The True Beauty of "True Beauty"

OK, so the cat's out of the bag--the season's over; Taylor won. The show? True Beauty, an ABC "reality" competition show where 10 beautiful people think they're in a beauty competition, the supposed prize being, this season, to be "the Face of Vegas."

Photo from True Beauty's Facebook page

Of course they think they're being judged mostly on their appearance...but in fact they're being watched through hidden cameras and judged on their inner beauty as well. Every week the contestants are given some kind of challenge (I know you're shocked), and while they're carrying it out, the judges are watching their behavior. Sometimes there's also a morally challenging situation set up (usually involving co-conspirators or actors) to see what the contestant will do. The contestant that does the most poorly in the challenge and whose character proves to be the worst each week is sent home.

One of the outrageous things about this season is that one of the judges was Beth Ostrosky Stern, as in Mrs. Howard. Um, seriously?!? Then there's the somewhat contrived nature of some of the situations the contestants are presented with. And, cheesiest of all, when a contestant is told they're going home, the last thing that you see is that person's portrait in the elimination room (which at one time was called "The Hall of Beauty") being taken off the wall by 2 "janitors," summarily dumped in their cart, and rolled away. At least we're not being over-dramatic or anything.

But of course, this show is about what's on the inside. And what's on the inside of this show is stated neatly by judge Vanessa Minnillo at the end of every episode: "Beauty is both inside and out, but true beauty comes from within." Tyra Banks, Ashton Kutcher, and the show's other producers are reminding America of that truth--and on television no less. Bravo!