It's for the young woman who wants something to aspire to...it's called B Magazine. Oh crap, is that like B. Smith with Style, because she will cut you, Betty! "It's a lifestyle magazine for young women. This magazine says it's okay to get involved. To use your mind. Be thoughtful. Be confident. Be yourself. B Magazine."
B ugly with that damn pretzel necklace.
"Nice, Ms. Suarez," says one of the judges. "Let's hear your letter from the editor." Brainiac Hilda is in the back and gives her a thumbs-up.
Betty runs out of the room and says she "nailed it" as Hilda and Papi squeal with delight. You know, as much as I trash on them for not being employed, at least they are always there for her. Suddenly the music turns all hip and cool and the slow-mo camera starts going....it's Marc...and his entourage....oh my God, sign me up for your magazine that is too cool for me!
Wait! Crabby's a wanna be! Sign me up for a subscription!
Oh, I was denied! Dang!
Marc asks four assistants to help him set up his PowerPoint in the other room. Marc's vision? "A-List Magazine for all things fashion, fabulous, and famous," Amanda explains. Papi says it's all fluff and Hilda rolls her eyes at another celebrity magazine. This thing is going to sell like hotcakes!
"Well, instead of just exploiting the celebrity culture, I'm commenting on it. Ruminating on America's obsession with fame. Why can't we get enough?" Okay...interesting, but is that more of an essay in Newsweek or a full magazine? Hilda whispers to Betty that it sounds kind of smart. "David Sedaris wrote a great feature article for us." OH MY GOD HE'S MY FAVORITE! Especially the story about how he worked as an elf at Macy's during Christmas (as opposed to Bastille Day). Hilarious! I love this magazine!
And speaking of which...Marc put together an entire magazine. Talk about cutting and pasting skills, WOW. And look who's sponsoring Marc...Badgley and Mischka! And they know the judges! Oh crap! Hey, no offense, but Marc did put together a great idea and he has kick-ass visuals both in PowerPoint and human form. Sucks to be you, Betty, but maybe you can get an internship with Suzuki St. Pierre!
Back to the Future at Mode, we see an ooooold Betty putting in her teeth, complete with braces. Oooold Daniel comes out and asks her if she's applying to Y.E.T.I. again. She says she doesn't know because she's been applying for 49 years. "Maybe if you gave me that recommendation..." Daniel tells her not to be such a nag and oh, can he get a cup of coffee? She grabs her walker and shuffles to the coffee machine..."You're going to be my assistant 'til your dying day!" Oy!
Wow, she should have gone with Invisalign...
would have worked faster.
Betty suddenly wakes up and we see Daniel flying into his office. "Sorry I'm late, I lost track of time, I'm ready to help you with your Y.E.T.I. thing." Jerk! She types something and he checks his phone. It reads, "You missed it," from Betty. "Why are you texting me?" he asks. Did you not read the text? She texts back that she can't talk to him right now and that it's too late for him to do anything. He apologizes to her and she says his recommendation and a dry run wouldn't have helped because she's not getting into Y.E.T.I. She just looks like one.
Her phone rings. It's Y.E.T.I. She's in! Didn't see that coming. She screams, "I got into Y.E.T.I." and Marc overhears. Crap.
Whaaaat.....the.....F#&$!!!!
Down in Key Largo (did you forget? I sort of did what with all the Y.E.T.I. talk), Wilhelmina is totally excited that Connor was able to get rate card pricing on the back cover advertising while making the client think it was his idea. Wow, no one ever pays rate card, what a moron!
Also, awkward, they are in her room. That is creepy on a business trip. Meeting with coworkers is what the lobby and bar are for. You only meet in someone's room when you want to be talked about the next day. Connor says she was amazing. "We do make for a well-oiled machine," she says. I think she meant well-lubed. He suggests a celebratory dinner but she recommends room service...and a bottle of wine. Willie and her wiles!
Let's giggle politely and not think about anything else,
like THE BED, THE BED, THE BED between us.
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Comments (5)
Excellent recap.
I wasn't so upset about what Mark said to Betty - I thought she had a lot of nerve thinking she "deserved" it just because she wanted it. She was acting more like an entitled Paris Hilton type.
It was a pretty good episode overall... starting with Amanda in the tbu.
BTW - Vanessa Williams used to be married to handsome former Laker Rick Fox. Does anyone know if they are still together? (Just curious.) I couldn't find anything on the web.
1 of 5 | Posted by fire@will | Posted on November 28, 2008 1:41 PM
Here is an explanation to why all the costumes are so zany:
Episode 3.01
The Manhattan Project
Trivia:
• This episode marks the show's return to New York as well as the return of Patricia Field ("Sex and the City") as the show's Costume Designer. Betty's look will probably evolve, which is only normal for anyone who spends so much time surrounded by fashion-obsessed people. She won't be getting "beautiful," but she will be a little more fashion-forward, yet with the expected Betty-fied touches.
• Rebecca Romijn (Alexis) and Christopher Gorham (Henry) are now credited as Guest Cast.
2 of 5 | Posted by elmo | Posted on November 28, 2008 2:00 PM
Vanessa Williams and Rick Fox have been divorced for a while now, although I believe they are still friends. In fact he appeared on an episode of Ugly Betty (last season I believe)
3 of 5 | Posted by blazergirl | Posted on November 28, 2008 4:15 PM
Thanks for the great recap and writing so much. Love the captions under the pictures.
4 of 5 | Posted by User Name | Posted on November 30, 2008 1:23 AM
fire@will:
Blazergirl's right. Vanessa and Rick Fox are divorced and still friendly. Several months after their divorce, Vanessa even mentioned during an interview with Howard Stern that they are still VERY FRIENDLY with each other when the need arises. ;-) That was years ago, but I assume they are still cool since he played her love interest on Ugly Betty several years post-divorce.
Also, I totally agree with you about Betty acting like an entitled Paris Hilton type (or like America Ferrara's real-life She-ro, Hillary Clinton), when she assumed: a.) that she wanted the YETI award more than Marc and therefore, b.) she should get it just because she pulled an all-nighter.
With every episode, I am growing to dislike Betty more and more, but her assumptions (or as I like to call 'em, her Betty-isms) in this episode were so wrong, it surpassed her usual Bettyness. Marc has natural talent when it comes to fashion. Also, he actually cared enough to line up all his ducks THREE MONTHS EARLIER than Betty. How Betty came to the conclusion that SHE should present a fashion magazine is...beyond me. Her complete lack of self-awareness is annoying as hell.
This show's constant underlying moral message is that inner beauty is better than outer beauty. I'm all on board with that message, but I don't buy that Betty's beautiful on the inside, either. She always has these cracks where her "ugly" side shines through and someone (usually her dad) has to remind her to stop being overly judgmental, critical, etc. And those traits would all be less annoying in her if she weren't constantly pulling the self-righteous act and judging everyone else for their moral flaws.
Funny how "moral" Betty didn't mind at all that Daniel wrote that B.S. letter saying she was an employee from PLAYER in order for her to qualify for the YETI with Marc. How long did she work there? Like 3 days?
I don't have a problem with what Marc said to her about being a token because all signs point to Betty being a token choice for them. Her presentation wasn't better than Marc's. By the way, Betty stole that idea of "B" magazine. There's already a "BE" magazine on the shelves.
It's a credit to this show's writing and ensemble cast that I still watch this show despite disliking the main character so much.
5 of 5 | Posted by blahblah | Posted on December 6, 2008 8:47 AM