DVD Review: UGLY BETTY - The Complete Third Season

Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Release date: Sept 22, 2009
MSRP: $59.99

The trouble with the character of Betty Suarez is twofold: it is difficult to believe that Betty would not learn something about style after two-plus years working at a major fashion magazine. She may wear thick glasses, but she isn't blind, and she's certainly not dense. However--alter her too much, and the show risks not just jumping the shark, but vaulting over the shark on a turbo-charged pogo stick in a zero gravity vaccuum. You can't have Ugly Betty without, well, an ugly Betty.

Season three, while not perfect, is a lot of fun. There is less romance for Betty, but more personal growth--she even gets an apartment in the city, and learns how to live a little. There are, of course, dozens of scandals, screw-ups, and misunderstandings along the way. Wilhemina still schemes, Daniel learns to love, and Amanda and Betty become friends. A main character suffers a heart attack, paternity is questioned, and the Suarez family struggles to buy the house they have lived in for decades. Helpfully, the DVD box set includes a primer for those who are new to the show--although anyone not watching by now is unlikely to be converted.

Commentaries, deleted scenes, Mark and Amanda webisodes, and a blooper reel round out the collection.

It remains to be seen what season four will bring. A move to Friday night and a rumored makeover for Betty may be signs that the end is near, but who knows--like Betty Suarez herself, Ugly Betty the series is full of surprises.

Jill Lynch