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Bye Bye, Ugly Betty

The finale for the groundbreaking series Ugly Betty was seriously weak. There must have been 15 commercial breaks during the episode and I’m mystified as to why the creators would even toy with the idea of Betty getting it on with her boss Daniel. Ew!

But I’m sad to see the last of the show about the dowdy girl who makes good at a fashion magazine. Here are the three things I’ll miss the most.

Let’s start with the queer factor. Sure, other television programs have had openly gay characters – Will And Grace, Brothers And Sisters, Grey’s Anatomy – but they all have gay characters who could pass for straights. Nobody, for a second, would think that the character of Mark St. James, baddie Wilhelmina’s assistance played by Michael Urie, was a het guy – he’s flamboyant, fabulously over-the-top and lovable for it.

The plot-line featuring Betty’s nephew Justin on the brink of confronting his sexuality was glorious. You just loved his passion for fashion and the Broadway musical and you just knew he had to come out eventually. Bless the writers for making Mark one of the facilitators for that process. The penultimate episode, in which Betty’s sister Hilda gets married, featured one of the most moving coming out moments ever seen on TV. Go to the ABC site and see the April 7 episode now.

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Then there’s the stunning Vanessa Williams as the villainous Wilhelmina. I’ve had a soft spot for WIlliams since she lost her Miss America crown – she was the first African American winner – for having posed nude in a series of photos taken long before the pageant. Penthouse honcho Bob Guccione wasted no time in publishing the photos. He made a fortune. She lost her reputation.

But she’s a survivor. First, she picked up a recording contract and then moved to acting, culminating in her sensation portrayal in Ugly Betty. This is a woman nearing her 50s with spectacular beauty and who doesn’t mind showing a few wrinkles. And booty? To die for. As Wilhelmina, Williams managed to make herself despicable but hilarious at the same time.

But it’s really all about Betty. America Ferrera accepted her Golden Globe award after season one with a shout out to all the young women who had written her thanking her for giving visibility to a young, smart Hispanic working woman who didn’t fit the conventional beauty mold. Wearing her hideous ponchos and speaking with that grating voice of hers, Ferrera inhabited the spirit of the underdog.

I can’t figure out how such a smart show lost the plot in the last episode. Betty’s relationship with her boss, the former womanizer Daniel, was always based on his grudging appreciation of her energy and smarts. But suggesting Betty and Daniel might hook up is icky to the max. Just when we were prepared to say that Ugly Betty did everything right – soulful Hispanic family, queer-positive characters, a super-cool and gorgeous villain in her middle years and a main character to root for – the creative team blows it in the last 30 minutes.

Sorry, I’m not going to cheer the idea of the worldly boss bedding his young assistant – even after she’s left the job. [rssbreak]

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