Canada’s Next Top Model full of firsts

June 1st, 2006

The first episode of Canada’s Next Top Model began last night with the 10 hopefuls taking an executive jet to a B.C. mountain resort. One of the girls reveals that, at 19, it’s the first time she’s ever been on a plane; another says that stylist Jay Manuel is the first celebrity she’s ever seen.
He lines them up for Polaroids, and there’s a walk-off down a wooden deck. The winner, Heather, chooses the worst walker, awkward Andrea, to be her roommate.
Host Tricia Helfer takes them to dinner in Victoria, where a girl says she’s never been in a horse-drawn carriage before. Sitting down for dinner, you’re waiting for one of them to say that she’s never used a knife and fork.

A model scout says that he was watching the walk-off, and that his pick was Heather as well, which goes over like a bean fart. At the photo shoot, another model agency dude says that three of the girls have to “work on their measurements”, a euphemism for monster lard-ass, one assumes.
Andrea says that she’s competing for revenge, that she was called “the beast” growing up. Jay tells her she’s beautiful, and she tearfully says no one’s ever told her that; so far, the show is doing nothing to dispel the myth that modelling exploits insecurities.
At the final judging, Tanika gets dressed down for walking around topless on the set — we are so in Canada, people. Alanna from Kelowna has the worst photo, but Sylvie is booted, apparently for going casual and being rude when she was called on it. This really is Canada’s Next Top Model.