Ugly Betty: It ain't so superior

[irlandesak]

Oops, this is in response to someone else's post.  It was too long to leave as a comment so I'm posting it here.   I'm so not used to actually posting my own journals that I forget others can read it and would appreciate not having a 14000 character post so I'll put it under the cut and you can move along if you wish.

Comments

Sorry, I rambled a lot in this comment...

[firthgal]

HERE HERE! Just want to note that I agree with every single word in this post. There is so much wrong with the writing of Ugly Betty, and most of my issues are not D/B related. In fact, D/B is the only thing that's kept me holding onto this hot mess of a show (of course, I do rant quite often in a ship-related sense, but more often than not my issues are with the writing of the opposing ships and not the ships themselves, especially Betty/Henry, which I actually loved in theory but hated in practice).

It was one of those romances that just wasn't pretty but I thought it made for compelling television.

YES! OMG, so much yes. I was trying to figure out exactly why Betty and Armando own my soul so completely despite their unhealthiness, because at a few points he is trying to force himself on her and I am somehow equally mortified and turned on and disgusted with myself, but I think those were the exact feelings that Betty was struggling with in those moments, so it worked. And I knew that Armando's goal was not to force her into anything that she didn't want, he was just trying to get back to the peace and elation that they used to experience whenever they kissed. When they kissed, everything was always right with the world, so, naturally, when he is at his wit's end, he goes for the kiss and he does it in the most wrong way possible. Oh, Armando.

Er... anyway, the Colombian version succeeds in so many areas where the American version fails, namely in the area of making the audience relate to Betty through her entire journey. We didn't just watch Betty's journey with mild interest (or a complete lack of interest), we were on that journey with her 100%. You felt every single thing that she did, every single moment of complete happiness, every single moment of heart-wrenching pain, you understood her motivations when she did something morally reprehensible, you understood when she broke from her usual sweetness and lashed out at people that didn't actually deserve it, you enjoy her torturing of Armando so thoroughly because she's enjoying it, but at the same time, there's this underlying pain when she does it because it's killing her that her happiness was just an illusion and you miss the old Betty so fiercely and Armando is so freaking in love with her by that point that you kind of feel sorry for him and you just want them to get back to that utter happiness despite the fact that Armando totally deserves to be tormented.

I will praise UB for writing its supporting cast pretty well, namely Marc, Justin, and Amanda. They all managed to keep in spirit with the original, even through utter crap storylines *coughGeneSimmons* UB managed to go into deeper details with the supporting cast since it had a much smaller one than the Colombian version, and they were there for more than just comic relief and moving the plot forward (mind you, I freaking adore the supporting cast of the Colombian version). Also, Wilhelmina Slater > Daniel Valencia x 1000. I just hate that Wilhelmina was quite often relegated to total crap storylines (particularly the whole Bradford affair). The original was careful in not having any clear-cut villains, because as you said, Betty was in the position that normally an antagonist would be in. You root for Betty every step of the way, but you also feel awful for Marcela, especially since she probably wouldn't be so shrill/paranoid/petty if not for Armando. Armando really did a number on that poor woman. He duped her more than he ever duped Betty, and I love the irony in that. Ooooh, the Colombian version is so freaking fantastic.

Re: Sorry, I rambled a lot in this comment...

[firthgal]

Oh! By the way, just wanted to tell you that I've officially fallen in love with the Russian version. The differences between Andrey/Katya and Armando/Betty are starting to really stand out. I love that Andrey is more delighted by Katya than annoyed by her, which you can really see during the whole trip to the banks with Katya's father. Armando was completely eye-rolly and sighy and pretty much just saw Betty and her father and the broken down car as a burden and just another part of his crappy day, but Andrey was completely amused and quite sweet and by the end of it he has his arm around Katya and they already look so much like a married couple that I just melted. Of course, I will not lie, I'm pretty sure that Armando was delighted by the whole experience too, he just wouldn't admit it (because his personality didn't really allow for it. Everything was an annoyance to him. Andrey is slightly more laid back).

Another difference is that Andrey doesn't yell at Katya very often, and when he does, she usually yells right back, so they're much more equal than Betty and Armando were. It's just interesting to see the little character differences in what is almost exactly the same story.

These two clips in particular get me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzxpAzWyifo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wW7eyDSdwg

As does this one (because really, can you imagine Armando giving Betty CPR without a moment's thought?):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk2DkTLNStw

Re: Sorry, I rambled a lot in this comment...

[irlandesak]

I really just don't know how you follow along but now I want someone to subtitle this sucker because I know it's good.

Everything was an annoyance to him. Andrey is slightly more laid back

Armando was awful. And it's why I'm always surprised by myself at the end.

Thanks for the clips, I absolutely will watch them.

There is so much wrong with the writing of Ugly Betty, and most of my issues are not D/B related.

Exactly. They're no more D/B related than they are with any other character.

Er... anyway, the Colombian version succeeds in so many areas where the American version fails, namely in the area of making the audience relate to Betty through her entire journey.

Exactly. I have a friend who somewhat shipped D/B in the beginning but basically grew to hate Betty so now that it's happening, she can't really experience the high. And I get that because Betty did annoy me a lot as the series wore on. It annoyed me that almost every single one of her relationships involved a triangle. It annoyed me that she landed the number of guys she did--to the point that some were obsessed with her. It annoyed me that she was supposed to be good at her job but we saw her often being terrible at it or putting other priorities in front of it. That she did that and still had a job didn't bother me but it did make it highly unbelievable that she'd advance to where she is for the finale.