It’s that time of the new year where everyone is doing their round-up of the best and worst of the previous year. Well, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! I’ve been able to consume a lot of media this year, so I thought now would be a good time to start an annual tradition where I let you know what movies, TV shows, plays, musical, books and people made an impression on me, for better or worse. So, without further ado, it’s time to announce the winners of the 1st Annual Lauries!

Best Film of 2017

Paddington 2

What a wonderful antidote this was to a year full of nastiness in the news. We could all use a reminder that essentially, everyone is decent. Paddington brings out the best in us, and this sequel was even more funny, inventive and touching than the first. I’ll be going into more detail about the character Of Paddington himself further down.

It was so refreshing to see a simple, stripped-down film that was gentle-humoured and charming. It wasn’t trying to be a spectacle, and the stakes were low. The whole film revolves around a pop-up book that Paddington wants to buy for his Aunt Lucy.

This gives us time to just enjoy the wonderful characters, especially Hugh Grant as a washed-up flamboyant actor, and the ludicrous scenarios, like Paddington being falsely imprisoned only to turn the jail into a victorian-style tearoom. No matter your age, it’s hard to think of someone who wouldn’t love Paddington 2, both as an exercise in good writing and just an all-round enjoyable film.

Worst Film of 2017

Detroit

I have real issues with Katheryn Bigelow’s Detroit, especially after her brilliant work on films like The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. Whilst Bigelow focused more on atmosphere than story, which is not necessarily a bad thing but one I’m not personally keen on doing, everything about the film is exaggerated. Every character is a caricature.

The antagonists are violent and racist but we never really understand their point of view. The protagonists are seen as helpless victims and nothing more. It never earns its shocks, its violence or its tension because we never care about what is going on or who it is happening to.

Detroit could have been something special. Instead, its troubling for all the wrong reasons.

TV show of 2017

Mindhunter

The latest Netflix drama directed by David Fincher is a real slow-burner, and has tested the patience of many a viewer. I, however, loved it. It features a winning combination of Power of Truth and Power of Reason characters, as the series depicts the formation of the FBI’s behavioral science unit.

Whizzkid Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) interviews some of America’ most notorious serial killers under the weary gaze of gruff older agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) and academic Wendy Carr (Anna Torv). These are truth-seekers and mystery-solvers attempted to unravel the twisted logic of those who believe that their victims deserved to die, and that the world should bend to their set of rules. As a tale of Power of Truth vs Power of Reason, it made for the most engrossing TV of the year.

Power of Ambition Character of 2017

Boris Johnson

Power of Ambition characters will do whatever they have to in order to gain power and influence. They will change face at a moment’s notice, and stab others in the back in order to command respect and admiration.

This year, no one has undermined his own leader, and his own cabinet, like Boris Johnson. Rumour has it that his own colleagues are sick of him attempting to usurp Prime Minister Theresa May and take over as Prime Minister himself, an ambition he has held for years but will likely never achieve. What could once have been seen as strategic and calculating has now become embarrassing.

The one thing he has been consistent in is behaving like a Power of Ambition character should.

Power of Conscience Character of 2017

Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) in The Punisher

I will be publishing a much more in-depth article about Netflix’s Power of Conscience show The Punisher soon, but its titular character is a brilliant demonstration of how far a Power of Conscience character can fall to the dark side. Driven to extreme vengeance following the brutal murder of his family, “The Punisher” doles out his own brutal judgment upon everyone he believes has done wrong. Few are left alive or without lasting injuries.

Frank Castle is a tragic character, bolstered by Bernthal’s heartbreaking performance, and it’s refreshing to see the darkest side of Power of Conscience. This Character Type can be more dangerous than even Power of Will when they are pushed too far, and truly believe their law is above everyone else’s. He is surrounded by other Power of Conscience characters, but he is at the furthest end of a spectrum. He is a great anti-hero, and a good way to judge how far you think a Power of Conscience character could go when you’re writing them.

Power of Excitement Character of 2017

Phoenix Buchanan (Hugh Grant) in Paddington 2

Another entry from Paddington 2, for a character portrayed by an actor commonly associated with the Power of Excitement Character Type. Hugh Grant has played so many Power of Excitement roles in his career- womanizers with rakish charm and carefree thrillseekers who are the life and soul of the party. Although the wonderful Phoenix Buchanan is a variation, he is a classic entry into Grant’s canon.

Phoenix Buchanan is willing to let an innocent Paddington rot in jail so he can pursue his ancestor’s treasure hunt, with a prize that will finance his endless pursual of his lavish lifestyle, where he can indulge his own enjoyment. His motivation is quintessentially Power of Excitement, and he ultimatelt gets what he wants- all eyes on him, as he becomes the centre of attention.

Power of Idealism Character of 2017

Alexander Hamilton (Jamael Westman) in Hamilton

The hit American musical Hamilton, a hip-hop retelling of the life of Founding Father and Secretary of the treasury Alexander Hamilton,  recently arrived in London, with Jamael Westman playing the titular lead character.

Hamilton is all about the creation of a nation, and the sacrifices one must make for legacy and achieving a destiny, often at the cost of family, friends and morals. Alexander Hamilton, as he is depicted in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, is a brilliant example of a Power of Idealism character as their best and their worst. His striving for the best helping shape The United States of America as we know it, but also brough him unspeakable tragedy and eventually led to his own death.

Hamilton is Power of Idealism in its extreme. Even listening to the soundtrack by itself will demonstrate how far this Character Type will go for that next high, or to embrace that exaggerated drama that they crave in their life, or to acheive their grand destiny. Nobody believes in grand destiny like Alexander Hamilton, who constantly reminds us that he is “not throwing away [his] shot”.

Power of Imagination character of 2017

Paddington Brown (Ben Whishaw) in Paddington 2

Power of Imagination are commonly young naïfs who have adventure unwittingly thrust upon them and have to rise to the occasion. Paddington, star of my favourite film of the year, is a great example of this Character Type.

Another trait of Power of Imagination characters is that they often bring people together for a common good. Paddington 2 goes to great lengths to show us how much his neighbours rely on Paddington to help their street to run smoothly. When he is falsely imprisoned, his charm and good manners win over an entire jail full of hardened criminals. His adoptive family, The Browns, aren’t quite the same without him. He is the glue that holds everyone together, and they will do anything for him in the same way that The Fellowship of the Ring would do anything for Frodo Baggins, or The Rebellion would do for Luke Skywalker.

Paddington works as a character because he takes the extraordinary situations he gets involved in, and tackles them head on in the only way he knows how, no matter how out of his deapth that he feels. We could all learn something for Paddington, perhaps more than any other Power of Imagination character.

Power of Love Character of 2017

Mija (Seo hyun-Ahn) in Okja

Okja is another Netflix production, but this time a feature film. It is a great Power of Love story that may at times seem like a Power of Truth story, once it veers into a group of environmental activists trying to uncover the wicked acts of a global corporation, but at its heart, it is a love story between Mija and her bizarre giant friend, Okja.

Mija, in theory, ruins a lot of lives and breaks a lot of hearts in her pursuit of her kidnapped animal companion. She is relentless in her mission to regain Okja, whether or not Okja’s return to the city is the best thing for her or not. For a selfish journey that is ultimately selfless, Mija is this year’s best example of a Power of Love character because of her unwavering belief that Okja belongs to her, and her love is the best thing no matter who gets in her way.

Power of Reason character of 2017

Robert Mueller

Robert Mueller is a classic “G-Man” for the FBI, a conservative with traditional values who is loyal to the Bureau and has always upheld its core beliefs. He is not Power of Truth, despite his detective-like behavior uncovering inciting documents and damning evidence during the Russia investigation.

Mueller is meticulous, as he was trained to be, and his approach to the investigation has been typically Power of Reason. He is only interested in the facts, as well as cold, hard statistics. He is cool, calm and collected. This year he has proved to be someone totally neutral and only interested in finding out the truth. He is not paranoid, or unsure of himself- he has more conviction than any Power of Truth character could.

Power of Truth Character of 2017

Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) in American Vandal

My favorite Power of Truth story this year was the Netflix spoof American Vandal, who parodied true-crime documentaries like Making A Murderer and Serial so perfectly that it became every bit as good as them. At the heart of the story was its narrator, student filmmaker Peter Maldonado, who is making this “documentary” to uncover the truth behind “Who Drew The Dicks?”.

Peter displays all the flaws of a classic Power of Truth character. He doesn’t trust anyone and loses friends because of how far he is willing to go to uncover a conspiracy and solve a mystery that may not even be there. It’s surprising how a show that makes fun of the tropes from detective stories and crime investigations would provide such a great example of a typical Power of Truth character.

Power of Will Character of 2017

Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) in Peaky Blinders

Gangsters are typically Power of Will characters, and Tommy Shelby is no exception. He might just be the greatest Small Screen Gangster since Tony Soprano. For non-British viewers, Peaky Blinders is essentially The Godfather set in early 20th-century Birmingham, UK. War veteran Tommy is the patriarch of his crime family, keeping everyone in check, from his reckless brothers to the Prime Minister and King of England themselves.

Tommy is ruthless and violent but in an intelligent way. Gangsters all have different styles of management, and Tommy uses violence only sparingly, preferring to use intimidation, and controlling people through legitimate business and official channels. His methods work, and as the show has progressed Tommy has become increasingly powerful. He is an incredible success Power of Will character, and for that, he is my favorite example of this Character type from last year.

Moment of the year

#MeToo

It’s hard to choose one specific moment, because there’s been so many notable events this year. What has been happening in the real world in 2017 has been so volatile that it’s far more dramatic than something any TV Show or Film could have mustered up.

So this year, which has been so relentlessly bleak, I’m awarding Moment of the Year to something hopeful. The #MeToo movement, which was also Time’s Person of the Year. Brave women (and men) came forward and exposed an abusive culture that is long overdue to be eradicated. It’s only the start, but it’s a start nonetheless.

So to those of us who have been harassed or assaulted, the rise of #MeToo was a Moment that will define this year more than any Film, TV show or politician.

I’ll be continuing Power of Conscience month with an examination of Whistle Blowers this Thursday, much like the instigators of #MeToo who spoke out because it was the right thing to do. A great example of Power of Conscience behavior working for the better.

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Power of Love characters believe if they make themselves indispensable and/or irresistible the other person will need them and will be obliged to love them. This might be stated: “I’ve done everything for you. I sacrificed and slaved for you. I made you who you are. You owe me.” Or in the case of a spouse or lover: “I gave you the best years of my life. You owe me.”

On a paper valentine it says simply, firmly and powerfully “Be Mine.” Possessiveness and passive/aggressive domination are the hallmarks of these characters. Power of Love characters often lavish their attention and affection on others in order to exercise control, prevail, gain dominance or conquer another’s heart.

They see their own value reflected in the eyes of their love object.  Their philosophy might be stated: “You’re nothing without me. (And I feel I am nothing without you.)”

A character driven by the Power of Love is often a best friend, a mentor, an over-zealous parent, a beleaguered assistant or someone who tirelessly pushes another forward in a story. At their worst, these characters are stalkers, jealous lovers, crushingly caring parents, needy spouses, clingy codependents or self-pitying martyrs for love.

Although typically developed as a female character, a Power of Love character can also be a compelling male lead. These characters— often soft, gentle and compliant on the outside—are made of strong, even steely, stuff on the inside.

Character Examples

Betty Suarez in Ugly Betty; Marge in The Simpsons; Turtle in Entourage, Steve Brady in Sex and The City; Ray Barone in Everybody Loves Raymond and Phil Esterhaus in Hill Street Blues are great television examples of this Character Type.  For more television examples see the Power of Love blog posts.

Film examples include Loretta Castorini in Moonstruck, Mama Rose & Gypsy Rose Lee in Gypsy, Dorothy Boyd in Jerry Maquire, Annie Wilkes in Misery and Robbie Hart in The Wedding Singer.  For more movie examples see the Power of Love blog posts.

Power of Love eBook

The Power of Love Character Type eBook explains how these characters are alike and how each character is made individually distinct. It will help you develop unique, original, evocative and authentic Power of Love characters that fully explore all the contradictions, reversals and surprises of a fully formed human being.

Discover the Power of Love character’s specific goals, unique emotional obstacles and very distinct responses and reactions to any opportunity, challenge or threat. Create this character’s Immediate Tactics, Long-term Orientation and Strategic Approach in a way that is recognizably “true” at every step of the story and during every moment of screen time. The audience will instantaneously recognize and relate to your character because your character is complex, three-dimensional and “feels real.”

This eBook is thorough analysis of the Power of Love Character Type in his or her many guises and roles as a protagonist or a member of a larger ensemble. It is packed with numerous examples from film, television and even real life! Examples from scores of scenes and dozens of quotes from film and television characters clearly illustrate this character’s motivations and psychological dynamics in a story.

Comprehensive Analysis

The Power of  Love Character Type eBook illustrates exactly how to create and differentiate this character based on his or her:

(1.) World View (beliefs about how the world works) What are the essential core beliefs that motivate a Power of Love  character’s ordinary actions?

(2.) Role or Function (position in the story or role in the ensemble) What do the other players look to a Power of Love character to do or provide in the story?

(3.) Values in Conflict (competing values that push the character to extremes) What opposing choices or goals establish the Power of Love character’s moral code? What is this character willing to fight, sacrifice or die for? And why?

(4.) Story Questions (emotional journey in the story) What personal issues, dilemmas and internal conflicts does a Power of Love character wrestle with over the course of the story? What does this character ask of him or her self? What is this character’s Leap of Faith in an emotionally satisfying story?

(5.) Story Paradox (emotional dilemma) What is the duality or the contradiction at the heart of a Power of Love character’s story struggle? How is the character’s internal conflict expressed in actions.

(6.) Life Lessons (how to complete the emotional journey) What must a Power of Love character learn over the course of the story to make a clear, satisfying personal transformation? What actions lead to this character’s emotional salvation?

(7.) Dark Side (this character as a predator or villain) What happens when a Power of Love character’s actions are driven entirely by fear? How might or how does the story end in tragedy?

(8.) Leadership Style (what defines and qualifies this character as a leader) How does a Power of Love character convince others to follow? How does this character act to take charge and command?

(9.) Film Examples (the Power of Love character as a protagonist)

(10.) Television Examples (the Power of Love character as central to an ensemble)

(11.) Real Life Examples (historical Power of Love figures on the world stage)

A character driven by the Power of Love is often someone who tirelessly pushes another forward in a story.  Although typically developed as a female character,  a Power of Love character can also be a compelling male ensemble player (or even lead).  These characters— often soft-spoken, gentle and compliant on the outside— are made of strong, even steely, stuff on the inside.  They believe the best place to be is the “power behind the throne.”

All these qualities are very evident with Alfred.  His courtesy and refined manners mask a steely determination and protectiveness on Bruce Wayne/Batman’s behalf.  Alfred stands just behind Batman’s power and is a subtle but strong presence in the story.

Alfred: I suppose they’ll lock me up as well. As your accomplice…
Bruce/Batman: Accomplice? I’m going to tell them the whole thing was your idea.

In a large part the whole concept of Batman is Alfred’s idea. Bruce/Batman’s continuing story hinges on a key action Alfred takes.

Power of Love characters are defined by their determination.  They will not give up on whatever goal, scheme or objective they have in mind for the object of their attention.  These characters  sincerely do believe they know what is best for others.  They can be very cunning in controlling and manipulating others (always for the other person’s own welfare).

Alfred advises, consoles and prods Bruce/Batman through-out the film.  Rachel entrusts Alfred with the note that, ironically, are her last words.  Alfred first delivers Rachel’s farewell note and then surreptitiously takes it and burns it.  He does so out of love for Bruce/Batman, and he sincerely believes he (Alfred) knows what is best.  Maybe so, but Alfred also deprives Bruce/Batman of the truth and the last words of the woman he loves.

The Ugly Betty (Yo soy, Betty la Fea) telenovela has translated successfully around the world and the recent American version garnered Golden Globe, People’s Choice, and Writers Guild Awards for best new series as well as a best actress Golden Globe for America Ferrera.

What makes the Ugly Betty format so successful with audiences world-wide? How can the US show avoid the story problems and resulting audience downturn that bedeviled the equally popular Lost and Desperate Housewives in their second seasons? This month I’ll look at the challenges Ugly Betty faces going forward.

Ugly Betty (Yo soy, Betty la Fea) is about the two lives of Betty Suarez, a bright but beauty challenged college graduate. She lands a job with the ultra slick Mode Magazine in New York City but lives with her struggling Mexican-American family in Queens. Betty commutes between these two very different worlds.

The Danger: Repeating the Mistakes of Lost and Desperate Housewives

Lost and Desperate Housewives were also highly original shows on ABC that had acclaimed premiere seasons. In the second season neither show stayed true to the essential story elements that initially captivated viewers. Straying from their emotional cores defused the power of each show. As a result, each show lost viewers and dropped in the ratings in its second season.

Is Ugly Betty in danger of repeating that mistake as its first season draws to a close? What are the first signs of this potentially problematic trend?

According to Nielsen numbers, the pilot started the show off at a high of 16.09 million viewers. Ugly Betty then settled comfortably into the 13+ million to 14+ million viewer range. In the last four episodes viewers have slid generally downward, dipping to 10.80, to 10.50, and 9.5 million viewers respectively then up slightly to 9.6 million viewers.

Does this signal growing dissatisfaction as viewers tune out? Why might the audience be disengaging from the show? How can this be corrected?  Here is my analysis:

1. Identify the Classic Story Elements

Betty is portrayed as a Power of Love character in the series. (In my view of television and film there are Nine Character Types, each with their own internal values, worldviews and emotional journeys.) 

Stories driven by the Power of Love (and all love stories, romantic and otherwise) are about assimilation.

Immigration stories are also assimilation stories: whether it is a story of Algerian immigrants in France, Indian families in Britain, Mexican immigrants in the US, or rural workers migrating to city jobs in China. These stories start the same way all love stories start— the two parties can’t stand each other! They view each other with mutual dislike and suspicion.

There is a clash of cultures, attitudes and beliefs. Each party fears the other will somehow overwhelm or destroy their core identity. This is what is at issue with banning of Muslim headscarves in France, controversies about Spanish language usage in the US and economic turmoil in China.

Power of Love stories ask, as Ugly Betty asks: How much must I change, adjust or compromise to accommodate you (or to fit into your culture) before I totally lose myself? How much can I demand that you adjust, change or compromise to accommodate me, before you lose who you are?

In Ugly Betty our heroine enters the epitome of Anglo culture and its defining arbiter of beauty and success, Mode Magazine. She comes armed with her Mexican immigrant values of family, community, hard work and sacrifice. Two sets of cultures, attitudes and beliefs immediately are at war.

Over the course of an assimilation story (or a love story) the parties are continually forced together and, as they are compelled to deal with each other, they exchange gifts. Each has something the other lacks or offers something new or really useful to the mix.

In Ugly Betty, Mode Magazine offers Betty a gateway into the dominant Anglo culture and all the success, status, wealth and acceptance that assimilation brings (the American Dream). Betty brings honesty, authenticity, devotion to family and real care for others to a world that has lost much of its heart and soul.

2. Sharpen the Central Focus

The central focus of Ugly Betty should be Betty herself. Supporting cast should do just that—support Betty’s story. The show is not about Daniel Meade’s (Eric Mabius) struggle to accept his brother’s new identity, Daniel’s desire to hold onto his position at Mode Magazine or a murder mystery. These storylines are only of interest if they push Betty’s story forward.

Every member of the audience looks at the world and sees himself or herself at its center. That’s why even ensemble shows should have one individual who is at the center of the story’s emotional universe. (Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City or Ray Barone, played by Ray Romano, in Everybody Loves Raymond). That person should define the world and the emotional playing field for all the other characters.

Betty is our heroine. The audience identifies her as the center of this story universe. Every plot line, dramatic twist or comedic situation should revolve around or reflect back on Betty. Each circumstance and situation should sharpen and clarify her essential dilemma and further illuminate her emotional journey. If a storyline does not do that it should be reframed or jettisoned as quickly as possible.

The transgender story of Alexis Meade, (Alexander Spencer Meade) played by Elizabeth Penn Payne currently is a distraction. As this story line pulls emotional focus away from Betty, the audience’s connection with her journey weakens and they begin to lose interest in the show. It doesn’t matter how outrageous, surprising, or interesting this storyline is, unless it reveals Betty’s journey more clearly, it is a diversion that dilutes the emotional focus of the show.

3. Clarify the Core Story Questions

All story elements in Ugly Betty should help to spotlight Betty’s internal conflict. The problems at issue for Betty are the classic quandaries in any Power of Love story (or any story about assimilation, romance or partnership). These questions are:

Who I am vs. Who you want me to be?

How much of myself should I change to be accepted or to get along with you?

How much should I expect you to change?

What happens if I grow and change too much?

What happens if I don’t grow and change enough?

Will others tolerate my transformation or reject me?

What will I sacrifice for love or friendship?

Will you still need (or love) me if you aren’t dependent on me?

How independent and self-sufficient should I be?

Mode will change Betty and Betty will change the people at Mode. How much can each change before their core identities are lost? As Betty changes how does this create conflict within herself and within her family, who may not recognize, like, or want to accept the changed Betty?

This transformational struggle is why we tune in. It is a story as old as time. It is the universal bedtime story about the country mouse and the city mouse. Once this process of change begins, things can never be as they were. You can’t unring the bell. You can’t go back again.

4. Aim for the Heart

One of the best things about Ugly Betty is also potentially its greatest weakness. Mode’s glamorous setting and outrageous style is a fresh and funny counterpoint to Betty’s struggling family and her working class world in Queens. Her warm, genuine and caring character is wonderfully showcased against the cold, artificial and ultra-competitive world of Mode.

A show’s tone is always a question of balance. Right now it seems that the balance is straying too far off the mark. Too high a premium seems to be placed on outrageous behavior and outlandish situations. When humor is based on situations, the situations have to continually get crazier to keep raising the stakes.

As the show becomes more flamboyant and more camp the tone threatens to overshadow and overwhelm the show’s sincerity and heart. Humor that is generated by extreme circumstances or bizarre situations doesn’t dig deep. It settles for the easy laugh and, over time, can seem cartoonish.

It is Betty the audience cares most about. Her appealing warmth, generosity and authenticity are the reasons the audience tunes in week after week. They want to know her better and are eager to see how it will all work out for her.

The tone and style of the show is only useful if it makes Betty seem more “real” and makes her personal dilemmas feel more urgent. Betty needs to drive the show and not merely react to the outrageous goings-on.

5. Amp Up Family Conflict

The comedy in the show should come from true conflict between the characters.. A huge opportunity is being missed in the Suarez household. Outside of a few brief confrontations, no one has any serious issues with each other. There are great potential battles to be fought in Queens.

When Betty leaves her working class neighborhood and enters the glamorous world of her professional career, her family is proud of her. But they must also be keenly aware that she is leaving them behind in the most fundamental way. Betty will inevitably be changed by her experiences. Even in the most loving families this change causes feelings of inadequacy, loss, rejection, resentment and jealousy in those left behind.

Changes in Betty should trigger changes in her family. What happens if Hilda, played by Ana Ortiz, or her son Justin, played by Mark Indelicato, steps up and takes Betty’s place in the family? Betty will feel those same feelings of inadequacy rejection, loss, resentment and jealousy her family is experiencing. Betty’s role in the family was always as a caregiver. What happens when the role passes to someone else—because she isn’t there to fill it? Who is Betty Suarez then?

It is a mistake to make the Suarez family Betty’s safe haven. It takes endless comedic possibilities off the table. Comedy comes from pain. (“If it don’t hurt it ain’t funny”). If Betty is beleaguered on all sides it makes her situation much more painful and much funnier. Comedy makes characters more vulnerable. Betty is not at risk enough with her family.

In general, acceptance comes much too easily in this family. The Suarez family is more tolerant and well adjusted than any family I’ve ever met. The audience’s families are much more difficult and dysfunctional. Comedy comes from conflict.

Acceptance in real families comes hard and at a very high emotional price. People really have to struggle to accept things, people or situations they don’t understand, didn’t plan for or didn’t want in the first place. The more the Suarez family struggles with acceptance issues between all members of the family the more painful and the funnier the story will be.

6. Strengthen the Pull of Queens

Betty needs a strong love interest in Queens. She needs to meet a man who represents all the things she would miss if she leaves the neighborhood lifestyle behind. This love interest should be an appealing, warm-hearted and a hunky kind of guy. He should also be the kind of guy who would feel tremendously uncomfortable and completely out-of-place in her professional world.

Arthur, played by Kevin Sussman, had the discomfort factor but he wasn’t a strong enough pull on Betty’s affections. He was geeky, jealous and unfaithful. Choosing her career and losing Arthur was never a heart-breakingly difficult choice for Betty.

What would happen if Betty met and fell in love with another neighborhood guy, a wonderful salt of the earth kind of man cast in her father’s mold? Losing a guy like that could be a heart-breakingly difficult choice. Such a man could represent a real threat to Betty’s professional aspirations and could provide a strong argument to find less demanding work closer to home.

Would Betty give up a wonderful loving marriage, children and a comfy Queens home of her own for a career at Mode? Would she try to have both? What happens if there is a crisis with Daniel and a crisis with the man she loved?

These choices could provide an endless source of conflict and comedy. Right now there are no strong, compelling and believable counter-forces pulling Betty away from Mode and back toward Queens. Betty’s new possible love interest, Henry, played by Christopher Gorham, pulls Betty toward the world of Mode, not away from it.

7. Make it Specific

The show seems to define the Suarez family generically as Latino. Very little is made of the fact that the family is Mexican-American. There are rich comedic possibilities to be mined in fully exploring the foibles and follies of that very particular identity. Why bland their background out?

Why be generic when you can be specific? What makes Mexican Americans funny as opposed to what makes Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Colombians or Guatemalans funny? Why not exploit the rivalries, prejudices, reputations and stereotypes that exist between diverse Spanish speaking people? Great writing is about specificity. A great comedic opportunity is being missed here. Even better– It is one that is fresh to network television.

8. Shore Up the Audience

Ugly Betty is a wonderful show that can easily reverse any potential downturn. The show can gracefully sidestep the mistakes that rattled Lost and Desperate Housewives second season ratings. What Ugly Betty needs to do is to fully explore the show’s fundamental story questions, keep Betty front and center in any plot twist or story complication, make the tone secondary to the show’s heart and fully mine all the natural conflict on both sides of Betty’s world. Do that and the audience will keep coming back for more next season and beyond.

A very successful long-running Power of Love story was Everybody Loves Raymond. In that show, Ray also moved between two worlds. He was pulled between the world of his childhood family (and his mother’s demands and expectations) and the world of his own adult family (and his wife’s demands and expectations). Raymond was besieged on both sides for almost 10 years. The show was one of the most critically acclaimed sit-coms of its time.