ANTM: The Girl Who Couldn't Smoke
By Peter Mavrik in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 27, 2007 5:45PM
Did you know Tyra Banks is a singer? Not only is that her speaking during the opener of ANTM (which is fairly unchanged since last season) but that's her vocals on the background harmonies. Feel free to bust out that bit of trivia at the next party you attend.
The episode opens with Jay introducing the girls to their bio-diesel powered limo. Something about that is oxymoronic, but given that this season is "The Futuristic Season" we suspect this is the first of many "green" initiatives the show will champion. How they'll reconcile makeup and synthetic fabrics made from dozens of laboratory chemicals is another story. Or perhaps another photo shoot.
In any case, our Chicago girl Ebony proclaimed at the top of the show that she wants to be "more reserved and into herself" in order to keep from making waves in the house. Unsurprising since so many of the others ragged on her during panel last episode, but hey, we hope not. Catfights are great. Not so great?
The photo shoot of the week focused (pun intended) on an anti-smoking campaign. Oxymoron two. Models who don't smoke? What industry are they portraying? The girls had to take two photos, one showing them smoking, and one that represented the possible effects of smoking. The latter basically turned the girls into demonic zombies in various states of hair loss, flesh wounds, and general disease. Yum.
Ebony was stiff during her shoot. Possibly far more into herself than intended, but it very nearly cost her the crown. She ended up in the bottom two during panel. Thankfully the Pollyanna of the group, Mila, was kicked off. Her incessant chuckling and happy-go-lucky nausea-inspiring attitude won't be missed.
In an interesting twist, and something we haven't seen before on ANTM, Tyra announced that smoking was prohibited for the remainder of the competition. At least two of the girls smoke, so we're pretty sure when tensions run high some delicious catfights are sure to ensue. And as always, the question lies in wait – Who will be America's Next Top Model?