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Bad Idea of the Week: "America the Ugly"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 04:30:00 PDT

Here's an idea that just makes me sad: VH1 could be developing a reality show called "America the Ugly," following unattractive women who get thrown into the glamorous world of fashion and modeling. The show is said to be a real-world version of "Ugly Betty," starring Becky Southwick, the acerbic model manager from "The Agency."

Now, I actually enjoyed Becky's cutting comments on "The Agency" - when she was dealing with models, also known as people who are judged on their looks professionally. But I wouldn't want her giving me a head-to-toe assessment before I headed to work each day - and I certainly wouldn't want her to humiliate other relatively normal-looking young women who might not be too high in the self-esteem department in the first place.

I know we live in a judgmental, Hollywood-obsessed society, but when did it become outright OK to make fun of "ugly" people? I'm still reeling from these yogurt ads that reimagine classic movie scenes with chunkier women in the roles, and this show seems even more offensive. Other than proving that reality TV once again lacks original ideas, it also ignores the major lessons of "Ugly Betty" - that the supposed beautiful people are often nasty on the inside, that your mind and heart matter more than your looks, that the underdog can come out on top.

This especially bugs me because right now, male nerds - many of whom are far from being Hollywood lookers - are being not just accepted but celebrated in entertainment: "Flight of the Conchords," "The IT Crowd," "Chuck," Dwight Schrute. Why can't our brainy, beautiful (if not model-gorgeous) girls get their due, too?

Fab Flash: Ugly Betty - The Reality Version?

FabSugar — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:30:33 PDT

Ugly Betty has been such a success, VH1 is developing a reality show called America The Ugly which is said to be loosely based on Betty. The premise of the show investigates what happens to unattractive women who are working in the fashion and modeling industries. Becky Southwick, the fork-tongued former Wilhelmina Models executive who gained fame for calling girls fat on VH1's The Agency, is also involved.

I've been tired of the reality-show phenomenon for some time now, and this show sounds a little low-brow to me - what do you all think?

What to TiVo: Wednesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:59:00 PDT

8:00 The Middle (repeat)
8:30 Suburgatory (repeat)
9:00 Modern Family (repeat)
9:30 Don't Trust the B----- in Apartment 23 (new)
10:00 Revenge (new)
11:35 Nightline (new)
12:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live (new)

8:00 Survivor: One World (new)
9:00 Criminal Minds (repeat)
10:00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (repeat)
11:35 Late Show With David Letterman (new, with guest Rob Lowe)
12:37 The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (repeat, with guest Carol Burnett)

8:00 American Idol (new)

8:00 Betty White's Off Their Rockers (new)
8:30 Best Friends Forever (new)
9:00 Rock Center With Brian Williams (new)
10:00 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (new)
11:35 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (new, with guest Adam Levine)
12:37 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (new, with guest Jim Gaffigan)

8:00 The L.A. Complex (repeat)
9:00 America's Next Top Model: British Invasion (new)

More TV to watch when you read more.

What to TiVo: Wednesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:59:00 PDT

8:00 The Middle (repeat)
8:30 Suburgatory (new)
9:00 Modern Family (new)
9:30 Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (new)
10:00 Revenge (new)
11:35 Nightline (new)
12:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live (new, with guest Jennifer Love Hewitt)

8:00 Survivor: One World (new)
9:00 Criminal Minds (repeat)
10:00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (repeat)
11:35 Late Show With David Letterman (repeat, with guests Jennifer Lawrence and Gail Collins)
12:37 The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (new, with guests Michael Sheen and Michael Ian Black)

8:00 American Idol (new)

8:00 Betty White's Off Their Rockers (new)
8:30 Best Friends Forever (new)
9:00 Rock Center With Brian Williams (new)
10:00 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (new)
11:34 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (repeat, with guest Jimmy Fallon)
12:37 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (repeat, with guests Joel McHale and James Cameron)

8:00 America's Next Top Model: British Invasion (repeat)
9:00 America's Next Top Model: British Invasion (new)

More TV to watch when you read more.

What to TiVo: Wednesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:59:00 PDT

8:00 The Middle (new)
8:30 Suburgatory (new)
9:00 Modern Family (new)
9:30 Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (new, series premiere)
10:00 Revenge: From the Beginning (new)
11:35 Nightline (new)
12:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live (new, with guest Ashley Judd)

8:00 Survivor: One World (new)
9:00 Criminal Minds (new)
10:00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (new)
11:35 Late Show With David Letterman (new, with guests Magic Johnson and Jim Gaffigan)
12:37 The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (new, with guest Adam Goldberg)

8:00 American Idol (new)

8:00 Betty White's Off Their Rockers (new)
8:30 Best Friends Forever (new)
9:00 Rock Center With Brian Williams (new)
10:00 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (new)
11:34 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (new, with guest Albert Brooks)
12:37 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (new, with guests Joel McHale and James Cameron)

8:00 America's Next Top Model: British Invasion (repeat)
9:00 America's Next Top Model: British Invasion (new)

More TV to watch when you read more.

What to TiVo: Wednesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 23:59:00 PDT

8:00 The Middle (repeat)
8:30 Suburgatory (repeat)
9:00 Modern Family (repeat)
9:30 Happy Endings (new)
10:00 Missing (repeat)
11:35 Nightline (new)
12:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live (new, with guest Adam Carolla)

8:00 Survivor: One World (new)
9:00 Criminal Minds (repeat)
10:00 CSI: Srime Scene Investigation (repeat)
11:35 Late Show With David Letterman (new, with guest Chris Elliot)
12:37 The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (repeat, with guest Pierce Brosnan)

8:00 American Idol (new)
8:00 Whitney (new)
8:30 Are You There, Chelsea? (new)
9:00 Bent (new)
9:30 Bent (new)
10:00 Rock Center With Brian Williams (new)
11:34 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (new, with guest Rainn Wilson)
12:37 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (new, with guests Aziz Ansari and Ana Gasteyer)

8:00 One Tree Hill (new)
9:00 America's Next Top Model: British Invasion (new)

More TV to watch when you read more.

What to TiVo: Wednesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 23:59:33 PDT

8:00 The Middle (repeat)
8:30 Suburgatory (repeat)
9:00 Modern Family (repeat)
9:30 Happy Endings (new)
10:00 Missing (repeat)
11:35 Nightline (new)
12:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live! (new, with guests Don Rickles and Dave Franco)

8:00 Survivor: One World (new)
9:00 Criminal Minds (new)
10:00 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (new)
11:35 Late Show With David Letterman (new, with guests Debra Messing and Josh Hutcherson)
12:35 The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (new, with guest Elizabeth Banks)

8:00 American Idol (new)

8:00 Whitney (new)
8:30 Are You There, Chelsea? (new)
9:00 Bent (new, series premiere)
9:30 Bent (new)
10:00 Rock Center With Brian Williams (new)
11:34 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (new, with guests Kim Kardashian and Sherri Shepherd)
12:37 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (new, with guest Jennifer Lawrence)

8:00 One Tree Hill (new)
9:00 America's Next Top Model: British Invasion (new)

What to TiVo: Sunday

BuzzSugar — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 23:59:00 PDT

8:00 Once Upon a Time (new)
9:00 Desperate Housewives (new)
10:00 Pan Am (new)

8:00 Amazing Race 19 (new)
9:00 The Good Wife (new)
10:00 CSI: Miami (new)

8:00 The Simpsons (new)
8:30 Allen Gregory (new, series premiere)
9:00 Family Guy (new)
9:30 The Cleveland Show (new)

8:15 Sunday Night Football: Cowboys at Eagles

4 Things to Look Out For in Sarah Palin's Movie About Herself

Annie Scudder — Wed, 25 May 2011 13:30:24 PDT

Never the conventional candidate, Sarah Palin is poised to launch her potential presidential campaign by screening a two-hour feature film about herself in Iowa. While she's yet to make a decision about running, she has commissioned a movie by conservative director Stephen K. Bannon that covers her entry into local politics, her VP run, and her decision to quit her job as governor. Interviewing Palin supporters and showing the prefame side of Palin that most don't know, the movie hopes to fire up Republican fans and critics alike about a Palin bid, or at least improve her legacy.

RealClearPolitics screened an advanced copy of the film, titled The Undefeated, and gave an extensive account of what we can expect. Here are four things to look out for:

God: Palin is presented as a Joan of Arc-like figure, and the film is filled with religious metaphor. RealClearPolitics says it divides the "world between the heroes who are on her side and the villains who seek to thwart her at every turn."
Wild Animals: Palin's persecution by the media and political insiders is shown with images of "lions killing a zebra and a dead medieval soldier with an arrow sticking in his back."
Celebrity Palin Haters: The movie begins with a montage of celebrities bashing Palin with sexist and derogatory language. "Rosie O'Donnell, Matt Damon, Bill Maher, David Letterman, and Howard Stern all have brief cameos," RealClearPolitics explains, "before comedian Louis CK goes off on a particularly ugly anti-Palin riff."
Palin 1.0: We can expect lots of never-before-seen home videos, recounts of a time when Palin was the most popular governor in America with an 80 percent approval rating, and a simpler version of the Palin we now know. According to RealClearPolitics, The Undefeated "conveys the dramatic extent to which Palin's world has changed in just a few years, as it shows her announcing her gubernatorial campaign not at a massive rally but at a sparsely attended press conference in her kitchen."

Does this make you curious to watch?

America Ferrera Ties the Knot With Ryan Piers Williams!

Allie Merriam — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:27:17 PDT

America Ferrera married her longtime boyfriend, Ryan Piers Williams, yesterday in New York state! The newlyweds borrowed her Ugly Betty costar Vanessa Williams's home in Chappaqua for the lavish event, which was officiated by their other castmate Judith Light. America's dress from Amsale's Christos line, as well as Fred Leighton jewelry.

Check out tons of other celebrity wedding pictures!

The guest list was star-studded with Rebecca Romijn, Jerry O'Connell, and Mark Indelicato in attendance. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants contingent was well-represented too, with Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn, and Blake Lively on hand. Blake, however, did not bring along her recent love interest, Leonardo DiCaprio. America and Ryan were engaged for just over a year, as she debuted her diamond ring last June at the Edinburgh Film Festival in Scotland. Her most recent acting work was a recurring role on The Good Wife, and hopefully America has enough time off to honeymoon with Ryan before she starts doing voice work for How to Train Your Dragon 2. Congrats to the happy couple.