MMAS: Holly Good And Fine

In the finale of Make Me A Supermodel, it was all about experiencing the real world by meeting with actual potential clients, and also about having the real world temporarily intrude by having a visit from significant people from home. It may have just been a way to fill out an hour for the finale, but it did provide some interesting moments and helped shape (or solidified) the viewers' last assessment of the final four contestants.

The models were given maps and a list of appointments with casting people. Strangely, finding their way to the particular street addresses of the clients appeared to be the hardest challenge of the season. In future seasons it should definitely be made a contest in the regular part of the show. That, and walking and chewing gum at the same time. I don't why; it just amuses me.

Ben DiChiara was shown first going to Esprit. The rep said they wanted their models to be a little sexy but still wholesome. It sounded like a perfect description of Ben, and he did look really good in their clothes. I would be enticed to buy seeing how well the clothes looked on him. The only sour note was that Ben came to the go-see wearing his blue shirt with the argyle pattern that he lived in for most of the series. I know Ben burned clothes off his back in the first episode to show how committed he was but could he redo that ceremony and this time throw in the blue shirt? It had been washed so many times and was so worn it would just make a tiny puff of smoke from the few threads that were left.

Later Ben went to Ginch Gonch underwear where walked around in their briefs and agreed to use a banana as a prop. His comment to the TV camera was that he didn't particularly like dancing around like a monkey but he did it anyway. Thank goodness Ben is coming around to doing things that he feels uncomfortable with (that aren't bad things anyway) because the job requires it. This was a necessary hurdle for him to get over and he seems to be trying to make it. The casting people didn't care him but what do they know? Their company used over-inflated porn stars as their models.

Perry Ullmann went to People's Revolution where he showed his walk and the comments about him were of course that he was edgy, sexy, and great for runway and editorial. At establishment casting, inc., Perry was described as beautiful and charming. Two for two - not bad.

Ronnie Kroell met with Rebecca Beeson who said her brand was modern, sexy, and cool - none of which is Ronnie. He tried on the clothes and did his walk and it was just embarrassing to watch. His first outfit was vertical stripes which is guaranteed to look horrible on him. When he walked, it was classic Ronnie. He leaned backwards while he walked and then did the same look and turn at the end that he always does. Surely there is at least some fly-by-night modeling school at his local mall that could teach him to stop doing that caricature.

Later Ronnie went to Ginch Gonch to give it a go. He tried on their wares, which was not an aesthetically pleasing sight, and then like Ben did a routine with a banana. Omigod! Even in that scenario, Ronnie did the same expression and turn as always. It's like he's addicted to it. His friends and family in Chicago need to have an intervention to tell him how much his lack of variety is hurting them (and those of us watching the show).

All the models went to GQ to try on clothes and take Polaroids. BTW, Polaroid is going to stop making film so GQ better drag themselves into the digital age. The people there said Perry was the best, naturally, as long as they could get rid of the red hair. I totally agree on the hair thing. It needs to be darker to balance against his complexion.

On the models' last night at the townhouse, Holly Kiser's fiancee, Ben's wife April, Perry's girlfriend Amanda, and Ronnie's mother showed up to add some poignancy and drama and who cares. I must say that Ben and April were so cute together. She really makes Ben become even more adorable. It was a good moment but it was interrupted by lecherous Ronnie butting it to try to create some awkward drama.

The end finally came and the models appeared before the judges to hear the results. It wasn't clear if the models were dismissed in reverse order of popularity, but Perry and Ben went first, which really scared me. I thought surely the votes of gay viewers wanting to see a gay guy win regardless of talent would not be enough to put Ronnie on top. It was tense, but finally Holly was declared the winner and Ronnie disappeared literally into the wings.

After episode eleven, I would have been happy with either Perry or Holly winning, and during the finale I became okay with Ben winning. So, I had a 3 out of four chance of capping off this season with some satisfaction. But now, like the end of The Truman Show, I'm thinking, so what else is on?

MMAS: The Models In Their Element

In episode eleven of Make Me A Supermodel, it was all about creating a close finish and a level playing field for the final four models. During the run of the series, the judges had repeatedly placed Ben DiChiara and Ronnie Kroell in the bottom three, while heaping praises upon Perry Ullmann and Holly Kiser. To even things out between the four of them going into the final viewer vote, the show made sure that they gave Ben and Ronnie significant advantages in the last competitive episode while they gave Holly and Perry whatever handicaps they could while trying to keep some degree of plausible deniability. The dumb thing about that is that Bravo is well aware of the Bronnie factor that had already brought R & B to the end past some better models, and so Bravo/Tiger Aspect Productions should have known that no other advantage was needed.

First they had to complete the burial ceremony of Shannon Pallay, who was done in by the combination of self-inflicted wounds and the mean hatchet-job done on her in the show's video editing room the week before. At the end of the last episode she and Ronnie were put up for the elimination vote. Shannon of course didn't know what bad things were ending up on television, so she took false hope in a rational comparison of her previous success to Ronnie's repeated selection as one of the worst models. Ronnie, on the other hand, buoyed by previous reprieves granted by the audience (and perhaps a lot whistling in the dark), confidently predicted his return to the townhouse. He said it would be a slap in the face of America to think otherwise. Actually, it was a slap in the face of America to think that America would think he was better than Shannon. It turned out to be a slap that Bravo America deserved as it gave Ronnie one more chance to be more than a Big Lots ad-quality model.

Back at the townhouse, Perry and Holly discussed who would be returning. Holly pointed out how much better Shannon had been doing than Ronnie. Ben used that as an invitation to be disrespectful to Holly, following an unpleasant pattern of being disrespectful to women, but Holly was too lady-like to let it get to her.

There was a brief appearance by Naomi Campbell. I guess there are female supermodels also.

The models went to their last photo shoot and here is where the unequal treatment of the models occurred. To allow America to carefully and fairly compare the work of the models, they should have all done something very similar that could have shown how one of them could do it better than the others. Instead, using a theme of the four classic elements of air, fire, water, and earth, the models were placed in situations that were decidedly dissimilar and inherently unfair.

All season it had been stressed how important facial expressions are and for three of the models, they were during this shoot. Ben, on the other hand, got fabric draped over his head (and unclothed body) to hide whichever of his two looks he might have been expressing at that moment. How is that fair? The intent of his photos was just to excite people by showing him naked. It really was the equivalent of putting a paper bag over his head and asking the public, "Would you be willing to do him now?"

Ronnie was dressed and intricately made-up in an interesting and sensual way while Holly was forced to lie on the ground with her head on fire and Perry got his teeth blackened and made into a drooling eunuch. The result was to make Perry and Holly look strongly less attractive than Ben and Ronnie this week. I can appreciate Bravo's catering to a core demographic by trying to hand it's gay viewers a Ben or Ronnie victory, but I think they went too far with it.

The fun part of the episode was the appearance of Project Runway's Christian Siriano, who was there to act a runway coach. Who knew he had this whole other talent? His advice was really solid.

The models each did three outfits for the runway and the results really summarized well the entirety of the season. It was clear that as a professional model, Perry is the top. Holly has a beautiful face, but some body issues when she has to show too much skin. Ben has some quality attributes and should be able to use modeling as way to significantly supplement his income. Ronnie, with his lumbering and back leaning walk, his Chicago pose #1, and his paralyzed expression, is a caricature.

Any of the four models could win this popularity contest, although I still hope it will end up going to the best model. The only one that would make me sad if he won is Ronnie. As the weeks have gone by, I have increasingly become disdainful of the things he says, the way he models, and the way he has been saved even though the professional judges have four times said he was one of the worst models in the competition. Ronnie said he has been trying to break into the industry for ten years. There has to come a time when you acknowledge that your dream isn't going to happen. To paraphrase a quote from Seinfeld, he should quit through the traditional route. Years of rejection and failure until he's spit out the bottom of the p orn industry.

MMAS: Night Walk

In episode ten of Make Me A Supermodel, it was all about using goth fashion as a backdrop for the murder of Shannon Pallay's future on the show. While some of it was self-inflicted, there was definitely a strong effort by the show's editors to set her up for defeat. She would have had a hard time anyway being up against some of the more popular players in the game, but just to be sure, TPTB gave her the coup de grace.

With the bottom three from the week before being Ben DiChiara, Ronnie Kroell and Casey Skinner, it was pretty clear that Casey would be the one going home. A person like him is not going to be quite as popular as a Ben or a Ronnie would be. It is not hard to predict the relative popularity of the models when you consider the likely demographics of the audience and what type of characters will be regarded as more favorable by them. As everyone knows, this show is a popularity contest, and the voting public are not going to start basing their votes on merit yet. I hope in the final vote that people will base their selection on who is the best model, but I understand that everyone first wants to get their favorite into the last group. Therefore, no matter what they may do badly in front of the camera or on the catwalk, and no matter how much the judges point out that they are not the best models, Ben and Ronnie are going to be carried to the finals by their fans.

When Ben and Ronnie returned to the townhouse, the fake welcome home ceremony occurred as always, followed by the models' real reactions spoken to the camera or to each other. In this case, Holly told Shannon that she had wished that Ronnie would have gone home because "he's really getting attitude." She's just too polite to say that Ronnie is an ass and maybe slightly retarded. The judges have patiently been telling Ronnie week after week as they put him in the bottom three that he is not supermodel material, but he doesn't seem to get the message. Instead he misinterprets Bravo's big ol' gay audience's voting to save him as some educated determination that he has what it takes.

I for one think that bad character and personality can negate what otherwise might be an attractive appearance. Ronnie's manipulative methods of trying to turn the models against each other and his baseless cocky attitude leave me cold. Besides that, Ronnie doesn't even start off with a foundation of having good looks. I know that there are some people who say he is good looking and I know that what appeals to one person can be greatly different than what does to someone else, but compare him with any professional model that is widely viewed as good looking and you should be able to see what Ronnie lacks. Take your favorite photo of him and put it next to a photo of, say, Chad White. Night and day.

The models found out that they were going to New Orleans. The models were pretty excited but Perry Ullmann's happiness was short-lived as Tyson Beckford pulled him aside to show him the National Enquirer article about his girlfriend, Amanda Pagel. It seemed to be a cheap trick to capitalize on someone's personal misfortune and it shouldn't have been put on the air.

The models travel to the Big Easy and in their hotel rooms they find gift baskets. Ronnie had a voodoo doll in his and not surprisingly tried to use it to curse Perry and Ben. Perry goes to bed thinking about how he is now alone and that he intends to "come with a vengeance". Not sure why the editors showed him stroking his private area while that comment was played on the voice-over.

For the photo assignment, the models went to Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, where they got dressed and made-up full goth. As usual Perry and Holly looked the best in the clothes, but since one of Ben's two looks is "scary", he took a good photo also.

It was in the cemetery that it became crystal clear that the show's editors had decided to do a major offensive to get rid of Shannon. Usually, if there is hint of bias in a show, it is so subtle or so ambiguous that it can be ignored. In this case it was very blatant and objectively measurable. Play back the episode and count the anti-Shannon comments and/or use a stopwatch to measure how much air time was given to bashing her. There are several possible theories for why they would do this, but my guess is that TPTB had decided that Holly is the most deserving to win. The best way to ensure that is to make sure that she is the only female in the finals. That way all the votes for a woman would go to her, while the boy votes would be split between the three remaining guys.

While in New Orleans the models did some home building for hurricane victims. Holly showed what a great person she is with the way that she became emotionally distraught by the suffering of others. Ronnie joked about using power tools and how they were not like the ones in his bedroom.

Back in New York, the models did their catwalk assignment, which was "goth drama". Collectively, the models had to express a story that fit the genre. Holly is far and away the best actress and she really shined in it. Shannon was the worst, which made all of the negative comments about her that were intended to get rid of her seem really like overkill. Shannon and Ronnie were clearly the worst performers and accordingly they ended up in the bottom two and subject to the mercy of the public.

MMAS: Making The Sale

In episode nine of Make Me A Supermodel, it was all about selling. Selling clothes and selling themselves to the judges and to the viewing public. The last thing is of course the most important and those that have not paid attention to what they have said on camera will sooner or later bear the consequences.

With the bottom three from the previous week being Ben DiChiara, Casey Skinner and Frankie Godoy, it was a obvious choice for Frankie to be sent home. Ben and Ronnie Kroell anchor each other as does Perry Ullmann and Casey. Frankie, on the other hand, lifts right out. There are other models I would rather have seen leave before him, but I can understand that he was never going to be the overall winner, so leaving in seventh place isn't much different from leaving in third or wherever else he might have placed.

Back at the ranch, the other models maintained their catty ways by verbally using their claws on those away hearing their fate and on each other. It strikes me that the models who insist that everyone would back stab each other are actually the ones most likely to do it. Perry stood out as someone who believes in the good character of his buddies in the house and in doing so, shows his own good character as well.

Ronnie appeared to be particularly negative about Shannon Pallay. It's strange how much air time the show gives to negative comments about her. Couple that with her badmouthing of others and the quarrels she gets into with Perry and it all does not bode well for her if she should be up for the vote. Her unpopularity ranking is likely to be high.

The photo assignment this week was "fashion on film", where the models would do a video catalog for clothing. Reminds me of the Shai Wear video of several years ago, which had two guys going all the way (but starting out dressed in the seller's clothing). Something like that would be perfect for Ronnie (with Ben), not so perfect for Ben (with Ronnie). When the director asked to see a scene with a pair of lovers, Ben sort of volunteered to try it with Ronnie. While virginous Holly Kiser covered her eyes, Bronnie went at it. Ronnie went into a dream-like state of ecstasy while Ben did foreplay for a standard prison rape. My thought was that this was not a act of love but rather an expression of power. But I'm sure the difference would not have mattered to Ronnie during that brief moment of Southern fried simulated sentiment.

The director asked Perry to do a look expressing being jealous over another guy. If only he could have been told about girlfriend Amanda Pagel and Adnan Ghalib. Then he could have really showed it with no effort at all. At the end of the episode Perry actually got a call from Amanda, who only said that she was part of big celebrity story but wouldn't or couldn't tell Perry anything about it. If I were her, I wouldn't care how much I was pushed into it, I still wouldn't have called my boyfriend and told him something so pointless and unnecessary.

Jennifer Starr took the models to Bloomigdale's, where they met its Fashion Director, Stephanie Solomon. Stephanie said the store's brand identity was energy, glamor, and fun. I think she meant tired, overpriced, and boring. There is no glamor in the Macy's universe.

The models got to pick out outfits and then go sell the clothes a lunch audience of loyal customers. Ben wasn't allowed to do it because of his bad attitude. He said he didn't like selling clothes. Can someone please explain why Ben is even in a competition to be a model? Did no one explain to him the central concept that the clothes are the stars and having models in them is only optional? Maybe Ronnie could explain it. He really put himself out there with the male shoppers. Stephanie correctly pointed out that he was en-gay-ging.

The catwalk assignment was "timeless elegance". Boring. Ronnie did his waddle walk on his first try, which is not a good look. He did much better on his second walk, although his did that droopy thing with his face muscles and open mouth.

Niki Taylor had a birthday party during this episode and the boys decided to create and sing a song for her as a present. It was cruel to make her listen to it but it was just. The sound of that cacophony was suitable revenge for the guys who have had to listen to her meaningless drivel.

MMAS: The Shining Of Ben DiChiara

In episode eight of Make Me A Supermodel, this video arrangement in gray and black took a dark turn on a weekend retreat where the cold and isolation played havoc with the models' minds and bodies.

The show started where it always seems to start, in Ben DiChiara and Ronnie Kroell's bedroom. Ronnie, despite being from Chicago, seemed amazed to see snow outside. Ben was less excited. As a non-sequitur, Ronnie did his weekly predator move on Ben, this time asking if he could kiss him. Gross.

As predicted, Jacki Hydock got the boot and not surprisingly, she was surprised. To clue the models in, the viewers should be allowed to vote on a reason to explain their action, like a) because she is bitch, 2) because she is full of herself, 3) because she badmouths people, 4) because she badmouths Perry, or 5) all of the above. Oh, and because she was up against two popular men.

Back at the townhouse the other models paraded their ignorance of the game with clueless discussions of who will be returning and why. Delusional Shannon Pallay believed that the results would have some connection with the judges' comments, so she was sure that Perry Ullmann would be leaving. Conniving Ronnie pinned his hopes of getting rid of arch-rival Perry on a fantasy that Perry turns a lot of people off. Frankie Godoy rightfully set Ronnie straight by refuting that.

Frankie and Perry return and soon the models learned that they would be going on a winter weekend out of the city. The destination was a ski resort where they would face their next photo assignment: "snow motion". They had to be in motion across the snow as their photos were taken. The photographer Dennis was so much better than the one the previous week. Dennis actually worked with the models and guided them into the shots he wanted rather than just berate them as the water tank photographer did.

Perry and Ronnie were paired up and that was surely a match made in Hell from Ronnie's point of view. Ronnie is smart enough to know the Perry is the one to beat him and the idea of helping Perry get a good shot must have been appalling to him. Strangely, they actually looked good together. I loved the clothes they were wearing. That winter vintage, well-to-do, collegiate look is fabulous.

Frankie was selected as the worst model on the shoot, so his punishment was to return to the townhouse alone while the others got to stay in a cabin for the weekend. Frankie has an unusual smile that can look goofy and the photographer emphasized this flaw as a reason for picking him.

In maybe the most bizarre situation of the series, the other models may have felt that they had become guests at the Overlook Hotel as Ben began to exhibit severe psychological problems. On their second day at the resort, they were woken up by their physical trainer who had them split into two teams and do tasks as a competition between them. As Ben was losing the challenges and his mind, he began to eerily repeat over and over the statement that Casey and Ronnie were gay. Clearly, all work and no play makes Ben a really f***ed up sociopath.

The models return to the city and Casey and Ronnie confront Ben about his mental instability. Ben calmly listened the way a killer who has his family in his freezer would answer a knock on his door from the police. Chilling. Even weirder was Ronnie's blanket absolution of Ben's anti-social behavior. There can be no excuse and no forgiveness for such behavior. Ben should have been thrown off the show.

The catwalk assignment was to do three poses on a rotating platform while modeling Ben Sherman. Rotating platform? Shades of Brett Novek's circle of death on AMSM. No one did really bad on it but coupled with the photos, Frankie, Ben, and Casey ended up in the bottom three. I guess the judges finally wised up that they were going to be out of women if they didn't put up three guys against each other.

MMAS: Walk With The Animals

In episode seven of Make Me A Supermodel, it was all about animals and fear and sometimes fear of animals. Sometimes it was unclear which species was more scared of the other, but at least both the models and the animals were clearly smarter than the variety of judges used as adjudicators on this series. The producers could have saved some money and provided more insightful comments if they had hired a parrot in place of slow talking Tyson Beckford. Hopefully the models will realize that they need to just talk to the public through the camera and not pay attention to the inane utterances of the judging panel.

The opening dismissal was a contest between those with diminutive names: Frankie Godoy, Ronnie Kroell and Stephanie Bulger. This week the smallest of the small, in total votes, was predictably Stephanie. As I mentioned before, there was no way the viewers in this show's demographics were going to keep a blah girl over these two guys.

The models got a hair trim from Anthony Barrow of Cutler Salon while Frankie got a major whack job. Cory Bautista of New York Model Management told him it was time to lose the Fabio look. Considering that the long hair is a major part of the Frankie image it was big decision for him to decide whether to do it or not. Knowing that hair will grow back but reality tv competitions are once in a lifetime (not counting series with all-star editions), Frankie went ahead with it, and personally I think the shorter hair makes him a lot better looking. He felt unsure of himself when looking at the result but resident philosopher Casey Skinner eased his mind by wisely pointing out that "Fabio is what's inside". Casey may have gotten that from a fortune cookie but it sounded good anyway.

The fear that Frankie had of losing his hair led to a discussion about what the other models' fears are. Casey presciently declared his biggest fear was snakes. The next day the models were taken to an outdoor location where they were told that their photography assignment was to pose in a tank of water using a large snake for a prop. The models were allowed to see the snake up close and Casey begged it not to kill him.

The photographer was a real jerk. An automated shutter could have done his job. He was totally unable to do his task of getting the models to create a good photo. To make it worse, he just deflected his own inadequacy by blaming the models. Maybe he just needs to get an Instamatic camera and start learning his craft from scratch.

Two days later, the models found out that their catwalk assignment was to work with giant headpieces. Living mannequin Niki Taylor offered the best piece of advice that her blond mind could think of: "It shouldn't wear you, you should wear it."

To make the assignment more challenging, the models also had to take an animal with them down the runway. The various animals were assigned by random drawing and Perry Ullmann got the pig. The little oinker performed about the same as the one that Brett Novek got on America's Most Smartest Model, which is to say that models and pigs don't work well together. The piglet's greatest fear apparently was doing runway and his porcine screams caused him to be replaced with his understudy goat.

The models completed the catwalk as well as they good, and unfortunately Perry was the most affected by bad behavior of his animal. It didn't want to walk or even be dragged but Perry did what he could. The judges used the opportunity to try to humble him. Cory said that Perry's photo was weak even though the photographer had said otherwise and then the other judges piled on in a blatant effort to shake up Perry. I assume that they knew that the exercise they were attempting wasn't going to knock out him, one of the top contenders, so they felt free to put Perry in the bottom three just to teach him a lesson.

The most interesting part of the judges' question period was when Ronnie was asked who should be in the bottom three and Ronnie finally and fully threw roommate Ben DiChiara under the bus as I had previously predicted he would do. Ronnie also was able to get a dig in during Perry's inquisition, showing he is the master manipulator of opinion for this voter driven contest.

The bottom three are Jacki Hydock, Ben and Perry. Once again, the unappealing girl with two popular guys doesn't stand a chance. Bye-bye Jacki.

MMAS: The Models Act Up

In episode six of Make Me A Supermodel, it was all about acting. Or at least having the models act like they could act. The only ones that seem to have talent in that department are Perry Ullmann, doing actual characters, and Ronnie Kroell, being conniving in his manipulation of situations and other models.

At the start of the episode we got to see which of the previous week's bottom three got the ol' heave-ho. Katy Caswell thought she should stay because she "didn't do anything wrong this week". What she did wrong was end up in the bottom three with Ronnie and Frankie Godoy. There was no way that the straight female and gay male viewers were going to keep her over the two guys. Sure enough, Katy stayed awake just long enough to be shown the door and the express car to oblivion.

For this week's photo assignment, the models went to the Bleeker Street Theater to do scenes where they could show drama, movement, and a sense of story for the photographer. The models did their work in groups of three and the first group up was Perry, Ben DiChiara, and Jacki Hydock. Perry again showed he is the best actor. Jacki, on the other hand, had to play someone who was bitter, which was not really a stretch for her. Ben was suppose to act like he was trying to keep them from fighting but he acted more like a school crossing guard than a prison guard.

The second group was Ronnie, Frankie, and Holly Kiser. Basically, it was an example of the worst kind of backwater community theater. Yawn. In the end, the photographer declared Perry, Holly, and Shannon Pallay as the top three.

Later, for Valentine's Day, the men made dinner for the women. After dinner, the models received video messages from loved ones and Ben got a message from his wife April. I assume she was specifically not allowed to tell him to tell Ronnie to keep his hands off her man. Perry didn't get a video, but instead he was allowed to talk on the phone with his girlfriend Amanda Pagel for their one year anniversary. He and the viewers were treated to some incoherent gibberish from her that for some reason made Perry appreciate her more. Seeing Perry's satisfaction makes me think that maybe I've set my own standards too high, expecting people actually to form complete sentences.

The catwalk assignment this week was about "walking drama". The models paired up for the assignment and each duo drew a specific theme for their walk. Ronnie and Ben got "rock stars" and Perry and Casey Skinner got "high society". It should be noted that Jacki was the odd woman out and she drew "executive bitch". Again, not a stretch.

At the catwalk Frankie did a good Errol Flynn while Perry and Casey did a satisfactory set of foppish characters.

Ronnie and Ben as "rock stars" were just tragic. Ronnie's facial expressions made him look like a stroke victim. Ben just strolled through the motions. When the judges criticized Ronnie (and questioned him on whether he had a deal to help Ben win), Ronnie made comments that showed that he was ready, willing, and able as soon as the moment was right to throw Ben under the bus if it would help him, Ronnie, to advance.

Ronnie and Frankie fell into the bottom three again, this time with Stephanie Bulger. Bye, Bye, Stephanie, for the same reason why Katy was voted out when going up against these two guys.

MMAS: Ronnie Becomes Fashion Weak

In episode five of Make Me A Supermodel, it begins as they all do with a discussion among the models of who from the bottom three is most likely to be eliminated that week. The models know that the determination is totally controlled by the votes of the viewers, yet for some reason they continue to talk and act as if the contest for votes is affected by ability or effort. Well of course it isn't. It is dependent on how interesting and personable the character are. With the bottom three being being Casey Skinner, Jay McGee and Katy Caswell, it was a foregone conclusion that Jay would be eliminated, which he was. Regardless of how well Jay did in the challenges, he just never exhibited anything interesting about his personality that would cause enough people to make the effort to vote to keep him around.

My theory is that some of the models do realize the need to engage the audience but they remain coy about it, not wanting to divulge their own strategy to their competitors. Perry Ullmann is a good example of someone who understands how the game is played. He stays out of the bottom three by being a great model, but he also makes sure that the viewers see what a warm and witty personality he has, thinking ahead to when he will need viewers' votes. He mentioned the problem that the girls are having with this concept when he talked about their personalities being on milk cartons (because they are missing). He's right. Some of girls will be heading home soon from lack of personality more than just their looks on the catwalk.

Ronnie Kroell is another one that is smart enough to understand what to do. He has tied his wagon and chances on to the inherent advantages that his roommate Ben DiChiara has going for him. Ben is in law enforcement, married to a longtime sweetheart, has a good natured personality and comes into the contest as an underdog. These are strong advantages and using his analysis of the situation, Ronnie practically begs the viewers to see them as a pair so that they will keep Ronnie in as long as Ben is there. My concern for Ronnie though is that this may help in early on but eventually the pawing and manhandling he does of Ben is going to be increasingly annoying and the viewers will tire of it enough not to vote for him.

The focus this week was on the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Bryant Park. The sponsor keeps changing to be what ever company wants to shell out the money to have its name attached to the event. I'm waiting to see Tostitos Fashion Week or Dr. Scholl's Fashion Week. The models get to see a runway show and Ronnie became overwhelmed with emotion from the experience. I was once next to the tent at Fashion Week but it was by accident as I was wandering around that part of New York in February without a map looking for touristy things. I don't recall becoming teary-eyed from the close encounter but it was probably because I couldn't have cared less.


The models undergo more catwalk training and Ben continues to show consistent improvement. On the other hand, something not good is going on with Ronnie. I don't know if it is something I just never noticed before, but where did that spare tire around his midsection come from? And did he always have those child-bearing hips? His outline is awful and not like any runway model I'm used to seeing.

Later in a game of "Most likely to...", Ronnie starts to show that his confidence is waning. Besides being criticized during the catwalk training, he got tagged in the game as "most likely to have been an ugly child". Meanwhile, his true biggest competition, Perry, was labeled "most likely to succeed in life". To make himself feel better, he took the label of "most likely to be two-faced" and with the most bizarre definition of the term ever, said he had to put it on Perry. He said Perry is "a thinker and he's always watching and always thinking and that in this game is two-faced." WTF? I believe in Psychology 101 I learned that this would be called "projection". The next morning Ronnie continues to ponder Perry's chances and he disingenuously tries to manipulate Ben into thinking that Perry is manipulative.

The boys got their chance to put their catwalk training to use at a real show at Fashion Week at there I really felt embarrassed for Ronnie. His clothes looked like they were several sizes too small. His walk looked more like a waddle. His overly developed chest (for a male fashion model) was too prominent. It was all terrible. Ironically, Ronnie had ridiculed Katy for eating too much and not exercising enough but it looked like he had the weight problem this week.

All of the models got one more chance to show their catwalks skills when their did their walk for the judges. The had to do New York downtown grunge. Unfortunately, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse for Ronnie, it did. Horizontal stripes and stretch fabric made him look water retentive. It was almost as if he were wearing jodhpurs, but it was just his bloated self making it look that way. Needless to say, Ronnie ended up in the bottom three.


Considering how well Ben is doing, it will be interesting to see if Ronnie survives whether he will continue to treat Ben as an ally or as a competitor.

MMAS: Body Art

In episode four of Make Me A Supermodel, it was all about the models being works of art. But like contemporary art, I don't see most of these models as being suitable to have hanging around. The female models are still bitchy and most of the male models are made to look incredibly boring. At least there was some excitement when one of the girls got slapped down when she insinuated to Ben DiChiara that he was sleeping with Aryn every night. The prison guard in Ben finally came out and he told her to shut her f-ing mouth. I'm sure that scene prompted fantasies of rough jailhouse sex with Ben in some of the viewers after they watched it. Of course if they watched for a few more minutes they would have seen Ben back to being sweetness and light with Ronnie Kroell, saying "All we got is each other." That is like a double dose of anti-Viagra.

Fortunately the visual stimulation quickly returned with a trip to an art class where the models got to pose au naturel. Frankie Godoy couldn't wait to disrobe while Casey Skinner was a little more hesitant. Ronnie did his business and Ben got stiff. However, the real stand out for the boys was Perry Ullmann. If you recorded the show, you can slow down the quick glimpses of the students' sketches, and assuming that everything was drawn to scale, you can see that Perry's package took up the most space on the paper. Nice.


The photo assignment was dull, doing pieces of a portrait. The training assignment was a lot more interesting with the models working together to form a living sculpture. They get covered in body paint with some cool decorations and they walked and writhed in front of a gallery audience. A little post-production lighting special effects made this scene probably the most interesting scene of the season so far.


Afterwards the models had a theme party back at their townhouse and it gave Perry Ullmann another chance to show what a great personality he has and what good acting ability he possess. He can do a number of funny looks and voices. He can so look so stern in his photos and it's nice to see how personable he can be away from the camera. At the party he hung out with the other guys and they talked about how much they liked each other. Perry was lying on bed during the conversation with Casey behind him and the camera angle created what I think must be an illusion. If you look at it, it looks like Casey is playing pocket pool with Perry. If he were, Perry has great control to be able to continue a conversation the entire time and still keep in character.


The catwalk assigment was to act like a walking sculpture. Perry did a superior job, which inspired Tyson Beckford to express his man-love for him. Tyson: "If he [Perry] were a girl, I'd date him. He's an amazing looking guy." Well, finally there is something I can agree on with Tyson.

MMAS: Perry Does Casey

In episode three of Make Me A Supermodel, it was revealed that Dominic Prietto had the least amount of viewers' votes for those in the bottom three, and he left the catwalk stating he would make himself a supermodel. It had been between him, Ben DiChiara, and Katy and my preference was that Katy should leave. One reason is that both Dominic and Ben have been in my top four. The other reason is that the female models have already shown they are bunch of catty bitches. Frankie Godoy has been good at letting the girls know how nasty they are when they were badmouthing Dominic and Frankie himself. The show would be better off by getting rid of all the females as quickly as possible.

Ben got to stay in the house and no one was happier than Ronnie Kroell. Ronnie still absurdly calls Ben his main competition but he wants Ben to stay in the house as long as possible. Ronnie says that he has feelings for the straight, married Ben and that he interprets Ben's polite and restrained response to Ronnie's frequent touching as "mixed signals". Ronnie unfortunately is accelerating down the path of becoming the pathetic, stereotypical creepy gay character that tries constantly to fondle and seduce an unattainable straight guy. He knows that he is on TV and he should be thinking about being a gay role model and not a slutty predator.

The photo segment was focused on showing chemistry between pairs of models. The best pair of the shoot was Perry Ullmann and Casey Skinner. Once again, it is shown that erotic photos with all straight male models are exceptionally smoking. Also, it shows that once straight guys find out that other guys don't have coodies, there's nothing to it.

The catwalk assignment was to use a combination of equestrian and fetish. Considering it was such an interesting theme, the models were incredibly boring with the exception of the combo of Perry and Casey again. Perry has a great acting ability and he seems to be able to inspire Casey to be better than he might otherwise have been. It was an easy task for the judges this week to pick Perry as the week's top model.

Holly, Aryn and Jay were selected as the bottom three. I think the judges have been letting Jay coast along so far, but this week I think he was probably brought down further by his partner who appeared not to be able to feel any chemistry with a black dude. As stated above, I'm rooting for another one of the cats to leave.

MMAS: Up In The Air

In episode two of Make Me A Supermodel, Dominic Prietto survived the first viewer elimination. The announcement of the results took place at the beginning of the show and it's apparent that this ceremony each episode is going to be filled with excruciatingly boring and manufactured drama. The judges talk in slow motion with long pauses in between statements. This is the kind of thing that Tivo is made for. You need to just fast forward and see which model walks off. Besides, that gets you to the unclothed scenes of the models sooner.

Most of the female models were noticeably unhappy about Dominic staying and Casey Skinner actually called him a bitch. Whatever they are talking about, it must be off camera before now because I haven't seen Dominic do anything that would deserve such criticism. However, I believe the combination of his inexperience and the effect of these negative remarks on the viewers are not going to allow him to get much farther in the competition.

After the elimination ceremony, the show takes us to Cutler Salon, where the models get their hair updated. Owner Rodney Cutler, wanting to make Holly's hair unique, asked her, "Do you want to follow fashion or do you want to develop fashion? You don't want to be current. You want to be ahead of the curve." Cory Bautista of New York Model Management, who was standing there listening, had previously complained about Holly's hair not fitting the New York standard. Hopefully, Cory will learn a thing or two from the experts this season and stop trying to fit his models into narrow molds. He shouldn't be trying to copy the current look, he should be creating a new one.

Next the models get their bodies waxed. Wasn't Ronnie Kroell told the previous week that body hair was "in" when it was noticed that he had shaved his chest? Very confusing.

For the photo shoot this week, the models get into an aerial harness. Ronnie was first and during his session it became clear to me how all-important the models' physical facial features are. Skill and attitude are so less significant when it comes to being able to do a good photo. As an example, Ronnie's face is very expressive even when he is in relaxed, casual conversation. His brows, eye folds, the spacing between the eyes, and the mouth lines allow him to make all kinds of expressions with hardly any effort. This gives him a huge advantage over a lot of the other models regardless of any of their intensity or drive to succeed.

Ben DiChiara was next and the photographer sounded so dumb barking commands at him. It showed the human tendency just to shout louder when you realize that you are not being understood. Ben is not experienced so she might have just as well have been screaming in ancient Hebrew at him. She should have just talked to him and explained more clearly for what she was looking.

Perry Ullmann managed to keep his junk from being injured by the wires and produced his usual smoldering, sexy shots, as did Dominic.

Later at dinner the models answer pointed questions that were intended to generate controversy. Ronnie gave a bitchy response that Dominic was the weakest model. That shows you can be a high-class model with a low-class personality. Ronnie also absurdly tried to flatter Ben by saying that Ben was his biggest competition. It was clearly more of a statement reflecting Ronnie's crush on Ben and not one indicating an accurate assessment of the contest. Ronnie should keep in mind that Ben is married and off-limits and so he should keep his public comments cooled down.

Ben said that he thought that compliments from a gay guy were worthwhile. This is of course very valid. Whereas straight women may tell a straight man that he is attractive because they admire his personality, his career, his bank account, or his car, a gay man is judging solely on the exterior view. It is a detailed scoring system that deducts major points for even the slightest defects, so when you get a high grade from a gay man it is high praise indeed.

The runway component for this episode featured costume designs from Heatherette. Frankly, I would rather see drag costumes by Chris from Project Runway. The judges decided that Dominic and Ben (along with Katy) would be in the bottom three subjected to the viewers' votes. I would like to keep both my guys, but it will probably be Dominic discarded next week.

MMAS: The Models Move In

In episode one of Make Me A Supermodel, the fourteen contestants move into their New York apartment, burn their clothes, and parade around in underwear and skimpy swimwear. Lord love kooky reality shows featuring male models.

At the beginning of the show, the models immediately start working by doing a photo shoot in Times Square. Though the temperature was below freezing, photographer Lee Strickland had the models pose in summer wear while being outside on a platform in the middle of it all.

Dominic Prietto was first and I think his photos came out pretty good. He photographs better than he appears on videotape. Ben DiChiara was next and although Lee thought Ben wasn't very versatile because of his close cropped hair, Ben's attitude about it all shows he's up for anything in order to do a good job. He had to wear pink pants and a pink scarf but he looked totally at ease and made it work. Later Perry Ullman went out and Lee loved him even though his hair is just as short as Ben's. I don't like when people's critiques are not consistent. I also don't like when people imitate faggy lisps as Perry did to show how he felt about the flamboyant clothes he had to wear. Of course he's a character and I'm sure he's going to say a lot of crazy things. Ronnie Kroell went out with a smile but not much reason for one since I think he had the ugliest clothes to model. How did the gay model get the dullest outfit?

The models go see the apartment for the first time and Ronnie and Ben decide to be roommates. It looks like Ronnie and I share similar tastes.

The next morning the models are told there are going to a go-see and they all dress up in their best clothes. Instead they are taken to see a burning garbage can and told to throw something they are wearing into the fire to symbolize discarding their old lives. They are encouraged by co-host Tyson Beckford to show how much they want to win by throwing in as much as possible. Anyone who has played these kind of mind games at a corporate retreat would know what a load of crap this is. Unfortunately, most of the models are too naive to see how stupid it is or to tell Tyson to throw his own clothes in the fire if he really believes it is such good therapy. Dominic wisely kept his clothes on and suggested that the people that burned all of their clothes were just tools. He's got a good head on his shoulders.

Afterwards they purposely stand around in standard issue underwear for exhibition before Cory Bautista, Director of New York Model Mangement. Cory tells thin Dominic, who has a 38" chest and 30" waist, that he looks good, while telling Ben, who lost 20 pounds since the casting, that he lost too much. It's a great thing in this country that you can be President of the country or Director of a modeling agency and still be hopelessly wrong about a lot of important things. Bottom line is that Ben looks incredibly fit.

Cory tells one of the female models that her hairstyle won't work in New York. In this election season where "change" is what its all about, I get sick of hearing on these modeling shows how there is only one standard and no one must be allowed to veer from it. Agencies should be on the cutting edge of pushing change in looks and styles and not constantly conforming to the ways things are.

The episode ends with a swimsuit runway featuring parke & ronen. By luck of the draw Ben had to wear a thong, but it really wasn't very revealing. It only showed a slightly saucy set of cheeks. The judges criticized him for looking to much like a prison guard walking on the runway. Uh, prison guard in a thong. What beside everything is wonderfully right about that picture?

Of the favored four (Dominic, Ben, Perry, and Ronnie) Dominic was put in the set of three to be voted on by the public. Its too soon for him to go so I'm sure he will not be voted out.

MMAS: Meet The Models

Bravo's Make Me A Supermodel casting special showed that a lot of critics of Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency and America's Most Smartest Model were wrong. It is possible to cast a worse looking and less qualified group of "models". I had skimmed through the show first on Tivo to get a feel for what the show was like, but when I played it back to watch it in detail, I realized that something was terribly wrong. Even Janice's rejects are light year's beyond this motley crew. It's like the casting people went to an open call for a local amateur production of "South Pacific" and asked the hopefuls if they would rather be on a TV show instead. Host Tyson Beckford said that the odds of taking someone off the street and making them a supermodel would be like winning the lottery. In this case it's more like the odds of the sun going supernova tomorrow. I can't imagine there will be many people that care who wins this show. Somebody at Tiger Aspect Productions screwed up big time.

I give credit to the company for their selection of audition cities. They went to Dallas, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, and NYC. Chicago was an especially good choice. There is a lot of good looking men there with a range of European ethnicities. Unfortunately, it looks like the casting people only selected from the actual applicants. If you follow reality TV at all, you know that many of the best characters don't apply on their own; they are recruited. Somebody should went into the Loop at lunchtime and over to Boystown at night and beat the bushes for some really good choices.

In Chicago they did find Ronnie Kroell and Igor Galijasevic. Ronnie said that a former boyfriend was an adult video star who had been escorting on the side. Many people have to do two jobs to make ends meet, but Ronnie didn't indicate if the amount of time spent at work contributed to their breakup.

In L.A., there was Dominic Prietto and Perry Ullmann. I think they are both good looking, but in Los Angeles of all places, this is all they could find? Why didn't the producers just go the Beverly Center for an hour with a net and capture several seasons worth of qualified wannabes at one time?

In Miami there was Frankie Godoy. I don't like men with long hair. End of story.

In New York City, Ben DiChiara, the deputy sheriff from Nashville, was discovered. He had been married for four months at the time of his interview. He's only 22 and I think that's too young to be married. People need more time to mature before they make that kind of committment.

From all the applicants, 35 were selected to go to the next stage of the audition in New York. There they were interviewed and looked over by the judges. The first cut took out six of them, including Cuban-American Yenier Leyva. That really sucked because he seemed pretty interesting and because all modeling shows need a sexilicious Cuban.

The show finally got to bare skin section when the models subjected themselves to be examined wearing only swimsuits. The models took turns doing poses with partner on a chair. Ronnie did a puppy style pose with his hair being pulled back. He said he liked being dominated that way. I just wish he didn't also like furrowing his brow and putting on a fake orange tan. I thought there was something wrong with the tint on my TV until the judges confirmed he was artificially colored.

In the end, the field was narrowed down to 12 with 2 more to be selected by the public through an online vote. Dominic, Ronnie, and Perry were selected to be in the twelve, while Igor and Ben were turned over to the whims of whoever stumbled across the web site. The final decision was that the online community selected Ben as the final participant. I think I may watch the show for awhile just to see how Ben fares. His initial photos look pretty hot and I think the public will buy into the newly married, law enforcement backstory.