missamerica

Well, sort of. They're not getting rid of the actual live pageant, which will air again on CMT in 2007. This time however, the contestants will also take place in a seven part reality series which will lead up to the pageant. The way it sounds, the reality series will utilize many of the same methods of elimination as the actual pageant as the girls live together and take place in swimsuit competitions, judge interviews, and various talent contests. Home viewers will also be able to vote for the remaining finalists.

I'm not a fan of reality TV, nor do I care all that much about the Miss America pageant, but this idea just might work. The pageant has been losing its audience for several years, and turning it into the kind of calculated human drama that is the stuff of so many reality shows may actually garner the audience it needs. Or, it could be a total failure. I'm sure it will be one of those things.

The Miss America pageant is back. By... popular demand? Well, that remains to be seen. The pageant, which couldn't find a home after dreadful ratings in 2004, begins today in Las Vegas (although, the final doesn't air until next weekend). This is the first year in the pageant's 85-year history that it isn't being held in Atlantic City. There are some other changes in store, too. Instead of the traditional parade of beauty queens in convertibles, the contestants will arrive at the Aladdin hotel Hollywood-style, complete with the red carpet and luxury coaches. And, instead of a talk show-type host, Desperate Housewives actor James Denton is doing the honors. The competition itself sounds like it's exactly the same, boring stuff that American viewers have been turning away from for years: talent, bathing suits, question-and-answer, bad choreography. Well, maybe it's not the bathing suits that they've been turning away from.

The question is... are CMT viewers the ones who will revive the beauty pageant?