Ugly won’t be the new beautiful forever – by Jim Dante
Remember this time, when a brand new show dropped an absolutely fashion-ignorant Betty in the world of MODE, the most popular Fashion Magazine (an ersatz of Vogue) ? This show was funny, smart, bold and playing with clichés only to twist them… First season was a pure delight of laughter, delirium and incredible fun… Then something tragic happened, Bradford Meade, played by the cursed Alan Dale (The OC, Lost) died, and Henry (Christopher Ghoram) made the show melt into some kinda tasteless marshmallow.
Seriously, for the end of the second season and most of the beginning of the third season, I watched the show only to have my fix of the show within the show: The Marc & Amanda show (played by the absolutely geniuses: Michael Urie and Becki Newton), two characters absolutely crazy, bitchy, smart and the way they always mocked Betty (wether it was when they didn’t know her or after they learned to like her) was just brilliant.
But one day, by the end of season three, the show which became too soft, not bold enough (sometimes the moral standards of the Suarez family was in complete opposition with the openness of the show: yes Betty your father has the right to date, just as you have the right to concentrate on your carreer and leave the nest… ) woke up… And Betty became funny and smart again, the characters began to evolve: Daniel stopped to be a womanizer, and Betty had a promotion…
It was too late… Betty was renewed for a fourth season but ended in the TV graveyard: Friday nights (only CBS with Ghost Whisperer, Medium, and Numb3rs has good results)… And when another show was cancelled on Wednesday night (Eastwick with the unlucky Rebbecca Romjin who also played Alexis Meade, the newly sister and former brother of Daniel Meade, before leaving) and Betty reprogrammed on its slot, the audience was already gone… It’s a pitty because the show was really becoming good and original again, and now it’s cancelled… in a way it’s also good news, the show will leave on a good note and the producers where warned early enough to prepare a real conclusion (but abc always tried to do that with shows that lasted a bit, it was the same story for Alias).
So long Betty you will be missed… As for Micheal Urie and Becki Newton, how will I get my fix of the Marc and Amanda show now?
TEXT//@Jim_Dante
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