Though I am not big on televison today, I did take the time to post about a new show, Ugly Betty, last summer. Back then, my discussion (generated by an email exchange with Stephanie Weaver) focused on the cultural differences (Latin American/Hispanic humor) related to what seemed like an overly "mean" approach to one woman's life (the lead character is dumpy looking and runs into glass walls etc.).


Cut to today... and all my concerns have been proven wrong. The show's creator, actress/producer Salma Hayek, has made it so.
Specifially, to the second point I made in my August 14, 2006, post: Humor seems to be a cultural uniter in the case of Ugly Betty. Both the Latin American/Hispanic viewer and the white bread U.S. viewer seem to love the show.
Not only is Ugly Betty quite positive/uplifting in comparison to a lot of other stuff out there (Betty always saves the day and a very clear lesson about doing the right thing is delivered), but Salma Hayek is now getting kudos and more power in the development of the network's (ABC) future sitcoms.
The state of television today, in my opinion, is not-so great, so I and many others in my admittedly teeny tiny circle of the world end up watching very little. I'm definitely OK with that, but I know lots of people still find sitting in front of the tube a tried and true relaxer. Ugly Betty and Salma Hayek's success give us a happy ending all around.