‘Reality Check’ fails to change Miss America

The allegedly more hip, more modern Miss America pageant last weekend was more like a Doublemint gum commercial than a breath of fresh air.

Much to the disgust of The Man on the Couch, we watched hours of “Miss America Reality Check” on TLC leading up to the pageant I used to love to watch as a little girl. The contestants were made over with new hairstyles, less makeup, and were allowed to show their differences in a positive way.

I was excited to think that the pageant might be rid of its uniform hair, makeup, jewelry and blondness. After all, as American women we are powerful individuals – not powerful copycats. In addition to beauty, it was about time that individuality and personality be considered in what makes Miss America a symbol of our country.

I should have known better when the show began and it was evident from the first few production fumbles that this was more of a joke than a real contest. I felt bad for the women. Some of them didn’t know which way to go on the stage when their name was called. Those who were eliminated were forced to sit in the grandstand onstage and were offered carbohydrates as a consolation prize for their hard work.

The poor production and set would have been easy to look past had the final crown not been presented to a woman who looked like the former Miss America’s twin. She was blond, thin, had the same shiny white-toothed smile, and looked exactly like the Barbie Doll that pageant directors said they were trying to stray from.

I know change is often slow and difficult, and I have nothing against Miss Michigan, who is a very pretty woman, appears to be intelligent, and did nothing wrong. It’s just that she looks like the cookie cutter Miss America we’ve seen over and over again.

We’ll see what next year brings, but for now I’m sticking to “The Biggest Loser,” where hard work, honesty and dedication really pay off.

Speaking of “The Biggest Loser,” don’t forget to check out the contestants’ progress at 8 p.m. Tuesdays on NBC. There are also some drastic new postings on the show’s Web site in the viewer gallery.