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Well, this is interesting. Tuesday night, the 11th annual Costume Designers Guild Awards was held. Guess who won the award in the contemporary TV series category (for the 3rd year in a row)? That’s right Ugly Betty.
Edwardo Castro and Patricia Field picked up the award. Other winners were “Slumdog Millionaire”, “The Duchess”, “John Adams”, and “Mad Men”.
One reason I find the award for Ugly Betty interesting is because most discussions about the state of the show almost always turn to the costume design. Just check out the comments in this post at EW’s Popwatch. A few examples:
Joy: I agree with confidential about Betty’s wardrobe this season. From the beginning of the first season, we saw that she was a go-getter and confident in her career goals. Thus, it figures that after three years she would have learned how not to dress like a clown. Give her a better haircut and take off the braces! She can be ‘ugly’ compared to the other women on the show, but who says she has to look like a clown? NO WAY would she be working as an editor’s personal assistant in real life dressed in those garish outfits. Yuck.
tim h: also think their costume guru needs to dial it down a little. The characters look less like fashion forward and more like fashion retarded. the writing is cartoony enough, that having them dress like looney tunes too just sucks all suspension of disbelief for me. I also think they’ve gone from uglifying Betty to TACKifying her.
You get the picture.
I agree…to a point. Betty’s wardrobe is awfully clashing, but it’s still very appealing to the eye. The use of color, if a little over the top, is still quite good, even dazzling at times. Sometimes, it’s impossible to take one’s eyes off the screen. But Betty, in particular, is such a fashion trainwreck, it strains credibility.
Regardless, the industry professionals disagree with us fans (assuming most of us feel the costuming has pushed the envelope a little too far this year).
I DO think too much is made of the costuming, either way, though. It’s like the music – when it’s good, it really accents what is going on onscreen, when it’s bad, it’s somewhat distracting. But the enjoyablility of the show is always going to going down to the writing, directing, and acting.
Nevertheless, this is a great honor. Congratulations Castro and Field!
Image: Bauer-Griffin
568 days ago
Tom, I was struck by what you wrote: “Regardless, the industry professionals disagree with us fans (assuming most of us feel the costuming has pushed the envelope a little too far this year).”
I believe this statement exemplifies exactly why UB has gone down in the ratings and on fans’ lists of high priority shows. While I don’t think shows need to cater to the fans’ every whim and desire (it is their show after all), they should consider their fans’ opinions. From costume design to weak plots to a revolving door of characters…the show is losing favor among its fans. Someone needs to take notice before this it goes under completely.
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568 days ago
Fen said: “While I don’t think shows need to cater to the fans’ every whim and desire (it is their show after all), they should consider their fans’ opinions. From costume design to weak plots to a revolving door of characters…the show is losing favor among its fans. Someone needs to take notice before this it goes under completely.”
I think they do pay attention to fans’ opinions, quite honestly. For instance, last season, I remember reading in a few places how some people wanted to see: 1) Nicer Wilhelmina and 2) Daniel in a more steady relationship (and as less of a man-whore). Well, guess what? It’s finally happening this season. Now, while it’s possible that the writers had these ideas planned out on their own beforehand, it’s also quite possible that they took into consideration some viewers’ feedback when deciding to proceed with these storylines. The problem is the storylines aren’t working out the way the viewers had thought they would (i.e., Daniel and Wili’s romances and Wili’s niceness are beginning to grate on some fans’ nerves).
So, in the end, I’ve come to two conclusions here – one for the fans and one for the writers, respectively:
(a) Be careful what you wish for b/c you may end up getting it…but then you won’t want it
and
(b) You really can’t make everyone happy, no matter what you try. (On that point, I actually agree with Silvio.)
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568 days ago
Ok, So.. I love the outrageousness of the show & the color, but I too admit that it’s gone a little too far. I focus more on “Wth are they wearing?” than what they’re actually talking about. & For God’s sake.. her teeth have obviously been straight for the past 3 seasons…. Give her a retainer. There are tons of un-pretty things involving retainers… Esp taking them out in public. HAha…Not that I ever did that… Actually, my dog ate mine.
Congrats on the award though!
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568 days ago
I don’t like much betty’s outfits, too well tailored & expensive looking for a girl barely making it.
That said, the rest of the cast dress FANTASTICALLY! So maybe the award is dressing the overall cast? Marc, Daniel, Connor always look exceptionally sharp; Mandy always look gorgeous, and same as Willie, her outfits are over-the-top and sexy (although in this department, i think her outfits got tuned done, still gorgeous, but less over-the-top). Hilda’s look is getting boring though, always the deep low-cut V.
OK, if you writers are reading, how about Marc & Mandy puts Betty on a Reality Make-over show?? That’d be very interesting. So she gets a real lesson on fashion, made fun of, anything for the publicity of the magazine, right?
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568 days ago
I don’t like much betty’s outfits, too well tailored & expensive looking for a girl barely making it.
That said, the rest of the cast dress FANTASTICALLY! So maybe the award is dressing the overall cast? Marc, Daniel, Connor always look exceptionally sharp; Mandy always look gorgeous, and same as Willie, her outfits are over-the-top and sexy (although in this department, i think her outfits got tuned done, still gorgeous, but less over-the-top). Hilda’s look is getting boring though, always the deep low-cut V.
OK, if you writers are reading, how about Marc & Mandy puts Betty on a Reality Make-over show like What Not To Wear?? That’d be very interesting. So she gets a real lesson on fashion, made fun of, anything for the publicity of the magazine, right? And to cross-promote 2 shows! We do need some extra zings…
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568 days ago
OMG people. There have been some new ugly betty web site with real MODE covers. It is very cool. Try out modeny.wordpress.com and leave a comment. THX. That site has been made by help of Becki Newton. Thx Becki, you are the best!!!!
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568 days ago
Woah, i don’t particularly remember people asking for Willy to be nicer or Daniel being in a more stable relationship. I remember complains about love triangle story arcs, too many scattered stories, little comedy and too much drama.But then I am not in every little Ugly Betty forum/site out there (though it looks like it).
I know he can’t please everyone. But he could at least do some marketing research. He might be losing the gay people (the show is not even gay anymore), he lost partially most the pro-Henry pro-Gio fans (not decent romance this season), no storyarcs, no Cliff, no baby, no Amanda Tanen sidestory, incredibly ridiculous outfits (awarded or not). Are we sure this is what some fans wanted? If that would be true why there are not but complains almost everywhere?
In my view, this season is a complete reengineering of the show. Like they are trying to dismiss everything season 2. Everything is reinvented. Not necessarily to please the fans but to make a statement (or whatever strategy they think they are doing). And it’s definitely not really paying off this season.
And WOAH this is really a surprise… it was awarded!! where is the world coming to. I’d rather this show was awarded by acting performance, script writing or art direction… but an award is an award… one should be happy for whatever award the show gets to survive, don’t we? So congrats on ruining my sight but at least you got an award, Field and Castro. :-(
I guess some few outfits are nice or at least VERY EXPENSIVE (weren’t they try to cut costs by moving to NY?). But, for example, just look at what Marc dresses these days. Season 1 and 2 dresses were gorgeous. This seasons’ are just: “what on earth are they having on? is that thing alive?!” But still it’s like outfits are a character of their own. If that’s their goal, they got it right (you can’t focus in what’s happening just by staring at those hideous clothes). But if that wasn’t their intention… they are really losing it.
and gosh! Tom, you just HAD to pick a picture with that freaky doll purse, didn’t you?
My guess you are being sarcastic. :-)
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567 days ago
Beatrice says: “Woah, i don’t particularly remember people asking for Willy to be nicer or Daniel being in a more stable relationship. I remember complains about love triangle story arcs, too many scattered stories, little comedy and too much drama.But then I am not in every little Ugly Betty forum/site out there (though it looks like it).
I know he can’t please everyone. But he could at least do some marketing research. He might be losing the gay people (the show is not even gay anymore), he lost partially most the pro-Henry pro-Gio fans (not decent romance this season), no storyarcs, no Cliff, no baby, no Amanda Tanen sidestory, incredibly ridiculous outfits (awarded or not). Are we sure this is what some fans wanted? If that would be true why there are not but complains almost everywhere?”
Oh, yes – aside from the usual “love triangle hate” comments from Season 2, I did read some comments where people missed seeing Wili’s nicer side and that romance she had with Ted. (Look to this season, and now we have ‘mellow’ Wili hooking up with a new guy – Connor.) Also, I read several comments where people trashed Daniel’s man-whore ways and wanted to see him find stability for once (especially in a relationship). Now, we have him with Molly, trying to mature. All in all, I think this pattern does show that the writers are honing in on SOME of what the audience wants, if not all – and rightly so.
As for other storylines, it seems like UB isn’t abandoning everything. Marc will have a new love interest (the ‘gay dad’), who isn’t Cliff sadly enough, but still – it shows that TPTB aren’t ignoring his storyline altogether. As for the whole “Betty romance” idea, the writers are giving her unexpected love in the form of Matt. (And while he may not draw some die-hard Henry and Gio fans, I’m thinking he will win many fans over – just like Jesse did before “Kissed Off”.) Regarding the other side stories (i.e., Amanda’s paternal search, etc.), I don’t think they’re really necessary at this point. In fact, I personally don’t think the writers should have even introduced those kinds of side stories in Season 2. That was just overkill.
Regarding fans’ complaints, I wouldn’t go so far to say that everyone everywhere is complaining and spewing hatred against Season 3. Look at it this way: The comments you see on the Internet only reflect the views of some vocal fans. But not everyone who watches the show every week comes on the ‘net to say what they think. (I have a friend, for instance, who watches the show weekly but doesn’t join the UB forums online.) So, there might actually be more people out there who like Season 3 than we realize. Sure, the ratings show a drop in viewership, but then again – in general, many shows have lost ratings since coming back from the strike last season. UB isn’t the only one.
Of course, I understand some of the complaints that people have about Season 3. I’ve had a few myself, especially with the last four to five episodes being lackluster. But personally, I’ve enjoyed the new direction of the show overall. And the first several episodes of the season were, IMO, very good and quite an improvement over the last few post-strike episodes from Season 2. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, though, but I don’t think hope is lost for UB. They can still get better in time.
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567 days ago
As for the fashion: sorry…but it sucks! Not liking what they have everyone wearing. I use to love to see Marc’s outfits…this year…even his are off kilter.
I also agee that they seem to be trying to dismiss all of season 2…what is up with that?They never really closed the Henry/Betty thing properly.
No main storylines…everything is jumping around. The writers better get it together or there will be no more seasons…IMO
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