7-8: Anchal wobbles but she doesn't fall up

Let me apologize up front for the lousy pictures in this recap. The CW Web site has just totally dropped the ball in terms of providing candid photos. I mean, they're not even trying anymore. So I'm going to have to use the "portfolio" shots from what has got to be The Stupidest Photo Shoot in the History of Photography.

Space suits. Wide-angle shots. Weightlessness. Backgrounds made of Photoshop vomit. Cheap foundation. No, there really is no single redeeming feature to be found.

Of similarly shoddy workmanship is the editing, which telegraphed Anchal's dismissal from the start of the episode. She whined about her weight and insecurity too often for it to be anything other than a billboard announcing "I'm not long for this show." And by the time she was ousted, I was pretty sick of Anchal's relentless self-consciousness. Her obvious embarrassment over every single thing she was asked to do made me feel embarrassed for watching her. It was just uncomfortable all around.

But even more uncomfortable was the sight of Tyra essentially telling Anchal, "The lameness you bring to modelling is probably splattered all over the rest of your life, too." Look, woman, just because someone hesitates to "dance aggressively" on command doesn't mean she shrinks from every challenge. (Just the stupid ones.)

Sharing the bottom 2 with Anchal was Michelle, which makes no damn sense (a recurring theme with this show) as her photo was one of the best from this motarded shoot. She's growing on me, and I was delighted to see her eyes head-on in a shot for once.

Of course, this episode further cemented my love for CariDee. I'm just gonna say it: CariDee and I are going to get married on top of a mountain, and there's going to be flutes playing and trombones and flowers and garlands of fresh herbs. (Take that, Virginia!) Between her usual excellent photo and her awesome take on "hide dizzily" (it reminded me of Charlize Theron in Arrested Development), CariDee keeps knocking it out of the park. Love her.

By comparison, Melrose keeps doing a good job, but I just don't love her. There's something ... insipid, I guess, about her interactions with other people and something really self-obsessed about her interview portions. I keep hearing Kathy Bates telling Adam Sandler, "You don't have what dey call da social skills."

And then there's Eugena and Jaeda. I think they're both improving as models but I don't think it'll be enough improvement to take them into the final 3. And I suspect that might be killing Tyra a little bit. She's a big supporter of non-white models, and I think that's awesome and much-needed, but... not these two non-white models, I'm afraid. While Jaeda has mercifully stopped whining about her hair, she still hasn't learned to work with her jaw (look at that photo, fer chrissakes) and Eugena's skin at panel this week made me think 'And they were giving Ya-Ya grief over her acne?'

Next week, it's time to leave the country with the critters! As a preview, they showed Tyra twirling around in a mantilla and castanets. The voiceover said "We're going to..." and I yelled from the couch "Mexico!" because I could totally see this jacked-up season taking their big trip on a charter bus.

Comments

[nOva]

LOL!! A friend of mine was saying what a bizarre and lame choice for a photoshoot. I'm glad we're not alone.

This season is bad, but only in the sense that ANTM has hit a creative ceiling. I think CariDee is cool, too, but these girls don't stand out as much as the ones that came before. I think the producers need to try something new with this show, because Cycle 7 is the opposite of unique.