Ugly Betty – The Complete First Season (DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: C
A remake
of a hit Mexican TV comedy/drama, Ugly
Betty is a hit in a sea of bad TV and thanks to lead America Ferrera as the
title character, often works despite to much sentimentality and the show’s inability
to take the ideas of isolation and rejection as far as it should. This may make it more commercially viable,
but it hurts its realism and makes it susceptible to the weekly TV grid.
As Betty
Suarez, she finds herself landing a dream job at a fashion magazine behind the
scenes of its publishing in the pilot episode, but complication immediately
ensure. This six DVD set offers all 23
nearly hour-long shows comprising its The
Complete First Season. I was
surprised how thin this became, relying on star power and sentimentality, but
if the show does not start taking more risks, it could lose it audience
quickly. Cheers too for its positive
portrayal of a Hispanic American family.
Beyond that, let’s hope the show reaches its potential in later seasons.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image has some of the usual depth, detail and
color limits we see in such series, but it is more on than off like some other
Disney TV on DVD sets and much more watchable than the terrible quality we have
seen with similar recent shows. The
Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not bad, with nicely recorded dialogue and good
ambience, even when the surrounds are not too active. The combination definitely surpasses analog
broadcasts of the show. Extras include
audio commentary tracks on select shows, bloopers, deleted scenes and three
featurettes that will keep fans happy.
- Nicholas Sheffo
