'Ugly Betty' is a staple of '00s TV

Betty Suarez on the left and her actress America Ferrera on the right (Walt Disney Television/Getty Images).

"Ugly Betty" is a wonderfully whacky comedy series about the not-so-stylish Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) navigating the high fashion industry as the assistant to Mode magazine's editor-in-chief Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius).

The show tends to have the tone of a telenovela when it comes to drama, likely because it's based on the Colombian series "Yo soy Betty, la fea." This tends to work in the show's favor, as every instance of absurdity leaves me in stitches.

The show has everything from catty fashion quips to soft family moments, romance, murder plots, faked deaths, and LGBTQ+ and immigration narratives. The show really caters to all audiences, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.

Ironically, I think the one thing that bothers me about "Ugly Betty" is the idea that Betty is ugly. While her fashion choices are certainly unique, they tend to align with her personality and aren't even that bad most times. Likewise, beyond the style, Betty herself just isn't ugly.

You can't convince me that America Ferrera is ugly no matter how you style her clothes, hair, or braces. In the above scene in particular, she looks great and would probably be "model perfect" if she took her glasses off and smiled without showing her braces.

And of course, some jokes probably wouldn't fly if the show was airing today. Namely, some of the jokes about Alexis Meade's (Rebecca Romijn) trans identity and the below scenes where it's implied that Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) was "ugly Willie" when she had her original nose, hair, and skin tone.

Granted, this is all done with a satirical tone that addresses the same real-life issues, and there are plenty of scenes that call out bigotry and body shaming, so I feel like the show balances itself out in that regard even if the payoff takes a while.

There are also a number of interesting references to the real-life fashion industry, such as Fey Sommers seeming to be the show's equivalent of Vogue editor Anna Wintour, an episode addressing the use of fur in the fashion industry, and cameos from people such as model Naomi Campbell.

If you need a good laugh, I highly recommend this comedy staple.