You wanna be on top?

Top Model time! Going 14 to 13 tonight.

Nice credits this season. Poor Lauren, the punk girl, looks terrified. I hope she can get herself together. The city, however, looks gorgeous. Brooklyn Bridge, Lady Liberty... Viva NYC, baby.

They have a meet-the-girls thing; Marvita used to be homeless and is just glad to be here. Kim's really down-to-earth, in her own words. She also bought Reese Witherspoon's face on eBay. Fatima is from Somalia, which we already knew, and suffered a complete female circumcision at the age of seven. That happened in 1994. Just damn. And Aimee Two is now calling herself Amis. She tries harder!

They get to the new model pad, a neat loft with one very large bedroom and then one very large bed in a second room. Nice place, but Cycle 1 Chicky did not originate that "Stand for nothing and you'll fall for anything" quote. (It may have been a greeting card originally.) There's also a big No Smoking sign inside, so three of the girls go outside for their nic fix, shocking poor Atalya. Dearie, the sign is INSIDE. Blomberg hasn't started shooting smokers on sight just yet.

Fatima's first cause is awareness about female circumcision; her second cause is scolding her fellow models for being undignified. I don't like her second cause quite as much; I admit her point, I suppose, since it is important to be aware of how one behaves and presents oneself. But the perpetual unsolicited corrections tend to undercut the point.

The J's are introducing the girls to the sights, including their first event: a Times Square runway show for Badgley Mischka. Lauren is hugely nervous. I loved the shot of her getting made up in her Chuckie Cons. HAHAHAHA, they used the Kill Bill "unfinished business" music.

Marvita's first, and staring at her shoes. She caught herself too, knows she's in for it at the judging. Katarzyna is very good. Kim is terrible, and then bitches about how expensive the clothes are and it's not her. This bodes ill. Fatima is lovely but I can tel she's nervous. Lauren, in contrast, just seemed bored and haughty, which may have worked if it was on purpose. She's very clumsy, sort of endearing. Miss J was horrified.

Off stage, Marvita has her first anger-management moment. Then there's our first Ty-ra mail! It's a scrolling message board, that's odd. E-Tyra-mail? T-mail? Whatever - it's horrible. They're all reading aloud word.... by.... word.... Lose it, please.

New judge Paulina Porizkova is replacing Fashion Icon Twiggy. Good choice. Wow, she called Dominique a drag-queen version of Robin Wright. I though I was being mean to poor Manga Boy, but that was cold. But she has a lot of good advice too. First photo shoot time. The girls catch a huge limo/taxi combo called the "Fab Cab" to the location. I don't like the name, so I'm calling it the Death Cab for Cuties. (Big missed opportunity by Tyra and Company. Frankly I'm surprised.) Fatima and Marvita are building a Piers/Omarosa relationship here. That was fast.

Hi Saleisha!

The shoot is for the Reciprocity Foundation, who look like they do really good work. The homeless girls will be wearing the high fashion and the models will be dressed down for the occasion.

Hi Christian Marc!

Marvita is now telling Fatima her own story, which sounds just as bad. They're connecting. Good, I didn't want to have to track a huge senseless fued off the get-go. Whoa, does Claire have some loooooong hands.

More T-mail. Speed it up or ditch it, I beg you. But the city makes up for all of it. These night shots are fantastic. Speaking of which, Miss Jay is unveiling his new elimination shtick - he has panels of all the model's names on his shirt, and will remove the name of the model sent packing. I'm looking forward to the goofy gaps in between the remaining names.

Best shots. Amis's is, in Nigel's words, "amateur model staring at light fixture." "What were you looking at?" Tyra asks. "Uh... the light." Hahahahaha.

Allison was outmodeled by one of the homeless girls. Not a good sign. Whitney looks terrific, though. Paulina calls it the "invisible wind machine." Kthxbai! As she feared, Marvita gets nailed on the lookdown but the picture is good. Atalya gets outdone by the same homeless girl! Maybe this is one of the sustainable careers Reciprocity is working on; she'll be on Cycle 11.

Wow, now Kim is up, and getting raked. And she just let drop that the modeling scene is just not her. No passion for it, doesn't know if she wants it. BAD move. We saw last cycle what Tyra does to quitters. She looks like a cat about to pounce on a two-legged hamster. "I had to cut six girls in casting and you didn't say anything!" And she's right. There's a half-dozen smashed remote controls right now. Those girls must be flipping out. "You want to go home? Fine - GO HOME." And mini-Reese does. Banished. Then they show her picture, which they say is one of the best of the week - and rip in in half. Hahahahaha, they are completely bonkers. Oh, and someone is getting eliminated anyway, so it's 14 to 12.

After the pics, I think Atalya or Allison will go.

Claire wins the Cover Girl of the Week bit and talks about being "a global warrior for the environment," yawn and yawn. (I miss Heather.) Kim's name is removed from Jay's shirt - darn, the panels are Velcro, so probably no gaps from week to week. Poopie. Paulina digs at Allison, calls her an Upper East Side princess, which is hilarious. Isn't she from Wisconsin? So far I love Paulina.

Anya takes first photo honors, then Claire ("Yay!"), Whitney, and Lauren ("Awesome, thank you!") Both girls seem genuinely friendly and happy about it. Allison is the last to get pass before the bottom two, Atalya and Amis. Trying harder pays off, Amis is safe - but Tyra warns her to focus more. Atalya had the same trouble, looked very listless and her photo was bleah.

Two names off the shirt; two pictures off the group shot. There's something melancholy about watching those faces fade out week after week...