For those who are unfamiliar with the comedy-drama, which aired from 2006 to 2010, the story centers on socially awkward and style-challenged Betty Suarez who lands a dream job at Mode, a trendy fashion magazine, as editor-in-chief Daniel Meade's assistant. She is initially written off by playboy Daniel and ridiculed by the magazine's mean girls, Amanda and Marc. However, her tenacity and genuine desire to help others soon wins Daniel over and even Amanda and Marc eventually warm to her.
The show is based on a Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea by screenwriter and producer, Fernando Gaitán. Some modern viewers might argue that parts of the show are "problematic" in today's climate - even the word "ugly" in the show's title (that's another opinion for another Slice). But some problematic language and cringey dialogue aside, I think the show did a great job of portraying a lot of controversial issues in a way that other shows weren't doing at the time. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments and witty one-liners which have not lost their sharpness over time. The series also featured big names in recurring and guest roles, including Salma Hayek (also one of the show's producers), Judith Light, Rebecca Romijn, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kristen Chenoweth, Lucy Liu, Octavia Spencer, Patti Lupone, Betty White, Leslie Jordan and Adele.
I decided to rewatch the series from the beginning and record some of the highlights from each season. So here are some of my favorite moments from season 1.
- Betty's first day poncho
- Gina Gershon as Fabia, a fashion mogul and former model
- Betty's graduation bunny and the various photos of him being "tortured"
- Betty's "makeover" at the Queens salon
- Betty taking Justin to Mode and Justin clocking Amanda's two year old Manolo Blahniks
- Marc to Justin: "Be who you are. Dress how you want... Just learn how to run really fast."
- Betty to Hunter (the male stripper): "Um, so you mean you're bisexual?"
Hunter: "That's right, babe. If you buy, I'm sexual.” - Amanda to Ignacio: "Hola!" (pronounced with an h)
Ignacio: "It's hola." (pronounced in Spanish)
Amanda: "No, there's an h in it." - Marc dressed as Betty for Halloween (mean but funny)
- Justin as a singing, tap-dancing Gene Kelly in a sailor suit
- Henry from Accounting
- Judith Light as Daniel's mother, Claire Meade
- Marc and Amanda getting drunk and singing a Dream Girls number while dancing in clothes from the Mode closet
- Justin turning an athletic cup into a Phantom of the Opera mask
- Betty's Little Mermaid pillowcases
- The costumes for Baby Chutney's photoshoot
- The Betty-fied version of Amanda at MYW
- Wilhelmina and Mark getting lost in Queens
- Octavia Spencer as Ignacio's USCIS case worker, Constance Grady
- Constance referring to Ignacio as "Nacho"
- Betty's tiny desk on wheels
- Daniel's Cheeto spray tan
- Betty and Daniel's I Got You Babe karaoke duet
- Wilhelmina's face after her "duck" treatment
- Wilhelmina referring to Marc as her "seeing-eye gay" & Justin later taking over as her guide at Fashion Week
- Tim Gunn's cameo on the Fashion Week episode
- Justin performing a rendition of Good Morning Baltimore on the subway and Santos standing up for him
- Lucy Liu as "The Chin"
- The tiny latex dress known as "The Amanda"
- Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Gabe Farkas, Betty's orthodontist
- Constance (wearing a blonde weave) peeping in the window, giving Ma vibes
- Constance referring to Claire as a "bag of bones" and the Gabe as "carrot cake"
- Wilhelmina about Fay and Bradford: "How did she get that old sack in the sack?"
- Amanda when Nick asks her where the menus are: "Does it look like I eat?"
- Leslie Jordan as Quincy Combs, the notorious writer of trashy biographies
- Quincy to Betty: "Just admiring the inner sanctum of the feckless prince. As the empire dissolves even the cushions on the bone white chaise sags with defeat."
- Marc (commening on Wilhelmina's short dress): "Ow! Well, fill my bucket with nothing but thighs!"
Wilhelmina: "Relax, Colonel. We all know you prefer nuggets." - Betty's flashback to her anti-prom
- The Middle Ages restaurant where Betty tries to ride the mechanical horse and Henry jousts for her honor
- Marc and Amanda's discovery of Fay's secret "love room"
- The Suarez family's trip to Mexico
- Fabia: "You must come to the ceremony. I won't be able to get married without my 'something old'."
Wilhelmina: " Oh, with the veins in your legs, you already have your 'something blue'." - The season finale cliffhangers
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