Ugly Betty. Betty La Fea.

Mood tune: Work To Do by Vanessa Williams (YouTube link).

Just a few days until the new ABC comedy, Ugly Betty. Oh, and Vanessa Williams stars in this show... have you seen the trailers with her character, Wilhemina, getting botox? Hilarious!

My friends and I watched this show several years ago when it was a Spanish-language novela/soap, Betty La Fea. In fact, there was a dance song called Betty La Fea that we used to dance to at some places in L.A. back in the early 2000s.

As a novela, Betty La Fea (original Betty on left) challenged the typical formula. Betty didn't fit the mold of a heroine. There were some uber-feminist messages -- that beauty is not just skin deep, that aspiring to a career instead of marriage is good, that being smart is okay.

The premise is that Betty, the ugly, is the office accountant/manager in a fashion magazine, where everything is superficial and focused on looks only.

With Salma Hayek as executive producer and Vanessa L. Williams co-starring, I'm sure it will become a Thursday night favorite this season... just before you watch Grey's Anatomy. My Tivo's set.
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