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.

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.

America's Next Top Model has upwards of twenty seasons and the first 3/4 are great, and then the final 1/4 is pretty much down the drain.

Like many young women I grew up watching America's Next Top Model in the early 2000s, and then somehow or other fell out of it. Watching those early seasons again (season 1 to 15) much of it still has that popcorn eating appeal. The series is rife with drama, some insight into the modeling industry and many spectacular photo shoots enabling the series to run the gamut of the happily trashy to the highest of fine art.

As many of the winners fell quickly out of the spotlight over the years, one comes to accept America's Next Top Model as a reality show foremost and a modeling career second. As a reality show America's Next Top Model felt like one of the better ones because some of the permanent cast like the fabulous Jay Manuel reportedly did genuinely care about the models-to-be. Jay Manuel and Tyra Banks did try to keep it real, as well as some of the other judges like Andre Leon Telly and Paulina Porowitz (sp?). For the most part the judges tried to steer the models into a good direction, sometimes into becoming commercial models, or focusing on runway, or acting or producing. They tried not to be harsh but could be right divas some of the time, which is what the public liked at the time as many watched American Idol on the same nights as America's Next Top Model.

But eventually much of the better staff and judges were fired, much to the degradation of the show. The replacement judges were terribly bitter or vapid in the worst way. This is probably around season 18 to the end, like season 23 or around.

America's Next Top Model always had a problematic message of encouraging girls to push ahead despite their discomfort for the means of capturing a good photo. However in the later seasons this message became a kind of masochism, with photographers denying the amateur models even common comforts such as in season 21 when a Guess photographer wouldn't give a cramping Jourdan a foot rest in a back twisting, knee raised photo shoot.

For me, watching season 21 was a kind of self inflicted masochism. I wouldn't recommend it because it doesn't get better. I don't know who hired Kelly Cutrone as a judge, because she's a nightmare. After a long hiatus of eight years such as I had, I was surprised by how self-destructive the show had gotten in its later and final seasons.

Considering the whole series, I have to give a 7/10 instead of the higher score I want to.

Like any long running series it gets a little worse the digger you deep behind the scenes, and I'm still registering some of what I read on reddit and beyond. But mostly I still like my childhood favorite show.

Pack your bags UPN! you may get out of last place in ratings with this new reality tv show of yours. Showing the real difficulty behind modeling is an educating, not to mention sweet eye candy, experience. Having only seen a few episodes and listening to the general buzz about the show, Top model is definitely succeeding in drawing an audience. Then again, reality tv is not for everybody and if that is the case, this isn't your cup of tea. Feminist's may have problems with it due to its promotion of an ideal image of women. Luckily, by having a female host, Tyra banks, and many of the nit picking judges and fashion designers depicted with a strong focus on their respective areas of expertise rather than simply the models measurements, most feminist issues are diverted away. Watch the show, it will get you hooked and GO Elyse Sewell!! my choice for America's next top model.

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.