LOL. Thanks Hoolia I laughed my ass off.

I really hoped you would catch Tyra's accepting all those compliments that were for Anya and you did. I laughed SO hard when I watched that. She's so ridiculous, there really are no words!

I missed the opportunity to turn this into a drinking game using "stuck." But the CW is about to rerun the show in 20 minutes, so I will correct that oversight immediately.

Is anyone else still uncomfortable with how thin some of these girls are? I know Fatima said she is a refugee...but she looks fresh out of a concentration camp. I prefer Whitney if for no other reason than she looks healthy.

And now...I drink.

Fatima is definately too thin. I think Anya and Dominique are fine. Whitney is "healthy", sure, but not anymore than the other girls.

Funny, Hoolia... And don't despair, they're just keeping Dominique around so that they can drum up the Farmer Wants a Wife bitcherinas by comparing them to her. She's not long for this competition. Someone already said "not fresh" about her, "too old-looking" can't be far behind, can it? Come on, you all know that's the real reason they booted Claire.

Tyra for me finally went from insane attention-whoring to just plain insane in this episode. Now the more "modeling with your eyes" advice she gives, the more I'll just flash to the end of Sunset Boulevard and Norma Desmond's insane mugging for the camera... Really, is there any difference?

And did they have to name this episode "We are Spartans"? Shouldn't they be in Greece for that? I guess geographic differentiation of other countries is not a big thing in the U.S. (says a Spaniard who keeps getting asked if we drive from Seattle when we go visit my family.) Having grown up reading Asterix comics, I say they should just have gone with "Hail Caesar, those about to die salute you". And then feed the eliminated one to the lions. Or let Nigel say at the beginning of panel "At my signal, unleash hell!" And then they unleash Tyra, who proceeds to give a demonstration of how to pose as if you're burning in hell, but make it fashion.

I thought Anya's photo worked for me this week because they gave her eyebrows. They gave her such light eyebrows in the makeover, usually all I see is her nose. And I realized that, in her makeover, they should have given Dominique a platinum bouffant and heavy eyeliner, so she would still be a bitch, but at least she could be channeling Monica Vitti, Anita Ekberg and Virna Lisi in honor of the Rome trip, no?

OK, last point, I swear. I don't really care who wins this year. I don't think it's Whitney's fault that they gave her such a trashy makeover, I can't help thinking I would like her so much more, fake and all, if she was still a brunette. Fatima talks too big for her skinny britches. Dominique will be a drag queen icon some day, or the mother who forces her daughter to audition for ANTM cycle 37(when Tyra will be demonstrating how to make incontinence "modelesque".) And Anya is a nice girl, good model, but for all that's holy, could they at least dub her "My life as a Cover Girl" ads if she wins? Haven't we suffered enough with Jaslene's and Saleisha's?

this is in response to say huh, oh my, you had me rolling, your comments were so spot on, ha, and I agree this year's make overs were horrible, fatima's long hair, monique's horrible cut and even whitney's

Kat's boring. I'm glad she's gone.

Anya's boring (but nice). She looks much better without the brunette roots (did someone give her a color touch-up between this week and last week?). I still hate Whitney, but she was much nicer in this episode. Humble becomes her. The blonde weave does nothing for her. She should've stayed a brunette. Maybe SHE should've received Kat's bob haircut. Dominique's face looks so much better in pictures, but she's the next one to go. Her sense of fashion is horrendous, and the panel knows how you present yourself at go-sees is very important to getting booked. Who's last? Fatima. Tyra's favorite = eventual winner. Her face is her golden ticket.

I agree with the person upthread who said these girls (with exception of Whitney and Dominique) are way too thin. They look sickly. Dominique may strike most people as a drag queen but she has the nicest shape of the remaining women to me. Whitney doesn't have a "banging body" (to quote Tyra) to me. She's all hips, no ass.

Hilarious how Tyra kept intercepting the compliments at panel before they reached the girls. Oh Tyra's ego. What would this show be without you?

Btw, I just saw Claire with her hubby and cute baby in a commercial for the 30 seconds for Barack Obama contest explaining why she's supporting Barack. Well, that makes her more likable to me now. :-)

Sayhuh's comments also had me laughing - spot on.

I do think that the girls are too thin - except Whitney and Dominique. Their legs look like they might snap off at any moment.

I thought the photo shoot was really idiotic. How are you supposed to channel an Italian Renaissance woman if you know nothing ABOUT Italy or the Renaissance? I thought most of them looked like they were floundering.

Also, Dominique looked like a poodle.

And, Paulina slammed Whitney for looking at the light, but Tyra TOLD her to! She was doing it, then she stopped and Tyra said "Look at the light again". And then she fails to mention that in panel. Ugh. I CANNOT stand that woman.

I am rooting for an Anya or Whitney win. Dominique is hideous, Fatima is the same and her ego is way too much. But Whitney won't win. Anya seems to be the nicest and the most humble AND the most consistent, but I shudder to think what her commercials will be like. And she needs to dye her eyebrows darker - permanently.

shia0bundan - Seriously, where does Tyra get off? Her whole "Aw, gosh, you mean little ole me?" fake-humble act was just ridiculous beyond belief. Anya was so gracious about Tyra stealing her thunder, too!

cattyfan - Hope you got good and drunk on your second go round. And yes, Fatima especially looks way too thin to me. She hits certain angles where she looks sickly.

sayhuh - I miss brunette Whit, too. I think it defines her eyes more and she looks smarter and more mature that way (says the blonde). Also looks like the producers need a geography lesson because yes, the Spartans have zilch to do with Rome. Good catch. Some Europeans are the same way too when it comes to American geography - my personal favorite being when a Brit tried to persuade me that Chicago used to be a leading city for ship-building despite the fact that it's smack in the middle of our country.

nflow - I actually think Fatima's long hair is a huge improvement on the flameball she was sporting before. However, Dominique's is one of the least appealing makeovers in the show's history.

blahblah - While I'm secretly hoping that you're wrong about Fatima winning it all, I fear you might be right. I really hope the fact that she consistently ignores any direction she is given is going to come back and bite her. It looks like Nigel gets frustrated with the girls at next week's shoot and I wouldn't be surprised if Fatima completely ignores his suggestions. Then, Nigel could slam her on it in panel and all would be right with the world.

georgiababe - Agreed about Anya's eyebrows. I saw her 7up ad in last week's People and whoever retouched it balanced out the color in her skin/hair so she doesn't look albino at all - she actually looks very attractive!

Actually, Chicago really was a hub of ship building in the late 1800s- 1940s,after the discovery of iron ore in MI. Those Great Lakes are pretty big! (My browser is giving me trouble with this site so forgive the formatting)This is the least attractive bunch of' models' yet!

Still hoping Anya wins, but I think it's going to go to Fatima. Her whole background makes for an interesting story, and you know Tyra loves that shit. "ANTM is a refugee who suffered through genital mutilation". I'm not knocking what she went through, it's horrendous, just saying those assholes in Hollywood always go for those things.

coletecapricious - Really? No way! We later determined that he was thinking of Boston when he was like "You know, the place where they had the whole tea party thing!" At least he knew enough that it wasn't an actual tea party.

pixi-stix - I think it will be Anya and Fatima in the final two and it would be really unfortunate if Fatima pulled it out simply because she has a good cause. I'm still really surprised that most of the judges (Nigel expected) are praising her for looking like Iman instead of wanting a model with a more unique look.

Hoolia...what a great game!!! I got my husband to play along because I hate to drink alone.

Can't wait for your next recap...and for Dominique (The Gladiatrix) to go home.

Cheers :)

Hoolia - I looooove your recaps! I wait breathlessly for them after every show. Thanks for all the hilarity.
Tyra surpassed herself with ego antics this week and showing off with all her ridiculous accents and alternate languages was just too much!
May she and Dominique burn in top model hell for all eternity after this season.
Anya looks to be a favorite but can she really pull off Cover Girl commercials with that "accent"? After all, it's ultimately the cover girl commercials that these girls will have to pull off. It's bad enough we had to tough out Jaslene's butchering accent and Salesha's slurrings. Please no Anya squeakings. My bet is on Whitney - it's time for a plus size to take the top prize and she's definitiley the most well-spoken of the remaining photogenic contestants....

For me, I can't believe in panel they said they would never book Gladiatrix, but somehow she's in the top 4!? They are looking for a top cover girl, not model, and I do think, for those final tests, it may indeed be Fatima with the winning smile to push mascara . . . She's thin, in response to above, but no one was as bad as Jalene, in fact, with ten pounds on her, Jaslene might have been really, really attractive, but that boney frame was too distracting!

Watching Dom pull off a shoot is so interesting. I thought both Fat and Whit had better shots than the one's they picked, the makeup on Whit was very striking!

Anyhoo, pretty ho hum, I'm not too interested in who wins, but I'm okay with Kat being gone, she was forgetable and dull the whole time, for reals, but we all know it was correcting Tyra that sent her to the curb. didn't Tyra still pronounce it wrong too . . . anyone!?

I totally agree that Fatima is WAY too thin. I can't stand looking at her, she's so thin. And I think that the long hair just makes her look even thinner. It makes her look mousy, I think. I think it's just too much hair for her.

It's totally true about Tyra telling Whit to look at the light! That was totally unfair. I don't remember this much bitch coming out in her in previous seasons. Have I just been asleep this whole time, or is she really that much worse this time around? I'm tired of her judging them all based on different things. I don't remember Dom doing that many really exaggerated poses during her shoot, but she had Kat bending over backwards for her. Not Fair. I agree that Kat is boring, but come on. I'd take her a million times over Dom or Fatima.

And I thought it was ridiculous that Tyra even pronounced Kat's name wrong in the promo for it! I mean come on, she does the voice over work months after they actually shoot this stuff, and she still can't get it right? Ridiculous.

I REALLY hope that Dom or Fatima don't win, but I have the feeling one of them will. It was bad enough seeing Jaslene win. If Dom wins, I really don't know if I'll watch this show anymore. It would just be so wrong!

I sort of agree with the weight issue: Fatima is way to thin. Anya is very skinny as well. Whitney seems a very average size. But! I happen to be fairly thin, and am absolutely offended by Whitney's comments about how all women that are not her size are anorexic. And how she must work TWICE as hard as all the other girls. Funny, I haven't seen her work twice as hard. Eat twice as much, perhaps.

Great recap. As an art historian who looooves Italy and the Italian Renaissance, I was totally excited when Mr. Jay said something about Renaissance frescoes...I thought maybe they would be like, recreating or readapting famous works of art from the period. But then it was all WTF???

I'll bet Whitney goes home next episode :(

Wow!! Jay is scary!!! I love your commentary too!! You sum things up so nicely. :)

You know the rumors going around that Tyra doesn't want to do the show anymore and her and Mr. Jay aren't getting along anymore? I thought maybe in this episode it showed when they were filming their "confessional" together. I could be over thinking it though.

love the recap!!! i loved kat-i was sorry to see her go-i think they never let us get to know her-and she wasn't evil like some of the others....shame