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« America's Next Top Model
Episode Recap: New York City, Here We Come
Here we go again! Last week Tyra and the Jay's picked the lucky 14 girls who would be heading to New York and moving into the house. But exactly how lucky were they? From the looks of things, this cycle won't be quite the cakewalk that previous seasons may have seemed. Along with the move back to New York city comes many other changes to Top Model. Now onto this week's recap.
Now, typically I'd skip right over the opening credits and get right into the action but if the producers worked hard enough to give us a brand new opening...why not take a minute to comment on it? All I have to say is: Tyra, Tyra, Tyra! I vaguely remember what the intro was like in past seasons but I truly don't remember it being this Tyra-centric. However, I should add that when they did eventually show the girls they looked great. Dare I say fierce? Anyhow, following the pretty new intro we watched as the girls arrived on the mean streets of NYC. They received their first piece of Tyra-mail which directed them to their new home. Let the screaming begin! As the girls' piercing screams echoed throughout the halls of their new home, one gal happened to notice the lack of bedrooms. Twist number 1! As TV Guide's own Michael Ausiello revealed to us in his vodcast a few months back, this cycle some of the girls will be sleeping on bunk beds while the rest are forced to share the blanket in one over-sized bed. As if there wasn't enough cat-fighting going on already?
Before the girls could get completely comfortable Mr. and Miss J arrived to take them on a tour of Manhattan. The final stop on their tour was Times Square where a runway was set up for the first mission. Without even a single lesson the girls were told they'd be walking in a Badgley Mischka fashion show in front of the massive crowds that congregate in the busiest neighborhood of the city. It was scary enough to give even the tough-as-nails Marvita butterflies. Nevertheless, the aspiring models were sent right into hair and make-up and prepared for their debuts. As the show came to an end, the girls made their way backstage and the claws came out once again. Though I didn't see anything go down, Marvita claimed that as Fatima came through the curtain her hand struck Marvita in the face and instead of apologizing for it Fatima just shot her a nasty look. Oh ladies...it's too soon to be at each others throats already!
With a new day came a new Tyra-mail. After rising from their beauty sleep and prepping themselves to start the day, the housemates made their way to Elite modeling agency where they were greeted by director Neal Hamil. Neil introduced the girls to supermodel (and Twiggy's replacement) Paulina Porizkova who was brought in to critique the girls on their pre-makeover look. Paulina held nothing back in pointing out all of their flaws. Despite being fairly accurate, many of her criticisms were just mean for the sake of being mean and not at all constructive (with exception to telling Marvita not to bite down on her back teeth.) Either way, at least she's got more personality than Twiggy. When the girls left Elite, a yellow limo taxi pulled up outside to take them to their next destination. I guess going green was only important in last year's cycle? The limo took the girls to their first photo shoot where Mr. Jay told them they'd be depicting an important social issue: homeless youth. The models were paired up with young homeless women and they decided to do a whole role reversal thing. The homeless women were dressed up in high fashion while the models were made up to look like vagabonds. To be honest, it seemed like the homeless girls were doing a better job posing than any of Tyra's picks. Fatima seemed to be the only one who showed any emotion during her shoot. Even Marvita who claims to have been homeless at one point in her life couldn't deliver when it came time to do so.
Back at the house, a third Tyra-mail informed the girls that the next day they would be standing in front of the judges for the first elimination. Many of the girls saw the down time as a chance to get to know one another. Kim made the mistake of telling Fatima that while she does enjoy modeling, she doesn't enjoy high fashion and the concept of paying $3,000 for a dress. The next day it was time to face the judges. Tyra announced that Paulina would officially be taking over for Twiggy on the judging panel. Before she could begin examining the week's photos, Tyra took the opportunity to share her own brush with homelessness when she pretended to be homeless for a day on her talk show. How brave?! As the examination got underway, the judges took a liking to Aimee, Claire, and Whitney but trashed on Atalya, Amis, and Alison. But when Kimberly announced to the judges that she was not interested in the whole fashion thing, she pretty much pushed herself out the door. Silly girl! Even though Kimberly voluntarily left the competition, Tyra told the 13 remaining girls that one of them was still going to be eliminated. They decided that Atalya was not fit to continue on. Adios Atalya!
As the first real episode that kicked off this cycle, I was pretty annoyed. The girls received absolutely no training to prepare them for the first challenge and I found the photo shoot to be rather disgusting. Parading prissy little wannabe models around struggling young women was just kind of evil. It did nothing to shed light on the issue. It seemed like the only one who took anything away from the experience was Kim by making her realize that the modeling world was not for her. I must admit however that I was glad to see Atalya sent home because I was thinking they were going to send Lauren packing for not knowing how to be a model. They really need to start teaching these girls some things or they'll never improve. So what'd you all think? Am I being too hard on Tyra and co. or was this episode just a little bit ridiculous? Was Atalya the right person to be sent packing? And what do we think of Paulina as the new Twiggy? Let us know.
And of course...if you missed any of the episode, you can find it in our Online Video Guide!
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Feb 27, 2008 11:39 PM
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Adam, when I saw the new opener, I ff the whole thing. Its already bad enough that we get to see Tyra all up in that house...that one gigantic photo of her creeps me out. I say bring back the old one.
Message to Kim: High Fashion mean expensive. What did she expect that she was modeling for...The JcPenny's catalog? I wish she thought of that earlier. I bet the other girls who were passed over screamed at their TV's when Kim volunteered to leave.
Adam, I agree with you Tyra and Co. should of taught the girls more runway before they had that show in Times Sq. But then again, they should of practiced on their own. They did have one runway lesson during casting. After that, they should of practiced what Ms. Jay taught them. That's what I would of been doing. Another thing I agree about is that Atayla was the right one to go. And I'm liking Paulina. She is like Janice with the hard criticism but mix it with Twiggy's nice criticism. And after she told Marvetta not to bite down on her back teeth....I learned something...cause I sometimes do that when I take pictures.
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Feb 28, 2008 7:40 AM
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I actually like that they had a runway challenge! Yes, they should be taught how to walk, but I would rather see them get a challenge like this rather than one that has little to nothing to do with modeling (picking a "model name" people  ). That said, I wish that the panel would have included the walks in their televised chat. It very well might have been discussed, but I would have been interested to hear what Tyra and Paulina had to say.
I remember reading a lot of interviews where quite a few of the eliminated contestants were miffed that they were kicked off for not knowing how to walk when they were never taught. Again, I think it was a more model-y challenge so I'm happy for at least that much. =)
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Feb 28, 2008 9:48 AM
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I think you're being a little too hard on the show. And I agree with lizzybelle that the girls should have practiced on their own. Tyra did make it sound like casting and the first episode happened closely together, but still...for example, Lauren should've been in heels 24/7 since the moment she got chosen. I was also happy to see Badgley Mischka involved. I also don't think Paulina was too harsh AT ALL. There is no need to sugarcoat in the modeling industry. Thanks for the recap!
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Feb 28, 2008 10:03 AM
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I admit I did not see the beginning, but I always remember the house having at least one huge picture of Tyra which of course was shown first. Even though many of the girls did not do well at the runway show, it really didn't matter as the runway didn't seem to factor into the judging for elimination. Also I found many of Paulina's comments to be unnecessary except for what she said to Marvita. To tell any girl that she has bad skin is horrible because I am sure the girl (sorry I don't remember their names yet) has thought about her skin alot and bringing to the attention of millions of people was really uncalled for. I also hope Tyra gave the actual homeless girls some reimbursement for their time either in clothes, food or money. Lastly, I didn't think that Kimberly meant that she didn't like modeling. I thought she was just appalled at the cost of the clothes that they were wearing and what normal women in their right mind would pay 100 dollars for a pair of shorts. We'll have to see how this cycle plays out.
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Feb 28, 2008 10:20 AM
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This is not the 1st time that the competition has started with a runway show! This show has had 10 seasons!! The FIRST thing I would have done was taken walking lessons before I traveled for the preliminaries. Even if I could only afford to buy a video. That being said, they only really critiqued Marvita - and not so much for the walk, but for looking down the whole time. Even the judges know it's too early to judge on the walk.
Kim should be slapped! There was NO excuse for her! When you model you wear expensive flashy clothes! My 8 year old sister even knows this, so let's not pretend Kim didn't and applaud her for "realizing the modeling world was not for her." She needs to grow up and realize she just ruined someone else's chance who really wanted to be there. Maybe Tyra and gang will bring someone back from prelims?
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Feb 28, 2008 10:29 AM
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If Kim had gotten to NYC and learned something about modeling (or being on a reality series) that she simply could NOT know without experience (like thinking she'd be comfortable with cameras around 24/7 and then finding she can't live that way, or thinking she'd enjoy doing runway work, but finding she couldn't stand having that many people looking at her) I would have been a lot more sympathetic and forgiving toward her. But her problem was that she doesn't think it's right to wear $500 shorts and carry a $700 handbag, and she "[doesn't] want to support" the idea that spending $2000 on an outfit is ok.
For her not to be totally stupid, she would have had to (1) not known that the main point of "top model" style modeling (i.e. high fashion) involves promoting VERY expensive clothes, or (2) had no idea she was opposed to people wearing expensive clothes. If it was the first, it would mean she's too dumb to find out even the most basic thing about something she's wanting to do and if it's the 2nd, then the girl just needs to find out how to think things through first.
What *REALLY* bugged me, though, was how convenient it was everything worked out the way it did. The show is contracted for a specific number of week, which is based on their having to do 12 eliminations (and also crown a winner during that 12th episode.) Yet, in a surprise decision, Tyra and company decided to open a special, 14th, slot for an extra girl, which would mean they'd have to either have 2 contestants leave during a single episode or make the season an episode longer, and guess which costs less money and give you the opportunity to promote the daylights out of "the most shocking elimination EVER!"
Just seems a bit too convenient, eh?
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Feb 28, 2008 1:41 PM
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i agree that it was extremely convenient that kimberly left and they had 14 girls.
i'm gonna give her a little benefit of the doubt that it was probably more than just the $500 shorts, etc... it would suck to live with a bunch of catty girls and always being filmed. that had to play a part in her decision too. remember, we only see what they want us to see, who knows what they edited out.
i am more and more shocked by the ridiculousness that is tyra!! how dare she compare her ONE DAY in makeup and a controlled environment to what homeless people go through every day. what a pig! i know everything always has to be about ty-ty, but that completely shocked me even for her. and i sure hope they helped the shelter and the women in the shoot in some way.
i feel bad for her, but i think they made the right choice sending atalya home.
i was impressed with how fatima obviously listened and thought about the criticisms she got from the girls and actually reached out to marvita. she WAS extremely mean to her, for no reason. i had to laugh when she said, almost to herself, "that's strange, i never thought i upset people..." or whatever it was. WOW! CLUELESS!!!!
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Feb 28, 2008 2:40 PM
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I said after last years show that I would not watch anymore because of the winner. I can't or won't remember her name. But, of course, I watching again this year. I also watch American Idol so I have to flip the channel back and forth. They both go to commercials at the same time, which makes it kinda tough. I'm not sure how much longer I will watch though. I just can't get into it. All that Tyra stuff and also the 14 picked (seems fishy).
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Feb 28, 2008 3:02 PM
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I actually have to give Tyra the benefit of the doubt on this. They were probably gearing up to eliminate 2 girls in a single round in a future episode, but I don't think they planned on it THIS way.
Don't forget, Tyra didn't promote the episode with Ebony quitting. Why? My guess is that Ebony quit Tyra's show and it was a bruise to Tyra's ego that someone would not want what Tyra was giving.
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Feb 28, 2008 3:12 PM
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