Ugly Betty

Ugly Betty
Ugly bety header.jpg
Genre Dramedy
Created by Fernando Gaitán
Developed by Silvio Horta
Starring America Ferrera
Eric Mabius
Vanessa L. Williams
Becki Newton
Judith Light
Ana Ortiz
Tony Plana
Michael Urie
Mark Indelicato
Daniel Eric Gold
Alan Dale
Christopher Gorham
Ashley Jensen
Rebecca Romijn
Kevin Sussman
Theme music composer Jeff Beal
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 85 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Salma Hayek
Silvio Horta
Ben Silverman
Jose Tamez
Joel Fields
Location(s) New York, New York ("Pilot" and Seasons 3–4)
Los Angeles, California (Seasons 1 (without "Pilot")-2)
Running time 42 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Picture format 480p (SDTV),
720p (HDTV) ABC HD,
1080i (HDTV) Channel 4 HD, 7HD
Original run September 28, 2006 (2006-09-28) – April 14, 2010 (2010-04-14)
Status Finished
Chronology
Related shows Yo soy Betty, la fea

Ugly Betty is an American dramedy television series created by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006 and ended on April 14, 2010.[1] The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, which was created by Fernando Gaitán. The series was produced by Silent H, Ventanarosa and Reveille Productions partnered with ABC Studios, and was primarily filmed in Los Angeles, but together with the pilot episode and the third and fourth season, the series was filmed in New York City. The executive producers were Salma Hayek, Silvio Horta, Ben Silverman, Jose Tamez and Joel Fields.

During its first three seasons, it aired on Thursday nights, where it was mostly successful. However, viewership dropped significantly in the show's third season, particularly in the important 18-49 age group. In October 2009, the series was moved to Fridays, where it had trouble finding an audience. The backlash from its fans prompted ABC to move the show to Wednesdays at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central starting January 6, 2010, where it was thought that it would better complement its Wednesday hits Modern Family and Cougar Town,[2][3] but on January 27, 2010, ABC announced it was cancelling the series due to low ratings.[4] With the end of the series, there is talk of a push by Ana Ortiz and America Ferrera for an Ugly Betty movie.[5][6]

Contents

Plot

Betty Suarez is a courageous, good-hearted, and slightly naive girl from Queens, New York who is sorely lacking in fashion sense. She is abruptly thrust into a different world when she lands a job at Mode, a trendy high fashion magazine based in Manhattan that is part of the publishing empire of the wealthy Bradford Meade. Bradford's son Daniel has just been installed as Editor-in-Chief of Mode following the death of Fey Sommers (Bradford's longtime mistress). Bradford hires the inexperienced Betty as his womanizing son's newest personal assistant to curb Daniel's habit of sleeping with his assistants. As time goes by, Betty and Daniel become friends and help each other navigate their professional and personal lives.

Life at Mode is made difficult for both Betty and Daniel by their co-workers. Their most serious threat comes from Creative Director Wilhelmina Slater, a vindictive schemer who devises numerous plots to steal Daniel's job and seize control of his family's company. In addition, Wilhelmina's loyal assistant Marc St. James and Mode receptionist Amanda Sommers continually mock and humiliate Betty for her lackluster physical appearance, awkward nature, and initial lack of taste in fashion. However, not everyone at Mode is against Betty; she gains loyal friends in Scottish seamstress Christina McKinney and nerdy accountant Henry Grubstick. She also receives strong support from her father Ignacio, older sister Hilda, and nephew Justin.

Season 1

Season one premiered in the United States on September 28, 2006 and aired 23 episodes. Major plotlines during the first season include: Betty and Daniel settling into their respective roles as personal assistant and editor-in-chief at a fashion magazine; Betty's relationships with pre-Mode boyfriend Walter and new love interest Henry; Daniel's numerous sexual conquests and his relationship with fellow editor Sofia Reyes (Salma Hayek); Wilhelmina's plots with the "Mystery Lady" to undermine Bradford and Daniel's positions at Meade Publications; Christina's temporary switch to Wilhelmina's side in an attempt to boost her career; the truth behind the murder of Fey Sommers and the death of Daniel's older brother Alex; Ignacio's immigration status and health problems; and Hilda's struggle to find a new career and salvage her relationship with Justin's dad.

Season 2

The season's theme was "Brighter, Bolder, Bettyer" with a reworked version of Mika's "Hey Betty (You Are Beautiful)" being used as the featured song in its promos. Nine new recurring characters, played by Freddy Rodríguez, Illeana Douglas, Alec Mapa, David Blue, John Cho, Gabrielle Union, Gene Simmons, Eddie Cibrian were introduced. Lorraine Toussaint continued in her role as Claire's fellow prison escapee, Yoga, as a recurring character. Production was halted in November 2007 due to the Writers Guild of America strike; ultimately the season episode order was cut to 18 instead of a proposed 23. New episodes did not air on U.S. television until April 24, 2008, starting with "Twenty Four Candles", and ending on May 22, 2008, with "Jump". This was the last episode to be produced in Los Angeles.

Major plotlines this season include the following: the love triangle between Betty, Henry, and a deli shop worker named Giovanni "Gio" Rossi; Claire's escape from prison, recapture, and trial for the murder of Fey Sommers; the aborted wedding of Wilhelmina Slater and Bradford Meade; Daniel and Alexis's power struggle after their father's death; Amanda's search for her biological father; Marc's relationship with fashion photographer Cliff St. Paul; Hilda's attempt to start her new beautician career and a relationship with Justin's gym teacher; Christina's reunion with her ailing husband; and Wilhelmina's scheme to conceive an heir to the Meade fortune using Bradford's sperm.

Season 3

ABC renewed the series for a third season on February 11, 2008. In addition, production was moved to New York City from Los Angeles to make the series more realistic and to take advantage of increased tax incentives in New York. The third season premiered on September 25, 2008. This season added ten new recurring regulars, played by Grant Bowler, Mark Consuelos, Heather Tom, Val Emmich, Ralph Macchio, Sarah Lafleur, Bernadette Peters, Lauren Velez and Daniel Eric Gold. Lindsay Lohan, Julian De La Celle, Derek Riddell and Eddie Cibrian returned from the second season for more appearances. "The Show" by Australian singer Lenka is used as the promo theme for the season. This season dealt with Betty and Marc getting into the YETI Program. She also meets Matt Hartley and they become a couple. Meanwhile, Daniel falls in love with Connor's girlfriend, despite knowing that she has cancer and might not make it. Connor swindles the company and escapes the country, leaving Wilhelmina in the lurch. By the season finale, Betty gets promoted to Features Editor (at Marc's cost).

Season 4

The fourth season premiere in the United States aired in October 2009 on a new night and time. After three seasons on Thursday nights, the show was moved to the Friday night death slot amid protests from its fans. Beginning on January 6, 2010, the show aired Wednesdays at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central time. Season four shows Betty adapting to her new position as an associate features editor at Mode. Adam Rodriguez plays Bobby Talercio, Hilda Suarez's boyfriend (later fiancée, then husband) who ironically was just dating Coach Tony Diaz, played by Rodriguez' Season 8 replacement on CSI: Miami, Eddie Cibrian. Several promos featured the M People song "Moving on Up".

On January 27, 2010, ABC confirmed that the series would end in April, at the same time as reducing the season length from 22 to 20 episodes.[7] The last episode aired on April 14, 2010.

Cast

Actor Character Seasons
America Ferrera Betty Suarez All
Eric Mabius Daniel Meade All
Vanessa L. Williams Wilhelmina Slater All
Michael Urie Marc St. James All
Becki Newton Amanda Tanen All
Ana Ortiz Hilda Suarez All
Tony Plana Ignacio Suarez All
Mark Indelicato Justin Suarez All
Alan Dale Bradford Meade Regular 1-2
Ashley Jensen Christina McKinney Regular 1-3, Guest 4
Kevin Sussman Walter Regular 1
Rebecca Romijn Alexis Meade Regular 1-2, Recurring 3
Judith Light Claire Meade Regular 2-4, Recurring 1
Christopher Gorham Henry Grubstick Regular 2, Recurring 1, Guest 3-4
Daniel Eric Gold Matt Hartley Regular 4, Recurring 3

Cancellation

On January 27, 2010, ABC announced that Ugly Betty would cease production after the fourth season finale, which aired in April 2010.[8] "We've mutually come to the difficult decision to make this Ugly Betty's final season," executive producer Silvio Horta and ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson said in a joint statement. The show had struggled recently, with ratings in the US falling from an average 8.1m to 5.3m viewers between the third and fourth seasons.[9]

Future

On April 16, 2010, it was reported that an Ugly Betty movie could be in the works. In an interview, series star Ana Ortiz stated:

There may be a movie. It’s something that we’ve been talking about and it’s something that [Ugly Betty star] America Ferrera would really love to do. That woman has so much determination that I can’t imagine anything she puts her mind to not getting done.[10]

Production

The idea to bring Ugly Betty to American TV screens began in 2001 when NBC was planning to adapt Betty as a half-hour comedy, which would be produced by Sony Pictures Television[11] but it never made past the planning stages (It took three writers to come up with a concept based around the character)[12] until ABC and Hayek's company came on board in 2004 and retooled it as an hour-long comedy-drama.[13] Two years later, on May 16, 2006, ABC announced that Ugly Betty would be part of the 2006–2007 North American season lineup as a weekly hour-long series; the initial order was for 13 episodes.

ABC had announced the title of the series would be Betty the Ugly, a change from its developmental title, but changed it back to Ugly Betty on July 14,[14] although the Ugly Betty title was already being used in promotions prior to this date on Citytv. There was speculation that the show would be a daily serial that would have debuted as a summer 2006 or midseason 2007 entry, but given the buzz and growing interest in the show, the network decided to make it a weekly series instead. On August 8, 2006, ABC decided at the last minute, a schedule change to move Ugly Betty from its previously announced Friday 8 p.m. (ET) time period to Thursday at 8 p.m. replacing sitcoms Notes from the Underbelly and Big Day as a lead-in to top-rated program Grey's Anatomy, due to the growing interest in the show.

The program's pilot was tested on several cable providers to gauge interest and feedback from viewers, most notably the Hispanic community, including those who are fans of the original Betty, who hoped that ABC would maintain the integrity of the original. ABC also allowed its affiliates to show free off-air screenings to the public at various events ahead of the show's debut. In addition the network screened the debut episode on the web and made the episodes available for download on iTunes after their initial airings on January 5, 2007. The encore episodes also have run on ABC Family and SOAPnet, both of which have aired marathons of the show.

On October 13, 2006, ABC ordered a full season pick-up for the series, beyond the original 13 ordered at the May Upfronts[15] due to its premiere ratings. ABC originally announced 22 episodes for the season 1, but increased the number of episodes by one to 23 . The season finale is the episode called "East Side Story." On March 21, 2007, ABC renewed the series for a second season.[16]

Although he joined NBC as their new entertainment head, Ben Silverman remained co-executive producer on the show, but in a limited role.[17]

In November 2007 the cast of the series made headlines when they threw their support behind the 2007 Writers' Strike by joining them on the picket line in solidarity. Ferrera commented on the reason why they did this: "The issues coming up with the actors’ contracts are very similar to what the writers are dealing with right now, and we have to stay united and stand strong within the creative community for what we believe is fair."[18] On November 25, the cast appeared in a 38-second video for "Speechless Hollywood" in which a black & white camera pulled away from a close up of Ferrera to showing her co-stars sitting next to her as they look directly at the camera without speaking.[19]

On February 11, 2008, ABC picked up Ugly Betty for the 2008–09 television season, along with nine other shows.[20] Unfortunately on the day the renewal was announced, two of the show's executive producers, Marco Pennette and James Hayman, were let go. The departures of Pennette and Hayman adds to the constant turnovers on the series off-camera, which has so far seen five writers having exited or fired.[21] In a Q&A from TV Guide, Michael Ausiello criticized the decision, saying "that someone saw fit to fix what wasn't broken" and praised the two men for writing several of the show's best episodes.[22] These turn of events may have also contributed to Rebecca Romijn's decision to no longer be a full time regular on the series in the third season, citing the move by new writers to make changes in the direction of several characters, especially Romijn's role as Alexis.[23]

With the strike now over as of February 12, there is now the possibility that they could have seven new episodes completed by April, bringing the number of second season episodes produced to 20,[24] but so far it has been adjusted to 18. As a result of the strike, creator Silvio Horta has delayed plans for a musical episode and having Lindsay Lohan onboard for a possible storyline until the third season.[25] Four days later on February 16, 2008, ABC picked up Ugly Betty for the 2008–09 television season.[26]

On March 12, 2008, Horta inked a two-year, seven-figure deal with ABC Studios, which guarantees the show's future and gives Horta a chance to produce other projects aside from Betty.[27]

On April 17, 2008, the show's podcast, which is usually presented in audio and hosted by stars Urie and Newton, became available on video for the first time.[28]

On May 6, 2008, ABC announced that starting with the third season, Ugly Betty will return to New York City and start production there. The move was done to bring the authenticity of the series' setting into the show and to take advantage of a tax credit offered by the State of New York's Governors Office of Motion Picture and Television Development.[29] The production is returning to Silvercup Studios in Queens, where the original pilot was produced.[30] The move resulted in several crewmembers in Los Angeles being let go.[31] These events would lead California Assemblyman Paul Krekorian to introduce bill AB X315, the "Ugly Betty Bill", which would keep television and film production from leaving the state by using tax incentives. The bill was passed by the assembly and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it into law on February 19, 2009.[32][33]

In January 2009, ABC announced that it was putting Ugly Betty on hold to make room for a new comedy In the Motherhood and Samantha Who? in the Thursday night time slot. The series' last original episode aired on March 19, 2009 and the current season would have finished up sometime in June 2009.[34][35] It was then announced on Sunday, March 15, 2009, that Ugly Betty will return for its final five episodes of the season on Thursday, April 30, 2009 from a five-week break. Technically it was supposed to be back on May 7, but due to low ratings for Motherhood, ABC moved it up a week. ABC has since pulled Motherhood from the schedule after their April 16, 2009 airing. The two-episode season finale aired on Thursday, May 21 from 8–10 pm.[36]

The move by ABC and the show's declining ratings, led viewers to believe that ABC would cancel the show. But on February 17, 2009, Becki Newton stated that the show has been picked up for a fourth season.[37] That statement would later be confirmed on March 5, 2009, when Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment Group, announced that ABC plans to renew Ugly Betty.[38] On April 23, 2009, ABC gave an early fourth season renewal to Betty.[39]

Ugly Betty was renewed by ABC for a fourth season[40] and began airing on Friday nights starting October 16, 2009, at 9:00 pm Eastern/8:00 pm Central, although it was scheduled to start a week earlier on October 9. This caused fans and critics to worry that ABC wishes to end the show, since that time slot is perceived as the Friday night death slot.[41][42][43][44] On July 24, 2009, TV Guide Network announced that it has acquired the exclusive cable rights to the show and will air the fourth season episodes 14 days after its ABC run with an option to strip the show daily, with plans to air it weekly starting in the fall of 2010.[45]

With Eastwick recently canceled, ABC began considering moving Ugly Betty to the Wednesday night 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central timeslot,[46][47] although there was talk of moving Lost to that same timeslot. On December 1, 2009, ABC, sensing a backlash from viewers over its decision to move it to Fridays, its sliding ratings and praises from critics over the improved storylines, made the move to Wednesday official by announcing that it would start airing new episodes on its new night starting January 6, 2010.[48][49]

Vanessa Williams has hinted there might be a musical episode of Ugly Betty in the future. The actress and singer, who plays catty Wilhelmina Slater, said the cast would love to sing and dance their way through an installment of the hit TV show. When asked if there would be a musical episode coming up, she said: "Who knows, perhaps there could be a musical at the end of the whole run? That would be fun." Vanessa, 46, went on: "The great thing is, we all sing, dance and act – and we would all love to do it. We are all ready and eager – and now we're in New York, it will be a lot easier to get composers and choreographers from Broadway. I think it certainly could be a possibility in the future, but it's not going to happen any time soon."

Competition with other "Betty" offshoots

Although Disney-ABC Domestic Television (Buena Vista Television) has sold the series to foreign territories, the English-language version is expected to compete with the in-house versions in several of the locations.[50]

As noted by the international broadcast posted below, several of these broadcasters have not only acquired this version, but the counterparts as well, including those that were produced by the broadcasters themselves. So far the series has been sold to TV networks and broadcasters in over 130 countries, making this version the most successful of the "Betty La Fea" franchise[51], but in the Guinness World Records 2010 El Libro De La Década, it states as Yo Soy Betty La Fea being the most successful soap opera in the world, upstaging Ugly Betty, [52]

In the U.S., Univision aired the Mexican counterpart La fea más bella, which ran weeknights at 8 p.m. (E/P), including Thursdays during the same time Ugly Betty airs. The star of the Mexican version, Angelica Vale, was anticipated to make a cameo in the 22nd episode, playing Betty's "counterpart" from the series, Leticia 'Lety' Padilla Solís[53]; Vale instead appeared in the season finale playing Angelica, an orthodontist's assistant who looks exactly like Lety (pre-makeover).

Inspired versions

While the original Betty la Fea has spawned serialized versions globally, it appears that the weekly American version has also begun to pique interest as well.

A version of Yo soy Betty, la fea made by Bosnian Federalna Televizija (FTV), Croatian RTL Televizija and Serbian Fox Televizija began airing in October 2007. The title of the show was Ne daj se, Nina ("Don't give up, Nina"). After a long audition, newcomer Lana Gojak, who resembles America Ferrera, was cast in the role of Nina (Betty). Other cast members were established actors such as Robert Kurbaša, Edvin Livarić, Bojana Ordinačev, Petar Ćiritović, Andrija Milošević, Kristina Krepela and Sloboda Mićalović. The first, and only, season consisted of just over 50 episodes. Although the storyline basically followed that of Yo soy Betty, la fea, Lana Gojak's appearance as Nina seemed to be based more on the heroine of Ugly Betty than on that of Yo soy Betty, la fea. The series had a number of other elements that were directly borrowed from Ugly Betty, rather than from Yo soy Betty, la fea. The series did pretty well in the ratings, but was too expensive to produce, so a second season was never ordered.

In 2007 there had been talk of an Arabic version of Ugly Betty, which would have been produced and shot in Dubai.[54] This would have been the first Betty, la Fea-inspired series to be directly adapted from the American version, but the project never came to fruition.

On May 24, 2010, the first (and so far only) direct adaptation of Ugly Betty, Georgia's გოგონა გარეუბნიდან (Gogona Gareubnidan, which means "suburban girl") premiered, a mere month and a half after Ugly Betty aired its series finale. The first season would consist of 10 episodes and would conclude in August 2010.

Criticism from Colombia

In November 2007, Sony Entertainment Television began airing Ugly Betty in South America with Spanish subtitles. However in Colombia there were criticisms over the American version, calling it a pale imitation and counterfeit copy of their original version.[55] Both series differ greatly, the Colombian version aired as a soap opera with daily cliffhangers, while Ugly Betty airs as a weekly comedy, only sometimes ending with cliffhangers.[56] The American version also has a different main plot and explores different themes. While the American version has more than half a dozen core characters, the Colombian version revolves only around Betty and her boss's life with its main plot being Betty's unrequited love for her handsome and promiscuous boss, whom she marries on the series' last episode. When it comes to the series' themes, Silvio Horta says that the American version explores economic disparity and race issues while the Colombian version was specifically about appearance.[57]

Syndication

The TV Guide Network has purchased the rights to air reruns of Ugly Betty on cable television.[58]

DVD releases

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has released the first three seasons of Ugly Betty on DVD in Region 1 & 2. Seasons 1 and 2 have also been released in Region 4.

DVD name Ep# Release dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
The Complete First Season –
The Bettyfied Edition
23 August 21, 2007 September 24, 2007 October 31, 2007
The Complete Second Season –
Brighter, Bolder, Bettyer
18 September 9, 2008[59][60] November 10, 2008[61] March 11, 2009[62]
The Complete Third Season –
Start Spreading the News
24 September 22, 2009[63] December 7, 2009 December 1, 2010[64]
The Complete Fourth Season –
From Poncho, to Honcho
20 August 17, 2010[65] TBA TBA

International broadcasts

Arab World
Orbit Showtime aired Ugly Betty seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4 on ShowSeries. Orbit Showtime has coverage over: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Jordon, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and other nearby countries. Fox Series also airs Ugly Betty.
South America
Sony Entertainment Television, which airs on cable and satellite, has the Latin American rights and began airing the series in those territories in November 2007.
Southeast Asia
The show currently airs on STAR World on Wednesday and Saturdays, especially in countries that also owns the broadcast rights to the show.
Australia
Its debut episode on the Seven Network pulled in 2.03 million viewers, beating Nine's airing of 60 Minutes and Ten's airing of The Biggest Loser in the same time period. Since its debut the series has remained in the top five in the Australian TV ratings.[66] The season one finale aired August 5, 2007, and received the lowest rating of the year – 1.051 million and only in the 13th slot of the night. This was predominantly because it aired in the same time-slot as the season premiere of rival program Australian Idol.[67] After holding off on the 2nd season, it was announced in April 2008 that Seven would begin Ugly Betty's second season in a new 7:30 pm Wednesday timeslot, beginning on the 7th of May. The show has lost its large following, only drawing around 900,000 viewers despite strong advertising attempts by Channel Seven. The show was "shelved" after the ninth episode was shown on July 2, and will resume airing the remaining episodes until after the Olympics. It was replaced by "RSPCA Animal Rescue".[68] Ugly Betty returned to Seven on August 28, 2008, at a new and later timeslot of 9:30 pm Thursdays. The episode aired, "Bananas For Betty" was viewed by only 597,000 viewers and was removed. Seven later announced that Ugly Betty will return twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 pm, starting when Summer begins. It was then moved to only once a week at Thursday 7:30 pm. Soon after, the show was pulled from screening (after finishing the second season) due to moderately low ratings. It was later confirmed on October 23, 2009, that Ugly Betty would return to Australian screens on Seven's new secondary digital channel 7Two. It will resume with the premiere of Season 3, The Manhattan Project, starting Tuesday, November 3, 7:30 pm.[69] It will air right through summer, with Season 3 to then finish in April/May 2010. In digital channel terms, Ugly Betty has been a success, coming first (out of all digital-only channels) in its timeslot, though is averaging 130,000 viewers, well down from its 800,000 and 1.3 million viewers average in seasons two and one respectively. Season 3 has finished airing and the Seven Network are continuing on with Season 4 straight after, starting April 13, 2010, in the same timeslot on 7TWO. Ugly Betty season 1 is also currently airing on Arena TV, an Australian pay TV channel.
Belgium
VIJFtv began airing the show on March 13, 2008. The ratings for the first two episodes were 165,000. Its rival, Sara (the Flemish adaptation of Betty, la fea which aired on VTM), had a weekly audience between 650,000 and 750,000. It aired weekdays at 6:25 pm, while Ugly Betty is a weekly show that aired every Thursday at 9:00 pm. The show started almost five months after Sara premiered on VTM, which was a disadvantage for Ugly Betty. Betty failed to draw in more viewers because of the extremely successful Sara. VIJFtv decided to put a hold on the last six episodes of the first season of Betty. The possibility of VIJFtv continuing with Ugly Betty in September is still an option. Sara ended in June.
Brazil
Sony Entertainment Television on Wednesdays at 9 pm and later on Thursdays at 8 pm and SBT on Wednesdays at 10 pm. Brazilians first saw Yo Soy Betty La Fea on RedeTV! in 2001 and its Mexican counterpart La Fea más Bella on SBT in 2006. in 2009, Bela, a Feia, the Brazilian version, on Rede Record.
Bulgaria
Nova Television aired Season 1 from October 19 to November 20, 2007. Season 2 was aired from November 11 to December 5, 2008. Season 3 was aired from December 1, 2009 to January 7, 2010. Repetitions of Season 1 and 2 are aired on Fox Life.
Canada
Citytv owns the English-language rights to the series, which aired in the same timeslot as the American broadcast till December 2009, when only the stations in Manitoba and British Columbia started airing it Wednesdays at 7 pm (same time as Eastern ABC where it would be 10 pm, aired earlier than US air in Manitoba), for Ontario and Alberta, OMNI simulcasts Betty Wednesdays at 10PM. HOWEVER, come March 2010, Citytv will be airing Ugly Betty across Canada due to the cancellation of The Jay Leno Show. Ugly Betty will air Wednesdays at 10 pm on Citytv just like how it is on ABC.[70]Radio-Canada, the French language television arm of the CBC, owns the francophone rights. The French version, known as Chère Betty ("Dear Betty"), debuted in Quebec and in the rest of French-speaking Canada on April 7, 2008 at 8:00 pm local time, 9:00 pm AT.
Chile
The show premiered on Canal 13 (Chile) on July 4, 2008, at 11:30 pm (GMT −04)
Croatia
Season one started in October 31, 2007 on HRT, seson two are starting March 26, 2010. Croatian version was aired on RTL named Ne daj se, Ninabut it was cancelled due to low ratings.
Czech Republic
TV Prima began airing the show's first season on March 5, 2008.
Ecuador
Season One started in October 31, 2007 in Sony Entertainment Television after the reality show America's Next Top Model.
Estonia
Kanal 2 has showed two seasons of Ugly Betty as Inetu Betty. season 3–4 on Foxlife
Finland
The show's third season runs on Nelonen Mondays at 8 pm as Ruma Betty, which literally means "Ugly Betty" in Finnish.
France
The first two episodes aired on TF1 on January 7, 2008 at late-night time, averaging about 3.8 million viewers (28.4% share) and 3.3 millions viewers (39.4% share). Ugly Betty did really well on key demos 15–24 (First episode: 46.8%, second episode: 56.7%) and 18–49 (First episode: 39.7%, second episode: 56.6%). But week after week the show has lost more than 1 million viewers, in part due to the late night schedule. In an effort to attract more viewers, two weekly TV magazines, Arthelius and Series TV Magazine, placed a cover of Ugly Betty on their February 12, 2008 issues.[71][72]
Georgia
The show runs since December, 2009 on Imedi TV Sundays at 9 pm as Girl from a suburb (Georgian: გოგონა გარეუბნიდან).
Germany
This was the only country where Ugly Betty failed to connect with audiences. Sat.1 cancelled the show after two episodes due to low ratings. Germany has had its own local adaptation of Betty la Fea, Verliebt in Berlin, which also aired on Sat.1 and was more popular with viewers than Betty. Since May 2010, sixx, a digital cable network for women owned by ProSiebenSat.1 is airing Ugly Betty under its original title. Sat.1 is giving Ugly Betty another chance as well with airing the show on Sunday afternoons starting August 8, 2010. In contrast to its premiere title which was Alles Betty (Everything Betty), the series will now be called Betty - Allein unter Models (Betty - Alone among models) when it airs on Sat.1.
Greece
ANT1 waited for the Greek version of "Betty la fea", Maria, i Aschimi, shown on the rival network Mega Channel to end on June 2008, and it started broadcasting the series a week after, on July 1, 2008 at 9.00 pm. The first episode got a 13.1% share. On July 8, 2009 at 7.00 pm, ANT1 will show season 3 of the series.
Hong Kong
Season one premiered on March 17, 2007 on TVB Pearl while the second season aired one year later, starting on April 14, 2008, on Monday nights at 10:35 pm, and ended on August 4, 2008. Season 3 will be premiering on April 20, on Monday nights at 9:35 pm. Season one is also available as a video on demand program on now TV.
Hungary
Season one premiered in March 2007 on RTL Klub at 7:00 pm Sunday, the show was titeled "Címlapstory" in English "Cover sstory" referring to the show often dealing with newspaper publishing. After the first couple of episodes, the show was removed to a time slot with fewer viewers at 5:30 pm. The first season was a huge failure, so the airing of the second season on RTL Klub is uncertain. Cabel Channel Sorozat+ (owned by the same company as RTL Klub) aired reruns of the 1st season in late 2009, then in spring 2010 another larger channel: Viasat3 aired new episodes (season 2 & 3) of the series. They also changed the title of the show from "Címlapsztori" to "Ki ez a lány?" in English "Who is this girl?".
India
The show premiered in 2003 on Sony Entertainment Television and ended in 2006. There were no separate seasons though, as in India, shows are generally not split into seasons, but are rather completely continuous. India had aired Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin. Indian fans believed that Jassi was the inspiration for the American adaptation of Betty, although Gaitan notes in interviews that the American version was inspired by the Colombian version.[73].
Ireland
The European premiere took place on RTÉ Two on January 1, 2007. Season two again premiered on RTÉ Two on October 4, 2007. The second season returned after a break on March 24, 2008 at 8:05 pm. Season Three premiered on November 6, 2008, at 8:40 pm on RTÉ Two and finished on June 4, 2009. Season Four premiered on January 5, 2010 at 8:05 pm on RTE Two. Ugly Betty airs Tuesdays at 8:00 pm on RTÉ Two
Israel
Season premiere aired in Israel in March 2, 2007 on Channel Israel 10. The rights were bought by the Israeli Cable Company Hot Telecom and has started during April 2008 the re-runs of season 1 which will be followed by season 2, broadcasting on Channel 3. The second season is broadcast these days parallelly on the Israeli Satellite television provider yes, channel yes Stars 2, on Wednesdays, 9:15 pm. The name of the series in Israel is only "Betty" (בטי).
Italy
The season premiere aired on Italia 1 in May averaging about 3.5 million viewers making it one of the most watched program of the night. The first part of season one (episodes 1–14) aired from May until June averaged 3.2 million viewers, and the second part (episodes 15–23) aired in September averaging 2.5 million viewers. The series did especially well in the 18–49 years old target with an average share of 13%. Second season started airing on July 2, 2008.
Japan
Season one started in October 1, 2007 and has been aired on NHK BS2 at 11:00 pm every Monday evening. Also re-run started in October 19, 2008 and has been aired on NHK Sohgoh at 1:20–2:05 am every Saturday midnight (actually Sunday).[74] The Japanese title is as same as the original Ugly Betty though it is written in Japanese Katakana ("アグリー・ベティー"). Satellite and cable channel Super Drama TV have also picked up the show as Season One began airing in April 2008. Season two started in September 30, 2008 and has been aired on NHK BS2 at 11:00–11:45 pm every Tuesday evening.[75]
Kuwait
ShowSeries airs Ugly Betty every Monday, and Fox Series will start showing the season starting August 2009.
Lebanon
ShowSeries airs Ugly Betty every Monday.
Latvia
TV3 began showing season one on March 5, 2008.
Lithuania
LNK, the same channel that aired Yo Soy Betty, la fea began airing the show on January 7, 2008.
Malaysia
8TV (Malaysia) began airing the show in 2007, and finished airing the second season on June 3, 2008. The third season has recently concluded on the July 21, 2009
Mexico
There is a dispute over who owns the rights to Ugly Betty in that country. TV Azteca had acquired the rights in 2006 and was set to debut it in 2007, but Sony Entertainment Television, which is also airs on cable and satellite systems in Mexico, has the Latin American rights, resulting in several delays until the matter is settled. Sony Entertainment Television started airing Ugly Betty in Mexico in May 2008.
Morocco
The show is currently being aired on 2M.
Netherlands
Net 5 began airing Ugly Betty on August 20, 2007 to excellent ratings. Its rival Tien aired Lotte, the Dutch adaption of Yo Soy Betty, la fea. Lotte gained an audience of between 250,000 and 300,000 viewers, while Ugly Betty did better with a weekly audience of between 400,000 and 600,000 viewers. Since the third season began in the Netherlands the ratings started to decline, even with Desperate Housewives as lead-in. It now has an audience of between 250,000 and 350,000.
New Zealand
Season 3 aired at 5:30 on Sunday night on TV2 finishing on August 2, 2009. The show used to air at 7:30 on Sunday nights (Season 1–2) but TVNZ moved it. Season 4 is airing at 5.30 pm on Sundays, completing its run on June 27, 2010.
North Korea
The show is aired at private weekly meetings hosted by Kim Jong-Il's third son, Kim Jong-un.
Norway
The shows first three seasons aired on TV Norge, Wednesdays at 08:45 pm. It premiered in January 2008 and had 365,000 viewers. Season 4 was aired on FEM, Tuesdays at 8:00 pm.
Philippines
It is currently being shown on Studio 23 (which also aired Betty La Fea) and Star World. The Philippine version of Ugly Betty debuted on Studio 23's mother network ABS-CBN in September 2008, entitled I ♥ Betty La Fea. It features Bea Alonzo in the titular role as Betty and uses some of the elements from Ugly Betty in this adaptation.
Poland
The first season of Ugly Betty premiered in Poland on May 14, 2007 on Fox Life, and on September 3, 2007 on TVP2. Season two premiered on FoxLife on March 23, 2008 and currently airs on TVP2. The Polish version of Yo soy Betty, la fea premiered in October 2008 on TVN (Poland). The title of the show is BrzydUla (which translates into "Ugly Ula"; it is a portmanteau of the word "Brzydula" which is a polish word meaning an Ugly Woman and the name Ula, a popular polish nickname for the name "Urszula").
Portugal
It is airing both on national television (SIC) and on cable (Fox Life). The first season premiered on April 7, 2007, while the second aired for the first time on October 21, of the same year. Both seasons were premiered on SIC.
Puerto Rico
Season one was aired this year 2008 on WAPA-TV at 9:00 pm every Thursday evening, with repetitions on Sunday evenings at 10:00 pm. It is shown under the Spanish title "Betty, Mi Fea Bella" with Spanish voice actors providing the dubbing over the show's cast.
Romania
The show is broadcast by Acasă TV, the same channel that aired Yo Soy Betty, la fea. The show airs under thr e title Betty cea Urâtă din New York (Ugly Betty of New York).
Russia
The show airs on Channel One Russia and MTV Russia as "Дурнушка" (Durnushka) or "Plain Girl".
Singapore
MediaCorp's Channel 5 airs the series' second season on Thursday Nights at 10PM. The first season aired on Sunday nights in 2007.
Slovakia
Markíza began airing the show on January 12, 2008.
Slovenia
POP TV began airing the first season in September 2007. On September 8, 2008, the second season premiered. The third season was to premiere in September 2009, but did not. It is now known that the 3rd season will premiere in September 2010 on POP TV's new sister channel POP BRIO. The is airing under the title 'Grda račka' which means 'Ugly Duckling'. Orginal Yo Soy Betty, la fea also show on POP TV.
South Africa
Ugly Betty premiered in South Africa on Pay Channel, M-Net on Tuesday July 17, 2007. It later was re-broadcast on sister channels, GO and M-Net Holiday. The first season fared well with audience's and was a hit for the channel with a strong buzz around the show. Due to heavy promotions for the show across all media spectrums by M-Net, the premiere episode of Ugly Betty attracted 80% more viewers than Smallville which previously occupied its time slot. M-Net marketing General Manager, Koo Govender, says the first episode was watched by about 432,000 viewers.[76] Generally for its first season, Ugly Betty often generated 350 000 viewers with each airing, bringing in good ratings for the channel. Seasons 2 and 3 aired in the same timeslot as its premiere season; Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm CAT, with Season 2 premiering on March 25, 2008. The channel recently premiered Season 3 on Tuesday January 13. In its third season the show still pulls in strong ratings similar to its premiere season keeping a consistent fan base. M-Net repeats the show on Wednesdays at 5:00 pm CAT.
South Korea
In South Korea, Ugly Betty is on air on Channel "Olive" in HD. Ugly Betty has been on air since 2006. There are great numbers of fans of the show in South Korea.
Spain
Cuatro began airing the show on June 10, 2008. The premiere was delayed several months as competing channel Telecinco was airing the Spanish version of Betty, Yo Soy Bea.[77] In addition to its run on Cuarto, the show also airs Cosmpolitan Television Espana.
Sweden
The show began airing November 7, 2006, on Kanal 5. The show always airs on Tuesday nights at 8:00 pm. Season 2 aired the fall of 2007 and after half the season, on January 29, 2008, the first season of Gossip Girl aired. The rest of season 2 and season 3 aired in the spring of 2008 and the rest of season 3 is going to air in the fall of 2008.
Taiwan
Season One premiered February 6, 2009, on PTS 公共電視 channel at 11:00 pm from Monday to Friday.
Turkey
In Turkey Ugly Betty is broadcast on TNT every Saturday at 8:00 pm, as well as on ComedyMax
Ukraine
On Channel 1+1 at 4:00 pm every Sunday evening. In Ukraine Ugly Betty is named "American not beauty" (Ukrainian "Не краса по-американськи" [ne krasa po-amerykansky]).
United Kingdom
The premiere on Channel 4 on January 5, 2007 attracted 4.5 million viewers.[78] Two weeks later, Ugly Betty hit a new high, with 5.5 million viewers watching the third episode.[79]
The figures and shares were similar each week, around 2–3 million viewers with 10–15% share; however, the finale rated less than the premiere episode, attracting 3.1 million viewers with 15% share.[80] This could have been due to Channel 4 moving the show half an hour later that evening to accommodate an extended edition of Big Brother.
Due to the show's success and the fanbase it has achieved in the UK, Channel 4 decided to move up the second season premiere to Friday, October 5, 2007, thus allowing viewers to watch episodes one week after their U.S. airing.
The show went on hiatus from Friday December 12 due to the WGA strike, the last shown episode was Bananas for Betty. Season 2 resumed on September 5, 2008 at 9 pm with the episode "Zero Worship". Season 2 finished on Channel 4, the last episode being shown on Friday, October 17, 2008.
Season 3 started on Wednesday 24th June 2009 with "The Manhattan Project". The show aired on Wednesday nights up until Wednesday, September 30, 2009, when it was replaced by the new season of True Blood. Season 3 was broadcasted on E4 on Tuesday nights at 9 pm, and on Channel 4 (standard and HD); on Monday nights at 10. Its last episode The Fall Issue" was shown on Monday, December 7, 2009.
Season 4 premiered in the UK on Wednesday 11th August, 9pm .[81] and will complete its 20-episode run by Wednesday 22nd December 2010. However, unlike the previous seasons Channel 4 is not running Season 4 in a primetime slot but on Sunday afternoons at around 4:30 pm.
United States (Insular Territories and Overseas Military location)
In Guam, ABC affiliate KTGM airs the series twice a week, with the current original being shown on Thursdays at 9:00 pm (actually a same-day Wednesday night airing due to Guam being a day ahead of the United States) followed by a repeat during the week when a timeslot is available. They are the only ABC affiliate in the United States to air it twice.
The Armed Forces Network's AFN-Spectrum channel: airs the series on Wednesdays. The network will usually start airing the latest episodes a couple of months after the US broadcasts, as opposed to waiting a year after its stateside airing.
Venezuela
The show premiered on Sony Entertainment Television and now airs on Venevision on Sundays at 11:00 pm.
Vietnam
The show aired on VTV3 but cancelled after three-four episodes, later aired on VTV9; and on HTV2.

Merchandising

On April 15, 2008, Hyperion Books, a Disney owned publisher, released a companion book to the series, aptly titled Ugly Betty: The Book, a 175-page softcover about the show in general, which covers the first season and portions of the second, complete with interviews from the cast and crew, tips and quotes from the characters, and mock ads for Fabia Cosmetics and Atlantic Attire. Around the same time, Random House's children's books division will publish a "magazine"-inspired book tied into the series, complete with photos and mock ads as if they were published by Betty herself, targeted for younger readers.[82]

In addition, a 2008 calendar for Ugly Betty was released using stills from the first season, while a series of greeting cards was issued in January 2008. These photos were edited to enhance her facial features. A 2009 calendar is scheduled to be issued in August 2008.[83]

Even the main character has been immortalized into a doll, as Angelic Dreamz, Inc's Madame Alexander collection introduced two different versions of Betty Suarez that were featured on their website in February 2008.[84]

In July 2009, Coca-Cola UK unveiled a special limited edition Diet Coke bottle created by Patricia Field called "The Betty" for sale in the United Kingdom as a exclusive for customers at Selfridges.[85]

Reception

American ratings

Season Timeslot (EDT) Season premiere Season finale TV season Rank Viewers
(in millions)
18–49 viewers
1 Thursday 8.00 P.M. September 28, 2006 May 17, 2007 2006–2007 #35 11.3[86] 3.7
2 Thursday 8.00 P.M. September 27, 2007 May 22, 2008 2007–2008 #53 9.4[87] 3.6
3 Thursday 8.00 P.M. September 25, 2008 May 21, 2009 2008–2009 #64[88] 8.0[88] 2.8[88]
4 Friday 9.00 P.M. (2009)
Wednesday 10.00 P.M. (2010)
October 16, 2009[89] April 14, 2010 2009–2010 #82 5.5 [90] 1.5

Television parodies and references

In the October 7, 2006, episode of Saturday Night Live, cast member Fred Armisen spoofed the character of Betty by playing a look-alike named Fugly Betsy. Not to be outdone, a February 17, 2007 episode of MADtv has Ellen DeGeneres (played by Nicole Parker) interviewing an actress on her talk show who plays Ugly Betty, with Salma Hayek (played by LisaNova) always pointing out how ugly she is. The Ugly Betty actress (played by Crista Flanagan) claims it is only makeup and costume but is ignored. Crista later reprised her Betty role in the poorly reviewed parody film Meet The Spartans.[91]

On April 22, 2007, the 2007 TV Land Awards parodied the series with a spoof aptly titled "Ugly Betty White", with White playing Betty Suarez, Charo playing Hilda, Erik Estrada playing Ignacio, Joan Collins playing Wilhelmina, Peter Scolari playing Alexis, and George Hamilton playing Daniel.[92] Thanks to her performance in that parody, the producers cast White as a guest star in the second season.[93]

Even the cast poked fun at their alter egos. On October 30, 2006, three of the series' cast members, appearing in their characters (Ferrera as Betty, Mabius as Daniel, and Newton as Amanda), gave New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick a 'makeover' to make him look more like quarterback Tom Brady in a spoof that was featured on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown.[94]

It was also referenced in other shows, most notably in "Up All Night", the February 8, 2007 installment of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, in which Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) says "this would've worked on Ugly Betty" when she fails to crawl out a door without being seen. The scene was patterned after the Ugly Betty episode "Swag" in which Betty crawled through a fashion show.[95] Hayek will also make a recurring appearance on 30 Rock in the third season.[96]

In an episode of the TV sitcom Scrubs, Christopher Turk has a picture taken of "Ugly Betty" with his daughter, only for it to be torn up by best friend and main character John Dorian.

In March 2009, a spoof of Ugly Betty, called Ugly Yeti was made by Take180.[97] Take180, like ABC, is a Disney company and the parody was featured on ABC's website.

Success abroad

The buildup to "Bettymania" by various broadcasters also began to take shape overseas, especially in the United Kingdom. On December 6, 2006, Channel 4 began to advertise the show. The ad shows seemingly attractive models gathered around a pool, but as the camera angle changes a model comes out of the pool wearing Betty's glasses, then as the models smile, they are all wearing Betty's braces. Another ad parodies Marks and Spencer's successful fashion advertising campaign, as well as Dove and Gap campaigns. A voice over then says, "Fashion has a new face. 'Ugly Betty' Coming Soon To 4." After a week of these teasers, clips from the actual program were included in the trailers. In mid-January, Davina McCall, presenter of Celebrity Big Brother dressed up as Betty live on Channel 4 before the titles of the second eviction show of the evening. On February 16, 2007, Ashley Jensen (Christina) also dressed up as Betty during an airing of Channel 4's Friday Night Project, where she was the guest host. The children's channel CBeebies also parodied the title sequence, with one variation mixing faces of regular CBeebies characters until finally settling with Tiny from Little Robots.

In Australia, during the week leading up to the Sunday premiere of Ugly Betty, February 12 to 17, 2007, Channel Seven devoted a week of Deal or No Deal to the show by having the models dress like Betty, complete with the Guadalajara poncho. Channel Seven also used the series to promote its successful "Beautiful Sundays" schedule.

In South Africa, M-Net teamed up with Ogilve Johannesburg to hype up its campaign for the show, which included a picture of Betty on the mock cover of ELLE magazine.[98]

New Zealand TV2 also hyped-up Ugly Betty by promoting Tuesday nights as "True Beauty Tuesday", and when the show moved to Sunday nights, it promoted them as "Beautiful Sunday". TV2 also launched competitions for a replica of Betty's poncho.

Cultural impact

Ever since the show's debut, the main characters, especially the title character, have quickly become the latest fixtures in the lexicon of pop media culture, and already they found their way onto parodies, news media stories and art-imitating-life situations. The show's impact on issues and culture has also attracted the attention of the United States Congress, where on January 17, 2007 California congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-32nd, El Monte) saluted Ferrera on both her Golden Globe win and for bringing a positive profile to the Latin and Hispanic communities.[99] In addition to that recognition, on May 8, 2007, star America Ferrera was honored by Time on the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people. The event took place at New York's Lincoln Center and the actress was recognized for defying stereotypes with the show.[100] The success of Ugly Betty and how it deals with body imaging among women in general would inspire a series of reports on Entertainment Tonight, in which reporter Vanessa Minillo went undercover in a fatsuit to see if women were discriminated on the basis of how they look. Gay awareness groups like GLAAD have also noted the positive impact the show has had regarding Betty's teenaged nephew Justin, who realizes that he is gay.

Awards and nominations

Since its debut, Ugly Betty won two Golden Globe Awards on January 15, 2007, for "Best Leading Actress in a Comedy Series" (America Ferrera) and Best Comedy Series. Ferrera also won a SAG Award on January 28, 2007, for "Best Actress in a Comedy Series". On June 4, 2007, the series was honored with a Peabody Award for its storylines, which explores clashing concepts of beauty, class, race and footwear with intelligence, warmth and wit.[101]

Ugly Betty won the Outstanding Comedy Series award by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in April 2007.[102] Judith Light also won a Prism Award for her portrayal as Claire Meade.

On July 19, 2007, the series received 11 nominations at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards in the Comedy category (the most of any comedy series),[103] including Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Actress (Ferrera), Best Supporting Actress (Williams), and Best Guest Starring Actress (Hayek for her role as Sofia; Light for her role as Claire. Both lost to Elaine Stritch). It won three awards — Best Casting in a Comedy Series, Best Direction in a Comedy Series (for the show's pilot episode), and Best Actress in a Comedy Series (Ferrera).[104] For its second season, it received six other Primetime Emmy Award nominations, going home empty handed. Overall, Ugly Betty has been nominated for eighteen Emmy Awards.

Although The NAACP Image Awards honors African Americans in the entertainment industry, the series has won five of the Image Awards' eight major TV categories, a rarity among television series with a multicultural cast. In addition to winning an Image award for the TV series in 2007 and Ferrera for best actress in 2008, Vanessa Williams has won back to back honors (in 2007 and 2008) in the Supporting Actress category for her portrayal of Wilhelmina Slater.

The ALMA Awards honors the Hispanic entertainment community. During its first season, Ugly Betty won four of its first seven nominations and in the second season took home three more, along with a Chevrolet Entertainer of the Year Award for Ferrera for her work on the show. Overall the series has received 162 nominations.

See also

References

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  2. "Ugly Betty" Gets a Prettier Time Slot, Los Angeles Times, December 3, 2009
  3. "Ugly Betty" Moving to Wednesday, Variety.com, December 1, 2009
  4. "Ugly Betty" Canceled By ABC, USA Today, January 27, 2010
  5. Snead, Elizabeth (2010-03-21). "America Ferrera on "Ugly Betty: The Movie"?!!". zap2it. http://blog.zap2it.com/thedishrag/2010/03/america-ferrera-on-ugly-betty-the-movie.html. Retrieved 2010-04-15. 
  6. Hernandez, Lee (2010-04-14). "Ana Ortiz on the End of "Ugly Betty": There May Be a Movie!". Latina.com. http://www.latina.com/blogs/vivo-por-tivo/ana-ortiz-end-ugly-betty-there-may-be-movie. Retrieved 2010-04-15. 
  7. Exclusive: "Ugly Betty" Set to End Its ABC Run This Spring, Variety, January 27, 2010
  8. "Ugly Betty Canceled by ABC". UsMagazine.com. http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/abc-cancels-ugly-betty-2010271. 
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  11. The Futon Critic
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  13. The Futon Critic
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  94. The Futon Critic, October 27, 2006
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  104. From EMMY.org (September 9, 2007)

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