Based on a South American mini-series that aired a couple of years back, "Ugly Betty" takes the same concept and simply alters the cultural references for English speaking audiences. Betty Saurez aspires to be in the fashion world but her looks make her an unlikely fit in that world where everyone is so thin you suspect they're doing heroin and many don't have a natural contour on their face after plastic surgeons are done. Sure some of these beautiful people are legit but many are the product of our obsessive compulsive fixation with beauty, youth and thinness at any cost. ***

Betty gets a break when the owner of one magazine owner Bradford Meade (Alan Dale) makes his son (Eric Mabius) who is editor-in-chief of "Mode" magazine hire her despite his reservations as his personal assistant. Bradford's hope is that it will help his son Daniel focus on the job since Betty isn't a looker. Despite ridicule at the hands of her new boss, Betty shines in her position fighting off the nasty Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams who is marvelous in the role) who is trying to get Daniel's job. ***

"Ugly Betty" manages to balance drama and comedy deftly much like the first season of "Desperate Housewives" did and even channels a bit of the soap opera elements that drove shows like "Dallas" and "Dynasty" to the top of the ratings heap in the 70's and 80's. Clearly these shows were the inspiration for the approach used by the producers and "Ugly Betty" works well as a deft satire and over-the-top soap opera type drama series. ---

Image & Sound:

Although "Ugly Betty" doesn't look as stunning as it could, Buena Vista has done a nice job in transferring the show to DVD. The series suffers from many of the transfer issues that dog "Desperate Housewives"-some digital grain due to over compression and some mild artifacts. It's by no means bad looking; it just could look a whole lot better. Colors are bold and pop which is to be expected since this is a new show and the series has remarkable fine detail on DVD. The shortcomings of the show on DVD are minor but they shouldn't happen in this day and age. ***

We get an active 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround mix that sounds quite good. While better use of the rear channels could be made to enhance ambience, the presentation sounds quite nice. The forward speakers are ably used and since this is primarily a dialogue driven show the presentation is to be expected to some extent.

We get four audio commentaries with the best of the lot on both "The Pilot" episode and "Don't Ask". The former features star Silvio Horta, Richard Shepard and Teri Weinberg while the latter has star Vanessa Williams coupled with writer Michael Urie. ***

"Becoming Ugly" features cast and crew discussing the creation of the show and transforming it for a North American audience. They also discuss some of the changes from the original South American mini-series and how it adds a unique flavor to their version of the same tale. ***

"Green is the New Black" focuses on the use of green screen for visual effects. cThis creates the illusion that the show is shot in New York when it is actually shot in Los Angeles. ***

"A La Mode" focuses on the look of the show from costumes to the visual look of the series. ***

"Ugly Bloopers" is self descriptive. We get a 4 minute blooper reel for the show. It's amusing but hardly essential. ***

We also get a number of deleted/extended scenes that didn't make the cut for a variety of reasons (some of them no doubt we're used for the UK release where shows on average run longer than in the United States). We also get the typical Buena Vista previews for other shows/movies. ---

Final Words: