Time well wasted

I was thinking that I might give this cycle of America's Next Top Model a miss. I'm kind of busy. I'm not watching much television at all right now. But last night, Sweetie and I caught up with the premiere episode online. Give it a miss? Who am I trying to kid? I live vicariously through ANTM!

Tyra Banks is always trying to keep the show fresh. The current Cycle 17 is an "all-star" competition. She has brought back models from previous cycles who did not win their cycle. She said these women were fan favourites, but I know that for us anyway, Angelea and Alexandria were more like "love to hate" than "love."

We weren't watching ANTM from the beginning. In fact, we didn't start until Cycle 11, so there are a lot of models in this cycle with whom we are not familiar. But that's just like any other cycle. You get to know them pretty quickly. I'm cheering for Isis from Cycle 11, sweet little Laura from Cycle 14, and Kayla from Cycle 15, who I thought should have been in the top two over Chelsey. I also get a good first impression of Bre from Cycle 5 and Bianca from Cycle 9. I'm sure things will change as the season moves along.

This format makes for some interesting differences. One is that most of the models are working in the business. And some are well past the age when we usually see models on ANTM, who normally are just starting out. Camille from Cycle 2 is the oldest at 33, competing against models who are still in their early 20s. Tyra is also going for a kind of "full package" for this cycle. It's not just about photos, personality, and being able to do a commercial. The models will also be doing things like designing their own fragrance. The idea is to create a total brand around yourself.

Some things don't change. Alexandria, who seems to have a total lack of self-awareness and thinks every problem she has is someone else's fault, found herself in the bottom two right off the bat. She just didn't take a very good photo. At least she didn't try to control the shoot! But I'm glad she wasn't eliminated yet. She's too much fun. I was glad to see Brittany go. She looked like a Miss America contestant to me.

More fun on Wednesday! And it's nice that we have the option of catching full episodes online in case we're busy and still haven't figured out our PVR by then.