. So it’s a little bit tricky. So the answer to that is, I don’t know.

Do you think it’s just a matter of time before the States has a nation wide acceptance of gay marriage?

I do, but it’s such a slow battle. It’s so strange how places like Iowa, which is mostly farms, have legalised it, but New York has not. California goes back and forth. It’s such a strange thing and time, for LGBT rights.

What’s next after all this film stuff?

I did this indie in New York, a fun kids movie, a little more Celebrity Autobiography. There are some things blooming, lets put it that way.

You’re not allowed to tell us are you?

No, I can’t because if I don’t get these jobs, I’ll be humiliated! [laughs]. So I can’t say, but there’s some interesting things that could happen. I’m just looking for great projects, great parts and I have this fantastic documentary that is very nearly ready. It’s about high school speech and debate tournaments. Forensics, that’s the umbrella term. Which is another reason why it’s tricky to get the word out about it, because it’s called so many things.

Last question, what would your own autobiography be like? Any working titles, chapter titles? You must have thought about it.

It’s funny, I had a really funny title for one once upon a time. A friend of mine has always said the title for his autobiography is going to be Why, Broadway? I don’t know, I never really thought I would write an autobiography and if I did, I would certainly aim to make it a humour book. If I was to write one, I would wait, I wouldn’t write it now.

You should be taking notes you know. By the time you write it you’ll be struggling, thinking ‘What’s that TV show I did?’

Yeah, ‘something about fashion… Ugly Girl…’ I’ll just use my wiki page to find out all my facts. If I write one.

Celebrity Autobiography is on tonight at the Leicester Square Theatre, London, until Saturday 9 October. Leicestersquaretheatre.com.

Photo: Rose Phillips

Pink Paper- Feature

Seeing Michael In Celeb Autobiography This Friday!!

2010-10-06T12:42:00.000+01:00

I'm very excited to announce that I will be attending the Leicester Square theatre in Central London THIS Friday night to see Michael Urie In Celebrity Autobiography IN PERSON!

I can't wait- I'm sure it will be a great show. I will try and get photos and hope Michael approves of me having my photo taken with him! :-D If it happens, I will post it on this blog for you all to see!

I will of course spread the word of this blog to him- he needs to know how much we still love and miss Ugly Betty, right?! ;-) I'm looking forward to this event so much and I finally get the chance to see him, in the flesh! Yay!!

Waiching

Seasons 1- 4 Episode Synopsis Guides

2010-10-05T14:00:00.001+01:00

I'm currently doing the write-up for the episode/plot synopsis' for all 85 episodes for each season. Yep! It's for my separate Episode guide pages, which I'll be adding to this blog site. Just started doing the first 3 episodes for season 1 and working my way upwards.

It will take a few days to complete but I think it is what this site needs.

Plus, it will save you time from actually going onto Wikipedia and IMDb and reading the details of each ep! :-)

Michael Urie A Secret Admirer Of.... Barry Manilow

2010-10-04T13:10:00.009+01:00

Michael Urie: I Love Manilow
Says he has a secret crush on Barry Manilow

The 30-year-old actor is best known for playing Marc St. James, the flamboyant personal assistant in hit US comedy series Ugly Betty about life at a trendy fashion magazine.

Michael has been happily dating fellow actor Ryan Spahn for two years now, although he admits to having a rather unsurprising celebrity crush.

“Barry Manilow,” replied the star when asked by Closer magazine who he found attractive in the public eye.

Michael says he has a penchant for the 67-year-old American singer, who is famous for his hits such as Mandy and Copacabana (At the Copa), and hopes to see him top the charts again soon.

“I’m really promoting him today. I’m trying to get his album to the top of the charts,” laughed Michael.

The star admits he can never resist hitting the dance floor when Barry’s hits come on, and he always buys tickets whenever Barry’s in concert. Michael understands that his revelation may not place him high in the style stakes, but he doesn’t care that liking Barry isn’t considered to be cool.

“Barry Manilow can always get me going. I’ve seen him in concerts many times and I love him! I’ve been told it’s fairly cheesy to like him, but he always gets me up on the dance floor,” beamed the actor.

Musicrooms.net

Barry Manilow eh? Isn't he like 50 something?! But anyhow, If Michael likes his music, then I won't knock him for it.

Celebrity Autobiography In London!

2010-10-04T11:34:00.005+01:00

Michael Urie will be appearing for one week, this week up until October 9 on Celebrity Autobiography taking place in London's Leicester Square Theatre in the main house and reading excerpts of famous people's erm, autobiographies!

Tickets for tonight's show are on sale from 7pm tonight. Afterwards, you would need to book on-line, though do check to make sure that it isn't sold out yet.

Call 0844 847 2475 to book your tickets .

Celebrity Autobiography is held in London on 4-9 October, 8 November, 13 December and 10 January

I do hope Michael attends the last show on January 10- that will give me plenty of time to save up for tickets up until that date!

Leicester Square Theatre- Celebrity Autobiography

Worst Ugly Betty Moments

2010-10-03T18:38:00.003+01:00

With the help of Live Journal, I managed to collate a series of answers from the fans most disliked moments from the entire show throughout the four seasons of Ugly Betty from a post, of which asked questions such as 'which story-lines do you wished the writers had not come up with?' to name.

These are the ones that garnered much interest. The story-lines I mostly felt strongly about or disliked the most are italicised by me:

Betty moving back home

The cult storyline involving Daniel, Natalie

Matt and Betty breaking up

Season 2 was way over the top

Connor and Molly

Amanda and Daniel fun buddy situation

Jesse in season 3

Betty had the braces on for too long

Betty with Matt, Gio

The Gio v Henry & Betty love triangle saga

Ignascio and Elena

Tyler

No main story-lines for Amanda, Marc, Claire in season 3

Henry's return

Hilda in love with Tony

Charlie

For me, I'd add Kimmie on that list as well, Hilda and Ignascio in season 3, Cal Hartley, the love triangle involving Betty, Matt and Amanda, Matt and Amanda- wasn't feeling that ship myself-, writing Christina off as a regular, Willie impregnating Christina with Bradford Meade's dead sperm, Marc cheating on Cliff -still think Marc and Cliff were ideal together, Too many guest celebrities in season 2 I cared less for, Betty spraying herself with Fey Sommers perfume and acting like a lust-crazed sex obsessive in Odour and The Court. To name but a couple.

I'm pretty certain that there are some, or be it most of you who had objections to and disagreed with many of those story-lines, ideas that occurred. It's also interesting to note that many of those listed came from seasons 2-4 and not from season 1. Obviously, season 1 was so amazing, there were rarely any bad moments, story-lines in it. But the next few seasons saw a change of direction for the show, and all this OTT buffoonery, mostly coming from season 2. The one thing I did not entirely agree with on that list however was there were no main story-lines for Amanda, Claire and Marc. Marc had that YETI thing and promotion from assistant to editor thing towards the end of season 3. Amanda may not have had many main story-lines that season, but her and Marc featured heavily in the development of the frenemy-ship involving Betty as well. And Claire discovering towards the end she had an affair with Cal Hartley- Matt's dad, and giving up her son for adoption in name of Tyler.

I've already mentioned my worst Ugly Betty moments. What are yours and why? Feel free to post yours below this post, or discuss them in the chatbox.

Few Site Changes!

2010-10-03T18:03:00.000+01:00

As you can see I made some slight adjustments to the site- again. Expect to see a few more additions on the blog soon.

I changed the season 4 cast photo into a transparent background with a purple tint to give it some effect.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

Now Added: Bumpin Chatbox On Fanblog

2010-10-02T22:34:00.001+01:00

I just embedded a chat-box feature on the right hand side of the site. Now you, I and many other fans can chat about Ugly Betty!

I must admit I was a bit hesitant over the idea of incorporating a mini chat box messaging service on here- given I was wary of the fact that random people can come on here and post rude messages and spam.
But the most worrying thing for me was not being able to delete them, which I can.

Anyhow, you can now discuss all things Betty related and more, as well as general stuff you wish to share with others.

I want to remind people that as I am moderating this chat-box, as well as running this blog that I can and WILL remove this feature- if and should people abuse it. Therefore, please be respectful to other fans who are using it. And I will block and ban users who flout this rule, as well as those who come on here to slate this site, the show or myself. If you have nothing nice to say at all, then don't post it.

I'll be trial-running this for a few weeks and if it goes well and people use it and like it, I'll keep it on for a longer period.

I'm sure however that many of you will be civilised on it, as well as have plenty to say on the show.

So without further a do, let the chat commence! :-)

Waiching- Moderator and site owner

Michael Urie's Experiences During His Visit In the UK

2010-10-02T14:42:00.001+01:00

Michael confesses to Closer magazine he had an embarrassing encounter when he was at the shops buying bathroom essentials and involving a magazine which featured an interview with him he had been keen to read. An Ugly Betty fan also at the store recognised the actor and stopped for a chat, leaving Michael red-faced and attempting to conceal his purchases.

“Getting recognised in a queue at the grocery store buying toilet paper and a magazine that I was in,” replied the star when asked for his most cringe-worthy moment.

“Luckily I wasn’t on the cover – that would have been worse!” he added.

Music Rooms.Net

He also spoke how being in the UK made him smoke and drink more than he did back in the U.S:

Michael says he’s normally very clean- which is great, but spending time in Britain encouraged him to indulge in booze and cigarettes.

“Well I don’t smoke and I don’t really drink that much, although since I’ve been filming in the UK I’ve done a lot more of that!”

In addition, he also revealed his rather strange bathroom habits by admitting that he doesn’t flush the toilet chain unless it is really necessary. The star says his method isn’t particularly hygienic, but it does help save water.

“There is one thing; I have a saying: ‘If it’s brown, flush it down. If it’s yellow, let it mellow.’ That’s really grubby, but also green,” he argued.

To see the full article visit Music Rooms.Net

The last part of that article made me cringe a little!

Nonetheless, I remembered seeing an old picture of Michael when he was younger with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth! I'll see if I can find it and if it is still there. if it is, I'll try and post it! Needless to say, I was in shock the first time I saw it. As for the alcohol, I'd let him off on that one.

Michael, I'd say you need to put away the cigarettes- you are much better off without them!

My Favourite Ugly Betty Moments - Part 1

2010-10-02T13:56:00.000+01:00

Watch <a href="http://www.fanpop.com/spots/ugly-betty/videos/15979173">My  Favourite Moments Of Ugly Betty</a> on <a href="http://www.fanpop.com/">Fanpop</a>

As illustrated by these clips I have combined together. I loved seeing these over and over! Enjoy!:-)

Why I Loved Ugly Betty

2010-10-02T13:46:00.005+01:00

By Waiching

The show was quite like nothing anything else on TV in an age dominated by reality shows and hospital dramas, Ugly Betty was truly different-yet special and unique in the face of American and Western TV

The characters- wonderful sets of characters and personalities

The cast- I haven't been as huge a fan of the whole cast of a TV show since the likes of Caroline In The City and Fame, the TV series - 2 shows I am huge fans of myself. The Ugly Betty cast had so much chemistry together and were the most talented we had seen. Not to mention they were best loved by us fans.

The performances- From every main cast member especially, not just America Ferrera: Vanessa Williams, Becki Newton, Eric Mabius, Michael Urie, who is my favourite and plays my favourite character, Marc, Mark Indelicato, Ashley Jensen, Ana Ortiz, Tony Plana, Judith Light. They were all excellent.

The humour- In season 1 and parts of seasons 2 and 3 anyway. So much fun and hilarity. Where else can you find 2 amazing characters in Marc and Amanda and character actors as brilliant as Michael Urie and Becki Newton? They became my favourites on the show, as it progressed further on.

Worklife verses personal life - I really do think the family component in adding the Suarezes grounds the show and it's good to see a family who supports each other throughout and working their problems together. The best examples were during season 1 and season 4. Season 3 was when we mostly saw the worst of Hilda, Ignascio. And Mode? Who wouldn't love to work there? I know I would!

It touches on social and cultural issues, something that most other shows never do these days

The idea of how someone like Betty who is unattractive on the outside can have such a positive affect on other people, especially those who were nasty to her during season 1 like Marc, Amanda, Willie.

It was the type of show you had wished your favourite celebrities had made a guest appearance in-I would've loved to have seen Raven Symone, Wendy Malick and Debbie Allen on Ugly Betty. That would've made my day.

Even though I was a huge critic of the second season and aspects of season 3, 4, I still loved Ugly Betty. It was really more of a fan favourite than a show that the whole world would fall in love with. I never gave up on it in its entirety, even during the bad periods.

Because it was the type of the show that the world was ready for back in 2006- it was fresh, invigorating, new at the time and it introduced us to a whole set of fans and shippers of characters such as Daniel and Betty, Betty and Gio, Betty and Henry, Marc and Amanda, Willie and Connor to name.

I miss it so much and I just wished that there was another season because it deserved one, and needed one. The fans deserved a 5th season, but unfortunately lots of ex-fans gave up on Ugly Betty, during the last 2 seasons. Which is a great shame but yeah, what a bummer.

U.K: Info On Ugly Betty On Channel 4 Tommorow

2010-10-01T14:32:00.001+01:00

For all the British based Betty fans, I just went to check the TV listings for the weekend and tomorrow's episode Level (7) With Me will be on as early as 9.50am Saturday morning. The next episode, The Bahamas Triangle airs Sunday afternoon at 12.00pm. Both episodes are on channel 4.

Although this info is still subject to change. Please check your TV guides early tomorrow morning, or this week's TV guides for next week's scheduling today.

And be sure to set your clocks for these ones!

First Anniversary Of The Michael Urie & Ugly Betty Fan Blog!!

2010-10-01T13:58:00.000+01:00

*image owned by ABC
Siteowner's message:

To all Ugly Betty fans, Today, the 1st October is not only the start of a new month, but this time last year in 2009, The Michael Urie and Ugly Betty Fan Blog was launched on-line by myself. Back then, season 4 was about to start on TV in the U.S and being a huge Ugly Betty fanatic I was interested in starting up and running a website, or be it fan site.

I know virtually nothing about creating a website or know how to go about it and it was something that I was interested in doing since the show began 2006. It was only during last year when I discovered Blogger and the concept of blogging. I heard a little bit about blogging and wanted to find out more on what it is about, so I read up more on it and as I did, I then thought, 'wait a minute, I love Ugly Betty and blogging sounds really simple, straightforward. No need to learn computer HTML and learning all the complicated stuff'. So I signed up and registered with Blogger.

Next thing you know, I was creating a banner for the site, and as I gradually built up the site, collecting images and knew how I wanted it to look from a visual sense, I realised that this could work. Since I started this, I have created over 400 posts- for me my vision for this site was it was a blog site yes, but I wanted to give it a 'fan site' feel to it, which is probably why my site has lots of images on it. I was and still a fan of Ugly Betty creating a site for all fans of the show.

As you guys probably know also, there was a similar Betty site to this one that was on-line for a good few years called Ugly Betty News. That did very, very well and Tom was a great owner and fan. I'd sometimes pay a visit on there and post my comments. For the exception of Ugly Betty news, there wasn't really another site that kept fans up-to-date with news on the show, episodes, cast members etc pre-and post Betty, as well as my comments, thoughts. But when Ugly Betty News folded and the site was gone, all the fans were bemused, shocked, as well as disappointed. And having known the show itself was cancelled, the exit of that website was a 'kick in the teeth' also because it was great; so much so I subscribed to it.

Insofaras the Michael Urie and Ugly Betty Fanblog itself, I would go on record as in saying that my blog site is STILL running, 7 MONTHS since Ugly Betty ended and WILL continue this way; that fans are still showing an active interest in it and are as dedicated a set of fans that I'd known. I did not create this blog so I can make money out of it through ads being placed on this site. Hell, I am not getting paid for blogging! I did this out of sheer fan-dom interest and for all the fans who love and still love Ugly Betty. Like you people.

During 2006 when the first season of the show aired, there were hundreds of Ugly Betty-related fan sites, websites that were frequently updated. Nowadays, there are like only 2, 3. Including this one. If I have one regret, it is that I wished I discovered and knew about Blogger years ago when the show was at its peak and doing well in season 1. Because by then, I would've made this site and there would've been more and more postings. I want to keep this one running for as long as possible until fans or people have lost interest, which I dearly hope not! But if say, visitor-ship wise, it does drop over the next few years then I might consider taking this site down. But of course, if this were to happen, I will post an announcement about it right on here.

Even though it is no longer on air on TV, I am still proud and happy that I made this blog dedicated to one of my favourite TV shows ever, and knowing a bit about photo editing helps also! :-) So therefore, I want to say thank you for visiting and to all those who followed my Betty blog from day one and still are, you are wonderful and thank you as well.

Waiching- Writer

Michael Urie Clip From The 'It Gets Better Project'

2010-09-30T19:55:00.002+01:00

Found this wonderful clip whilst searching for current Ugly Betty related stuff: it's a short vid from Dan Savage's 'It Gets Better' project.

In it, Michael tells teens who are or consider themselves to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans-gendered people to 'keep looking' and to reach out to those who can help them, if and should they encounter bullying at some stage. He also explains that being from and growing up in Texas- which is predominately a conservative State in America when it comes to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgendered) issues to name, he still managed to have a support network of friends, family that he could confide in and turn to.

Michael's words couldn't be more further from the truth- if you are a teenager who is experiencing bullying or problems because of your sexual orientation, don't keep living in fear. Talk to someone you know and trust, be it a friend, if you are on-line on a site such as Facebook, Twitter, perhaps you may feel it is easier to converse on-line your problems. That way, you'll know you have the support and get the advice you are looking for.

Bullies prey on and target those whose differences are seen as a threat to them, and as they can not accept those differences. But if you manage to withstand the verbal threats, taunts, it will be okay in the end.

Believe me, when you think it is going to get worse for you, ultimately 'it gets better' after the ordeal is over. Just like the name of the project.

Go Michael! :-)

*update: this video was made in response to recent cases reported in the U.S media that several teenagers, who were or considered themselves as being gay, had committed suicide

Henry Grubstick	6 (28%)
Giovanni Rossi	7 (33%)
Jesse - 9%	2 (9%)
Matt Hartley	6 (28%)

Betty	4 (20%)
Daniel	3 (15%)
Amanda (10%)	2 (10%)
Marc	4 (20%)
Wilhelmina	3 (15%)
Christina	0 (0%)
Amanda & Marc	3 (15%)
Marc & Wilhelmina (5%)	1 (5%)

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Metro: Make-Over Didn't Mask Over Show's Struggle To Weave Message Into Series

Here is a review/comment in reference to the episode Million Dollar Smile shown on Wednesday on E4 from the Metro website:

Ugly Betty's makeover was a massive anti-climax

Keith Watson - 8th December 2010

TV review: As the braces came off in Ugly Betty (E4), the show was clearly creaking under the strain of trying to spin its message into a drama.

Becki Newton Welcomes Baby Boy! :-D

Michael To Star In New TV Pilot!

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Comment: Arguably, The Most Misleading Use Of The Ugly Betty Tag, Ever

America Ferrera Voted More Beautiful Than Angelina Jolie!

Vanessa: Playing Willie Gave me 4 Tremendous Years

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Now Added: Social Networking Sharing Buttons In Each Post

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