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Ugly never looked better

By: Brad Oswald

Posted: 10/14/2006 1:42 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Finally, after a week of pretty crappy prime-time revelations (see previous post), some good news about a great show -- ABC announced earlier today that Ugly Betty, based on the performance of its first few episodes, has been given a full-season pickup. What that means is an order for what Hollywood types call "the back nine," meaning the traditional number of episodes ordered for most new shows -- 13 -- has been topped up to a full-season compliment of 22 installments.That's a nice endorsement for a bright, funny show that deserves it, and maybe -- just maybe -- a tiny bit of encouragement and consolation for TV-watchers who've been burned twice in this very young season by networks that begged for viewership and then yanked two of their most promising new dramas out of the lineup after only three weeks.Betty? Ugly? Hardly.

Brad Oswald, Winnipeg Free Press

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About Brad Oswald

Way back when Brad Oswald was TV-inclined little kid, his exasperated mother used to say things like, "Would you PLEASE turn that thing off and go OUTSIDE and play? If you insist on watching that IDIOT box day after day after day, you will NEVER amount to ANYTHING in this world!"

Well, go figure.

Brad joined the Free Press in 1987 and has spent most of the last two decades getting paid to watch the television as the paper’s resident TV critic. In addition to previewing and reviewing all the latest prime-time shows and covering the local TV industry, he also usually spends a few weeks per year in L.A., interviewing TV stars and attending Big Phony Hollywood Parties.

Brad also writes about comedy and other assorted entertainment topics, and has been known to wander onto local stages try out his own standup material as part of an ongoing quest to satisfy his deep-rooted need for affirmation. He was the winner of Rumor’s Comedy Club’s first Funniest Person With a Day Job contest.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Brad grew up in St. Vital, attended Dakota Collegiate and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba before enrolling in Red River College’s Creative Communications program. He played rugby for more than 20 years, which, quite frankly, amounts to a whole lot of blows to the unprotected noggin.

Despite that, during his two-decades-plus at the Free Press, he has accumulated a wealth of knowledge about television and other pop-culture topics, and would certainly not be the worst person to pick for your trivia-contest team.

For some reason, he firmly believes his Mom really would be proud of all this.

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