You gotta love that 'Ugly Betty'

There's nothing else like ABC's "Ugly Betty" — the most schizophrenic show on TV.

And I mean that in a good way.

It's an over-the-top comedy, complete with outlandish fantasy sequences. It's a witty satire on fashion and the world of pop culture in general.

It's a sweet and sometimes heart-rending romance. It's a heartfelt family drama.

And it's back with a two-hour, fourth-season premiere (Friday, 7 p.m., Ch. 4) that's all of the above.

It'll make you laugh. It'll make you cry. It'll make you wonder why.

As tonight's "Ugly Betty" begins, Betty (America Ferrera) is beginning her new job as an associate features editor. It's complicated, however, because her bitter ex-boyfriend, Matt (Daniel Eric Gold), is also her new boss.

And Betty is torn because just when her former boss, Daniel (Eric Mabius), needs her most — he's mourning the death of his wife — Betty is no longer his assistant.

Meanwhile, Justin (Mark Indelicato) starts high school, where things don't go well. But he doesn't want to tell his mother, Hilda (Ana Ortiz).

And just because Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams) lost her claim to the Meade publishing empire when her baby turned out not to be her baby (long story), she's not leaving Meade. Much to her surprise.

"I'm sorry," she says when Claire Meade (Judith Light) tells her she's not being fired. "All those facelifts must have affected your speech."

"You seem surprised. Yet your eyebrows haven't moved at all," Claire says.

Ah, facelift/botox humor!

We don't get all the details this week, but, clearly, "Ugly Betty" retains its over-the-top soap-opera elements.

"Oh, Marc, you think this is my first extortion-slash-secret takeover?" Wilhelmina tells her assistant (Michael Urie).

And then there's the murder mystery Willhelmina is harboring at home.

(You'll just have to watch to find out about that.)

As always, "Ugly Betty" swings wildly between material that's so true to life that it will break your heart and stuff that's just hilarious. Anyone who's ever been a teenager will recognize Justin's trauma; anyone who's ever parented teenagers will recognize it when Justin tells his mother, "You don't understand me at all!"

And anyone who's ever watched "Ugly Betty" will get it when Marc tells not-as-shallow-as-she-thinks-she-is Amanda, "You're brilliant!"

"You take that back!" Amanda (Becki Newton) insists. "I'm beautiful!"

So is "Ugly Betty."

Tonight's episode also features the beginning of what's going to be a bit of a transformation for Betty this season. She's always been recognizable for her outdated glasses, her interesting/hideous clothes and her braces.

Well, by the time tonight's two-hour installment is over, two of the three of those will have changed. And there's talk about upcoming change with the third.

What hasn't changed is that "Ugly Betty" is still great fun to watch. It's weird and wacky, highly amusing and heartfelt.

And we wouldn't have it any other way.

e-mail: pierce@desnews.com