Reviewing TLC's "Miss America Reality Check"

The Miss America Pageant has been losing viewers over the past decade or so. Although once every little girl in the U.S. wanted to be Miss America, today many have little or no respect at all for the title or the person holding it.

I remember watching the pageant on television every year with bated breath to see who would win. I stopped doing that, however, more than 10 years ago. I obviously wasn't alone. Hundreds of thousands of Americans also stopped watching or even caring who took home the coveted crown. When I stopped to think about it, however, the reason was actually quite understandable. Those putting on the pageant had long ago lost touch with the average American woman; "who" she is, "what" she wants, and "how" she lives.

Finally, those in power seem to have gotten this message. This year, they are overhauling both the pageant itself and the girls who vie for the Miss America crown. It's about time!

The Learning Channel's reality show, "Miss America Reality Check" has spent the last three weeks trying the change the perception of the 50 candidates vying for the Miss America crown. Their job has not been easy because most of these girls have been taking part in beauty pageants all of their lives.

Beginning with the basics, TLC brought in celebrity hairstylist, Kim Vo, to help the girls shed the big hair syndrome that has plagued the pageant almost since its inception. Meeting with each girl individually, stylists informed the girls what was both wrong and right with their current hair color and styles. They also made recommendations for new colors and/or styles that would let each girl to represent her individual personality.

Most girls embraced both the advice and their new looks, which were fresh, young, and hip. Some girls sported short new hairdos while others simply learned how to let their dated hair down.