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Special Features
Becoming Ugly -- America Ferrera And Cast Explore What It Means To Get Bettyfied
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Based on the popular Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea, Ugly Betty is a biting comedy with plenty of heart. There are several ongoing plots, including murder, illegal immigration, infidelity, a vendetta, and death. And yes, this really is a comedy. Golden Globe winner America Ferrera (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Real Women Have Curves) stars as Betty, a whip-smart assistant at a women's magazine who is clueless when it comes to fashion. While her size 0 colleagues parade around in haute couture and stiletto heels, Betty shows up for work in her mismatched outfits, complete with thick glasses and awkward braces. The series, which made its debut during the 2006-2007 season on ABC, could've relied on physical humor for laughs. But the sharp writing and likeable cast bring the show to life. There's a lot going on in the first year. Besides setting Betty up as Mode magazine's ugly duckling overachiever, the first few episodes introduce viewers to a superb supporting cast that includes Betty's frenemies Amanda (Becki Newton) and Marc (Michael Urie), the hysterical duo that aligns themselves to whoever can best advance their careers. As for Betty's womanizing boss, Daniel (Eric Mabius), he's not the brightest bulb in the package. Recalling childhood outings with their mother, he says, "She used to like taking us to clothing museums." To which his sibling says, "Those were stores! She just called them museums to get us out of school." Salma Hayek--one of the show's producers--guest stars in an arc as a powerful editor who beds Daniel to prove a point. But it's her unexpected turn as an actress on Ignacio's favorite soap opera that is the real treat.
Stills from Ugly Betty (click for larger image)
About halfway through the 23-episode series, it appears that the writers switched gears with one of their main plots revolving around a possibly undead fashion editor. But in a typical over-the-top Ugly Betty way, they make the plot switch work. The heart of the show is when Betty returns home from work. She still lives with her father, Ignacio (Tony Plana), older sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz), and nephew Justin (Mark Indelicato). Justin is one of TV's best kid characters. Not only is he equally adorable and wise, but he is most probably--or will grow up to be--gay. The way his family accepts him for who he is--rather than who they wish he was--is incredibly loving and thoughtful. Betty also is navigating a love life that she makes more complicated than it has to be. Instead of dumping a boyfriend who cheated on her, she allows her sister to manipulate her into staying with him. When she finally realizes she has strong feelings for Henry (Christopher Gorham), the adorable accountant at work who has a huge crush on her, it may be too late. The season finale will leaves viewers with several cliffhangers revolving around Ignacio, Justin's father, and (of course) Betty. For most fans, season 2 can't come fast enough. --Jae-Ha Kim
More Ugly Betty
 Ugly Betty: The Complete First Season (Spanish Version) |  Ugly Betty Wall Calendar |
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Product Description
Audiences are cheering for a vibrant overachiever with the spirit and the smarts to live her dream. America Ferrera stars as go-getter Betty Suarez, a true beauty in the skin-deep world of high fashion. Two very different cultures collide in this sexy and stylish series about believing in yourself regardless of the odds. Earning Golden Globe Awards® for Best Television Series* and Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series* in its very first season, Ugly Betty is a runaway hit with fans and critics. "Ugly Betty is a thing of beauty," raves the Boston Herald. Experience every episode of Season One in this six-disc DVD box set. Plus, join executive producer Salma Hayek and actor Eric Mabius for exclusive show insights, and see what it takes for America Ferrera to get Bettyfied – available only on DVD. You’ll find yourself falling in love with every minute of Ugly Betty.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
82 of 94 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
In retrospect, the 2006-2007 television season debuted an unusually large number of first rate new series: HEROES, MEN IN TREES, 30 ROCK, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, DEXTER, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, and UGLY BETTY. That is a remarkably strong group of new shows. UGLY BETTY occupied a unique niche among them. The new show it most resembled was MEN IN TREES. Both were light fare, intended to entertain and charm rather than challenge and rattle. It was unorthodox, but in comforting ways. It was, basically, a very nice show. One never came away from any episode shocked or dismayed as with the best episodes of DEXTER or FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, but to tell the truth, after a week of watching my favorite shows on TV--BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, LOST, DEXTER, and others that were sometimes exceedingly emotional affairs to watch, I found it a refreshing change of pace, never shocking, never emotionally taxing, never intellectually demanding. It managed always to be smart while also very easy to absorb. Most of all, it was great fun.
The plot was simple. Betty Suarez desires a job in publishing. After she applies at MODE magazine, where she has a disastrous interview, she finds herself mysterious hired as assistant to editor Daniel Meade, playboy son of Meade Publishing owner Bradford Meade. It turns out that Bradford had seen her leaving the building and ordered her hired for his son simply because she is as far from a fashion model in appearance as can be imagined. She has terrible hair, dresses horridly, has garish braces, thick glasses (and eyebrows), and carries more weight than your standard attractive woman. Father makes her employment mandatory for his rare-do-well son. Very quickly, however, she proves herself not merely necessary for Daniel's professional life, but a good friend as well. One of the most attractive aspects of the show is, in fact, their genuinely caring, completely platonic, friendship. Working at MODE pulls Betty into a world of interoffice intrigue and political infighting. To be honest, I could have lived without any of the stories. The appeal was just about 100% based on a large number of likable and adorable characters popping up each week.
America Ferrera, who had previously been amazingly effective in the cult-hit film REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES and the teen chick flick THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS (a sequel to the latter is due in 2008), simply steals this show as Betty. Though not a slender actress, America in fact has a beautiful face. They do a great make up job on her, however, putting a terrible wig on her each week (with very stressed looking hair), gluing thick, fake eyebrows on her, giving her thick-framed, brightly colored glasses, fake braces, make up to give her an unpleasant complexion, and an incredibly unflattering set of clothes. Despite this dramatic transformation each week, Betty manages to be utterly charming and adorable. A couple of people I've talked to feel it is a bit of a cheat to have an attractive woman play someone who is supposed to be "ugly," but I think it would be a bit cruel to take an unattractive person and have them play such a role. I would be surprised if she does not get an Emmy nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy. Lauren Graham deserves to win in this category (as she does every year) for her genius work in THE GILMORE GIRLS, but since the Emmys year after year have ignored Graham (her show is on the wrong network), I will probably be pulling for America to win.
Ferrera is supported by an amazingly strong cast. Eric Mabius is wonderful as Daniel, consistently showing himself to be a decent guy despite his efforts to transform himself into a waste of humanity. I think there is a secret contract someone dictating that Alan Dale appear in every other show on TV in some capacity or other. He is his usual stern self as Bradford Meade (he also has a very occasional but ongoing role in LOST, the only show I've seen him on where he gets to use something like is native Kiwi accent). Vanessa Williams is a lot of fun as the scheming and unscrupulous Wilhelmina Slater, the fashion editor at MODE who would love to be the editor in chief. Ashley Jensen, who really is Scottish, plays the head of wardrobe at MODE and one of Betty's few friends at the magazine. But the people at MODE who make the show worth watching are Michael Urie and Becki Newton, who play Marc and Amanda, Wilhelmina's gay assistant and the mildly sluttish receptionist, both of them for most of the season Betty's mortal enemies (though by end of season she was making headway with both of them as friends, in particular Marc, inspiring him to come out to his mother). There is also Henry, winningly played by Christopher Gorham. He had previously played the title role in JAKE 2.0, on which UGLY BETTY executive producer Silvio Horta also worked. I suspect his appearing on UGLY BETTY has something to do with that connection. Gorham is a very good-looking guy who is somehow able to pull off completely nerdy guys, in this show an accountant.
But there is more than just the office. There is Betty's home life. Veteran character actor Tony Plana plays Betty's illegal immigrant father (one of the subplots deals with his attempt to get a green card). He is one of these actors who has appeared in literally hundreds of TV shows and movies, but has rarely had an especially prominent role. You love to see fine actors who have paid their dues get a great role like this one. Ana Ortiz is hysterical as Betty's garish sister Hilda, but the person who steals nearly every scene in the Suarez household is twelve-year old Mark Indelicato, who plays Betty's nephew Justin. We don't know that Justin is gay, but his effeminate swagger, his deep love of stage musicals, and his encyclopedic knowledge of fashion marks him with all of the stereotypes.
This show is too smart to be a guilty pleasure, but it is just as much fun as one. It doesn't go on my list of my absolute favorite shows. It isn't as sophisticated or as intelligent as FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, as engrossing as LOST, a fist-in-the-gut like DEXTER or THE WIRE, or as original or jaw-droppingly brilliant as BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, but sometimes you just aren't in the mood for something as heavy as these shows. Sometimes you just want to have a good time and relax. I promise there are few shows on television more perfect for that than this.
The plot was simple. Betty Suarez desires a job in publishing. After she applies at MODE magazine, where she has a disastrous interview, she finds herself mysterious hired as assistant to editor Daniel Meade, playboy son of Meade Publishing owner Bradford Meade. It turns out that Bradford had seen her leaving the building and ordered her hired for his son simply because she is as far from a fashion model in appearance as can be imagined. She has terrible hair, dresses horridly, has garish braces, thick glasses (and eyebrows), and carries more weight than your standard attractive woman. Father makes her employment mandatory for his rare-do-well son. Very quickly, however, she proves herself not merely necessary for Daniel's professional life, but a good friend as well. One of the most attractive aspects of the show is, in fact, their genuinely caring, completely platonic, friendship. Working at MODE pulls Betty into a world of interoffice intrigue and political infighting. To be honest, I could have lived without any of the stories. The appeal was just about 100% based on a large number of likable and adorable characters popping up each week.
America Ferrera, who had previously been amazingly effective in the cult-hit film REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES and the teen chick flick THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS (a sequel to the latter is due in 2008), simply steals this show as Betty. Though not a slender actress, America in fact has a beautiful face. They do a great make up job on her, however, putting a terrible wig on her each week (with very stressed looking hair), gluing thick, fake eyebrows on her, giving her thick-framed, brightly colored glasses, fake braces, make up to give her an unpleasant complexion, and an incredibly unflattering set of clothes. Despite this dramatic transformation each week, Betty manages to be utterly charming and adorable. A couple of people I've talked to feel it is a bit of a cheat to have an attractive woman play someone who is supposed to be "ugly," but I think it would be a bit cruel to take an unattractive person and have them play such a role. I would be surprised if she does not get an Emmy nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy. Lauren Graham deserves to win in this category (as she does every year) for her genius work in THE GILMORE GIRLS, but since the Emmys year after year have ignored Graham (her show is on the wrong network), I will probably be pulling for America to win.
Ferrera is supported by an amazingly strong cast. Eric Mabius is wonderful as Daniel, consistently showing himself to be a decent guy despite his efforts to transform himself into a waste of humanity. I think there is a secret contract someone dictating that Alan Dale appear in every other show on TV in some capacity or other. He is his usual stern self as Bradford Meade (he also has a very occasional but ongoing role in LOST, the only show I've seen him on where he gets to use something like is native Kiwi accent). Vanessa Williams is a lot of fun as the scheming and unscrupulous Wilhelmina Slater, the fashion editor at MODE who would love to be the editor in chief. Ashley Jensen, who really is Scottish, plays the head of wardrobe at MODE and one of Betty's few friends at the magazine. But the people at MODE who make the show worth watching are Michael Urie and Becki Newton, who play Marc and Amanda, Wilhelmina's gay assistant and the mildly sluttish receptionist, both of them for most of the season Betty's mortal enemies (though by end of season she was making headway with both of them as friends, in particular Marc, inspiring him to come out to his mother). There is also Henry, winningly played by Christopher Gorham. He had previously played the title role in JAKE 2.0, on which UGLY BETTY executive producer Silvio Horta also worked. I suspect his appearing on UGLY BETTY has something to do with that connection. Gorham is a very good-looking guy who is somehow able to pull off completely nerdy guys, in this show an accountant.
But there is more than just the office. There is Betty's home life. Veteran character actor Tony Plana plays Betty's illegal immigrant father (one of the subplots deals with his attempt to get a green card). He is one of these actors who has appeared in literally hundreds of TV shows and movies, but has rarely had an especially prominent role. You love to see fine actors who have paid their dues get a great role like this one. Ana Ortiz is hysterical as Betty's garish sister Hilda, but the person who steals nearly every scene in the Suarez household is twelve-year old Mark Indelicato, who plays Betty's nephew Justin. We don't know that Justin is gay, but his effeminate swagger, his deep love of stage musicals, and his encyclopedic knowledge of fashion marks him with all of the stereotypes.
This show is too smart to be a guilty pleasure, but it is just as much fun as one. It doesn't go on my list of my absolute favorite shows. It isn't as sophisticated or as intelligent as FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, as engrossing as LOST, a fist-in-the-gut like DEXTER or THE WIRE, or as original or jaw-droppingly brilliant as BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, but sometimes you just aren't in the mood for something as heavy as these shows. Sometimes you just want to have a good time and relax. I promise there are few shows on television more perfect for that than this.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Comedies, while they are by definition amusing (or should be) are often so at someone's expense. I feared this would be true of Ugly Betty which I pegged as a one joke show and avoided for several weeks at the beginning of the season. I don't know why I began watching, but I'm thrilled that I did because I was dead wrong. This is no one trick pony, but rather an intelligent and very humane series which just happens to rely on some very sharp humor to make its observations about the human condition.
As we do in life, we meet new characters and see only the side of them they're willing to show to the world. Some you like instantly, some... not so much. But little-by-little, as you come to know each of them, you learn who they really are. The ugly jokes which persist on the surface become commentaries on those who make them. You may not like these people, but you understand something of what makes them tick, and in the end, you're pulling for them to grow, and change, and become better people.
Ugly Betty is blessed with a cast that is nothing short of brilliant. They are capable of both under and over-playing for effect, and sometimes leave me slack-jawed with admiration for their deft interpretations of the complexities of their characters. The scripts can move from mad to sad and back again in a matter of minutes, and while they're not without their flaws (The arc about Ignacio's amorous immigration officer thudded over all, though it did provide some very funny moments, and one which was tremendously touching.) they've been good enough that I would recommend the series to anyone.
As we do in life, we meet new characters and see only the side of them they're willing to show to the world. Some you like instantly, some... not so much. But little-by-little, as you come to know each of them, you learn who they really are. The ugly jokes which persist on the surface become commentaries on those who make them. You may not like these people, but you understand something of what makes them tick, and in the end, you're pulling for them to grow, and change, and become better people.
Ugly Betty is blessed with a cast that is nothing short of brilliant. They are capable of both under and over-playing for effect, and sometimes leave me slack-jawed with admiration for their deft interpretations of the complexities of their characters. The scripts can move from mad to sad and back again in a matter of minutes, and while they're not without their flaws (The arc about Ignacio's amorous immigration officer thudded over all, though it did provide some very funny moments, and one which was tremendously touching.) they've been good enough that I would recommend the series to anyone.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
By W. Schultz
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I all but given up on primetime Tv, but Never say never they say. "Ugly Betty" got me from the first time I watched it. This show has Heart and soul, it's funny and sad at the time. The story line has twists and turns and the hour flies so fast! I am guessing most people that come to view this time will already be fans and I don't need to tell you how great this show is.
As for the 2 reviews I read that didn't like UB, well nothing is for everyone and lord knows there is plenty of TV I can't get into or dislike so to each his own, but Ugly Betty is the best show in years for my tv!
As for the 2 reviews I read that didn't like UB, well nothing is for everyone and lord knows there is plenty of TV I can't get into or dislike so to each his own, but Ugly Betty is the best show in years for my tv!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
delightfully quirky, and constantly evolving, Ugly Betty rarely ever...
While the cast is extremely talented, the acting amazing, the dialog witty, and the sets and wardrobe "to die for", what makes Ugly Betty really special, is the program's... Read more
Published 6 days ago by trebe
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Introduction to the 21st Century's Best TV Series!!!
Love this show!!! The bonus features are fun, too, especially the deleted scenes. I wish this show lasted more than four seasons!
Published 1 month ago by moviemusicalfanatic21
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great to recap the show
Havent seen the series for a long while was great to watch the DVDs and awe what happened on the show since its no longer on tv
Published 1 month ago by Kelly jo
5.0 out of 5 stars
ugly betty
i love season 1 of ugly betty this is the only show that my mom and brother and i all love to watch
Published 3 months ago by Megan Dutko
5.0 out of 5 stars
ugly betty 1
Great series, and the dvd's arrived in great shape, no problems viewing any of the discs, so I'm happy with the purchase.
Published 3 months ago by Leslie
5.0 out of 5 stars
So love this show!
This first season was enticing! The characters are well put together and very hilarious! I love this show because it is an extended version of the movie "The Devil Wears... Read more
Published 5 months ago by D. Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Pleasant Surprise!
If your anything like me, the title of this show, Ugly Betty, totally turned me off. Then, my daughter talked me into watching it and now i just can't get enough! Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kocotunga
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Series Except for the Alexis Character
"Ugly Betty" had a lot of elements that made for a great series. At times, it was hilarious, touching, and insightful and I think the cast was just great. Read more
Published on May 10, 2011 by maskirovka
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love Ugly Betty
I absolutely LOVE this show! i wish it was still on the air. The writing and the cast are so amazing. I love the whole "stay true to yourself" theme. Read more
Published on April 19, 2011 by C. BIRD
1.0 out of 5 stars
Ugly Betty The Complete First Season
The 6-Disc set only had 5 CD in it...CD number 3 was missing when it was opened the firt time...
Published on January 3, 2011 by Peggy A. Farmer
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