There’s one show that won’t be returning this fall that I am going to miss like crazy. Actually, I’m already missing it like crazy. Thankfully, I can relive the final season over and over again as Ugly Betty The Complete Fourth and Final Season recently released on DVD.

Release Date: August 17, 2010
Rating: TV PG
Running Time: 860 minutes

Betty sure has come a long way! She is finally coming into her own and getting what she’s worked so hard for. But what she doesn’t realize is that she’s starting over in so many ways, and if she wants to play in the big leagues she needs to keep up. Ugly Betty: The Complete Fourth and Final Season focuses on her transformation – both personally and professionally – and how she will navigate these new waters as only she can. If Betty wants to succeed, she will once again have to rely on her heart, perseverance and intelligence – along with some help from her family, friends and a few unlikely allies.

Ugly Betty was one of the most entertaining and under-appreciated shows on television in recent years. I admit, I had my preconceptions about the show prior to watching an early season on television when a marathon happened to be running over the holidays. After that, I was hooked. I could not believe that I had opted not to watch this show for so long. I won’t be able to look at Vanessa Williams anymore without thinking about Wilhelmina Slater. Every character has grown so much since season one and in such positive ways…and aside from Betty, I was most pleased with how much Wilhelmina grew as a person in the final season.

What I enjoyed the most about the final season is that even though the cancellation was somewhat of a shock, the announcement was given in enough time for this season to be written out well. Everything wrapped up smoothly and nothing was rushed. After seasons of watching Justin struggle with his sexuality, he finally came out to his family. After seasons of watching Hilda go in and out of relationships, she finally found the one for her. The Suarez family as a whole always stood by each others’ sides no matter what the situation. Though sometimes they butted heads, the Suarez family represents a strong and loving family to the end and that is admirable. My favorite partners in crime, Marc and Amanda were entertaining together but seemed to get farther individually and believe it or not, it was refreshing and quite exciting to make moves as individuals. Claire reunited with her long lost son and that was a person and story line that I rooted for surprisingly more than I expected myself to.

There was quite a bit of conflict for the Meade family all around. So much happened in this season and every bit of it I enjoyed. Though there are some actors that did not reprise their roles one last time (*cough* Rebecca Romijn *cough*), I really did enjoy how everyone’s story lines wrapped up. The actors shined their brightest in the hottest locations and the writing was truly superb. I especially enjoyed the episodes in which Mode went to the Bahamas, when Betty held Hilda’s bachelorette party in London, England, and the alternate reality episode. I laughed, I cried. I loved it all.

Bonus Features:

Mode After Hours – Becki Newton and Michael Urie are two of my favorite actors on Ugly Betty, so watching their web series on the DVD was such a treat! I purposely did not watch the web series while the show was still on the air so that I could still have new Ugly Betty footage to watch even after the series finale. It was definitely worth the wait and is definitely worth watching over and over again. These two never fail to make me laugh or drop my jaw in shock, or both. This is a must see feature for all of you die hard Ugly Betty fans.

Betty Goes Bahamas (8:30 minutes) – Becki Newton and Michael Urie are back in another special feature! They can be seen relaxing on the beach and afterwords, begin a hunt to find the other cast members that are hanging out around the island of the Bahamas. They aren’t lucky spotting the cast members, but the fans are lucky enough to see what the cast is up to on their downtime. Ana Ortiz and Marc Indelicato swim with the dolphins, Vanessa Williams, Judith Light, and Tony Plana are at the fancy restaurant, Nobu, and America Ferrera can be seen lounging by the poolside. It’s fun to soak up the beautiful setting of the Bahamas as well as watch Becki and Michael run around the island playfully in and out of character.

Betty Bloops (6:32 minutes) – Round of applause to the all involved in making this reel over 6 minutes long. I strongly dislike blooper reels of comedy shows that are barely 3 minutes long, so I am thrilled that this show went above and beyond. This truly is one of my favorite blooper reels this year. Fans will see random spouts of laughter, cast members missing marks and messing up their lines, pranks, prop issues, and lots more. There’s a small portion of the reel dedicated to “Accidents” aka trips and falls, “Smoochin” aka when Amanda is kissing Matt and then sees Betty in her mind, and “Noise” aka odd noises on set and odd noises from the cast. “Smoochin” was quite hilarious since Becki and America were laughing hysterically right before the big kiss. Such professionals. Got to love those two! “Noise” was interesting since this bit actually included not only odd noises but bits of the cast making odd faces and then the reel ends with the crew dancing wildly in the Bahamas during a sunset. It’s all very bittersweet this reel…and you really can’t watch it just once.

Deleted Scenes – In Guy Talk, Bobby asks Marc for advice on being friends with Justin and it would have worked with in the show if Justin hadn’t gone to the Beyonce concert with Austin. In Wedding Planning, the Suarez family is sitting at the table working on Hilda and Bobby’s wedding plans when Justin comes downstairs and Bobby suggests that he invite Austin to the party as a friend. Betty chimes in to say that she is bringing a friend but based on Justin’s reaction to Bobby’s suggestion…it seems this scene would have taken place right after Bobby saw “the kiss.” I am glad that this was taken out because Bobby tries to encourage Justin to be more open and that has to happen on his time. Had this scene not been deleted, I do not think that Justin’s relationship with Bobby would have become what it has become in the same amount of time since Bobby seemed to cross an unwritten boundary. In Going To Far, Marc boldly tells Wilhelmina that she is going to far in her schemes. I would have loved to have seen this scene placed right before Willie ended up in the hospital. I don’t believe that is where the scene was originally supposed to fit, but I think that would have been great. For the most part, I enjoyed the deleted scenes and wish commentary had been added to explain why these scenes were cut.

Commentary for “All the World’s A Stage” – The commentary was conducted by Actors Michael Urie and Mark Indelicato. The day that the two stars they recorded this commentary was actually the last day that they were shooting on the Mode set. So it was bittersweet and full of laughs and entertainment. Hearing the two bounce back and forth off of each others’ words was so much fun. I wish this had been a video commentary. The guys talk more about the show in general than this episode, but it doesn’t matter because it’s all great stuff. I especially enjoyed when the two talked about working with guest star, Carol Kane and Broadway star, Aaron Tveit (Next to Normal). If you have this DVD in your posession, you are really missing out if you do not listen to this commentary.

Own Ugly Betty The Complete Fourth and Final Season on DVD today.