letter from the editor: September '06.(TV program: Ugly Betty)(Editorial)

Ugly Pretty Things

6[currency]6Ugly [+ or -] is one of the few four-letter words that still has the power to devastate. Perhaps for that reason, it [macron]s rarely deployed, and when it is, it [macron]s defanged so it can pass

with a wink as cute. For instance, Uglydolls are, in the words of their manufacturer, [degrees]huggable, playful, highly collectable [+ or -] creatures; they [macron]re sold at Barneys. Ugli,

the bruised and cystic fruit, is ugly with an [degrees]i [+ or -] and not the slightest bit bitter.

Cinematic ugliness is usually just drab, not repulsive. It [macron]s Michelle Pfeiffer with dirty hair, Ren[umlaut][bar]e Zellweger with an extra 15 pounds, Jennifer Aniston in a frumpy uniform. Coyote Ugly

is about a group of gorgeous barmaids, none of them toothless.

Ugly Betty, a new series on ABC, won [macron]t win any awards for subtlety: It [macron]s about an oafish girl with a big brain, a bigger heart, and a giant-size dream, who lands a job at a fashion magazine populated with delicate-featured vipers. Betty is saddled with heavy glasses, thick braces, bushy eyebrows, and a tendency to pile on all her clothes at once. She walks into doors. She is sweet, principled, smart, and hardworking. There is little doubt that she [macron]ll triumph before the hour is up.