America's Next Top Model

America's Next Top Model is reality television without pretensions. Or, rather, it's a reality television show with pretensions that are so obvious, they're impossible to hide. It's a show about being shallow, daring, energetic, humble, and, of course, absolutely gorgeous. Led by Tyra Banks and a variety of photographers, stylists, acting coaches, directors, designers, and EX-ex-models, ANTM will go to all kinds of lengths to grab your attention.

From four blonde beauties doing a high-fashion shoot in Venice to soap-opera style acting classes with Taye Diggs, to old-fashioned nudity and sex (on- and off-camera), every season, every episode, will grab your attention. It's not quality television, but it's fun and addictive and all over the place. Don't invest money in the original series of Bankable Productions, but if you've got a free minute, check it out on VH1. They might have a marathon on. And - who knows? It might be that episode with the wet t-shirt pillow fight.

Episode 17x08: America's Next Top Model was never 'good' but it was entertaining with some interesting characters and lots of pretty girls (and latterly boys). This is all about entertainment and not a competition to find a real supermodel. It's also all about Tyra Banks. Her ego rules the show even from the start but by the end her ego is bigger than the universe! There were some horror-themed challenges for the contestants which I enjoyed. For me, this episode is where the show jumped the shark and went from legitimate entertainment to a ridiculous parody of itself. The fact that they made a song 'pot ledom' which is as imaginative as putting the name of the show backwards and tried to push this as the next big thing really shows how self-involved and totally out-of-touch Tyra and other senior producers of the show were. And it only went downhill from there. The series without Tyra almost added some model style rather than tacky cheese but it wasn't enough. Hopefully this show will never return.

Under the tutelage of supermodel and chat show host Tyra Banks, a group of young hopefuls are pulled together to try and make it through a series of weeks to be offered a shot at their own modelling contract. Each week one girl will leave based on the opinion of the panel of judges and the results of their most recent modelling assignment. Of course there is also the ongoing risk of some bitchy infighting but really we're all here to try and learn how the fashion industry works.

You may have detected a hint of sarcasm in my last sentence and you would be correct in that observation because personally I find the professional fashion industry to be a vacuous waste of space whose only purpose to me seems to be to provide laughs at the clichés they embrace. And so it is with this show because really I don't know anyone who watches it in order to see the girls embrace their natural talent for modelling, no, we're pretty much all here to see and partake in just one series long bitching session. As a formula the series doesn't do much to discourage this view because it doesn't have a lot going on other than this. The modelling shoots are fairly boring affairs on their own terms and it is hard to care about a "look" that nobody can really define.

Of course this is part of the problem. Because so much of it is "indefinable" it pretty much makes whatever the judges say right or wrong, depending on how much you buy into them as experts. So they say things like "they hate that look" or they "love that look" but really it is hard to see what they are seeing and none of them bother to really explain their reasons. Of course this plays into their hands because generally the judges are fairly worthless fashion divas who are there to stir things up a bit and don't have much of value to say. The girls themselves are fairly interesting but not in a good way – they are mainly basket cases swarming to an industry that eats up young girls and spits them out. Some of them are nice and don't last long, others are bitchy and last longer – presumably because the judges know that they need the ratings more than they need to actually produce a top model. They are mostly all good looking in various different ways but there are few I would want to spend much in the way of time with.

Overall then this is a fairly pointless and vacuous show but then I suppose that is the point. With a "talent" that is so less tangible than singing or dancing, the comments of the judges and the individual performances of the contestants become less important than the bitchy histrionics between the contestants and with the tutors & judges. On this level it is amusing and distracting but never "good" television although it is worth a look if you are looking to veg in front of reality television and have no demands for anything that could be considered "good" on a tradition scale.

It's one of those shows that you either absolutely hate or you absolutely love.

If you chose to see it as a bunch of stupid, beautiful girls competing through make up and runway tests, then yes, you will be disappointed. But it is called America's Next Top Model, did you think they would be competing for who could eat the most worms under a minute?

OR

You can see that some (to be used very strongly) have genuine personalities. Like in any reality show, you get attached to the people, this show is no exception. Elyse, Adrianne, Shannon (and G-d help me) Robyn' personalities made me come back every week. It was a fun show to relax to over the summer for an hour a week.

This show is my guilty pleasure all the way!! When I first tuned in to America's Next Top Model, I expected to be bored, and to find it very very stupid. I didn't. This show is actually serious fun. I read on one of the other reviews that it makes you wonder if you have what it takes to be America's Next top model. And it so does! Who doesn't love the glamour and excitement that come with being a model? On ANTM you get to see what it's REALLY like. And who doesn't love hearing the girls bitch about each other and get into fights? Or enjoy wanting to throw something at that Janice lady?

Give this a chance. Don't expect something intelligent or a show you can look to for a life lesson. Just enjoy it for what it is. Serious fun!