Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants began an eight-episode run Dec. 12 Shanna Moakler, a former Miss USA 1995 and a 2001 Playboy Playmate, is a pageant judge along with Carson Kressley from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and TV personality Cynthia Garrett.

Moakler said each mother/daughter team will have to brand a ‘style’ for them via clothing and swimwear, create ways of expressing a point of view about issues in the world, and practice for the big pageant dance number. The prize package includes a $10,000 cash award and tiaras.

While most “reality TV” tends to focus on sensationalism – and there is no shortage of controversy with beauty pageants these days -- this new show has a heart, she said.

“I think it is sad that there’s so much bad press going on with pageants because I think pageants help young women and give them opportunities,” Moakler said. “I know that what makes reality TV so big is the drama that comes with it. Yeah, there is drama in pageants, but there are a lot of great women in pageants. I would hate to see pageants fall victim to making cheesy drama to get viewers.

“There are some beautiful mother-daughter relationships on this show. Even if they didn’t have a respect for each other at first, they gained respect for one another and grew together. It was so nice to watch these girls do something together as mother and daughter, to support one another. It was cool to see their relationships blossom.”

She said beauty pageants were the original “reality TV.”

“Before reality shows as we know them today, televised beauty pageants were our only reality TV. You could be anyone in America and get on TV. It was a competition reality program before there actually were any, so it would be sad to see pageants fall prey to the sort of reality TV we see these days.”

That doesn’t mean the show will lack anything interesting to watch. Pageants and contests are always a spectacle.

“Oh yes, a lot of chaos and drama going on. I would know. I was Miss Rhode Island, Miss New York and Miss Teen All-American,” she said. “When I was competing for the Miss USA, we had our first preliminary competition and then the next night was the final night. Someone stole my earrings and my shoes so I was in a panic. But another contestant loaned me her shoes and earrings. She was really sweet. For one bad apple, there are a lot of great contestants in it.”

The higher the stakes, the more competitive the girls get.

“People get a lot more serious as they get higher up in the pageant chain because the prize packages get so big and there’s so much on the line. Obviously, being in a pageant that Donald Trump is organizing can change a girl’s life.”

Being on Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants brought back memories of the days when Moakler was just a beautiful girl from Providence hoping that being in pageants would change her life.

“My role as a judge on the show was as pageant expert. So even as these girls were learning pageant etiquette as they came before our judging panel, I knew what they were supposed to be doing. Some of them had pageant experience, some didn’t. It brought back a lot of memories and was fun because, for me, pageants were such a positive experience. I love pageants. I’m a huge advocate.”

Would her mother have teamed up with her like the women on the show?

“My mum would never! She’s more of an off-camera person. She’s always been super supportive and loving, but I don’t know that she would want to be put on stage like that,” Moakler said.

Look for more reality TV shows if things continue as they are, she added.

“I just auditioned for a Jim Carrey movie yesterday. With the writer’s strike going on right now, Hollywood is kind of at a standstill. Scripted film and television are definitely top priority for me. I like acting more than modeling or hosting because it is more challenging creatively. I can step outside of myself. Next would be modeling because I feel so comfortable and confident in front of a camera. I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing when I model.”

She would love to return to Playboy in a celebrity pictorial, having done several movies and TV shows since she was Miss December 2001.

“That would be awesome, right? I haven’t really worked with (the Playboy organization) in a while, but I would if the opportunity was right because I like the people over there,” she said.

Moakler is as well known for her turbulent relationships with Billy Idol, Oscar de la Hoya, Dennis Quaid, and Travis Barker as her TV and film roles. She and Barker starred in the MTV reality series Meet the Barkers for two seasons before they separated, leading to a well-publicized confrontation with socialite Paris Hilton at a Los Angeles nightclub last year.

Moakler and Barker reconciled and “(the relationship is) going good. We actually just celebrated our third anniversary, and we’re doing well. We are doing much better.”

Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants airs Wednesdays at 9/8 C.

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On the Web:

http://www.shannamoakler.com/ (Shanna’s Official Site)

http://www.cwtv.com/shows/crowned (Crowned Official Site)