The Apprentice

I am at present following the series in the British version on BBC 2. It's exciting and fun but once one starts to realize that this is the reflection of the real world out there it tends to make one despair. Those guys "in the fast lane" who or what are they really? Very shallow people who are extremely insecure in the sense that they are always trapped in the game of sucking-up to their superiors and/or treading on their inferiors. Their main concern is that nobody sees through their fake approach and this attitude alone consumes an enormous amount of personal energy.These are the guys and ladies whom when you catch them on one of those rare occasions when they're off-guard, will convince you that there is essentially nothing truly exceptional about their personality and that they are basically constantly frustrated by the nagging thought that the price they pay for their ongoing masquerade, might not be worthwhile at all. As to the concept of this "reality" game itself, one can remark that there are obvious shortcomings as to its effectiveness: granted that the idea of opposing two different teams in order to achieve maximum results is acceptable, one has to take into account that the "ego" competition between each member of both groups is so predominantly present that it is without any doubt detrimental to the concept of team-building in general and consequently also to the achievement of the preliminary defined objectives.On another level, one wonders if it isn't precisely this form of "work ethic" that has also contributed to the collapse of the financial urban jungle we are witnessing at present (previous sentence added April 2009)

For the first couple of seasons, I thought The Apprentice was a highly engaging and exciting show. The combination between reality TV and a 16 week job-interview was innovative, and the producers of the show managed to keep the show relevant and not too "out there".

The new season 6 is nothing more than a big joke and it has absolutely nothing to do with business - at all. In the earlier seasons they used to put a lot more emphasis on the business-related tasks - now the focus is mostly in the boardroom where the contestants are expected to do EVERYTHING to keep them on the show (that means lying, trash-talking, backstabbing etc.). The boardroom can be entertaining to watch, but it's entertainment at it's low-point - Sometimes you wonder if you are watching a repeat of an old Jerry Springer episode. The tasks on the show are, at most, boring and mostly a showcase for the companies who are dumb enough to pay NBC for the publicity. And what is the deal about half of the contestants living in tents in season 6? That is just plain stupid and has nothing to do with business in real-life.

I have absolutely NO respect for any of the contestants this season, they all seem like idiots to me. In earlier seasons at least some of the contestants had a bit of integrity, now it seems like the contestants would kill their own mother to keep them on the show. It also seems like Donald Trump's massive ego becomes bigger and bigger for every season that pass by and to be honest, I can't see why anyone with a common sense would want to work for him. His rationality in the boardroom mostly doesn't make any sense at all and sometimes it seems he just like to trash people for what it's worth.

R.I.P The Apprentice. Please NBC, for God's sake, get the show off the air as soon as possible. It's just too embarrassing to watch. The Apprentice was once a great TV-show, but now it's just a big fat joke.

I've only watched 3 or 4 episodes. Here's what I've learned: 1. If you used to be a Miss Universe, you won't be fired because Donald Trump can't fire his actual employees on TV.

2. If you won't drop your sponsors like Michael Andretti to promote one of the Trump friendly companies you will be fired. You see Michael Andretti was fired for not putting his name on the Cadillac brand for $20,000 for his charity and thus he didn't loose his endorsements with whoever he is currently endorsing. But if you refuse to whore yourself out for Trump so that he can get millions instead of you, You're Fired.

What a joke of a show.

I bet you Gene Simmons and Vincent Pastore negotiated in advance how many episodes they would be willing to appear in. Isn't just too contrived for Gene to switch to the ladies team and then throw himself on his sword? And Big Pussy? What the hell was that "look at me, I'm a rat!" double episode crap? All that cliché mafia banter- COME ON! The big names voted off just happened to already have received money for their charity and got a custom tailored exit. Hmm... This is not reality but staged drama! Mark Burnett's other show, "Survivor" also raised questions for me when Johnny Fairplay stages his departure when he clearly had just a short time before his child is to be born.

Yuk!

Even the tagline says it, "It's nothing personal, its just business" Finally there's a reality TV show that shows contestants the true meaning of a dollar. Not by falling off a bridge, eating worms, taking off your clothes, but by learning the ways in business. Donald Trump is the host and also producer of the show, he puts these young kids(over 20) into tasks that they must complete if they want to succeed into the next level. If they make it, they stay for upcoming episodes while Donald tells the others, "You're fired!" I love the fact that there can be a reality show without hurting anybody's feelings, and that Donald Trump gets to the point. I love the fact that its a success and it can teach other people about the business world. This beats the hell out of watching 'Friends', 'Frasier', 'Will & Grace' and others.