SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
1. Beautiful Lead is Made to Look A Bit "Frumpy" to Seem More Average
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| 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).
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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?
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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!).
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| Hubba, Hubba |
6. The Show Initially Revolves Around A Death
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| Zaz Impaled! |
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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!
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