Series and Season Ending Thoughts

Posted by Bob Greenberger on April 16, 2010

On Wednesday night, we bid farewell to Betty Suarez and began learning the truth about Christopher Chance. Both Ugly Betty and Human Target ended their seasons and it’s a good time to reflect on their accomplishments.

Ugly Betty began as the Americanized version of the popular Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea (I am Betty, the ugly). American Ferrara was cast as Betty and was never allowed to look as unattractive as the original, compensating with a loud, shrill voice and incredibly poor taste in wardrobe. The show was largely a fish out of water story as she went to work as administrative assistant to the playboy publisher of Mode, the iconic fashion magazine. Often the glossy façade of the magazine, its staff and its audience was contrasted with the more humble immigrant roots of the Suarez family.

Across the four seasons, the worlds grew closer and closer, meshing more often than they probably should have, so in time seeing Daniel Meade in the humble Queens home looked as natural as Betty’s garish sister Hilda looked hanging out at the Mode offices. All too often, the seemingly simplistic Suarez family taught the Meades and their satellite friends lessons, but never were lessons learned in the reverse.

The show played fast and loose with reality, with perhaps the greatest fiction being how a magazine and magazine empire were really run. It was cheerfully over-the-top and for the most past remained happily in that rarefied air.

Thankfully, when the ratings slid hard this season, ABC gave showrunner Silvio Horta plenty of notice so all the dangling plot lines could be tidied up. You could feel the closing process begin weeks ago, especially with encore visits from former regulars. Betty had to complete her journey, grow up, and move on, achieving her dream. The final hour rushed a few threads to an odd conclusion, and then let everyone say farewell. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »