Let’s take a  break from all the Ugly Betty ratings/schedule/ending craziness (yes, I know Lost is not going to Wednesdays – but ABC hasn’t announced what IS, as far as I know). 
Let’s skip an episode – we have all week to talk about episode 4.07, Level(7) With Me.  Here is a cool video someone assembled from the promo pics for episode 4.08, The Bahamas Triangle (Warning -MUCHO SPOILERS!).

Warning to the hearing-enabled: this has a Shakira soundtrack. 
Everyone looks incredible.  Vanessa Williams is gorgeous as usual.  Is that one-piece Becki Newton wearing at the :40 mark incredible or what?  …read more

EW’s Ausiello weighs in on the "Ugly Betty’s in trouble" sweepstakes with this Q&A:
Question: I heard that Ugly Betty is on the verge of being canceled. Can you give me any inside information on that? —Michelle Ausiello: I really don’t think Betty is in any immediate danger of getting pulled off the schedule. I mean, the ratings are bad but they’re not Dollhouse bad. Do I think ABC will renew it for a fifth season? Conventional wisdom says it’s probably a long-shot. For his part, Silvio Horta is preparing for either scenario. …read more

If the producers of Ugly Betty wanted to increase interest by whipping up controversy about the show’s romantic endgame, well, executive producer Silvo Horta put an end to it rather quickly.
(and foolishly, IMHO)
According to TV Guide Magazine, Horta wants to reunite Betty and Henry (Christopher Gorham), if indeed season four is the final season.  Guide says Horta believes Henry "is the true love of Betty’s life."
Hey, I’m just the messenger here. 
Let me first say this:  I don’t think a Benry pairing would be the worst ever ending for the show (that would be if they …read more

Speculation has begun to run rampant since Chris Gorham posted this on Twitter yesterday:
On the Ugly Betty set . . . visiting. Just visiting. : )
Then today:
Notes from Ugly Betty set – Everyone is well. Ana Ortiz’s daughter is beautiful. Giant hanging props (you’ll see) are hilarious.
Needless to say, Chris Gorham on the Ugly Betty set raised a lot of eyebrows, since many assume that if Ugly Betty gets cancelled and has its season finale THIS season,  characters from seasons past would show up – something that often happens in series finales.
Chris posted a clarification:
And, again, NO, I’m not …read more

I DID almost forget to tell you this (thanks for the reminder, Anna).  Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera is nominated for a People’s Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actress.  I think she has a pretty good chance; here is the complete list of nominees:

Alyson Hannigan
America Ferrera
Amy Poehler
Eva Longoria Parker
Tina Fey

If this were not the People’s Choice Awards, we could go ahead and crown Tina Fey, but when you get outside of NY/LA entertainment circles, things aren’t quite so one-sided.  Tina Fey is seen as smart, but not necessarily the genius who should automatically get every comedy award.  She’s funny, …read more

There has been a little confusion about the upcoming schedule for Ugly Betty, mostly caused by the previously announced preemption for Shrek the Third on November 20th.  Here is the latest ABC official press release about the next Ugly Betty episode (that I can find), which was from November 9.
"Level (7) with Me" — Daniel lets the leaders from the Community of the Phoenix call the shots at Mode, and Bennett’s promises to reunite Daniel with his dead wife prompt Betty to action. She schemes with Claire on breaking through to him with an ingenious plan and finds …read more

Here is the full recap for Ugly Betty episode 4.06,  Backseat Betty.  Quick thoughts:
What a great episode!  The show seems to be getting more realistic (more on that in a bit), but isn’t losing any of its appeal – in fact it’s getting better.
Of course it was a dramatic episode, but there were some quick comedic gems –

Ignacio:  “I think he’s the one who stole our Baby Jesus.”
Amanda: “At least I’ll always have that cold sore”.
Claire (after Matt fumbled with calling her a “girl”):  Good.  Now I know I won’t spend my time texting and worrying about boys.
The eye-narrowing …read more

It looks like the promo for tonight’s episode of Ugly Betty didn’t give any clue about the big stuff that will be happening on tonight’s episode (4.06, Backseat Betty).  EW’s Ausiello gives tonight’s episode mucho amor, then gives us some cryptic spoilers.
It  looks like, based on what’s being said by Ausiello and at AfterElton, this is going to be an excellent episode, keeping par with what has already an excellent season.  Low ratings or not, I’m starting to see buzz about Ugly Betty that I haven’t seen in a couple of seasons. 
Anyway, according to Ausiello, it looks like …read more

Ugly Betty gets a little highbrow street cred (wait – that’s an oxymoron!) with this Michele Norris interview of Michael Urie on NPR.
They talk about the character Marc’s beginnings, how Vanessa Williams made it possible for Urie to shape the character from a temporary throw-away into one of the show’s main characters.  Urie has told this story many times before, and still shows a great deal of humility and gratitude to Vanessa.
There is a great deal of discussion about Justin (and Marc’s mentor relationship with him).  They replay that wonderful scene with Patti LuPone in episode 1.18, Don’t Ask, …read more

I don’t know what the heck is going on over there at ABC, but EW’s Ausiello is saying that the move of Ugly Betty to Wednesdays isn’t going to happen.  From his Ausiello Files post:
Question: What’s the latest word on Ugly Betty moving to Wednesdays? —Alec Ausiello: All signs point to… it not happening. ABC insiders tell me Betty is staying put on Fridays for now. The most likely candidate to inherit Eastwick’s Wednesdays at 10 p.m. timeslot early next year is Lost. Speaking of Betty, is it just me or is …read more