We begin the maiden voyage of Make Me A Supermodel with shots of the final 14 at home, getting notified that they will be on Bravo's newest reality show. There are six guys and six girls who got letters, and the final guy and the final girl were chosen by online vote.

The final 14 are Aryn, Ben, Casey, Dominic, Frankie, Holly, Jacki, Jay, Katy, Perry, Ronnie, Sarah, Shannon and Stephanie.

Niki Taylor explains that the winner of Make Me A Supermodel will receive $100,000, a contract with New York Models and a fashion spread in GQ magazine. Joining her on the judges' panel are male supermodel Tyson Beckford, Jennifer Starr, and Cory Bautista.

All 14 model hopefuls descend upon Time Square in New York City. They will do their first photoshoot right then and there in the middle of Midtown. Their photographer is Lee Strickland, and they will be selling sex, fantasy and drama in summer clothes. Poor models! It looks like it's frickin' freezing there!

Ben gets dressed up in a ton of neon pink. He's a prison guard in Nashville, and I think that if his inmates saw him wearing all that pink, he just might lose their respect. Perry thinks that the one improvement he could have made on his shoot is maybe being more good looking. I feel sorry for all the girls because they are dressed in much skimpier clothing than the boys. Shannon has legs that go on forever. Jay is one of the hardest guys to photograph, Lee says, and also one of the hardest models to understand, I say. Seriously, I have no idea what is coming out of his mouth.

So far, I feel that this first photoshoot goes really well. Much better than in certain other modeling shows. I'm hopeful for the rest of the season. Lee has a lot to say about each model, and I could listen to it all day because of his funny Cockney accent. He thinks that Stephanie did the best today and has a nice quirkiness to her, while Katy and Frankie were the most mediocre.

The models settle into their fancy new digs. Ronnie is excited to be sharing a room with Ben, but Ben is a bit weirded out by sleeping on a twin bed with another dude in the room.

The next morning, Tyson comes to wake them all up at 7:09am for their first go-see. It's cool that they are doing their first go-see so early, since it's something that they need to do to be successful models. But before the go-see, Tyson takes them to the riverbank, where there is an oilcan fire. He wants the models to throw their clothes into the fire, to symbolize their fresh start. Now, that's just mean. These kids wore their very best for their first go-see, and now he wants them to burn those clothes?

Tyson brings the models to meet Cory and Niki. They change into underwear, and Cory takes their measurements. He points out everyone's flaws—chicken legs here, long torso there, big ears over there—and tells them that their measurements will be taken every week.

GQ is hosting a party tonight, where style editor Adam Rapaport wants to meet them. Niki tells them that they only have 20 minutes to get ready. The alcohol flows freely at Tenjune, where the party is being held, but this is where Bravo separates itself from the CW, because no one gets wasted and makes a fool out of themselves.

The next day, all the models assemble to meet the fourth judge, Jennifer Starr, and a guest model, Debbie Deitering, who looks like she's about six and a half feet tall. Debbie takes them through a runway walk clinic. Everyone changes into black leotards, but the guys roll the tops of their suits down to their waists.

After the clinic, they return home to find their portfolios with their best photos from the Strickland shoot. Aryn breaks the seal by being the first one to cry. She's disappointed in herself, even though later on Cory thinks she had the best photo of the entire shoot. Perry has to go to the hospital to get his sprained angle checked out, and comes back later with crutches and a cast. His foot is officially broken, but he's determined not to let it slow him down on the catwalk. Sometimes you gotta play injured, he says.

Niki gets all the models ready for their first big catwalk show. Tyson comes out wearing a teeny-tiny red Speedo and I have to admit that he kind of has chicken legs too. His upper body is so built, and his legs are really skinny. He's still a beautiful, beautiful man, though. Anyway, they will be modeling swimwear today, and Ben, Casey, Jacki are Shannon randomly selected to wear thongs. Jacki has a big hissy fit about not wanting to wear the thong, and goes out wearing a regular bikini bottom.

Now for their critiques. Ben is too prison guard, and Katy's legs are too flabby. Jacki tries to explain why she didn't wear her thong, and the judges are not pleased. Jennifer Starr tongue-bathes Perry and his vulnerable eyes. Dominic whines that his necklace was too heavy and was giving him back pain. Oh, boo-hoo. The models are sent backstage while the judges deliberate.

The winner this week is Holly. She did the best across the board. Also safe are Perry are Shannon. Jacki squeaks by as well. Sarah, Katy, Dominic are in the bottom three and their fate is in the hands of America now. I think everyone should vote for Sarah because I want her to prove that long-torsoed girls can still make it. Is a long torso that much of a liability? Plus, Dominic was too whiny about the weight of his necklace. Vote Sarah: 1-866-I-WANT-03!

So much happened this episode! Go-sees, industry party, runway clinic, pointless crying, hospital visit, catwalk show, thong rebellion! It's like an entire season of ANTM condensed into one hour!



-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of Bravo)