Wednesday, April 14, 2010

HATE IT! Bye Bye, Betty

Come Thursday morning, the TV landscape will be a little less friendly, less catty, less heartfelt...

Alas, tonight the talented cast of ABC's "Ugly Betty" will be taking its final collective bow. In an age when social networking takes the place of real in-your-face interactions, and everyone seems disconnected and in such a hurry, "Ugly Betty" provided a charming respite from the world's ills -- a colourful place to have a laugh, shed a tear or two and be wickedly entertained with some of the best writing on TV today.

I'm really going to miss...

...the bitchy brilliance of Marc and Amanda (Michael Urie and Becki Newton). Seriously, it was a shame that these two actors weren't given their own series... a spin-off, even. I could watch the verbal volleys of these two for hours. Becki Newton has already started filming her next series so any chance of a last minute Marc & Amanda TV rescue are indeed, kaput. Such a major missed opportunity. Such a shame.

...the wonderful underling/boss relationship of Betty and Daniel (America Ferrera and Eric Mabius). I'm hoping that as I write this post, the finale doesn't feature these two hooking up as some rumours are suggesting. To me, it would be so wrong! I like the fact that their relationship has grown from distrust and distain to mutual affection and understanding. They're close but not too close -- in an icky, sexual way, if you catch my drift. It would be the easy way out to have these two pair up.

...the loving dynamic of the Suarez family. Betty, sis Hilda, nephew Justin, and their Popa. Devoted, supportive & opinionated -- all the best ingredients for a real family, never mind the TV variety. When Betty steps in the door of Casa Suarez in Queens, you just know that despite all that went down back in the dog-eat-dog world of Manhattan, everything will be alright. Just what we all crave & need, right?

...the trials & tribulations of Mode magazine. Yes, I'm biased as I love magazines, writing and every little thing connected to them. Sure, for dramatic effect the daily grind is stretched to the nth degree and much of the story line involving the publication itself is so out there, but it's never boring or dull. Similarly, take Mode's abode -- in all its brashly colourful glory, full of futuristic shapes and strange oddities on display in the halls (shoes! fish! a new *thing* every week!). The Mode offices are cool without really trying. I would SO work there!

For the life of me, I still can't see why ABC decided to stop 'Betty's' run at 4 seasons. The writing this season was much better than last, and the characters all still had much more to accomplish. Networks can't expect ratings to flourish when they drop and drag a series into several time slots all within the same season. No wonder viewers fell by the wayside -- it took plenty of sleuthing on my part to keep tabs on just where 'Betty' had landed (thank goodness for the PVR!). I'm sure ABC will probably fill the void in prime time with another bland sitcom or unwatchable reality show -- nothing that could possibly come close to the heart, brilliance and beauty that was 'Ugly Betty.'

(photo: ABC)

1 comment:

Nicole said...

I was soooo sad to see UB end. The original telenovela from Colombia that it was based on ended with Daniel and Betty together as did the huge Mexican remake and this version just alluded to it so having the guts to be different was a breath of fresh air...of course I wish that Mark and Amanda were given their own spin off series! Now that would be hilarious! Ahhh...tear!

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