Australia's Next Top Punching Bag

As yet another added perk of working at a major media/entertainment company, I was able to take an hour out of my work day yesterday to go to a preview screening of the first episode of Australia's Next Top Model - Cycle 6.

I've never found the show to be as entertaining as America's Next Top Model, partially because the girls are much younger and whiter in the Australian version, and maybe also because the Australians seem somewhat genuinely interested in turning their contestants into global fashion models (one winner eventually ended up working all over the world, and on the cover of Australian Vogue a couple of times).

One thing I do enjoy on the Aussie version is the judges:

These people are a pack of absolute bitches, and I love it. Between mocking the models to their faces ("It's modeling, not brain surgery, darl.") and joking about Botox ("She's a bit short. I'd raise my eyebrow if I could."), they clearly don't have all of the PC nonsense that Americans have to worry about, and they make up for the fact that a bunch of 16-year old girls simply aren't going to have much to say that any of us will give a shit about.

Alas, I don't think there are preview screenings of every episode during work hours. Life is so unfair.