Watching The CW

Although I’ve been watching, apparently I haven’t been blogging about ANTM for a while. So here goes. It was a little disappointing to see Sarah get kicked off on America’s Next Top Model last week. Have they ever kept a “plus sized” model past the first few weeks?

Also, did anyone really think Sarah was fat? I mean, she just seemed normal sized to me. Why not just have a normal sized model?

Both Bianca and Chantal are getting on my nerves, mostly cause they each think they are so much all that! I’m like, whatever! I keep having to remind myself that they are all very young. Like early 20’s. Which, you know, from my perspective is pretty young. Still, I’ll be happy to see the end of either of them. Or both. I was pretty happy to see the end of Ebony a couple of weeks ago. Quitting was the best thing she could have done for all the rest of us.

I’m not sure who I want to win. So far no one has really struck me as that great. I know that everyone likes Heather, but she seems a little weird to me. I don’t know that she would relate well to people as a model. Plus, I hate skinny people who don’t eat. I eat every meal and some other stuff in between. I don’t get not eating all day. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, where I am or how busy I am, I always remember to find time for food. So that kinda thing just really turns me off.

Lisa also strikes me as a little strange. I do like Ambreal, but not that much. I also like Saleisha a bit. I can’t even remember any of the others, so that’s not good. And I meant for the show, not me.

America’s Next Top Model, Tyra Banks

Well, things change, and as of today, the change on WatchingCW.com is that I’ll be the new blogger.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to provide you with lots of fun info, along with my occasionally slanted take on the CW’s shows. Please feel free to comment, discuss, argue, cajole, and whatever else you’d like, in the comments section. I love to have feedback.

Just so you have some background info about me, I love scifi stuff, so I’m a fan of Reaper and Supernatural, and to a lesser degree, Smallville. I also watch America’s Next Top Model, whenever I get the chance, and not, as you might think, because I believe that chicks that skinny must be aliens. Well, I’m not positive they aren’t, but I’m pretty sure.

If you hang around me long enough, you’ll know that my absolute favorite show of all time, is, was and always will be, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That probably tells you something about me that you may or may not even want to know. Either way, get ready for lots of random Buffy quotes and Whedonisms, as well as comparisons to Buffy and why, in my opinion, it was so much better than any other show out there. Ever.

I hope we’ll all be very happy together for some time to come and get to be great friends. Or at least that you will read my blog and post comments so that I don’t think I’m just here talking to myself and that no one cares.

You can also check out my other blog at www.watchingsitcoms.com.

CW, Reaper, Supernatural, Smallville, America’s Next Top Model, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss Whedon, Watching Sitcoms

I missed the first part of this evening’s episode and the all important photo shoot because I was stuck on a train and I hadn’t set my DVR. AAARRRGGGHHH - viewer error! However, I figured that all I missed was some recappin’ and bitchin’ (and Heather trying to explain about aspergers).

This week’s challenge for the girls is to start dressing like models and they got a basic tutorial from Miss J (they judges are obviously trying to break them of their ‘mall style habits’.

101 Modeling: Basics for your ‘drobe
- Simple dresses and skirts
- Flesh tone g-strings
- Fitted jeans with simple tees
- Keep your own style

Our brave girls are sent to Old Navy where they have 10 minutes to put together an outfit, and Benny Ninja is there to hinder them by trying to distract them with too many accessories. The store looked wrecked by the time they were finished as if an ANTM hurricane had blown threw!

Elimination time… I wish I had seen the photo shoot because it tried to un-glamorous smoking. Each of the girls was shot smoking in front of a mirror and then her reflection reflected a side affect. Tyra announces that this cycle will be a non-smoking cycle. I am impressed that they are taking a stand but wondering if nicotine withdrawal will make things more interesting in the house? Sad to say but the majority of the photos were good, and there wasn’t that much drama during the critiquing bar Victoria snapping back to Twiggy. Yes, mild mannered Twiggy happened to remark that Victoria looked shy and insecure, and she snapped back about not mistaking her being soft spoken for insecurity. Lucky Nigel stepped in to defuse the situation, but you could tell she had not done herself any favors. At the end it was Mila to go home.

I just long for the Tyra sanctioned make-overs and them removing Bianca’s purple bangs.

CW, America’s Next Top model, ANTM, Tyra

Because the powers that be had already released the names of the final thirteen model wannabes this episode was like watching a movie where you already know the ending. It did, however, give us a chance to see these ladies in action and interacting with the ones who didn’t make the grade. And straw pole anyone feel like booking a cruise by the end of it?

In the opening credits Tyra has gone all Star Trek and has a mission to find the future America’s Next Top Model. They will, one imagines, boldly go where no supermodel has gone before. Thirty-three wannabes are sent to the Caribbean, and end up on a cruise ship with Miss J. Alexander (I guess this is slightly better than the model boot camp from Cycle 8). There are way too many tall, skinny girls to really be able to tell them apart and I wished I had a print out of the final thirteen and then I could play ANTM bingo! Any how, the first challenge is an ad hoc fashion show with the girls having to strut their stuff in what they are wearing PLUS a life jacket. Miss J makes is the first one to draw tears. The girls are gathered and Tyra welcomes HER CHOICES of potential models, and tries to justify why they are on a cruise ship. Too much screaming.

Next we are treated to series of painful one on ones with Tyra and the Js. Tyra is on top form channeling her inner talk show host, and getting to the bottom of these girls problems. Highlights included a girl in a denim mini skirt with the bottom part of a pair of jeans as leg warmers, one who was slightly more literal than figurative (when Tyra says walk like a butterfly you don’t have to flap your arms like wings she means BE GRACEFUL), a hunchy nerd who has worse posture than me, a Yale student and finally, a waxer who simulates a Brazilian with Miss T.

I cannot wait to get off the boat and into the house with these girls. When Victoria (Miss Yale) gets sick survival of the fittest instinct kicks in and they all get that hungry look in their eyes. The final elimination of the episode was just cruel as we all knew that Lisa had made it but she cried all the way through it.

So that’s it - better than model boot camp but can’t we just start the season off in the house? Jump straight into cat fights and mascara battles?

CW, America’s Next Top Model, ANTM, Tyra, Cycle 9

Make sure you have your popcorn (or carrot sticks and humus) at the ready as tonight is the season premeriers of America’s Next Top Model Cycle 9 and Gossip Girl. To get you in the mood below are the promos - enjoy!

CW, ANTM, America’s Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, Tyra, YouTube

Congratulations to Tyra who beat out the competition of Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell, amongst others, to win Choice TV Personality at Teen Choice 2007.

It has been a good week all round for ANTM with TVGuide.com reporting that Eva Marcille Pigford (winner of cycle three) will be guest staring on Smallville in a suitably titled episode - Fierce. I know that I almost never mention One Tree Hill but more guest stars have been added to the forthcoming season, and you can read about it here at Ausiello (because I have never heard of them).

The CW, Tyra Banks, Teen Choice 2007, Smallville, America’s Next Top Model, ANTM, Eva Marcille Pigford, One Tree Hill, TVGuide.com

The gals from Cycle 8 are fast fading from memory, and even though September 19th is still a few weeks away the good folks at America’s Next Top Model have decided to tease us with introductions to the bevy of model wannabes: Ambreal, Ebony, Jenah, Bianca, Heather, Kimberly, Chantal, Janet, Lisa, Mila, Saleisha, Sarah and Victoria.

Welcome girls! Look forward to getting to know you in the up coming weeks.

The CW, ANTM, America’s Next Top Model, Tyra, Cycle 9

For some reason I never watched cycle 7 of America’s Next Top Model first time around but I knew that CariDee had won. Having that knowledge makes watching it a different experience, and with the case of CariDee as the shows progress you can really see her improve. It also means that you can sleep easy knowing the Melrose wont win. That girl is an acquired taste, she certainly brings it to the shoots (loved her as Trump) but rubs all the girls the wrong way. I do worry about the twins, the one that is more suited to modeling isn’t the twin that wants it the most and what happens if one is voted out before the other?

The CW, America’s Next Top Model, ANTM Cycle 7, Tyra

Renee, Natasha and Jaslene - who will make it? Two challenges and two eliminations squished into this one hour finale.

It is the Cover Girl shoot and last cycle’s winner came to give them a pep talk (and hand over the crown). The girls are on their own for the photo shoot (should be interesting) and have to ad lib their own life stories. Sadly, they all reacted well their notes and pull it together… thought this was meant to be reality television.

OMG Miss Jay is going to be CONSUMED with his ruffles. Poor Natasha stumbled with the ad libbing, Jaslene was nervous being sweet and Renee photos older (Tyra hinting at too much sun). Tension builds and Renee is going home.

Final two: Jaslene and Natasha- who’d have thought it. They will have to hoof it down a Sass and Bide runway event, and shoot a Seventeen cover. Tyra sneaks into their apartment and has a one on one with the girls - sweet. (Please note Tyra’s barefeet = down to earth.) At the runway event Jaslene had the best walk and Natasha was a little stilted, though she held it together when her skirt came off.

Jaslene is America’s Next Top Model - any thoughts?

The CW, America’s Next Top Model, ANTM

Oh Dionne, Dionne you could not soften your photographic glare enough to stay in the competition and you have been sent home. If you head over to the CW you can send in questions for Dionne. But, good for Natasha for not sharing and trying to keep her private life well private! It was an okay type of an episode and I’ll be honest not all that thrilled with the final three. Let’s hope Cycle 9 is a bit more exciting!

Have a great weekend and I will be back in the good old US of A next week in time for the finale of ANTM and more importantly Supernatural.

The CW, ANTM, Tyra, Supernatural

I always *love* the go-see episode because you get the girls out of their comfort zone, force them to try to impress industry types, at least one girl will always loose it and one (or more) will be late and miss out. Guaranteed tears, tantrums and flouncing - love it! The only way to make it better is when the girls are in a country where English isn’t widely spoken… fun fun fun!

So our bright young things head out to deepest Sydney for their go-sees and given strict instructions to be back by 4:30pm. Has their ever been an episode where all the girls get back in time? The go-sees themselves weren’t that exciting Renee and Jaslene did well, Brittnay had a terrible walk and Dionne… Oh my word, Dionne kept asking if she could keep the clothes! Surely this is an ANTM faux pas? Any how she ended up doing quite well from her impromptu shopping trip! Dionne, Renee and Jaslene made it back to base camp on time. Natasha was a minute late and started to try to argue her way out of it but conceded and quietly went to wait outside. It was a different kettle of fish for Brittnay. She went supernova. It wasn’t very dignified and I think her behaviour sealed her fate.

The photo shoot was a bit blah with the girls having to do one set of pics as soft sexy (shot by ANTM own Tyra) and then another a bit raunchier for men’s magazine (shot by some Aussie dude).

The final two were Dionne (she is looking too mean in her pictures) and Brittnay. Miss Brittnay walked.

The CW, America’s Next Top Model, ANTM, Tyra

Tonight’s America’s Next Top Model is new-ish. It is a rehash of the last few weeks and a collection of the best bits of the girls who are left in the house. They do promise some “never-before-seen-scenes” - hmmm. How many times have we all be taken in by that? You sit through fifty odd minutes of old footage only to be given a few extra scenes… Me, jaded and bitter? I think I’ll watch last week’s Smallville instead.

If you are interested Jael’s ANTM close-up interview can be found over at The CW.

The CW, America’s Next Top Model, ANMT, Smallville, Jael

All the way through last night’s show I was convinced that it was Jael’s swan song. She was goofing around and then at the celeb party she badgered 50 Cents so much at the she ended up in the pool. I was WRONG. It was the old bait and switch.

To kick things off Lesley Hornby aka Twiggy set the girls the challenge of branding themselves with a slick new moniker. With the wave of Twiggy’s magic wand the eight girls became: Whitell, Moe, Brit, Nata, Nayien, Jaslene, Jael and Wholahay. The girls were then whisked off to a celeb party to try out their new names and to drink Smart Water, but first Twiggy gives ‘em some rules:

1. Be eloquent
2. Don’t monopolize
3. Humor

Given that Jael broke all three rules I felt for sure she would end up in the final two. I hate it when my ANTM sense fails me. The challenge at the party was to mingle, network and impress Benny Medina and his crew. (Benny is Tyra’s agent and a big deal.) I thought Wholahay (Dionne) came of classiest (she won the challenge and got a real modeling job) and Nayien’s (Renee) conversation the most painful as her new name sounds like name. Doh, got to think these things through.

The girls were given free range for the photo shoot. They got to pick hair, make-up and clothes and then do four poises that show four sides to their personality. I had my fingers crossed that it would be a wreck but it wasn’t. This cycles photo shoots are going too smoothly we need to jazz them up a bit with animals and reptiles perhaps?

There has been a lot of tension in the house so Tyra showed up for a chit chat with a side order of therapy. There were tears about misunderstandings, being away from your child, bereavements and a hair weave being too tight. I cannot stress who much I covet Britney’s red hair - it is fierce with a capital ‘F’.

Whitney and Sarah were the final two and shock horror Sarah went home!

The CW, America’s Next Top Model, ANTM, Tyra

I think that the episodes get stronger the further into the cycle we get. It is easier to keep a track of who’s who when we are down to 9 or so girls, and we start to get more time spent on the photo shoots and challenges. Plus, we can start to look forward to when they whittle down the numbers enough for them to go overseas and get the girls really out of their comfort zone. I love it when they have to do their “go sees” and they get lost in Jo’berg, Paris or wherever. Kinda hoping they go to London this year so they could show Britain’s Next Top Model how it is really done.

This show was really all about how mean Sarah was and how much Dionne is improving. Sarah managed to put everyone’s nose out of joint by taking credit for an outfit that the other girls in her team put together, and of course won a prize. Thankfully it was not a bracelet like last week otherwise there would have bloodshed on the catwalk, but it was the option for additional frames at the end of her photo shoot and the opportunity to review them. The first mini-challenge slash lesson was with some ladies from Elite and this really was their first exposure to the types of people who will be getting them work. Sadly, Jael’s attitude whilst fun for her co-models is not professional enough and I think that next week she will be one of the final two.

The photo shoot was crossing dressing but the powers that be at ANTM have to get such big, butch drag queens to pose along side our girls? The hands down best bit was Natasha as a ‘Hip Hop’ boy she was completely in character, fashioned herself a metal tooth and nailed it. At the elimination Tyra was too cute for school with her bangs and what is up with Miss J. and the ruffles??? I thought Tyra was joking when she said that for every girl eliminated Miss J. would add a ruffle. Any how, Dionne improved her look from last weeks mall rat effort to fierce would-be supermodel. The plus sized gals were the final two and Diana went home. For some weird reason she photographs like a plain Jane.

Just a couple of things - is it just me or do a lot of the girls have bad skin and why has Renee started wearing head scarfs like Jemima Khan?

The CW, America’s Next Top Model, ANTM, Tyra, Miss. J Alexander

Dueling models at 8pm - America’s Next Top Model!!!

We are down to nine or so girls and from the promo clips it looks as if psychological warfare has begun with Renee telling Diana and Whitney that there will never be a plus sized model on Vogue (or some such publication). Wrong tactic Renee, if you truly think that then why waste your efforts trying to psych out the girls that you don’t deem competition. Focus your effort on Sarah - who is more similar to you in look and at times a bit of a know-it-all. Looks as if we are store for some crossing dressing with the girls being boys and boys being girls in the photo shoot, and please let us have some background on Natasha you know the other girls are dying to know about her… Diet soda in hand I wait with baited breath.

The CW, ANTM, America’s Next Top Model, plus sized models