Ugly Betty: You-Go-Girl!

On the heels of Spain banning underweight models from the runway, it thrilled my heart to watch tonight's episode of Ugly Betty. The pilot episode aired tonight on abc and I loved it! It promises to be a show that'll root for the underdog... in this case that would be a talented, engaging, professional young woman who doesn't fit the glamour image being sold by Hollywood these days "the" way to be.

If you missed tonight's pilot showing of Ugly Betty don't worry. abc is posting it, and it looks like upcoming episodes as well, to its website. The day after the show airs on TV you can watch it online.

I'm rooting for Betty!!!

Here's the premise the show's based on: "In the superficial world of high fashion, image is everything. Styles come and go, and the only constants are the superthin beauties who wear them. How can an ordinary girl - a slightly plump plain-Jane from Queens - possibly fit in?"

I'm sooooooooooo rooting for Betty!!!

Don't let the s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out stereotypes get in the way of you watching, enjoying, and getting the great message woven throughout this show. I'm from Cuba and the hispanic stereotypes were a bit too blatant for me. But perhaps they need to be in order to get their point across. Even as I laughed at Betty's answer of "I'm flan," rather than "I'm fine" when she had her mouth full of the flan she was eating I also thought about how absolutely delicious that dessert is and how it's hard to eat just a little bite of it. Think Crème brûlée at its most exquisite and you'll get the idea of what flan tastes like.

I found several links at the abc site where video clips of the show were available. You can watch the first 8 minutes of the pilot, and read a longer write up on what the show is about in the "About" link. There's also a video clip with Vanessa Williams in it.

America Ferrera plays the role of Betty in the show. During her interview in The View, she tells us that, "the show is not about being ugly at all. More than anyuthing it's just about looking past what you see. Achieving that image is not all that we're on this planet to do."

One thing I would change is the log-line abc is using for the show, "Ugly is the new beautiful." It grated on me everytime I heard it, either between segments of the show on TV or on the various web pages for the show.

Here's to America Ferrera! Here's to Betty! And here's to all who watch the
show and embrace the life-giving message it's bringing to us: there's more to life than trying to fit an image that is only real when PhotoShopped.