Thursday, January 17, 2008

Things got hairy for two state women


Linda Godfrey and Christina Thompson didn't set out to become reality TV stars. When the two Wisconsinites were looking the other way, TV just came along and tapped each of them on the shoulder.

Thompson, whose hometown is Pleasant Prairie, found herself participating in TLC's "Miss America: Reality Check" shortly after being named Miss Wisconsin last year.
. . .

There she is . . . on reality TV

Thompson, on the other hand, is new to TV.

She knew when she was crowned Miss Wisconsin in July that she'd be appearing in the national pageant Jan. 26. What she didn't know till later was that she'd be part of the monthlong "Reality Check" miniseries on TLC, culminating with the big contest.

The show, pitched at an attitude somewhere between irreverent and frankly snarky, aims to make over not just the contestants but the entire contest, which has tumbled so far in the ratings over the past decade that the big networks no longer want it, and it's been relegated to cable.

"Oh, great," Thompson remembers thinking when she saw the promotional spots for the series. "Now they're going to make fun of us."

The reality, she reports, wasn't all that bad.

Although the assembled beauty and fashion experts came down hard on big-hair devotees and contestants who applied makeup as if it were spackle, "they didn't change very much" about Thompson, she says.

"They did ask me if I liked my eyes," Thompson adds, "which, of course, makes you think, 'What's wrong with my eyes?'

"I'll admit there were a few times when I had to remind myself to laugh. You've got to be able to laugh at things, right?"

More at the Source

Editor's Note: I had the pleasure of interviewing Christina Thompson as a practice before our prelim that I judged last week. She is a wonderful young lady and we will all be cheering here in Wisconsin for her!



TKPN
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