New Series: Ugly Betty

I love the end of September and beginning of October. The weather is lovely, the leaves turn glowing shades of crimson and gold, and television returns. Not that it's gone anywhere necessarily, but it's good to see your old friends back and make some new ones.

The girl whom I think will be a particularly good friend of mine this year goes by the name of Betty Suarez, the title character of Ugly Betty, the American remake of the Colombian telenovela, Yo Soy Betty la Fea. Make no mistake, while the character of Betty is indeed aesthetically unpleasing, the potential for cuteness lies beneath. Her portrayer, America Ferrera, is adorable, though not perhaps one of your cookie-cutter, tiny, blonde actresses. She's a little round, kinda short, but she's got spunk. And unlike Lou Grant, I like spunk, at least in healthy doses.

My biggest fear with this show, despite the promises of Ferrera and exec. producer Salma Hayek, is that they're going to pretty her up. That she'll lose the braces, hideous glasses, unibrow (actually they've already 86ed this) and that she'll lose weight to become a sort of Salma-esque sex bomb. Sort of like Sara Rue on Less than Perfect. Because once she became actress-y looking the show sort of lost it's theme, ya know? And also, if they go that route, you know that the "will they/won't they" dynamic between her and womanizing boss, Daniel, won't be far behind and I really like the sibling-esque relationship that they have. In fact, I think the quickest way they could kill the show would be to start hinting at a relationship between the two of them.

The other fear I have is that it will be week after week of Betty being humiliated. I understand that she's a fish out of water and that she really doesn't fit in with the high fashion world of "Mode" magazine, but it's really difficult watching someone that you love being hurt over and over again. It's actually the reason that I think the UK version of The Office worked: David Brent was someone we could despise quite easily and so watching him embarass himself week after week, while difficult, wasn't as excruciating as watching Michael Scott humiliate himself on the US version of The Office. Because Michael is more human of a character. And I've noticed in the back half of the second season they eased off on the assy antics. They're still there, but they're mixed in with compassion and pathos.

But back to Betty. Despite all of this, I think this is a show I could come to love and that it's a show that will fluorish. Because it has heart. Which may be nauseating in our increasingly cynical world, but Betty makes you believe that good will prevail and that hard work will be rewarded. She's a nice girl from a good family (I love her sister Hilda, and her nephew Justin) and the bitches at "Mode" won't break her spirit. Along with her trusty friend Christine in wardrobe and the mostly-supportive Daniel at her back, she'll be fine.

Well, until the next disaster, because it just wouldn't be Betty if there wasn't some disaster going on.