Premier Episode of Cycle 17 of America's Next Top Model

Cycle 17 of America's Next Top Model, the All Star Cycle, aired on September 14, 2011 on CW with many familiar faces from previous cycles.

We enjoyed sixteen great seasons of America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) on CWTV. America’s Next Top Model is the brainchild of Tyra Banks, acclaimed top model, television host and a former singer and actress. Tyra knew the challenges of the fashion industry and created a show to give young women a crash course in ‘Modeling in the Real World 101’. She puts them through weeks of challenges, photoshoots, training sessions, runway shows, ‘go-sees’, hair makeovers, dancing and acting. In the middle of all the modeling and the tools to help build their ‘star power’, the girls are also distracted by the drama of living in a house with sometimes 13 or 14 models with one and sometimes two going home in one week.

Cycle 17 – The All Star Cycle

America’s Next Top Model calls Cycle 17 the All Star Cycle because competitors from all seasons except for three, six, seven and eight are back to once again aiming for the coveted title. This all-star season offers the winner a spread in ItalianVogue, a spread and cover in Beauty in Vogue, the opportunity to sit as a guest correspondent for Extra, a $100,000 contract with Covergirl and other prizes.

Tyra seems to be looking for more than just a top model for this All Star Cycle. She seems to be looking through some of the best contestants from the previous shows for a true ‘all star’. According to Tyra in the opening of the first episode, there will be appearances by the Kardashians, Latoya Jackson, Kathy Griffin, Ashlee Simpson and other celebrities. Viewers can also expect to see the girls work on a music video, a perfume, also audition for a guest appearance on CSI among other surprises.

The Models of Cycle 17

Some of the fourteen ladies who are competing in this special season are Alexandria Everett, the one top model that people really seem to dislike from Cycle 16, Kayla Ferrel, the sultry lesbian from Cycle 15 and Angelea Preston, who tried out on numerous occasions and is known for her ‘ghetto fabulousness’ from Cycle 14. Laura Kirkpatrick from Cycle 13, the sweet country girl whose grandmother makes her clothes and Allison Harvard, the wide-eyed blonde from Cycle 12 are also back in this competition. Two models are back from Cycle 11, Isis King, who has since completed her gender transformation and Sheena Sakai, who is half Korean and half Japanese.

Cycle 10’s Dominique Reighard, the girl who was constantly berated by the judges for her masculine bone structure, is also back. Bianca Golden from Cycle 9 is one of the more successful returns as she has modeled for Ford Models and appeared in the 2008 Virgin Islands Fashion Week. Bre Scullark from Cycle 5 is a favored returning model and is noted for throwing away Nicole’s Red Bull after claiming to miss her snacks.

While many of the girls are known for their photos, their runway walk or their attitudes, Brittany Brower from Cycle 4 who was always loud and Lisa D’Amato from Cycle 5 who urinated in a diaper, are more known for their wild behavior and their antics. The girls who come from the earlier seasons are Cycle 2’s Camille McDonald, a self-declared diva and Cycle 1’s Shannon Stewart, the ‘religious Christian’ who refused to pose nude.

Episode One of the ANTM’s All Star Cycle

The first episode of Cycle 17 started off re-familiarizing the viewers with the returning models. Of course, there was a photo shoot and it was shot by CelesteCanino in the backyard of the girls' new home. Subtle drama was highlighted with Bianca’s disapproval of her red hair, which affected her performance because the photographer was not engaged with her posing. Shannon came back with her Christian values and refused to wear lace underpants for her photo. Instead she posed in a bikini swimsuit bottom which made her more scantily clad.

The judges’ task was to evaluate the young ladies based on their photos, personality, the potential to be the Top Model All Star and how they worked the crowd. The judges were the same: André Leon Tally, Nigel Barker, Tyra Banks and guest judge, rapper Nicki Minaj. This first episode showed a live judging with an audience and the girls stomped their runway walks on a long catwalk to impress all the onlookers. Most of the models had a favorable response but Alexandria was actually booed and derogatory remarks were hurled at her.

The judges still retreated to privacy to review the photos and the performances. The models were called out in the following order: Isis, Allison, Camille, Lisa, Angelea, Laura, Bre, Bianca, Shannon, Dominique, Sheena and then Kayla. Brittany and Alexandria sat in the bottom two because the crowd showed no positive or negative reaction to Brittany and because Alexandria was booed. Alexandria was given another chance at redemption because she was memorable so the boos actually worked in her favor. Brittany Brower, Cycle 4’s wild-child now an entrepreneur and host, was sent home once again.

While this first episode did not have much of the drama queen and ‘divalicious’ behavior, the clip from next week’s episode proves to have some excitement. As of today, with over four million Facebook fans, America’s Next Top Model All Star Cycle 17 will surely have viewers glued to their television to see which model will win this coveted title.