So last night’s episode of America’s Next Top Model was the premiere of the camptastic reality show’s 11th (!) cycle. ANTM is a huge guilty pleasure for me; despite my better judgment, I’ve watched every cycle in real time, with the exception of the first cycle (which I later caught in reruns on VH1) and the 10th cycle (which I will probably watch on VH1 eventually). Last night’s 2-hour premiere, of course, introduced the 14 modeling hopefuls, from Asian diva Sheena to awkward French transplant Marjorie to transgender pioneer Isis, and then quickly cut one of them from the competition just in time for the 10 o’clock news. Tyra giveth, Tyra taketh away. I made popcorn and lounged on the futon and enjoyed the silliness as I always do ("Beam me up fiercely!"), but I have to admit that my main reaction by the time it was all over was….yawn.

ANTM has been starved for new ideas since…well, basically since the second cycle (there’s only so much you can do with this premise), but I think the been-there-done-that feeling was even more pronounced than usual. And it looks like I wasn’t alone with that thought: This was actually the lowest-rated ANTM premiere in history. So what does this mean for the future of Top Model? Do you think viewership will pick up as the cycle goes on? Should the CW take some drastic measures to revitalize their former moneymaker? Or is the show simply…over?

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