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In the fourth and final episode of Miss America Reality Check, it was the ladies' last chance to get noticed before the Miss America Pageant. After being gathered together on their final morning there, Michael told them that they would be working on the talent portion. Really, it wasn't all that. The teams would be competing to see who could perform under pressure and sing lyrics to famous American anthems -- no vocal ability required.

The teams were lined up on stage with one person from their team out front. Michael, dressed as a constructor in a black tuxedo, would point to one of those ladies to finish the next line of the song. If they were wrong, they would be eliminated. If they were correct, they could get back in line and wait for their next turn. The team with the last person standing would win. Miss Virginia was the first girl out by missing a line from the "Star-Spangled Banner". Miss Utah was eliminated on an "America" line. Eventually, it came down to Miss Pennsylvania and South Dakota with South Dakota ultimately winning for her red team.

After some chitchat between the girls concerning the "it" factor they were looking for in the new Miss America, the teams were gathered up again by Michael and told that this was their last day there. They would have one final chance to impress the advisory board. How's that? They would have to get fancied up, walk the red carpet, and answer questions from the reporters (who were really the advisory board members themselves).

Inside, the girls were met by various Hollywood designers and racks full of dresses and evening gowns. After everybody had chosen their evening wear, they went to work doing their hair and makeup. Jeannie, a member of the advisory board, evidently felt so sorry for Miss Washington that she stepped in and showed the girl how to poof up her hair a little. The ladies were all very excited and a little nervous about how well they'd be able to set themselves apart from the others.

After learning that the red carpet was at the villa itself (bummer!), they were introduced to the fake reporters and fake photographers in different groups. I thought they all looked great and did surprisingly well considering the vanilla questions asked of them. What makes you better than so and so? Who is most deserving of the title? How has your haircut changed you? What is the greatest challenge for young women today? Who are you wearing? (Ooops! Miss Rhode Island forgot who she was wearing.) When it was over and done with, the ladies made a group exit from the house and were told that the advisory board would now meet to determine the Top 3. There would be no bottoms tonight!

The girls paced around, gossiped, and ate while the advisory board got together and did their thing. Mark thought it was nice to hear from the girls tonight but was disappointed that Miss Rhode Island didn't remember the designer she was wearing. All three of the advisors thought that Miss Florida did a great job and seemed much more confident even without all of her makeup. Dina liked Miss Alaska's spunkiness, Mark thought Miss Indiana was smokin' hot, and Jeannie loved Miss Michigan's answers on the red carpet. The three of them also said that they noticed Miss New Mexico for the first time and that she looked stunning. They ended their discussion with Miss Washington and how she's taken all of the advice that she's been given in this process and was amazing.

Michael gathered the ladies for one final time and wished everybody luck. He told them that the advisory board had chosen three of them as the ones who have embraced the new vision of Miss America the most. But first, he would call ten states forward as finalists. Miss Indiana, South Carolina, Illinois, Virginia, New Mexico, Florida, Alaska, Washington, District of Columbia, and Minnesota were the ones called to the front. It was now time to announce the top 3. Each of them would go home with a $10,000 scholarship and a shopping spree from ShopIntuition.com.

The first lady called was Miss Washington. She was so shocked she thought there might have been a mistake made. Jeannie told her that she caught their attention when was at the bottom of the list because she was so boring but that they were proud of her turning things around.

The second lady called was Miss Indiana. Mark told her that beauty is one thing on the outside but that you're only beautiful on the outside when you embrace the beauty within you. He believed that she'd embraced that and had let her soul shine through. While crying, she said that believes in herself now.

The final lady called was Miss New Mexico. She was shocked more than the other two girls by far! Dina told her that she'd come a long way by making physical changes but that she'd also let her personality finally be known. She said she was happy to represent her state and excited to have the opportunity to get her doctorate's degree.

As the three girls hugged each other, Michael told everybody that they were all winners and that he'd see them in Vegas.

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As all of you know, I've been following this Miss America Reality Check show since it first started and was quite excited about it. This week's final episode wasn't all that but it wasn't going to stop me from watching the Miss America pageant for myself and seeing whether or not any changes had actually taken place.

The pageant was indeed different. The ladies were introduced according to their team on the show before being cut down to the 15 (make that 16) semi-finalists. The semi-finalists were: Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina, Tennessee, California, Indiana, South Carolina, Georgia, Washington, Arkansas, Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida, Mississippi, and finally Utah via the viewer's choice vote. For those of you that followed the Reality Check show, how many times did we see some of these women? Do you recall seeing California or Texas even once?

I did think it was cute how the ladies not chosen were placed on grandstands on one side of the stage but how many times did we have to hear the stupid announcer remind people that there were carbohydrates over there? It was funny the first couple of times but not after that. I thought it was interesting that Miss Utah was the only lady that chose to wear a one-piece in the swimsuit portion but I felt her choice was a little too grannyish.

The next ladies eliminated were: Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Utah, and South Carolina. It was funny how Miss Utah dropped and began doing push-ups after she was called out and even funnier how most of the others dropped and did them with her. The evening wear portion was utterly boring and some of those gowns were downright hideous. The talent portion was even harder to watch. Show tunes, opera, and Latino singing performances -- what a combination. Weird jazz and ballet dance routines? Gag!

The eight finalists remaining for the question and answer period were: California, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Snoozer! Those had to have been some of the stupidest questions I'd ever heard and even stupider answers to boot! Can you say soft-ball and politically correct? Bleh.

The fourth runner-up was North Carolina, the third runner-up was Virginia, the second runner-up was Washington, and the first runner-up was Indiana. Either California, Wisconsin, Michigan, or Texas would become Miss America 2008. And drum roll please....

The winner was Miss Michigan. She was happy and I was tired. While the show started off with some promise, it quickly became just as bland as it had always been. I'd say my chances of watching the 2009 Miss America pageant are back to almost nil.

This next-to-last episode of Miss America Reality Check began with Miss Alaska asking the advisory board for clarification concerning what they want to see from her as far as change. I think she's tired of being in the bottom three and I can't say that I blame her. The board told her that she has a tendency to come across as really overbearing which makes her seem like a know-it-all. They told her that she needs to be more aware of the people around her and their reactions towards her. Miss Alaska took note of that and thought aloud that perhaps people don't always want her opinion and instead would just like someone to listen to them. Very astute this one!

The ladies are all in the house for the night and Miss Florida took this opportunity to speak to her fellow green team members. One of them asked her about her nervous reaction at the pool (in the last episode) concerning getting wet. Miss Florida told them of an accident involving an explosion she was in when she was just 15 years old. It was so bad that it burned off the top three layers of skin on her face and she has scarring. That's why she was afraid to jump in the pool and have her makeup come off -- she's self-conscious about her scars. Miss Hawaii was especially touched by her story (as was I). I was even more shocked to hear her say that this was the first time she'd ever spoken about the accident since it had happened. Girl, that's not good!

The next morning, the girls assembled for another challenge. Michael welcomed them to the ultimate balancing act. Each member of each team would have to cross their respective teeter totter carrying a martini glass filled with colored water. They would then have to dump their water into a large cylinder. The first team to get their liquid above the colored line on the cylinder would win the challenge and an advantage in the next event. As always, the advisory board was there to watch and would be paying special attention to the grace and poise they presented in this challenge.

The girls seemed to have fun with this challenge and luckily nobody was hurt. It came down to neck and neck battle between the light blue team and the pink ladies. The pink ladies were the ultimate winners and worked well as a team. Michael then told everybody they would be learning how to walk on-stage next and needed to go change into their swimsuits and meet him outside. Once outside, they were introduced to master choreographer Fred Tallaksen. Fred and the two ladies with him would be helping the girls with their runway walk. The Miss America pageant wants to update the swimsuit and evening gown presentations and get away from the stodgy walks of yesteryear.

The biggest mistakes the ladies were making while practicing were taking short steps and being too stiff. Many of the ladies seemed to loosen up a bit and were able to get their walks down. Miss Michigan didn't need any help though, she was a natural up there. Later, the ladies had to put on their evening gowns and prepare to be critiqued by celebrity designer Randolph Duke. Because the pink team won the poise and grace challenge earlier, they would get special one-on-one consultations with him regarding their evening wear. Most of the ladies didn't receive much criticism on their dresses. The worse that seemed to have happened was Miss Iowa being told she looked like an ice skater, Miss Tennessee being told that her dress looked like something a grandma would wear, and Miss Indiana getting a little upset because they didn't like her gown that she had designed herself.

At the next challenge, the ladies were asked if they could look fabulous without using their gowns as a crutch. Michael told them that inside there are 52 black, floor-length, turtleneck dresses for them. There are also "design stations" for them that had accessories they could use to alter the dress to make it more like them. They would have an hour to finish their gowns and the advisory board would be looking for creativity and individuality in this task.

Some of the gowns these ladies were designing were downright hideous! Miss Tennessee was thinking about using feathers on her gown while Miss Iowa was wrapping her black dress in some kind of bulky purple cloth. When their time was up, they were told that now they would get to show off their creations -- on the catwalk! Miss Virginia did really well on the catwalk as did Miss Florida (used red saran wrap on the waist). Miss Rhode Island and Miss Indiana looked fabulous by keeping it simple while Miss Kentucky, Miss Iowa, and Miss Tennessee were disasters. The advisory board said Kentucky's dress reminded them of a pinata, they wondered where the black fabric was on Iowa (the purple remember?), while Tennessee was likened to Mother Nature with these weird sticks of brown and green foliage stuck in her gown. Miss Alaska was the shining star of the evening with a nice dress (was just a tad short though) and a great walk.

At the Tops and Bottoms Ceremony, the six girls called down in front of the board were: Florida, Iowa, Tennessee, Virginia, Alaska, and Rhode Island. Miss Florida was told by the advisory board that they love her personality but she seems too self-conscious. They brought up the whole swimming pool thing again and Miss Florida opened up and told them about her accident when she was 15. She then told them this whole experience has taught her that she can be beautiful. The board placed her in the Tops.

Miss Iowa was told that she has a great positive energy but that her purple dress (and especially her long black gloves) were no good and put her in the Bottom. The board told Miss Tennessee that she is entertaining but that her dress was very distracting and had nothing to do with the advice she'd been given that day. She was a Bottom. Miss Virginia looks absolutely amazing but was told that her competition is Miss Illinois (since they look so much alike) and that she needs to work on developing her own personality. Virginia is a Top.

After Miss Alaska and Miss Rhode Island stepped forward, Alaska was told that they were glad she'd taken their advice concerning her personality but that her leggings she was wearing were bad. They told Miss Rhode Island that she looked incredible but is blending in with the other girls too much. Miss Alaska is a Top. That means that Miss Rhode Island is a Bottom. Alaska then informed us that she's not afraid to change anymore while Rhode Island said she was disappointed they didn't see her personality.

Next week is the final episode of Miss America Reality Check before the Miss America pageant on January 26. The previews told us that everything the ladies have learned will be put to the test. The contestants will vie for attention on the red carpet and then the ladies are shocked as they found out the final Top 3.

I really liked this week's episode and especially appreciated the lack of attention on Miss Utah. I do wonder why we haven't seen some of the other states' contestants though. Where is Miss New York, California, Texas, and Hawaii? Perhaps they don't need as much help as some of the other ladies that have been "featured"? What is your opinion on this and what did you think about this week's episode?

After a recap of the first episode, this week's Miss America Reality Check began with Miss Alaska talking to some of her fellow competitors about "women power". Miss Tennessee couldn't help herself in expressing how Miss Alaska was getting on her nerves behind her back to us though. Talk about "women power".

The next morning, the ladies began getting ready for the day's activities. During this time, Miss DC told us how hard of a life she had growing up (single parent household and a father that was a crack addict) while Miss Utah began going about getting herself all glammed up. However, she wasn't getting herself glammed up in the way that the advisory board wanted. She was going overboard with the lipstick and the big hair and basically mocking the judges' advice they'd given her.

Michael Urie, our fantabulous host, later told the ladies that the day would be all about beauty and brains and that they needed to change into their swimsuits and meet him by the pool. At the pool, Michael told them that they're going to be showing off the sexiest part of their bodies: their brain. Lined up by teams, the ladies would be asked to answer questions. If they answered correctly, they could go to the back of their team's line and wait for another question. If they answered incorrectly, they would have to jump in the pool. The winning team would win an advantage in the next event. And as always, the advisory board was on hand to observe how they acted and reacted during the challenge.

Miss Florida was the first girl up for her team and admitted to being nervous -- but only because she didn't want to get wet and have her makeup come off. So what do you think happened? Of course she answered wrong and had to jump in the pool. After semi-crying about her situation and tip-toeing around the pool, she eventually jumped in and got wet. What a little prima donna! As more girls answered incorrectly, they were jumping into the pool and being good sports about it (unlike Florida!).

Miss DC's turn at the pool was a little different. She began having an asthma attack and pulled herself out of the pool gasping for breath. Miss Utah was right there by her side though and trying to help her out the best she could. Meanwhile, the advisory board and the other girls just stood around slack-jawed. Luckily, Miss DC was able to recover quickly and the challenge began where it had left off. In the end, it came down to Miss Colorado and Miss New Jersey. They were asked which country Borat was from and Miss Colorado had no idea. Miss New Jersey answered correctly so her red team ("Brown-eyed Girls") won.

It was now time for the beauty part of the day. Now that everybody's makeup is off and their hair isn't fixed, they would be critiqued by hair stylist to the stars Kim Vo and makeup guru Napoleon Perdis. The ladies would then have a makeover that incorporated their suggestions and have new headshots taken afterwards. Because the red team won the brains challenge, they would each have their hair and makeup done personally by Vo and Perdis (they were thrilled by that!). While a couple of girls were unsure of the advice given to them (particularly about cutting their hair), they were all willing to go for it and make some changes. Well, except for one. Miss Illinois declined having her hair cut by three inches so she would not be able to participate in the makeover at all. I really thought the advisory board was going to fall out of their chairs when she said she wouldn't do it.

As the girls went inside and began receiving their makeovers, Miss Illinois retreated to her own room (I guess) and began styling herself for the headshots being taken later in the day. Jeannie, one of the members of the advisory board, told her that all eyes would be on her since she was the only one offered beauty help and turned it down. Meanwhile, several of the girls were getting especially wonderful makeovers. Miss New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, and Alaska (cut 12 inches off) all looked so amazing after their hair cuts!

At their photo shoot, the girls were all having a great time posing and goofing off for the camera. You could tell that they all loved their new looks. The only one we saw that had some problems with this was Miss Utah. She said she wasn't good at taking pictures and the photographer tried to help her out and work with her but she basically refused to listen. After making the same stupid poses and same stupid smiles, they pulled her aside and told her to watch the other girls and get a clue as to what to do. Later, Miss Alaska had a little heart-to-heart with Miss Arkansas, Tennessee, and others about how she feels is too serious and outspoken about things. She wound up crying about how she wants to change her personality and how she acts towards people.

When Michael and the advisory board met to discuss the ladies and who would be in the top and bottom three, Mark broke the news about how Miss Utah went overboard on the glam as a joke. Dina and Jeannie were shocked about that and didn't think it was cool at all. They were proud of Miss DC for bouncing back so quickly after her asthma attack and not pulling a diva moment like Miss Florida did. They thought that Miss Idaho and Miss Alaska had the most drastic makeovers but Mark thought something was missing from Miss Alaska. There was also a brief mention of how her Indian holler with her chopped off braid in her hand (after her haircut) might have offended some people. They discussed Miss Illinois and how she didn't accept the haircut but they were glad that she updated her look on her own.

It was now time for the Tops & Bottoms Ceremony (that sounds naughty!) where the top three and bottom three would be called out. Six ladies were asked by Michael to step forward: Miss Indiana, DC, Utah, Washington, Illinois, and Alaska. Now they would hear what the advisory board thought about them.

The board thought that Miss Indiana began entirely way too rehearsed but has made incredible changes since arriving at the house and placed her in the top three. They thought that Miss Washington had an engaging personality but wasn't standing out enough and put her in the bottom three. Miss DC apologized to them for her asthma attack (she'd been denying her condition it seems) but they applauded her for sticking it out and placed her in the top three. The advisory board told Miss Utah they were glad that she was having fun in the competition but that they were insulted by her over-the-top behavior and put her in the bottom three (haha!).

It was down to Miss Illinois and Miss Alaska now. Who would be ranked where? They took Miss Illinois to task for not accepting the stylist's hair advice but were happy that she did make some adjustments of her own and admitted that she took fabulous pictures. They loved Miss Alaska's attitude during her makeover and don't want to change her quirkiness but felt that she's not sure of herself and not sure if she could handle being Miss America. Wow. I can't believe Miss Illinois was in the top three!

Next week, Miss Alaska struggles to redeem herself (and asks for more feedback from the advisory board on what she needs to do). The ladies test their balance in a challenge and then strut their stuff on the catwalk. Also, Miss Florida opens up about her traumatic past. If you missed this episode, check the show's site for it's re-air schedule and don't forget to catch the next episode on TLC at 10:00 PM (ET/PT) on Friday, January 18. Don't forget to vote either!

So what did you think about this second episode of Miss America Reality Check? How much did you like their makeovers and who do you think looked the best after? How do you feel about Miss Illinois turning down the haircut and Miss Alaska's attitude? What do you think is up with Miss Florida's confession next week?

It's rare that a reality TV show debuts and I'm left counting down the days to the next episode. Miss America Reality Check is one of those shows. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't reinvented the reality television genre by any stretch of the imagination but it has something going for it that so many other shows don't -- the people in it feel real.

Yes, you read that right. This show, in one episode, managed to undo several years worth of stereotypes. Like most women (and some men), I would watch the Miss America pageant every single year growing up wishing I could be like the beautiful ladies on stage in their beautiful gowns. As a teenager, my friends and I would gather at one of our homes and be glued to the TV set for a couple of hours watching the contestants and even imitating them during commercials. When the winner was crowned, we'd either cry with them or feel let down that one of the runner-ups wasn't the winner instead. Something changed in the 90s though: it all felt fake because the ladies were impossibly pretty and seemed like mannequins marching across the stage. I stopped watching. I think I'll be watching this year though.

Miss America Reality Check began by telling us that "they" want to reinvent Miss America. The goal of the show is to try to find an "it" woman that the American public can really relate to. The ladies will be ranked each week with the top three and bottom three identified. At the end of the four episodes, the top three ladies will win $10,000 scholarships from Crest and a new wardrobe from Shop Intuition.

After the fantabulous show intro, the girls arrived in their crowns, gowns, and sashes and met each other for the first time. Michael Urie introduced himself to them before telling them to go inside their new temporary home and get settled in. Gathered around an LCD TV in the backyard, the ladies were shown a video of what people said when asked what they think of when they hear the words "Miss America". The girls were taken aback when many of the responses were not too kind but Michael said that they are going to be working to bring back the glory of the Miss America title.

Once they were told how they would be competing in events and challenges that would test them on the new standards being set for Miss America, they met Stacy London and Clinton Kelly from TLC's What Not To Wear. Stacy and Clinton explained that they want to help them modernize their image and would be going through their suitcases to see what they brought to wear. The nervous giggles by the girls were priceless! They no-noed everything from polyester gowns to horrid blue fringe and especially called out Miss South Carolina on her gold lame' street-walkin' boots that she loved.

After Stacy and Clinton left, the ladies met their advisory board. Their opinions would be mirroring the judges of the Miss America pageant so they should really listen to what they have to say. The board is made up of: Dina Sansing, an Us Weekly editor; Jeannie Mai, celebrity stylist; and Mark Liddell, celebrity photographer.

The girls were then divided into six groups and told that their groupings are no mistake. They all have something in common with the other ladies in their group and that they must try to figure out what it is. The next morning, the girls were woken up early and had to try to get ready for the day with only 7 showers between the 52 of them. After they were dressed and assembled in front of Michael, he asked each group what it is they have in common. All of them answered correctly. The blue group has the "most state wins" between them while the green group is "the recent contenders" (their states have held the title in the last decade). Light blue is the "always a bridesmaid" group (never won but have come in 2nd) and the red group are the "brown-eyed girls" (have the most winning combination of brown hair and brown eyes). The purple group are "the seniors" (the oldest ladies in the pageant) and the pinks are "ouch! the underdogs" (from states that have never won the pageant).

Michael told them that they needed to go put on the gear provided to them because it was now time for their first challenge. The girls went off to go get ready and some of them put quite a lot of energy into primping for an outside competition. Miss Idaho even admitted that she basically had an addiction to hair spray while Miss Utah (a military gal) led her purple team in a military march. The funniest part of this segment was when Miss Oklahoma and Miss Hawaii (green team) went to high-five each other, OK missed HI's hand and slapped her on the forehead instead!

Outside and gathered together, they were told their coach would be the current Miss America, Lauren Nelson. She told them that being Miss America is hard work and that even though the schedule is hectic, they must always have their wits about them and a smile on their face. Today's challenge would test their stamina. Each team would have to navigate a course of hurdles, construct a puzzle of the U.S., collect their respective state flags, and then run to the finish line. The team that finished first would have first dibs on the showers. Miss South Carolina let us know that her medical conditions would effect her in this challenge (she has no lymph nodes in her left leg) but she'd rally on. We then got to listen to the judges dish on who's too glammed up for a competition like this -- Minnesota, Alabama, Virginia, and Mississippi, along with many others have entirely too much make-up on.

On your mark, get set, go! The girls took off and the light blue team quickly took the lead with the purple team right behind them. Unfortunately for the purple team, Miss Pennsylvania couldn't find her state flag and caused the team to fall behind. The light blue team never gave up the lead and won quite handily over the other groups. Jeannie (one of the advisors) was disappointed in the purple team's sportsmanship and Mark (another advisor) chastised some of the ladies saying that they didn't listen to his "less is more" advice on hair and make-up.

The next challenge would be in an hour so the girls needed to hurry up and get ready. For a dinner party at that! Their would be a special guest in attendance and they would need to make a good impression while keeping the new Miss America image in mind. Miss Rhode Island hoped it had nothing to do with dinner etiquette because she failed that class in college (they have dinner etiquette classes in college?). Miss Minnesota hoped that Mario Lopez would be the special guest (hehe) and Miss Vermont wondered if she was pretty enough to be there with the other 51 ladies (aww).

At the dinner party, Michael came in and told the girls that on each of their tables was an envelope that would reveal their guest. The special guest wound up being Controversy (huh?). That was a little weird. It turned out to be that they would be asked challenging questions on certain subjects (gay marriage, plastic surgery, gun control, sex before marriage, birth control, etc) and the advisors would be judging them based on how they conversed with the others on the subject. It turned out to be quite interesting because we found out that Miss Colorado's brother survived Columbine with a traumatic brain injury and that Miss Arkansas' parents had her when they were seniors in high school. I liked hearing conversations rather than short one-line politically and pageantly correct answers.

After the dinner party, the advisory board got together and discussed what they thought about the dinner. They liked Miss South Carolina but she was wearing too much make-up, Miss Indiana hadn't listened to anybody's advice, and Miss Idaho hadn't changed at all and looked more like a senator's wife. Miss Oklahoma was not dressed for success and Miss Vermont wasn't putting in much effort. Miss Utah was impressive to them but her look was very outdated and they still couldn't get over Miss Pennsylvania not knowing what her state flag looked like.

The final event for the night was the naming of the top and bottom three. The six states called out were: SC, PA, VT, ID, OK, and UT. Who was in the top three though? Miss South Carolina was told she had great perseverance and was intelligent but her make-up look wasn't current. She was in the top three. They told Miss Idaho that she was always smiling and had great spunk but that she had bad hair and bad make-up. She was in the bottom three. They thought Miss Vermont was intriguing and had something new for the pageant but they couldn't tell if she really wanted it. She was in the bottom three.

While the advisors were still upset at Miss Pennsylvania for not getting her flag, they were very impressed with her at dinner. She was in the top three. They told Miss Oklahoma that she needed to be open to change and told her she was in the bottom three. Miss Utah was told to she needed to embrace fashion and beauty more but that she was in the top three. Sounds like Idaho, Vermont, and Oklahoma have their work cut out for them!

The previews for these next three episodes showed clips of makeovers, sniping, crying, competitions, and working the runway in bikinis. And I can't wait to see it all! I really can't wait for the makeovers because so many of these ladies look 35+ years old when they're really in the early and mid-20s. Miss Utah is one of those that come to mind immediately. She needs to get rid of that helmet style and tone down that hair color! All in all, I really loved the show and it has made me interested in the Miss America pageant again.

If you missed this episode, I highly recommend you catch one of the re-airs. Don't make me jump through this screen and high-five you like Miss Oklahoma did to Miss Hawaii! For those of you that watched it, what did you think? Are you more likely (like me) to watch the Miss America pageant now? Don't forget to watch the next episode on TLC at 10:00 PM (ET/PT) on Friday, January 11 and most definitely don't forget to go vote!

Just how real are the contestants of the Miss America pageant? Are most of them sugar and spice and everything nice? Are they really as bubbly as they make themselves out to be? Hopefully we'll find out in a new show that's debuting on TLC this Friday, January 4 at 10:00 PM (ET/PT) called Miss America Reality Check.

For some reason, I'm beyond freakishly excited about this show. Would it be because the show is only four episodes long? Would it be because the host of the show is none other than Michael Urie (who plays Marc on Ugly Betty)? Would it be because we'll get to watch all 52 contestants live under one roof together and "participate in an intense set of events and challenges" in preparation for the Miss America pageant itself on January 26? Would it be because I'm hoping for some pageant drama? Seriously, it's a combination of all four!

And guess what? We, the viewing audience, will be able to begin voting after the show airs on January 4 for a surprise 16th finalist in the pageant itself! How's that for audience participation? Also, the show was shot in HD. So if you're an HD adopter and receive the TLC HD channel from your cable company, you can really check the ladies out. You might even see a pimple or two!

Don't worry if you miss one of the shows. TLC re-airs the episodes throughout the week to guarantee you won't have the chance to miss a thing.

Be sure to go to the show's official site and check out all of the videos. Besides the sneak peek video (which is hilarious!), you can also get to know all 52 of the girls a little better. If you don't watch them all, at least check out your state's contestant. BTW, I apologize to those of you in Oklahoma. I kid, I kid.

So don't forget to watch! I'll be recapping the episodes so be sure to join me back here where we can have some snarky fun together. In the meantime, make quick use of your mouse and click the links I've given you here so you'll be ready to go on Friday.

Oooh, I wonder if we'll see them without makeup and hair products? *evil laugh*