Hello, my name is Dan and I'm addicted to a little known gay show called Ugly Betty, maybe you've heard of it? By some bizarro chance a network show with openly gay characters, faghags, gay celebrity cameos, friends of Dorothy, and a "hot tranny mess" (their words, not ours!) is being embraced by mainstream America ... who knew? 

Thankfully, millions of you (including the warped minds behind this very site) were in on what I'm just now discovering - that Ugly Betty is a beautifully unapologetic, out and proud celebration of queerness and diversity!

When I received the pilot for Betty in the summer of 2006, I watched it and tossed it back into the pile of screeners from which it came because I thought, "eh."  I feared that the show couldn't walk the fine line between camp and drama without losing its way and I was positive there was no way in frakkin' hell that Sue from Boise was going to embrace the quirk.  Well look who's got egg on his face now?

Not only has Ugly Betty been able to balance laugh out loud camp with sincere and heartbreaking drama (Santos, RIP), it's been able to increase gay visibility in prime-time without any backlash.  Celebs are beating down the Mode door to guest star (Victoria Beckham, Rita Moreno, Patti Lupone, Rebecca Gayheart, Gene Simmons, Project Runway's Tim Gunn and Christian Siriano, Idol's Kat McPhee) and they just landed a huge liability guest star in Lindsay Lohan. Lohan will guest in the May 22nd finale as a mean girl from Betty's past.  At this time, it's reported that LiLo will also return for at least 5 episodes next Fall.  That's crazy talk!

Also crazy ... amazing (cramazing if you will) is the news that Betty will move production to New York City for Season 3.  If you were fooled by the numerous green-screened NYC skyline shots, you're obviously blind because the show has been shot entirely in Hollywood and it was painfully obvious.  *That rustling you hear is all of the AfterElton staffers honing their stalking skills (Christopher Gorham watch out) and ABC prepping a slew of restraining orders to prepare for the move East.

Why do I love Ugly Betty?  Three words: Marc and Amanda.

Michael Urie and Becky Newton are the new Jack and Karen (Will & Grace) with less squealing and a smidge less booze.  As I mentioned in my blog, "Marc and Amanda are so funny that I want to marry both of them and have a cult somewhere in Texas where we breed thousands of little Justin Suarez’s." 

Watching Marc develop from a one-note caricature of a queer to a relationship-ready fully realized character has been my biggest treat while plowing through two seasons of Ugly Betty in less than 3 weeks.  His friendship with Amanda has delivered some of the best comedic lines of any show I've seen all year and their love/hate relationship is aces.  They're co-dependent and I'm looking to join their needy circle because seriously, we'd all be BFF's.  I'm sure you feel the same way.

Don't forget to tune in tomorrow night at 8:00pm EST (ABC) to see Hilda bring the smackdown on Justin's gym teacher (Eddie Cibrian, no less!) and Betty avoid another smackdown with Charlie.  Again, my name is Dan and I'm happy to be down with the Ugly. 

After the break, we're posting some of the best pics from the upcoming finale, which involves three words that could strike fear into the hearts of many gay men: company softball game. 

Eddie Cibrian got game

Marc and Amanda are athletic supporters

Give me a G! Give me an A! Give me a Y!

Heeeyyyy, how'd another Eddie pic slip in here ... hands off, Hildegard!