At the start it seemed people were a little miffed by the theme of this cycle's America's Next Top Model. I on the other hand loved it, mainly because I've seen the Britain's Next Top Model and loved most of the Brits. I did think it was rather weird to have former contestants on BNTM and have all newbies for the American team. It would have made more sense had they taken American All stars and matched them with British All stars. Although I was rooting for the Brits the whole time so it wasn't that much of an issue for me as a viewer.
The format did lead to a clear divide between the Brits and the Americans that didn't seem real, especially given the eventual friendship between Laura(American) and Sophie(Brit). The format though was nothing on the craziness that is Tyra Banks. The whole superhero names was super lame and I totally understand the girls who thought it was dumb. Rightly so! The other problem was the 'booty tooch'. Why Tyra insisted on this I don't understand. The Booty Tooch episode saw the demise of AzMarie which many felt was unwarranted. I thought the exercise was ridiculous and seeing the Brits trying to do it was hilarious but it made AzMarie look too full of herself to get involved when the rest of the girls did. My thinking was although the activity was way out there in terms of sanity, you've signed up to do a reality model show run by Tyra Banks who now thinks she knows everything because she has a degree from Harvard, released a single, wrote a book and has her own show. If you're above ridiculousness you shouldn't be on reality television plain and simple. Plus there was no love lost when AzMarie left for me she was getting too many Brits out!
For the Brits it was nice to Catherine again and I thought she would do better having just finished watching her cycle and seeing how high fashion her look was. I don't think her makeover helped her at all. Speaking of makeovers what was going on with Sophie's hair. It was so disconcerting seeing her go from bright pink hair in the interviews to blonde with maybe a hint of pink in the actual show footage. I know its hard to maintain but if it wasn't going to stick maybe they should have just left it alone. The continuity was totally off which really frustrated the viewer. I loved seeing Ashley again as she was one of my favorites on her Cycle and was really sad to see her go. I loved the fact that she was subtitled and commented on that!
This season two contestants, both Brits decided to call it quits early which people can comment on and say they shouldn't have been there in the first place. I didn't really understand Louise's exit it seemed to be on more of the wavelength of AzMarie's but as I didn't see her original cycle I didn't understand her and didn't feel much of a loss. Alisha's exit was a big shock for me. I was really happy when her name was called which meant Ebony was going home. I thought she was really good and had a chance at the final but I understand and respect her choice to quit. She did with poise and grace and had commendable reasons for quitting.
I feel as if an era has passed and that with the next stage that ANTM goes into I won't want to follow. I think it's fair to say that ANTM has jumped the shark.The problem with the show now is that it's no longer about modeling.
The prizes have moved from just cover girl and vogue to become a corespondent on extra and having a single released. Tyra's trying to make models make a come back where most of their work has been taken over my tv and film stars. I remember walking through the mall and seeing a sigh asking to name three supermodels and then to name three of your child's teachers making the point that you know more supermodels than your children's teacher and should take a more active role in their lives. The problem with the ad is that I don't think many people could name supermodels switch that to actors and you've got a strong argument. I don't want to discount the work that models do but at the same time I don't like the fact that Tyra has made the competition something else entirely. I watch the show for the photo shoots and they're fast becoming obsolete. Having said that I did enjoy the Brit's music video and was so happy that with that they were making a comeback. It was a great song.
When it was announced that Jay Alexander, Jay Manuel and Nigel Barker would not being coming back for the next cycle I wanted to stop watching the show and I'm not sure if I'll continue with ANTM next season as really Mr. J and Nigel are the best part of the show. I'll have to go back and watch Canada's Next Top Model to get more of Mr. J. This kinda matches up to my previous point that Tyra has no idea what she's doing. Yes the show has declined in ratings but its because the show isn't what it used to be anymore. Bring back the modeling, cool photo shoots, catwalk, and go sees and the ratings will bounce back.
Even with this devastating news I continued with the show wanting to see if Sophie, my favorite would win. Laura was my favorite American but I felt like I knew Sophie more from the previous cycle. She was so much more versatile than Laura, her walk was better and she actually booked jobs which is the most important thing ever!
Laura's panic attack on set was dramatic but having been through a panic attack before I understand how she was feeling. I was a little upset that she got a second chance at doing the lines just because I like things fair but I'm glad during judging that they said in the real world that she would just be replaced. The vogue shoot was less impressive but they had to save a lot of time for the tripped out runway show. Once again the modeling aspect of runway has been lost for a special effects laden show. What ever happened to good old runway? I lament those days. Finally it was time to judge and I was surprised by some of the judges preference for Laura. I especially found it frustrating when they chastised Sophie for the cover girl commercial because her candid footage didn't look natural. I was like she wasn't the one who put it together! You could have easily done the same for Laura but in the end Sophie won out! I was super excited. It was good to end the show on a high note for me and I was really happy that a Brit won! I was wondering if they would even let a Brit win, as it was we knew it had to come down to a Brit and an American in the finale. It's been a strange cycle of ANTM but I enjoyed it and although I rail against the changes to ANTM it has yet to stop me from watching. Mostly likely, if I find myself lacking something to watch I'll probably tune into the next cycle. You never know I might find a another gem like Sophie's single "Aiming for You."
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