10 Comparisons of Jane The Virgin vs. Ugly Betty

I recently binge watched all 9 episodes of the new TV show "Jane The Virgin" starring Golden Globe winner, Gina Rodriguez. The show is about Jane Villanueva, a 23 year old teacher / aspiring writer who has decided to wait until marriage to have sex. She lives with her religiously protective grandmother, Alba and her aspiring singer mother, Xiomara. She gets accidentally inseminated and pregnant during a routine pap smear by her distracted doctor. The show embraces the soap opera tones by having a soap opera in the show. But wait... doesn't that sound familiar? I couldn't help but notice quite a lot of similarities between "Jane The Virgin" and "Ugly Betty", which I will detail below in my 10 comparisons of both shows.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

1. Beautiful Lead is Made to Look A Bit "Frumpy" to Seem More Average

Jane The Virgin

Jane: Calling her Frumpy is a bit of a stretch, she's always beautiful in the show they just put her hair in a ponytail a lot. They do put her in more waitress make up with less defined features than her modeling make up (See photo above).

Ugly Betty

Betty: Obviously this transformation is more dramatic because it's the basis of the show that she is the "ugly" girl. She's still not ugly but the wig, outfits, eyebrows and braces make America Ferrera less like a supermodel and more like an average human like the rest of us.

2. Hispanic Lead In Her 20's Lives At Home With Her Family

Jane The Virgin. Alba, Jane and Xiomara

Jane: She lives with her grandma and her mother. Her mother had Jane at a young age when she was a teenager. Jane wants to succeed in her goals and be nothing like her mother, which is a big reason why she's chosen to be a virgin until marriage. Her grandmother is all-wise and comically relieving with minor subplots. Her grandmother also is in America illegally but cares deeply about her family above all else. Her mom is a little bit slutty, keeping things "casual" with men because she doesn't want Jane to get attached to any men in case it doesn't work out. Jane begins not even knowing who her father is but slowly learns who he is and creates a relationship with him.

Ugly Betty. Ignacio, Hilda, Justin and Betty

Betty: She lives with her dad, sister and her nephew. Another uneven household but there is a better male to female ratio in this show but Betty's mother has passed away. Betty's sister is Xiomara's counterpart here. Hilda had Justin at a young age when she was a teenager and is a little bit slutty with men, also not being serious with men so that Justin doesn't become attached to them if things don't work out. Betty's father is also an illegal immigrant, being all-wise and comically relieving with minor subplots. Both shows have the families embrace their hispanic culture by watching Spanish soap operas on TV.

3. Female Lead Is Put Into An Embarrassing Outfit in the Pilot Episode

Jane The Virgin

Jane: Jane still looks crazy awesome even dressed in what was supposed to be a somewhat embarrassing mermaid outfit. Put a beautiful girl in clamshells and she will still look amazing. Also, it created a stripper joke so not sure if that one's good or bad?

Ugly Betty

Betty: Betty thinks that wearing her poncho to her first day of work at a fashion magazine is the most fashionable choice. It ended up being an iconic look in the show and was positive with Betty embracing her hispanic heritage. Can't exactly say that it's flattering though.

4. Show Begins With Lead Already Being In A Long Term Relationship and Quickly Ends the Relationship

Jane The Virgin with Michael

Jane: Jane and Michael are actually really sweet together and you don't immediately want them to break up like you do with Betty and Walter. Michael is great with Jane, he's protective and genuinely cares for her well being but if the show opens and they're already together you know they'll be breaking up soon. Otherwise, the romance wouldn't be too exciting to watch. Michael betrays Jane by keeping lots of secrets from her. One thing I really enjoy about Jane's character is that every time you think she'll lie to someone she simply tells them the truth. It's refreshing.

Ugly Betty with Walter

Betty: Betty and Walter are immediately a bad match. We love Betty from the get-go. She's strong, she's driven, she's caring and she's considerate. Walter? Not so much. Walter is nice to Betty but from the moment we see them together, something is off and their relationship is already a bore to watch. It doesn't take long in the first season for Walter to cheat on Betty with her neighbor thus ending their relationship for good. Once one relationship ends... there's room to find a cute new guy! Thus...

5. Lead Has a Crush on Cute Guy She Works With But the Slutty Girl Disapproves of the New Guy

 

Jane and Rafael. SWOON

Jane: Five years ago, Jane kissed a random guy who she talked to and had a connection with then he never spoke to her again. Turns out he's now her boss and owns the hotel she works at, takes a while to remember her, and you know ends up as the surrogate father for her accidental pregnancy forcing them to spend a lot of time together. She's having his baby and he wants to change his bad boy ways and become a great father after he gets a divorce from his psycho wife, Petra. She does whatever she can to get in the way of Jane and Raf's budding new romance. Jane's mom comments about how she just got out of a long relationship and shouldn't rush into something new so quickly.

Betty and Henry. MEANT TO BE

Betty: Betty and Henry were great together. He works at Meade as an accountant with a surprisingly hot body (bonus picture below) and a heart that cares for Betty like no one before! Hilda, Betty's sister, comments about her concerns for Betty to rush into something new after her long relationship with Walter. They work together and he constantly is helping Betty whenever she needs while also being a great new romantic relationship without much drama. Until Henry's ex Charlie comes back into town and does whatever it takes to keep them apart because she's jealous. She even pretends to be pregnant with Henry's baby so that he will leave Betty and stay with her. Turns out it's not actually Henry's baby but the drama continues until Henry ends up leaving the show and Betty moves on to her next romantic relationship, Gio (UGH!). 

Hubba, Hubba

 

  6. The Show Initially Revolves Around A Death

Zaz Impaled!

Jane: In Jane, Raf's best friend and his wife's secret affair partner gets impaled causing lots of drama around who killed Zaz and why?

Fey Sommers Killed!

Betty: In Betty, Fey Sommers is a fashion mogul and ran Mode Magazine until her sudden death. Who killed her and why?

7. One of the Characters is Homosexual

Luisa Alver is a Lesbian

Jane: In Jane, Rafael's sister and Jane's doctor who accidentally gets her pregnant is a lesbian who has a secret affair with her father's wife, Rose. It's great to see that her being a lesbian isn't it's own subplot in the story. She just is and it's not a big deal. Finally.

Justin and his boyfriend

Betty: In Betty, her nephew Justin is gay and it turns out to be a very inspiring plot throughout the story. We watch as Justin figures out that he is gay, then tells people, gets bullied and ultimately knows that he is happy with who he is and he embraces it. It was so awesome to see a show handle this important and relatable aspect in so many young teens lives. It also opened doors for more shows to portray more homosexual characters. It wasn't the first show to do so but it was still a big deal to watch.

8. Celebrity Cameos

Jane: Paulina Rubio!

Jane: So Jane is still a new show but only nine episodes in, Paulina Rubio makes a guest appearance as herself to help inspire Jane's mother, Xiomara, to keep pursuing her singing career.

Betty: Linday Lohan!

Betty: Betty had a lot of celebrity cameos throughout its 4 season run. From Lindsay Lohan (above) to Victoria Beckham and Selma Hayek. The show did a great job of bringing in so many great guests and minor characters, it kept the show fun.

9. The Ambitious Lead Sees Inanimate Objects Talking to Her

Jane

Jane: Jane sometimes sees photos or objects talking to her helping her to get through problems when she's trying to figure things out.

Betty

Betty: Betty also talks to inanimate objects or photos when she too is going through issues and they help her to learn what the best choice is during her times of crises. 

10. The Lead is A Strong, Driven Female Role Model

Jane Villanueva

Jane: Jane is proud of her heritage, wants to do what she believes is right, she's driven, she's honest and she's having a baby through a medical mistake's insemination. Jane is a believer in religion and doing whats best for her family and herself. She's not going to be with a man just because he gives her attention, she has to actually care about him and he has to respect her and her choices. Especially her choice to wait until marriage to have sex.

Betty Suarez

Betty: Betty is a powerful, independent, driven woman who knows exactly what she wants out of life and is willing to work for it. The men in her life support her but she never compromises her goals or what's right. She surrounds herself with true friends who care for her and a family who means everything to her. She knows she's beautiful no matter what anyone else says or does to try and dissuade her.

There are some of the comparisons I've noticed between the new hit show on CW, "Jane the Virgin" and the 4 seasons long ABC show, "Ugly Betty". Both shows have quite a few similarities and both are enjoyable to watch. What did you notice that was the same about these shows?

Jane the Virgin has episodes streaming on Hulu and CWTV.com. Congrats to Gina Rodriguez on her Golden Globe win for Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy. Well deserved!

Ugly Betty is streaming on Amazon Prime and Hulu. It has 5 Golden Globe nominations and 2 wins (including Best Actress in TV Series, Musical or Comedy for America Ferrera and Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy) and was nominated for 17 Primetime Emmys. Wow!

My 10 Favorite TV Shows to Binge Watch

There are lots of great TV Shows out there past, present and future. There are many popular shows that are great that aren't on this list and before you call me out and say why isn't Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad or *insert name of TV show here* on this list?! It's probably because I haven't watched it yet or didn't care for it much. Everyone has their own tastes and we can't all like everything, right? That being said, here is a list of some shows that I love to watch over and over again. The stories are exciting and fun, the writing is good (mostly, sorry ANTM) and they aren't necessarily the best shows out there. However, they each have something that brings me back again and again. Plus, most if not all of these shows are currently streaming. I personally love to binge watch the following shows in order from least favorite to most favorite.



10. Ugly Betty (2006-2010)

Similar to the idea behind The Devil Wears Prada, a "frumpy" girl from Queens lands a job as a fashion magazine's Editor-in-Chief's assistant because his dad (the owner of the company) doesn't want him to be tempted to sleep with his assistants anymore. Luckily, Betty Suarez is a smart, go-getter who doesn't let the pretenses of her hire get her down. The writing of this show is great, it talks about one character's "coming out" from the closet, being proud of your hispanic heritage and of course lots of romantic relationships and high jinx.

I am not someone who is obsessed or even more than moderately interested in fashion but America Ferrera is great in this role, she is a positive role model for young girls who are pursuing their dreams. Her character gives hope that even if you don't fit in at first, do your best and prove yourself through your talents not because you look like everyone else. While Betty is constantly made fun of by other co-workers at Mode, she still prevails and makes some friends in the process. It's very soap-operaesque so be warned that it's fairly dramatic but the fun part is that the show owns up to that fact and plays it off by having a fake soap opera on the show that Betty's father watches.

Also, how great and beautiful (inside and out) is Betty's transformation from Season 1 to Season 4?

  

Betty, Season 1

Betty, Season 4

The show inspired many girls who felt "ugly" that they are truly beautiful just like Betty, whether they had braces or not. I think that's a great reason to watch this show, it's inspiring to young girls. Ugly Betty has been nominated for 4 Golden Globes with 2 wins, nominated for 19 Primetime Emmys with 3 wins and many other various awards, for a full list of the show's nominations and wins click Here. It is currently streaming on Netflix Instant so check it out! My favorite episode is "East Side Story" the Season 1 finale.



9. Food Network TV Shows (1993-  )

I am not the best cook that's for sure, however, I love to watch food network and see other people cook and see restaurants that are failing and restaurants with bad employees and watching famous chefs eat lots of food. The drama is there, people, you just need to know where to look for it.

Ace of Cakes (2006-2011), Food Network Challenge, Mystery Diners (this show is addicting!), Chopped, Cupcake Wars, Restaurant: Impossible, Diners Drive-ins and Dives, Emeril Live (this show was the best but is no longer airing), Guy's Grocery Games, Unwrapped (also no longer showing but is one of my favs), and Good Eats (Alton Brown at his finest) are just some of the great shows that air on Food Network. Just trust me, these shows are addicting. Some of these shows were just added to Netflix Instant so have yourself a food network marathon! My favorite show right now is either Restaurant: Impossible or Mystery Diners.

              

8. America's Next Top Model (2003-  )

If you have the Oxygen channel then you know that about every 4 days or so there's an entire season of ANTM marathoning on the channel. Tyra, aspiring models living together in a house, judging people on how they look in a photo, what's not to love? I love to binge watch this show, once you start an episode it's hard not to watch and see who wins!

Plus, the most recent season introduced us to guys being in the house. Unfortunately, the season was focused much more on romantic dramas in the house than of the actual modeling. I didn't think there were that many outstanding models in that cycle either. Here's to hoping cycle 21 is improving it. Cycle 21 is currently airing on tv and some previous seasons are available to stream on Amazon Prime. My favorite season is the All-Star cycle or College Edition.

7. Once Upon A Time (2011- )

You'll see later down on the list that Lost is on here. The writers of Lost created this show so there are little Lost "easter eggs" hidden throughout the show and I just think that's great. Once is about fairy tale characters who are cursed and forced to remain in our world and are stuck in a town called Storybrooke. The problem is they don't remember who they really are and only Emma Swan, a stranger from our world, can break the curse. I just love this show, the first season was great trying to figure out who was who in Fairy Tale Land. It's fun.

The fantasy and the drama are well done here, lots of Lost alums show up and the villains are truly the stand out characters of the show making it all the more exciting. I highly recommend checking out the first season, I've introduced the show to multiple friends who loved it. It's currently streaming on Netflix Instant and has been nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. There's also a spin-off to the show called Once Upon A Time in Wonderland featuring new characters and delving into the worlds of Alice in Wonderland and Aladdin. My fav episode is "Pilot" or maybe "Hat Trick".

6. Arrested Development (2003-2006) brought back (2013)

If you've never seen this show, shame on you. It's excellent. Smart, witty, quick, hilarious, unique, original. It's wonderful. I don't even want to write more about it. It's just so good you can watch any episode at any time and find a new joke you might've missed or just laugh at the same hilarious jokes all over again. In 2013 the show actually came back and although it was still funny and added more jokes for all our favorite characters I am still preferable to the earlier seasons.

Arrested Development has been nominated for 4 Golden Globes with 1 win and nominated for 25 Primetime Emmys with 16 wins. Read the whole list here. This show is streaming on Netflix Instant. Difficult to pick a fav episode here but possibly "Motherboy XXX"/ "Good Grief"/ "In God We Trust"/ any time that Tobias is dressed up for the Blue Man Group.



5. Lost (2004-2010)

There is a simply reason why this show isn't higher on this list. It's because it's difficult to just binge watch this from a random point if you haven't seen the show multiple times and know it pretty thoroughly. If you're familiar with the show you can just pick up on any episode and know okay this is the season where so and so happens. Otherwise, if you're not as familiar it's hard to do that because you get (for lack of a better word or because I love puns) lost. The series is very much something to be viewed chronologically. Luckily, the first season is easily the best one. If you've never seen the show and you like the works of J.J. Abrams (Alias, Star Trek) you'll enjoy this show. I love fantasy and this show is great. The writing and characters are truly great and they are different enough that you don't get confused with such a big cast. It's one of my favorites of all time. (Yes I own the super duper box set of all the seasons and little knick-knacks it comes with). I love flashbacks and this show is a great example of how to use them properly. If you weren't aware, Lost is about a bunch of survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island and you journey with them through their past and present as they attempt to get off the island.

Lost has had over 250 various nominations including 2 Golden Globe wins and 19 nominations, 9 Primetime Emmy wins and 51 nominations. Check them all out here. So look this show was pretty good, clearly. I suggest you check it out. It's all streaming on Netflix Instant. My favorite episode (and one of my favorite episodes of TV ever) is "The Constant". I loved that episode so much I've named stuff after it.



4. Veronica Mars (2004-2007)

I won't write much because I recently reviewed the Veronica Mars movie that just came out but the TV show is excellent, all the writing and characters are great. It's a fun detective show that's not just another average drama, it's clever and interesting. The first season is fantastic. Kristen Bell is magical as Veronica and all of the supporting cast are excellent too. It is definitely worth watching, just trust me.

The show was recently Kickstarter fan funded for a movie and as a fan of the show it was worthwhile. Check out my thoughts on the Veronica Mars movie here. The show was nominated for some smaller awards and won the AFI TV Program of the Year in 2006. The show is streaming on Amazon Prime (I believe). If you're friends with me, I'll loan you my DVDs. My fav episode is "Weapons of Class Destruction".



3. Psych (2006-2014) (Sadly ended this year)

This show is one of the greatest and most under appreciated shows on television. They've just finished up their 8th and final season of the show and it's out on DVD now. James Rhoday plays Shawn Spencer, a fake psychic working for the police department in Santa Barbara and he uses his well-trained skills of keen observation to solve crimes. They've done a 2-hour musical episode, they had some amazing guest stars, they have great catch phrases, great characters, the chemistry between James Rhoday and Dule Hill is incredible, are you getting the picture yet? This show is excellent and funny, most people who I have recommended this show to have loved it. It's addicting. Each episode has a theme and often times a tribute to some sort of 80's pop culture movie or show or actor or singer. They put a pineapple hidden in every episode. The great thing is that for the most part you can watch any random episode and not feel lost and just enjoy it (just make sure you watch the pilot first so you can catch the premise). It's so funny, I just love it. I'm sad to see it go but 8 seasons is more than most of the other shows on this list got so I'm grateful they had the time that they did. There are so many quotable lines! Wait for ittttt.....

  





I have so much love for this show. You should watch it. It's streaming on Netflix Instant. Psych has been nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy and nominated for many various other awards. My personal favorite episode is titled "Shawn Takes A Shot in the Dark".



2. Joss Whedon's Shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003), Angel (1999-2004), Dollhouse (2009-2010), Firefly (2002-2003)

These need no explanation but all of these shows are great to binge watch anytime. Buffy is always good, I am personally preferable to the earlier seasons but it's all fun to watch. Angel was a little bit harder for me to get into but once it gets it "groove" is worthwhile. Dollhouse is probably my favorite of these four shows it's very smart and interesting. Firefly is the shortest but has the biggest heart. All of these shows are perfect to sit down on a free afternoon and just watch some episodes. It certainly helps if you are familiar with the on going plots of each show but regardless each of these have really fun episodes to enjoy.

                                                                                   

Buffy was nominated for 1 Golden Globe and was nominated for 14 Primetime Emmys with 2 wins, Angel was nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy and Firefly won 1 Primetime Emmy. All four of these shows are currently streaming on Netflix Instant. You should check them out. They are great to binge watch, especially if you're looking for a new show. The writing is top notch. My fav Buffy episodes are "Once More with Feeling" (great musical episode) and "The Body" (One of the greatest episodes of television in history).



1. Gilmore Girls (2000- 2007)

The reason why this show is number one on my list? Easy. I've seen it more than any other show on television. I'd estimate that I've seen the entire series about 8-10 times all the way through. The best box set I ever spent my money on was this one because I've gotten the most use out of it. The show is well-written, it's known for how quick and witty their dialogue is. It's so fast that Gilmore Girls has a page and a half to other show's one page of script. It's impressive and memorable, the unique small town that could make any viewer want to visit there is Stars Hollow. It's full of interesting and somewhat crazy characters but it certainly feels like home when you watch it. The witty banter is great, the acting is good, this show is warm and captivating to watch. It has romance, drama, family, death, life, etc. The beautiful thing about this show is how relatable it is. Even though you might not be a Gilmore Girl yourself you get so involved with these character's lives that you feel like you are one.

Gilmore Girls is now streaming on Netflix Instant. HOORAY! Even the biggest movie buff like myself (she says humbly), has a hard time keeping up with all the references they throw out in the show. A lot of them aren't "did you see that movie with so and so that was great!" it's more of some reference or line FROM the actually thing that they're referencing. It's clever when you watch it. Gilmore Girls was nominated for 1 Golden Globe, 2 SAG Awards, and won 1 Primetime Emmy. My favorite episode is "They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?" about the 24-hour dance marathon.

I hope you enjoyed my list, comment with some of your favorites below. Honorable mentions include: Seinfeld, 30 Rock, Friends and Parks & Rec. I also hope I might've interested you in your next rainy day binge watching marathon with some of these choices. I'm always in the middle of watching at least 1 show that I've seen before, a bunch of new and current shows (OUAT, Agents of SHIELD, Dancing with the Stars, Selfie, A to Z, The Flash, etc.) and I try and watch a new show on Netflix (Currently watching The West Wing for the first time!). Hope you enjoy my list!