Is America's Next Top Model the best reality show on television?

No

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by Elizabeth Moss

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I am a big proponent of reality televisions of all kinds, from competition shows to documentary style Discovery Channel shows. I also enjoy America's Next Top Model and have done so since its inception. But I simply can not agree with the proposition that it is the best reality show on television.

When America's Next Top Model first began airing on television reality shows of this nature were still somewhat in their infancy. Top Model feed upon this newness effectively. Glamorous hair and make-up! Expensive clothes! Exotic locations! Everything that was Top Model appealed to America's taste for the luxury of life, especially the dream of most young girls that they could be "discovered" in a shopping mall and began the dream life of a model in New York City or Paris. But as reality television has evolved and grown, Top Model has remained the same.

The formatting is essentially the same for every episode. A brief sketch of an episode is as follows: Girls return from the prior elimination round or "panel"; they reflect upon the girl who was eliminated and their own status in the competition. Suddenly, a note appears from Tyra; a cryptic message that the girls will foolhardily try to decipher. The next day the contestants arrive at an unknown location where either a judge (i.e. Twiggy, Ms. J, etc.) or Mr. Jay appear to give the girls a mini lecture on some aspect of modeling. A challenge will announce and will somehow tie into that aspect of modeling and usually to a sponsor of some sort. The winner of the challenge will be announced and that lucky girl will receive a prize; she also usually gets to pick one or more friends to share in the prize. The girls then return their home where the prize is usually given to the winner and her friend. Then another Tyra mail will appear with yet another cryptic message. The next day the girls arrive at the photo shoot site. Mr. Jay is there and tells the girls what their photo shoot is about, who their photographer is, and who else the photographer has shot (usually accompanied with lovely pictures almost always including Tyra). The photo shoot starts and we follow the girls through makeup, wardrobe, and the shoot. We hear comments from Jay and the girls as to how they think the shoot went. The contestants return home to yet another Tyra mail, stating: (filling number) girls remaining, only (fill in one number less) can continue on in hopes of becoming America's Next Top Model. One of you will be eliminated. The girls then arrive at panels, they each step forward and usually perform a judges' test at panel. The judges then critique the each girls' performance both at panel and in her picture. The judge then deliberate talking about each girl. The girls then return and Tyra announces each girl handing her the picture until only two girls remaining. The two girls step forward and Tyra gives them each criticism as to what they did wrong. Tyra then says, "I only have one photo in my hand, and that photo represents the girl who is still in the running to become America's Next Top Model..." She then continue to drag this drama out until she finally reveals the photo. The eliminated girl gets some words of encouragement from Tyra and then hugs the remaining girls and leaves the panel room. We see her return to pack her belongings and comment on her time in the competition. As she leaves, a montage of her photos is broadcast before she disappears from the composite group shot of all the girls.

The show is that predictable, even from "cycle" to "cycle". There is always a winnowing down process at the beginning, a make over where one girl is unhappy, at two television commercials, a Covergirl ad shoot, going to a foreign country for the final few rounds, go-sees with a time limit, and a big throw down fashion show between the two finalists that inevitably includes past winners of Top Model. In fact, the show has been going on for so long that some of exotic locales have been repeated (Australia, Asia).

Even more disturbing is the blandness of the contestants chosen. Gone are the days of the wild Adrienne Curry or cha cha cha Jaslene. Instead we are stuck looking week in and week out at thin, stick figures with either long straight extension enhanced hair or short hair androgynous tomboys. There is no spice or variety anymore.

Recently, Top Model has made strides to become more relevant in these changing times. It went green last year and prohibited smoking in the house as well as doing a PSA challenge for AIDS in Africa. There was also an episode where both of the bottom two girls were eliminated. But such changes are few and far between.

Simply put, Top Model has remained in a stasis while the world of reality television has changed around it. New shows have appeared that whet the appetite of the American television viewer. Plain dry toast just doesn't cut it anymore. While Top Model has stuck to formula that worked once, they have failed to recapture the freshness from its first few seasons with the cosmetic changes it has made. If you enjoy predictability in your shows perhaps this show is the best reality television out there, but for me personally I expect more from my TV.

Learn more about this author, Elizabeth Moss.
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