Customer Reviews

America's Next Top Model - Cycle 1

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had never seen ANTM until the Fall of 2004, having missed the first two seasons. I have zero interest in fashion, but heard that, as far as reality shows, it was one of the most entertaining. It was always being talked about and quoted in Entertainment Weekly. So, during an ad break in one of the early episodes of LOST, I flipped over to ANTM. I've never flipped back to LOST and have been watching ANTM ever since.

The show is incredibly entertaining. And season 1 (which I had never seen until it was released on DVD) is a great season. You have all sorts of conflicts. The devout Christians vs the atheist being the biggest one.

The DVDs are well put together. Three discs. Four episodes on the first two and the finale on the final disc.

The only extras are three, short featurettes (each 5-10 minutes in length). One about the casting, one about the making of the show, and a final one about the two Jay's. They are fun, but nothing special. To be honest, when it comes to TV on DVD, I'm more interested in the show than any extras so I'm not upset with the set.

The set is well worth picking up. Even if you don't care about fashion or modelling. The cast makes the show work. A very entertaining series.

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL (ANTM for short) was brought in during the Summer of 2003 for 9 episodes, and became a huge hit for UPN. And why not? The first season showed 10 beautiful women who ranged from an atheist brainy waif to a bald black lesbian and some Bible thumpers - all put through their paces and taught how to walk and pose - let the catfights begin! It was great television and a surprise hit that did well with women and men for being fun, smart, and interesting. The DVDs offer all nine broadcast episodes, a look at the casting process, a recap of the first season, and a feature on the two Jays (make-up man and catwalk coach). It's on three DVDs, and the shows look like when they aired (a little spotty in places, but bright and colorful). It takes a lot to be a model, and this show proved it. The girls faced bikini waxes, posing with snakes, nudity, and being set loose alone in Paris with tons of appointments and no directions. This is a great show no matter what you think of models! Great stuff!

Show the world how human you are. ~Tyra Banks

America's Next Top Model reveals the complex decisions, responsibilities and intellectual challenges models face on a daily basis. Not only are contestants required to navigate the streets of Paris, two even participate in a major fashion show.

The most exciting part of the show is definitely the challenges the contestants face. The desire to overcome all obstacles seems to be the key to traversing the distance between obscurity to fame.

During each show, a panel of fashion experts decides on who will be cut from the show. Dreams are dashed as beautiful women show weaknesses and character flaws.

The bikini wax session was a little much but did show what women have to endure for beauty. The models then endure cold temperatures to model swimsuits on a rooftop. While this does show endurance, it made me wonder why they didn't fly these girls to a warmer location for a weekend.

The physical stress was something I had never considered. The photo shoots were often very energetic and you can see why models need to be young. Robin is the oldest model and seems to play the roll of mom more than model for the most part. Her religious beliefs create an interesting interplay between Elyse and Adrianne who then become friends when Robin becomes a little too controlling. Elyse made me laugh quite a bit with her witty naughtiness and my heart went out to Adrianne who wanted to win like it was life itself and survives food poisoning. Fortunately they get to live it up in Paris later and Adrianne's amazing strength pays off.

Robin ends up in a Garden of Eden type setting (complete with a snake) and also has to make decisions about nude photo shoots. I thought the show went a bit far with the photo shoot in Paris, especially with such young participants.

The stress of competition brings out a great deal of insecurity and self-esteem issues become apparent. Enduring all the criticism alone would cause anyone stress. Tyra Banks is one tough cookie when it comes to dealing out the dirt on every wrong move and every fault. She completely scrutinizes every aspect of each photo shoot and I can't say she is wrong about anything she says to the girls. Her eye for detail is exquisite and she also tried to give the girls a boost in their confidence with carefully selected positive comments.

I remember the days of being 135 pounds and walking on a catwalk in a swimsuit and heels and I will say that these girls are ten times nicer than any of the girls I had to compete with back in my high school days. I wish I'd watched this before my last photo shoot because there were many elements about how to make your eyes more vibrant that I hadn't really considered. I knew eyes were important, but Tyra really emphasizes this point and also makes you think about how the world views intelligent women.

Tyra Banks has done young women a great favor by creating this show. Not only can women see dreams come true, they can see how to avoid nightmares. If you have strong religious beliefs, modeling has many challenges. You are in a no mercy environment where materialism is paramount and you are basically a canvas upon which the world of fashion wants to paint. I was shocked they would cut Adrianne because she was almost dying of food poisoning. That really disturbed me for various reasons. She could have easily completed the test they gave in 10 minutes, sometime later when she was feeling better.

I did gain a new respect for Top Models and the interviews show a full range of personalities and intelligence levels. Most of the contestants are more in competition with their own weaknesses than the other models. In this show, being late to a photo shoot can erase your chances in a heartbeat. As a model, your life is not really your own. Do you have to sell your soul for fame? You decide.

Fortunately there is not much "clawing" their way to the top and everyone seems to have normal problems like everyday women in the real world. I didn't even sleep last night, I just watched all six hours. It was that entertaining.

~The Rebecca Review

I have been watching this show ever since it's first season and I have gotten 4 people hooked on the show, two which are straight men. This season has some amazing great characters for television: a religious nut, the all american blonde, the brainiac, etc.. The show gives the girls different photo shoots everyweek which are challenges within themselves and you get to see how they are GREAT and how they AREN'T. The main reason why this show will be adicting to anyone that watches it is if you are critical of yourself you will definately love this show. Everyone has their option of how this girl could have done one task better than the other. And like those who watch Survivor or any other reality show, you find yourself rooting for at least one of the girls to wub and waiting for others to finally leave.

Being a huge fan of the tv series, I was practically first in line at the store to buy this one. (I couldn't wait to have it shipped to my house.) It's great to watch your favorite episodes without the interruptions of commercials. So two thumbs up for that. I was a bit disappointed by the bonus features. The boxset's final disc (all nine episodes and bonus features are provided on three discs) shows merely a few moments of inital castings and how the girls were chosen. It also shows a few interviews with Jay Manuel (the make-up artist) and Jay Alexander (the runway coach). I was hoping for more footage of the girls' catfights and behind the scene footage of the judging sessions. All in all the first season on DVD is great but I hope UPN provides us with a bit more when the second season comes out.

I love ANTM, Tyra set it off for all the other copy-cat reality shows, but they still can't top this one. Love it, Tyra keep up the good work! But why can't I purchase the other cycles anywhere? I've been waiting for a long time for their release but nothing. I can't stand watching MTV but if that's the only place I can see the other cycle reruns then so be it.

Release the other Cycles on DVD!!! What's the hold up, I don't get it.

Finally, the people behind this addictive model search competition have released season one on DVD. Set on three discs, this nine-episode extravaganza where model-wannabes try their hardest to become the next big thing is entertainment at its best. Who can not root for the underdogs (Adrianne and Elyse) when one religious queen bee (Robin) tries to spoil it for them. And if that isn't enough, how can one not adore the world's first supermodel (as she loves to call herself) judge Janice Dickinson. Her tell-it-like-it-is attitude makes for a fun and sometimes jaw-dropping experience. The DVD package comes with some bonus features like Casting Call, Reliving the First Season, The Two Jays (the art director/make up artist Jay Manuel and the runway diva Jay Alexander). Yet as engrossing as Cycle One tries to be, the end result is a little disappointing. Take the episodes, for instance. Why, oh why were some re-edited (like the missing Tyra response over a shot of one girl's fingers in her bikini bottom loops)? Less is definitely not more in this case. And where are the added un-aired scenes ? The show was filmed 24/7 for eight weeks. Surely tons of footage was available. Too bad executive producers Tyra Banks and Ken Mok didn't use any of it. It sure would have helped Cycle One still be in the running towards becoming America's best DVD package. Let's hope Cycle Two fares even better.-----Martin Boucher

America's Next Top Model is a successful reality TV show because the bulk of the show has the contestants doing different things, and what they do is interesting. Creator and host Tyra Banks is out to prove to the world that modeling isn't just about smiling and looking pretty. She has the girls compete in every possible arena related to modeling - which includes weekly photo shoots, acting, public speaking and publicity appearances, and traversing non English speaking cities alone with nothing more than a map and a dictionary. The show is a crash course in modeling 101, and each week one model fails to pass. Voting is based on competitive challenges and a panel of judges who evaluate the girl's best photo of the week. The weekly photo shoots appear loosely based on past photos taken of Tyra. She relishes making the girls "suffer" the life of a model by freezing on the top of a skyscraper in bikinis in the winter, and suffering with a smile while posing with snakes and other creepy critters. The show gets particularly interesting when the final five contestants are flown to Paris to prove they can make it as European models. The insight into the modeling business is quite appealing as the girls audition with real Parisian clients (called "go-sees") and the final two participate in a real life runway show.

It is entertaining to watch a group of average looking girls transform on film, through training and lots of makeup, into real models. The characters in cycle 1 are so diverse that the interpersonal segments- "life in the house"- are fairly interesting. The final five breaks down into the bible belt vs. Adrian and Elise. Adrian speaks as if she is on heroin, and Elise makes the show because she's actually very intelligent. Elise's educated ranting on the painfully stupid other girls is very entertaining (although despite being smart enough to make it into Med school, she is obviously anorexic). Particularly interesting is the episode when the bible thumping model wanna-be's refuse to pose nude. Cycle 1, lacking the budget, sets, and pizzazz of future cycles of the show, is perhaps the best of all of them. Tyra has yet to go over the top with her challenges (like making the girls pose in drag or as murder victims), and the cast was diverse enough to be appealing to more than 14 year olds. [...]. If you like reality TV, America's Next Top Model Cycle 1 will be a pleasant diversion.

The first time I saw ANTM, I was waiting for a Frasier rerun to come on my local UPN station, and just happened to catch the last 10 minutes of an episode.

10 minutes was enough.

This is a great show, and made even greater by the attitude of Tyra, her judges and all of the folks who work the photo shoots. Their general attitude is that these women are creating art with their bodies -- this is not how they look or act or pose in real life. They're playing a role. There's even a memorable scene on the DVD with pictures of Tyra before and after makeup.

Not only is it a great and entertaining show -- but it sends a great message to young women, and shows that models aren't "just another pretty face."

I first saw ANTM on VH1 when they were airing reruns of cycle 4. I never expected to find the show interesting, much less addictive! The one thing that got me hooked were the photo shoots every episode. They are not boring everyday, wear a dress, lingerie or bikini and pose sexy. They were creative, artistic and showed that everyone in this business has to be artistically inclined, even the models themselves. If it was the goal of Tyra Banks to show the world that it takes more than a pretty face and a nice body to be a model, she has definently achieved it. We also see in the show that initial judgments based on appearance can mean nothing in the end, as the winner was someone Tyra would have never expected to win. The prettiest girls with the nicest bodies were eliminated one by one because they were missing something the best girls had and that was personality. Not only is the show entertaining, it illustrated something very important about modeling, a reality that most do not see. It takes more than just looking pretty and having a toned body, it takes discipline and a having a personality that shines through to make you look even more beautiful. I hope this speaks out to the young girls out there that emotional and intellectual development is more important than physical beauty. Looks won't get you everywhere.
I highly recommend this show for fans of the fashion industry and for those looking for a quality show, especially in the overly saturated "reality tv" genre.