The office of Mode magazine is buzzing with the approach of Fashion Week. The dastardly Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) is executing a creepy plan to give birth to Bradford Meade's heir and Betty (America Ferrera) is bothered that a visiting bunch of schoolchildren are getting the wrong message from Mode's skinny models - that 00 is the new 0.

Despite its short-bite scenes and comic book-style editing, there is a beautiful depth to Ugly Betty, putting it in a class of its own.

The writing is rich with humour, particularly for Annie Potts (who guest stars as the psychic Linda), the bitchy Marc (Michael Urie) and a classroom of mouthy pre-teenagers described by Betty's not-quite-gay little brother Justin (Marc Indelicato) as " Lord of the Flies in ballet flats".

All of that, however, doesn't make a good show great. The sentimental touches and the very gentle, almost vulnerable connection between Betty and her mentor, Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius), add a magical dimension, transforming the show from mere comedy to something much, much better.