Now that the talk show is over, a lot of questions are being raised as to what this means for America’s Next Top Model.

It means one of two things:

1) Tyra is going to refocus some of her energy back into the show that made her a reality television force. The show (and it’s watchability) has slipped considerably over the past few cycles. Even a gimmicky season like the shorty season couldn’t pull it out of it’s slump. It’s still CW’s flagship show, but it needs a serious facelift. We know that the show will be around for at least two more cycles, as Jay Manuel recently tweeted “ANTM will continue. We just finished cycle 14 and 15 is planned.” Nigel Barker’s contract doesn’t expire until Cycle 16. Could Tyra restore this show to it’s early season glory?

2) ANTM is not a priority and will continue to slide. Tyra announced the creation of Bankable Studios, a company where she will focus on film projects. She also has the second season of True Beauty on her plate, and — let’s face it — her non-ANTM television projects were pretty weak. If she devotes all her talk show time to other television projects, it’s possible she can again capture the magic that made ANTM so great.

What do you think?

Image: CW Network

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Not only did the show establish Tyra Banks as a television personality to be reckoned with, it paved the way for modeling and fashion shows of the future. It also keeps the CW Network alive, which is a big feat in itself.

Also making the list were Survivor, The Bachelor, The Apprentice, Extreme Makeover, The Biggest Loser, The Hills and Jon & Kate Plus 8.

Check the list out here.

I must say, I completely agree with the list. The only omissions that bothers me are The Amazing Race and Project Runway, but they didn’t define a genre of reality television the way the shows that did make the list did. I think that’s what this list was going for – television-changing shows, not high-quality ones.

What would your top ten list look like?

Image: CW Network

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The auction will take place from July 28 – August 1 and start at 9:30am PST. There are two inspection days before the auction starts, Saturday, July 25 and on Monday, July 27, if you want to check out the merchandise beforehand. Complete details for the auction can be found here.

You can see a complete list of the items up for auction here. Among those are two lamps and a mirror from America’s Next Top Model.

The auction will also be simucast on the web and there will be coinciding EBay sales too.

Images: Great American

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They do look at the careers of a lot of earlier eliminees, which is nice, but there’s nothing surprising in the pack if you’re a close follower of ANTMers. However, if you’re just a casual fan, it’s a worthwhile read to see how many girls are actually working and what they are doing.

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Thankfully, a couple websites have taken it upon themselves to offer advice to the contestants on the show and to the show itself.

E! Online offers wannabe top models five major tips to make them stand out in a crowd, including taking up a cause, owning your makeover, being evil, dressing like a model and fighting through your illness.

Entertainment Weekly goes straight to the source and offers up Tyra and her production crew five suggestions as to how to improve the show. They think photo shoots with real prizes, having the girls choose their own best and worst photos, getting rid of Miss J and amping up the Paulina factor are keys to saving the show.

What do you think of each of these lists? What would you tell the contestants – or Tyra – if you could give one piece of advice to improve the show?

Image: The CW © 2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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No one knows for certain what caused the stampede. Tyra Banks and ANTM’s executive producer Ken Mok released an official statement commenting on the events that occurred.

“We are concerned by the events that occurred Saturday afternoon in the vicinity of the New York City casting call for the next cycle of America’s Next Top Model,” they said in an official email statement. “At this time, we still don’t know all the details of what happened or what triggered the incident. We appreciate the efforts of the NYPD and will assist them in any way possible in this matter.”

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is insistent that the incident have bene avoided, if only the orgnizaers requested more security from the city.

“You’ve just got to, in advance, arrange for security,” he said.

I’m saddened by the events too. Based on the many commenters and news reports, it sound as though Tyra and co are, in part, to blame for the incident. Their lack of organization, lack of communication and lax security seemed to have triggered a mob mentality. However, it is far too soon to tell exactly what happened. The NYPD are investigating and hopefully some light will be shed on the matter soon.

Tyra has released a second statement, promising that those who missed auditioning because of the NYC circumstances will be offered a second chance.

“To all the Top Model hopefuls who were affected by the New York casting, we are doing everything we can to make sure that ALL the girls who weren’t seen, get an opportunity to audition – we’ll update you on our plans very soon,” she writes in an email statement. “It is so important to me to redefine beauty, and make sure that everyone gets a fair chance to pursue their dream. I am beyond excited for Cycle 13; for the first time ever, young women 5’7″ and under have a shot at becoming America’s Next Top Model! I encourage each girl to come out ready to rock the runway and show off their fiercest pose. I’m rooting for all of you!”

I’m glad Tyra is giving these girls another opportunity. I can only hope it’s a better organized one!

Image graciously provided by reader Shirley

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Thousands of ANTM hopefuls had come out that day, with many girls camping overnight in hopes of trying out early. Shirley was one of the many people who were there early and she was kind enough to send me a photo of the long, dense line.

The line at the NYC ANTM casting call | Image by Shirley

Here’s a video of the casting call. It shows the crowd panicking and breaking up.

Two of those injured were taken to the hospital and the four others declined further treatment after being taken care of by the fire department. Several people who were auditioning were trampled on, according to 1010wins.

“People were pushing, screaming, yelling at each other,” Lauren Musacchio said to the New York Times. “It was chaos.”

According to 1010wins, there was just an “enthusiastic” crowd that was aggressive, but manageable until someone yelled “fire!” That resulted in the stampede that lead to the trampling.

“Everyone got thrown everywhere,” Annina Manttari told the New York Times. “People were getting run over.”

There have been no details released by the New York Fire Department or the New York Police Department. I’ll keep you updated as more news is released.

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In honor of tonight’s makeover episode, Entertainment Weekly has put together what they think are the 15 worst makeovers in America’s Next Top Model history.

Those who make the list include Cassandra (Cycle 5) for her Mia Farrow cut, Michelle (Cycle 4) for her terrible blonde dye job, Michelle and Amanda’s (Cycle 7) unremarkable transformations, Brittany (Cycle 8) for that horrendous red weave, Jaeda’s (Cycle 7) crop, Jade (Cycle 6) for her short blonde ‘do, Sara’s (Cycle 6) blonde faux hawk, Amanda’s (Cycle 3) platinum blonde look, Megg’s (Cycle 7) overpowering weave, Jenah’s (Cycle 9) bleach blonde look, Saleisha’s (Cycle 9) bowl cut disaster, Lisa’s (Cycle 9) cropped cut, Stacy Ann’s (Cycle 10) cropped cut, Dominique’s (Cycle 10) soccer mom cut and Elina’s (Cycle 11) “racially ambiguous” curly red mop.

I think EW included the girls’ reactions to their cuts as part of their assessment. Some of these aren’t the worst, but their overly dramatic reactions to them certainly made it memorable. They also weren’t fans of nearly every short do, some which I loved!

My pick for worst makeover? I’m torn between Dominique’s soccer mom ‘do and Elina’s horrid sherry hair. Which makeover in ANTM history do you hate the most?
Click here to see the slideshow and the reasons behind each selection.

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Interestingly, the CW is slashing Tyra’s budget for her talk show and cutting production down from 34 weeks to 26. They are claiming this is to counteract the economic recession, but I think part of it is because the CW is unsure how The Tyra Banks Show is going to do on their network.

For those of you interested in auditioning for Cycle 13, audition information won’t become available until Cycle 12 airs. Cycle 12 is expected to air in March of 2009.

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The CW. © 2008 The CW Network LLC. All Rights Reserved

Their schedule says cycle 10, but I’m pretty sure that’s a mistake.

I’m going to tune in! I like to leave the television on and pop in and out all day as I’m doing other things. Not the most energy-saving practice, I know. But I’m super-excited for the finale next week!

This is the last time MTV will be able to air an ANTM marathon. Oxygen has acquired the exclusive cable rights to the show for all past, present and future cycles after the current cycle completes it run.

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