There has been a lot of serious debate about the standards our society sets as the standards for feminine beauty. Magazines, commercials, TV shows and film all glamorize thin, lanky women. In the fashion industry is constantly lowering what size dress is considered a plus size; that is for the full figured woman. Many circles use that term as a euhemerism for ‘fat’. By these standards actresses Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield would both be considered plus size and find it difficult to either model or act. Considering in their day they were considered the epitome of a sex symbol something has gone seriously wrong with how our culture judges young men. Thankfully, there is a backlash to this dangerous and unreasonable set of standards. Actresses with womanly curves are becoming popular replacing the stick figures on in movies, television and as red carpet darlings. One of the best examples of this new trend towards curvier characters on television is ‘Ugly Betty’. It is based on a popular series in Columbia, ‘Yo soy Betty, la fea’ ("I am Betty, the ugly one"). It was brought to the States by the Latina actress and producer, Salma Hayek, who, as we used to say, has curves in all the right places. As a father of a daughter I applaud Ms Hayek and the entire cast and crew of this series for bringing realistic body image back to popularity. This show combines drama and comedy outstanding quality of its production. This series is also part of the commitment the ABC television network and their parent company Buena Vista has made to providing excellence in scripted TV. If you have not been following this series you have been missing out on one of the better shows out there. Now, just before the start of the third season, you can get caught up with season two with the new DVD release. If you already are a fan then this is perfect way to keep these episodes for future enjoyment.

The show is centered on Betty Suarez (America Ferrera). She is a young Latina from Queens and has always dreamed of working in the fashion industry. The problem is she does not look like the typical skin and bones model. Ironically she gets her job at the famous fashion magazine Mode because she was considered unattractive. She becomes the assistant of the managing editor, Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius). He was a well known womanizer and there were constantly fears of sexual harassment suites so a young woman like Betty was considered safe to be around him. This may be how she got her foot in the door but by this second season Betty was an indispensable member of the team. She is the type of person who is literally without a mean bone to her body. Betty has a great depth of compassion and understanding. Betty is also responsible for supporting her family including her father Ignacio (Tony Plana), her sister Hilda (Ana Ortiz) and young nephew Justin (Mark Indelicato).

Betty is basically ill prepared for the machinations that are always afoot at the magazine. Others plot and scheme in the most diabolical soap opera fashion but it is the honesty and integrity of Betty that gets her through each mess that is presented. One of the people who are always plotting is Creative Director Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams). She is a female Niccolò Machiavelli always looking to get some sort of leverage in any given situation. At the end of season one she becomes engaged to Bradford, Daniel’s father, but things start to go very wrong. Daniel finds out about an affair she had with her bodyguard and goes as far as to fire Betty for keeping it from him. This made for a great cliff hanger that will hopefully be resolved in the coming season. Even before this event Betty was in the thick of things. Betty is involved in a romance of her own with Henry Grubstick (Christopher Gorham). This is a bit of a surprise since he has a girlfriend Charlie (Jayma Mays). At the end of season one she announces that she is pregnant and Henry goes off to Arizona with her. As this season starts he returns to New York ostensibly because he was unable to find work in Tucson and with a child on the way needs the income and benefits. He subsequently learns from a seamstress Christina McKinney (Ashley Jensen) that Charlie was not faithful to him and there is a possibility that the child is not his.

In order to fully enjoy this series you have to embrace the soap opera origins of it. Yes, some of the plots are improbable but they are fun. One typical soap standard is played out with the character Alexis (Rebecca Romijn) who was Daniel’s brother but thanks to modern medicine is now his sister. Well, Alexis comes down with partial retrograde amnesia and doesn’t remember the transformation to being a woman. The Meade family hopes to use this aliment to help rewrite their family history. Betty’s nephew Justin gets his dream job as an intern at Mode so Betty’s family problems can now show up at work. Betty also tries to move on from Henry by signing up for an internet dating service. While all this is going on Wilhelmina and her personal assistant Marcus St. James[ (Michael Urie) are diligently working on ruining Mode so that Daniel will be disgraced and she can move into the top spot. Most of the story lines are along these lines. The difference between this series and other night time soaps is the intrinsic humor that pervades the show. It is not as overtly sexualized as most of the prime time soaps and the themes explored are more human in nature.

America Ferrera is one of the brightest stars on the horizon today. She is simply incredible in this role. I have been a fan since I saw her in ‘Real Women Have Curves’ and she has only grown in the command of her talent since then. She brings a quality to her character that is endearing. She exhibits such pathos that you cannot help but cheering her on as everyone dumps on Betty. Not only is it refreshing to see a healthy looking young woman on television but it is great to see one who is a nice person. It takes a lot to make Ms Ferrera into Betty but thankfully for us she goes through it.

ABC through Buena Vista releases this DVD with the same attention to detail and respect for the fans as all their television box sets. It has an anamorphic 1.78:1 video and a robust Dolby 5.1 audio. It is also packed with extras. This is a great series that should not be overlooked.