Now, EOnline’s Kristin is reporting that ABC execs are seriously thinking about it. 

She says, “According to sources, ABC higher-ups are considering moving Ugly Betty to Wednesdays at 10 in January as part of a flashy relaunch of the show in an effort to save it. The thinking is that Betty would complement new hits Modern Family and Cougar Town nicely, and make ABC a solid destination for comedy on Wednesday night.”

Also:  “According to insiders, Betty also has a creative resurgence in the works, including an episode in the spirit of Run Lola Run in which Betty must race across town to deliver a diamond-encrusted bra, which sounds pretty exciting. ABC execs asked producers to move the episode up to an earlier date because they liked it so much, according to my mole.”

Hmmmmm.

First off, this move would be a godsend for the show.  It isn’t going to last much longer pulling a 1.2 or 1.3 in the demos on Fridays.  And, ironically, the show creatively has been better than we’ve seen in years.  Apparently, we haven’t even seen the best yet – ABC execs actually asked producers to move up an episode because they liked it so much?

Woot.

None of this is certain, of course.  If this were to happen, we don’t know where ABC is going to put Lost, which would normally air in that spot.  10p is pretty late for Betty’s usual demographic, but I can’t see how moving it there could possibly hurt.  I’m positive it could beat Jay Leno.

Methinks we Ugly Betty fans should let ABC execs know that we support the idea. 

UPDATE!!!!!  AfterElton confirms the move to Wednesdays!!!!!!!

Image: Newscom

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I have no idea what their reasoning is (some big competing event?  something big on cable?), but I’m pretty angry about this.  How many times can they jack around Ugly Betty fans with scheduling changes?  We are very loyal, but this is ridiculous!

But, I want to know why this decision was made almost at the last minute.  We’ve already had to wait longer than most other shows’ fans to get new episodes.

I have BIG hopes that the changes in the show are going to pave the way for its survival, but it’s hard enough to get people to stay home on a Friday, much less when fans aren’t even sure when the show is going to actually air.

I hope in the next few days someone at ABC reveals the reason for the move, and I hope it’s one made to actually help the show.

Anyway, mark your calendars for October 16th.  If it changes again, I’ll let you know.  And, I promise you, I will be cursing.

Image: Zuma Press

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As reported, Paula was slated to play a temp who befriended Becki Newton’s Amanda.  Dang it, I was really looking forward to that.

As we now know, Abdul will not be on Dancing With The Stars in either judge or contestant capacity.  So, Paula will not be appearing on ABC anytime soon.

It would appear that the talks with ABC were a negotiating ploy; she no doubt still wishes to return to American Idol under her own terms. At least, that’s how I’m reading things.

This was my fear when I first heard that talks between ABC and Abdul were ongoing: that one of the parties was not serious about it. 

If things turn around, it would be nice to have Paula on the show.  But, as things stand, I don’t think it’s all that bad that Abdul won’t be guest starring on Ugly Betty.  Didn’t they learn their lesson the last time they signed a hazy-headed drama queen as guest star?

Image: Splashnewsonline.com

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ABC

Click here to watch the episode on Hulu.com .

For those of you who are old enough to remember, these episodes slightly resemble the old VH1 show “Pop Up Video”, albeit with no annoying bubble sound.  From time to time, relevant facts about what is happening will pop up on the lower third of the screen.  This serves two purposes:

1) The fill in back story, for those who have never seen the show or those who had stopped watching the show in seasons 2/3.

2) For those of is who have seen and analyzed EVERY episode, they pop up little behind the scenes facts, like the title of the currently playing song, or trivia about the set.  (For instance, the images on the monitor in the elevator always reflect the theme of the show).

These are very well done – the pop ups never interfere with the focal point of the screen, and they use them sparingly.

I learned a few things I didn’t know (Cal Hartley was partially inspired by Ted Turner?  Well, I have heard he could be a jackass…)

Here is the schedule for the airings of the enhanced versions of Ugly Betty:

Friday, August 14 – "Rabbit Test" (OAD: 4/30/09)
Friday, August 21 – "The Born Identity" (OAD: 5/7/09)
Friday, August 28 – "In the Stars" (OAD: 5/14/09)
Friday, September 4 – "Curveball" (OAD: 5/21/09)
Friday, September 11 – "The Fall Issue" (OAD: 5/21/09)

These will also be available the day after airing on ABC.com and Hulu.com.

So, what do you think of “Enhanced Ugly Betty”?

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It is great to get Ugly Betty material, any Ugly Betty material this summer, especially since the show has a later than usual premiere date (October 9th).  Still, this one seems a little flat.

It’s the narrator.  He seems to be uninterested in the material.  (Mr. narrator, if you happen to come across this post, please know that I’m assuming you were just having a bad day ). 

ABC, for the next teaser, I nominate Buck Hollywood as the narrator.  He’ll wake you up in the morning!  (Oh, and Silvo Horta, you’ve GOT to fit a cameo in for Buck this season!)

I digress.  Anyway, the scenes are from season 3, and are a reminder of how beautifully the show is shot.  According to the video, there are 5 key ingredients to Ugly Betty:  Clumsiness, Quips, Evil Plots, Heart, and Unexpected Romance.

I’ll agree that these are definitely the key ingredients to the show, although I don’t totally agree with all of the examples.

I thought the beauty creme was a nice touch.  I’m getting excited for season 4!

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According to Ausiello, how much that look evolves is going to depend on focus groups being conducted by ABC.

The executives are "showing test audiences two scenes from early in the season, both featuring a newly glamorized Betty working at her new job as Mode’s associate features editor. In one, she’s rocking a Chanel-esque pastel pink suit; in the other, she’s sporting a short-sleeved black dress with a ruffled V-neck."

According to one participant, “She looks a lot classier, but she’s still far from perfect.”

Hmmm.

The executives are worried that audiences might not think the transformation appropriate, or might not accept a new "awkwardly glam" (my words) Betty. Can Betty still be Betty if she becomes less "ugly"? (not my word).

They’re also asking for opinions about Betty’s new hair, styled eyebrows, and makeup.

This should get quite interesting. They could have asked me, I would have told them that they can’t win. The comments I’ve seen run about 50-50 about whether Betty should change and become more attractive.

One line of thinking says yes, because after Betty has worked for a fashion magazine all these years, it is very unrealistic for her not to learn a few things about superficial beauty. And of course, we’ve discussed the realism of her extremely long-term braces treatment.

The other line says that changing Betty would completely change the nature of the show, and would take away the loveable underdog appeal of her character. And if you want realism, why the heck are you watching Ugly Betty?

I used to be in the latter camp, but I’m starting to come around. I don’t think it should be overnight, but I don’t think the change automatically means Betty isn’t the underdog (the beautiful Anne Hathaway pulled it off, at least).

It’ll be fun to watch early in the season, and try to guess which way the focus groups steered ABC executives.

Image: Bauer-Griffin

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Episodes of Grey’s Anatomy  are now available on the site – five episodes from season five.

“Over the next two weeks, more ABC shows will launch on Hulu as part of our ongoing Hulu Days of Summer promotion, including current hits like I Survived a Japanese Game Show and The Superstars, as well as popular shows like Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty and Scrubs,” a Hulu spokesman said.

Also to be available soon under the Disney/ABC umbrella are shows from ABC Family, SOAPNet, and The Disney Channel. Disney will also contribute selections from Walt Disney Studios and original, short-form content.

It will be kind of neat to be able to stream episodes of The Office, Family Guy, and The Daily Show along with ABC favorites like Grey’s, Wipeout, and, of course, Ugly Betty.  This, to me as a consumer, is the real advantage of Ugly Betty being available on Hulu.  I’ll be honest, I LOVE ABC’s video player as it is.

That being said, testing Grey’s on Hulu’s player shows that it might even be better.  Streamed in high-res (480p), full screen, the clarity is wonderful, and I can’t wait to see Ugly Betty on the player.  I haven’t looked into the embedding feature, certainly there have to be some limitations – maybe some of you are more familiar and can fill me in on Hulu’s embed policy.

As usual, you readers outside the US are left out of the loop, due to licensing reasons.  Hulu does, however, plan on launching in the UK in September.

It’ll be great to have Ugly Betty available on another platform!

Image: Newscom

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Man, watching all those little snippets, I had forgotten how much the show changed over the course of season 3.   Those Lindsay Lohan scenes seem like they were from several seasons ago.  Some of them were pretty good, but I don’t think her appearance was worth it.  It certainly didn’t help the ratings. 

I am really looking forward to this DVD – I have a feeling several of the episodes will get better as they are viewed again (and in the context of what happened later in the season).  I know that in the course of doing episode recaps, a couple of the episodes grew on me, even though I didn’t care for them at first.

Of course, the bloopers and behind the scenes footage are always fun, so that’s another reason to get the DVD.

Ugly Betty, The Complete Third Season will be released on September 22, which will give you enough time to get revved up for Ugly Betty season4!

****A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING****

Ugly Betty News is on Twitter now – tweet tweet!  If you follow UBN, we’ll follow you!  Many times something is out there that is cool but maybe not bloggable; I’ll tweet them as often as I can!

Also, I’m aware of some weirdness going on with the comments – y’all hang with us – our crack technical team is working on it as we speak!

UPDATE: The comment problem has been fixed!

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That was quick.

But, the Mike Judge show isn’t totally dead: It’s moving to Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on June 12, slotted behind original episodes of “Surviving Suburbia”. At 9. 

“Wife Swap” currently airs Fridays from 8-9. ABC had previously decided to air repeats of “Samantha Who” Fridays from 9-10, starting this week– perhaps to warm up the timeslot for “Ugly Betty,” which relocates to the night in the fall.

As for me, I kind of wish Samantha Who? could find its way to the same night as Ugly Betty.  If it’s on Fridays, the so be it.  Although I don’t really care for Surviving Suburbia very much, I see much potential in The Goode Family (the last episode was much better than the pilot), and would love to see it as a replacement part of a new comedy night on ABC, anchored by Ugly Betty.

For those of you in the business – with the advent of DVRs and online viewing, is Friday really a death-knell for a show?  Could a comedy block not work, even on Fridays?

In related news, ABC has decided to move up the second season premiere of “I Survived a Japenese Game Show” to June 17.  It will replace the double run of “Goode” in the 9 p.m. Wednesday slot. The network said earlier this spring that “Game Show” wouldn’t return until July.

I LOVED last year’s run of Game Show.  Too bad they can’t find a way to fit IT into prime time as an Ugly betty lead-in.

Image: Bauer-Griffin

Post from: Ugly Betty News

It wasn’t as much of a surprise to those who have been paying attention to what the ABC execs have been saying.  The surprise (at least to me), is that the show was included in early pickups before the “up fronts”, a distinction usually reserved for the strongest performing shows.

Along with Betty, in the announcement today were renewals for such stalwarts as Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters and Private Practice – as well as Lost, which will have its final season next year.

Also according to Variety,  unscripted shows Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Wife Swap and Supernanny are a lock for 2009-2010.

Still on the bubble is Samantha Who?, although it’s widely believed that it will get one more season.  Better Off Ted is also on the bubble, along with Castle, Cupid, and The Unusuals.

What I find most encouraging about this renewal for Ugly Betty is that it puts them within a season of being eligible for syndication (although the formula is off by a few episodes because of the WGA strike).  This makes the likelihood of a fifth season of Ugly Betty much more likely, barring any further deterioration in the ratings.  But, I get ahead of myself.

So, break out the Betty dance, she’s been renewed!!!  Woohoo!

Image: Copyright © 2008 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc./ PATRICK HARBRON

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