When the creators of a show are so bored with their own format that they start dressing in costumes and performing gratuitous skits mid-show, they should consider closing up shop.
What was once at the top of my guilty pleasure list has had a lot of the fun sucked out the last few cycles. This cycle of “ANTM” has turned into a nighttime version of Tyra’s schizophrenic daytime show, with growing emphasis on the antics of the former supermodel and less focus on the aspiring wannabes. (View photos of the Cycle 11 cast.) Tyra seems to think the show is all about HER. Whenever she shows up the girls gasp and scream like she’s a Jonas brother – c’mon girls, you went through several rounds with her during auditions and her photos are all over your house, you can’t possibly be that excited to see her AGAIN.
In last week’s episode it seemed as if Ms. Banks was just out to entertain herself when she dressed up as Snow White, bit into an apple, spit chunks down the front of her jumpsuit, and had Mr. J come in and “save” her as Prince Charming, oops, I mean Prince Couture. I’m sorry, but this is just bad TV. The girls even seemed a little horrified, especially when Miss J appeared as, you guessed it, an evil witch. And did I need to know that her and her best friend hung out in a hot tub on vacation taking photos of each other and that inspired this week’s challenge? No. Worse than any other offense, Tyra is delivering her lines in a variety of foreign accents and musical keys. Can you imagine if "Survivor’s" Jeff Probst started sing-songing his lines, “The tribe has SPO-KENNNN.”
Has the talent pool dried up? Granted this is Cycle 11, but it seems like they’ve run out of girls to “discover” and have turned to stunts to try to re-energize the show. Last season’s winner Whitney, the plus-sized girl, was not the best of the bunch. She had a bad attitude, didn’t take great photos and was in the bottom two multiple times. As a fan, it seemed like the show just decided “Hey, what if we finally gave it to a plus-sized model.” And then in this current season transgender contestant Isis was cast but never really performed.
What can be done to save the show? First of all, we need more of Miss J and less of Tyra. From his catwalk critiques to his spot-on impersonations of the girls, this tall runway diva coach extraordinaire deserves more air time. And I know she has a hit show on Oxygen, but can we bring back Janice Dickinson? Paulina Porizkova brings little to the table as the new judge, and neither did Twiggy, who was Janice’s replacement starting with Season 5. Lastly, bring the focus back to the girls, the challenges and the photo critiques; no more skits, songs, or stunts. Regardless, this CW show definitely needs some new life breathed into it or we fear it could be reaching the end of its catwalk.
Talk About It: What can be done to save ‘Top Model’?
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