UGLY BETTY: PILOT {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The pilot in this comedy-drama series about Betty Suarez, a young Queens woman trying to make it in the fashion industry despite her unglamorous appearance.
In this episode, Betty goes to interview for her dream job with Meade publications but is immediately snubbed due to her less-than-fashionable appearance. Betty returns home to tell the unfortunate news to her family: father Ignacio, older sister Hilda, and nephew Justin. Meanwhile, it appears that Betty's nerdy boyfriend Walter is soon to propose marriage -- but instead he reveals that he is in love with someone else. Also introduced is Bradford Meade and his son, the "man whore" Daniel, who is the newly appointed head of Mode magazine. After having caught his lothario son in yet another compromising position with an attractive assistant, Bradford decides to hire "ugly" Betty as Daniel's new assistant, hoping to keep him under control. Betty's first day at work starts off ignominiously when she arrives wearing a poncho emblazoned with the word "Guadalajara!" Quickly she meets the sassy Amanda and the Machiavellian fashion editor Wilhelmina Slater before introducing herself to Daniel.
Wilhelmina is secretly angered that Bradford nepotistically promoted his son instead of her. Daniel believes that Wilhelmina is trying to sabotage his first photo layout for Fabia cosmetics. Despite thinking Betty to be smart, Daniel struggles with having a less-than-glamorous assistant, becoming convinced by photographer Phillippe Michel that he should work Betty's tail off in an attempt to get her to quit. Meanwhile, Betty also struggles to make friends with her co-workers, until she meets the friendly clothes closet staffer, Christina. The hard work even causes Betty to miss her father's birthday.
Later, Betty discusses with Christina how Daniel treats her like dirt before Christina reveals the real reason Bradford hired her. Then, when a model doesn't arrive at the photo shoot, Daniel asks Betty to stand in, attempting to humiliate her. Betty surprises Daniel by putting on the tight model clothes and arriving on set, despite heckles from others. Ultimately, Daniel's plan works and Betty quits.
Meanwhile, the results of Daniel's photo shoot end up insulting Fabia, the owner of the cosmetics company, potentially ruining Mode's supplement. Daniel has been a victim of sabotage courtesy of Wilhelmina and Phillippe. Daniel finally shows a bit of heart and goes to Queens, asking Betty to come back to work for him. Betty then lets Daniel take the credit when Fabia loves the supplement -- which Betty brainstormed. Includes commercials. This program is closed-captioned.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 28, 2006 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:59:54
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:90362
- GENRE: Comedy; Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Drama; LGBT Collection; She Made It Collection (Salma Hayek); Hispanic Americans
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2006-2010
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Curious George" home video
- TV - Commercials - "Flushed Away" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Happy Feet" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Open Season" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "The Guardian" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "The Lake House" home video
- TV - Commercials - Ben & Jerry's ice cream
- TV - Commercials - Big Brothers, Big Sisters organization
- TV - Commercials - Cingular wireless
- TV - Commercials - Crest toothpaste
- TV - Commercials - Dell computers
- TV - Commercials - Dentyne gum
- TV - Commercials - Discover card
- TV - Commercials - Dove body wash
- TV - Commercials - Fisher-Price toys
- TV - Commercials - K-Mart stores
- TV - Commercials - Kohl's stores
- TV - Commercials - Little Leaps toys
- TV - Commercials - Lowe's home stores
- TV - Commercials - Luvs diapers
- TV - Commercials - MasterCard credit cards
- TV - Commercials - Sears stores
- TV - Commercials - Snapple teas
- TV - Commercials - Staples office stores
- TV - Commercials - T-Mobile wireless
- TV - Commercials - The Foundation for a Better Life
- TV - Commercials - The Will Rogers Institute for exercise
- TV - Commercials - Verizon wireless
- TV - Commercials - Victoria's Secret bras
- TV - Commercials - Visa check card
- TV - Commercials - Yahoo internet site
- TV - Promos - "Brothers and Sisters"
- TV - Promos - "Desperate Housewives"
- TV - Promos - "Extreme Makeover Home Edition"
- TV - Promos - "Grey's Anatomy"
- TV - Promos - "Help Me Help You"
- TV - Promos - "Lost"
- TV - Promos - "Men in Trees"
- TV - Promos - "Six Degrees"
- TV - Promos - "The Bachelor Rome"
- TV - Promos - "The Nine"
CREDITS
- Silvio Horta … Executive Producer, Developed by, Writer
- Ben Silverman … Executive Producer
- Salma Hayek … Executive Producer
- Jose Tamez … Executive Producer
- Teri Weinberg … Co-Executive Producer
- James Bigwood … Producer
- Keri Young … Associate Producer
- Richard Shepard … Director
- Fernando Gaitan … Based on the series "Betty La Fea" created by
- Jeff Beal … Music by
- America Ferrera … Cast, Betty Suarez
- Eric Mabius … Cast, Daniel Meade
- Alan Dale … Cast, Bradford Meade
- Tony Plana … Cast, Ignacio Suarez
- Ana Ortiz … Cast, Hilda Suarez
- Ashley Jensen … Cast, Christina McKinney
- Becki Newton … Cast, Amanda Tanen
- Mark Indelicato … Cast, Justin Suarez
- Vanessa Williams … Cast, Wilhelmina Slater
- Michael Urie … Cast, Marc St. James
- William Abadie … Cast, Phillippe Michel
- Kevin Sussman … Cast, Walter
- Gina Gershon … Cast, Fabia
- Abigail Forman … Cast, Charmaine
- Ava Gaudet … Cast, Gina Gambarro
- Cicily Daniels … Cast, Zelda
- Kristen Schaal … Cast, Nancy
- Christine Jones … Cast, Fey Sommers
- Stelio Savante … Cast, Steve
- Eric Jordan Young … Cast, Neal Delongpre
- Elizabeth Penn Payne … Cast, Masked Lady
- Scott Porter … Cast, Guy
- David Jenkins … Cast, HR Guy
- Lupita Ferrer … Cast, Rich Latina