'Model' mania: Tyra Banks, Tyson Beckford work it

Posted at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3

STRIKING A POSE FOR ANDROGYNY
MEET THE MODELS: MMAS and ANTM
REVISIT SEASON 1 OF "MMAS"
RONNIE KROELL'S GALLERY

Two supermodels enter, one model leaves ... It's not quite that serious, but The CW's "America's Next Top Model" and Bravo's "Make Me A Supermodel" begin their new seasons Wednesday, pitting Tyra Banks against Tyson Beckford. Luckily, they're not on at the same time, so real fans of modeling--or near nudity--can watch them both.

MAKE ME A SUPERMODEL
9 p.m. Wednesday, Bravo
Tune in or out? out of four.

The first season of “Make Me a Supermodel” introduced the world to “Bronnie,” the gay Chicagoan and eventual runner-up Ronnie Kroell and his bromantic straight pal, Ben DiChiara.

The bromance is over, but Tyson Beckford says you won’t miss it thanks to the new cast of “Make Me a Supermodel.”

“I believe they are even stronger,” the men’s mentor told reporters recently. “You’re going to be blown away by the second season.”

Call this show my guilty pleasure; I was blown away by the premiere, which starts out with the male and female models dropping trou’ and striking poses in pairs. It brings up a surprising and humorous issue midway through the shoot. "We got wood," Beckford says, as everyone around him laughs.

You have to give props to a show that doesn’t pretend to be more than it is: soft-core porn with personality. I love it.

AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL
7 p.m. Wednesday, CW
Tune in or out? out of four.

The best thing “America’s Next Top Model” has going for it is producer/host/judge Tyra Banks.

To borrow her own phrase, she’s fierce. And she knows how to keep all eyes on her show. Her CW reality series begins its 12th season Wednesday with another batch of misunderstood modeling misfits: One contestant refuses to hide her scars, another is obsessed with blood and a third has epilepsy. Banks has the old stand-bys too: a model her late 20s and another who is called fat.

“This is a very special group of girls,” Banks told The Associated Press. “I want them to connect with viewers, and not just with their looks, but with their personalities.”

Banks can get a bit preachy and tiresome, but for the most part she keeps things lively. The two-hour opener starts in Las Vegas, but next week Banks packs everyone up for New York, where all the bitchy fun really begins.