As fans of Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model (ANTM) have already noticed, there are no new faces this time around. Cycle 17 of the popular reality show brought back 14 "fan favorites" from cycles past. Sorry Jade fans, either she wasn't invited or her modeling dance card is too full.
Cycle 17's list of contestants is as follows:
Cycle 1's Good girl Shannon Stewart, who came in second to Adrianne Curry; Cycle 2's drama queen, Camille McDonald; party girl Brittany Bower from Cycle 4; wild child, Lisa D'Amato and the husky voiced Brittany "Bre" Scullark from Cycle 5; Cycle 9's resident drama queen, Bianca Golden; mannish (according to Miss J) Dominique Reihgard from Cycle 10; the fully converted transgender model, Isis King and va-va voom Sheena Sakai from Cycle 11; Cycle 12 first runner-up Allison Harvard; the bull castrater with a southern heart of gold, Laura Kirkpatrick from Cycle 13; Miss Ghetto Fabulous drama queen Angelea Preston from Cycle 14; Cycle 15's third runner-up, Kayla Ferrel; and last but certainly not least, Cycle 16's drama queen Alexandria Everett.
Of course, no cycle of ANTM would be complete without at least a little drama, and Cycle 17 promises not to disappoint. In fact, the cycle's first episode began with a little drama from none other than Bianca Golden, who some may remember got into a bit of a brawl with Nikki Blonsky and her family in an airport a few years ago. Apparently Scullark and Golden are close friends. Well, Scullark wanted to surprise Golden and kept her participation in Cycle 17 a secret. So, when the contestants all gathered together in their new temporary home, instead of greeting her "best friend" with a welcoming smile and a hug, Golden snubbed Scullark. Golden's ruffled feathers had settled by the end of the show.
More drama came when the contestants prepared for their first photo shoot. The theme was for each woman to pose in a way that was in keeping with who she was and/or how she'd appeared to ANTM's audience her first time on the show. So, Stewart, the good girl, posed as an angel. Ironically, she provided the photo shoot drama. She refused to put on a pair of lace shorts over a pair of very revealing bikini bottoms. Why, you ask? Because the lace shorts looked too much like underwear, she explained. She doesn't model underwear. Barely there string bikinis are OK, though. Confused? According to Mr. Jay, so is Stewart.
The night ended with the critique portion of panel being held in front of an audience of ANTM fans. Each contestant came down a catwalk to stand in front of the judges and hear what they had to say about her first photo. Every contestant, except Alexandria Everett, received a warm welcome. When Everett stepped up to the microphone, some people started booing; one person called her a bitch. Kudos to Everett for maintaining her composure, holding back her tears and graciously accepting the judges' less than glowing critique of her picture. If you're thinking the audience's reaction to each contestant made a difference, you're right. It did affect who went home that night. If you're thinking Everett was in the bottom two, you're right again.
Alas, Everett survived the first cut. It was party girl Brittany Bower who got the ax because, according to Banks, the audience couldn't remember her. Everett, on the other hand, "brought polarity." Some people said they hated her, while others said they loved her. One audience member said he hated her and loved her.
If week one is anything to go by, America's Next Top Model Cycle 17 will be anything but dull.
