The Swan: I Want My Face Back with Gabe Dunn and Allison Raskin | 24

The Big Flop

Wondery

Society & Culture, Comedy, Business

4.6 • 884 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2024

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Contestants on 2004 reality TV show The Swan were tasked with transforming from "ugly ducklings" into gorgeous creatures. But they weren't just given a new wardrobe and attitude, they were given a whole new face. The women were isolated for months, berated, operated on multiple times, and pitted against one another at the beauty pageant finale. The critical response was severe... and so were the brow lifts.

Allison Raskin and Gabe Dunn, co-hosts of Just Between Us, join Misha to discuss the show that changed the face of reality TV forever.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to the Big Flop early and ad-free.
0:05.3	Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:19.7	Under the bright lights of a full auditorium, broadcast on national television, three glamorous
0:27.3	pageant contestants, Cindy, Beth, and Rachel stand in sparkly dresses before a panel of
0:34.5	high-profile judges. The three contestants have worked really hard to get here.
0:40.9	Except, instead of years of training and modeling,
0:44.5	these women have taken a different path.
0:47.3	They've spent the last three months isolated from their loved ones,
0:51.8	received up to 20 cosmetic procedures,
0:55.2	and exposed their innermost trauma to millions of TV viewers.
1:00.7	This pageant is unlike anything ever tried before.
1:04.8	It's the conclusion to the first season of the 2004 reality show, The Swan.
1:12.2	For months, critics have argued the show has been nothing more than a sadistic and grotesque
1:18.0	circus, taking reality TV to a new, unimaginable low.
1:23.4	But in this moment, there's genuine tension as the contestants stand with new bodies and faces in anticipation of the winning announcement.
1:34.4	Locello Loops underscore the drama.
1:37.7	This is it, girls.
1:40.4	Are you ready?
1:43.6	Our first runner-up this evening is Beth Lay.
1:50.0	Which means Rachel Lephraser you are the first ever swan!
1:56.0	A swan-shaped tiara is placed upon Rachel's quaffed head.
2:03.0	Pyro-technics punctuate the excitement.
	...

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