'Ugly Betty' Returns, Back to Its Lovable Roots

The good news: "Ugly Betty" returns for a fourth season Friday night.

The bad news: "Ugly Betty" returns for a fourth season . . . Friday night.

While airing Friday at 9 isn't the worst that could happen to the ABC dramedy (the fate of "Pushing Daisies," anyone?), even the most naive television viewer knows the new time slot is the "death slot." Some fans have worked themselves into a frenzy, fearing that ABC is trying to kill off the show, which used to air on Thursday nights.

But fear not, an ABC executive has assured viewers: "Betty," centered on the sweet-but-unfashionable Betty (America Ferrera) in the evil-but-fashionable world of fictitious Mode magazine, wasn't kicked to the curb. It was simply shifted to make room on Thursdays for sci-fi fest "FlashForward," which, with 9 million viewers last week, is doing better in the 8 p.m. Thursday slot than "Betty" was at the end of Season 3. Only 6.3 million tuned in for the finale.

And if a network chief's words aren't enough, the show is off to a charming start for the fourth season. The two-hour premiere gets back to its roots and shakes off dragging, tangled story lines -- blackmail, stolen babies, illness, secret transsexual siblings and murder schemes -- that may have contributed to the downslide.

One element that faded last year, but is back in full swing, is Betty as an underdog. Sure, she still had those braces, and a sight-impaired person could see her clashing outfits from space, but in Season 3, things were going pretty well for Betty. She was lucky in love with her super-rich boyfriend, Matt (Daniel Eric Gold); she had just been promoted to Mode associate features editor; co-workers Marc and Amanda (the underrated duo of Michael Urie and Becki Newton) were only occasionally mocking her appearance; and her sassy sister, Hilda (Ana Ortiz), was even dating the Karate Kid (guest star Ralph Macchio).

Happiness this season? Not so much.

After catching Betty canoodling with her first love, Henry (Christopher Gorham), Matt has turned into her super-rich ex-boyfriend. He's also her newly appointed boss, and takes great pleasure in taking away story assignments and passive-aggressively torturing her at staff meetings. ("Betty, why don't you start us off? You're good with beginnings. Not so good with endings.") Marc, furious that Betty got a promotion, is back to making her life miserable, making faux phone calls whenever she comes near, even if that means talking into a stapler.

However, Betty is best when the odds are stacked against her. Plus, a new mystery is unveiled, and it has promise, thanks to consistently terrific Vanessa Williams, Emmy-nominated every season for her role as the unapologetically malicious magazine editor, Wilhelmina. ("Extra plastic for the landfills, just how you like it!" her assistant says as he brings in her covered dry cleaning.)

So while "Betty" has a chance to reboot with less focus on unnecessarily twisted story lines and more on the characters themselves, many viewers are still worried. But Urie, Betty's nemesis Marc, put things in perspective.

"No!!!" Urie recently wrote on Twitter when asked if he was concerned about the new time period. "It's not like they moved us to Sunday at 7:30 AM!!"

Ugly Betty (two hours) debuts Friday at 8 p.m. on ABC. Episodes will normally run one hour at 9 p.m.