This whole reality TV thing is starting to wear a bit thin. As
if “The Bachelorette 2” and the upcoming “My Big
Fat Obnoxious Fiancé” weren’t enough, the one
and only Donald Trump now has his own show. The real estate mogul
stars in “The Apprentice,” a program that proves that
you can make it in corporate America, but making it in TV land is
something different altogether.
- Kate Green
- Courtesy of NBC
I show no human emotion.
Producer Mark Burnett came up with the concept, which is very
similar to his CBS brainchild “Survivor.” A team of men
and a team of women vie for the chance to be president of one of
Trump’s companies. After competing against each other in an
interesting business activity (selling lemonade, for example) a
member of the losing team is fired, not by their peers, but by
Trump and his two associates, who play the typical snobbish stooges
you would expect in a show such as this. The loser takes the
dramatic elevator ride down to the first floor of Trump Towers and
must now live with the fact they will never work for a man with a
really bad toupee.
The contestants themselves — who should be the backbone of
the show — are seen as secondary to Trump. A clever entrance
video highlighting New York introduces the 16 ambitious applicants,
who range from being high-school educated to receiving an MBA at
Harvard University. They have street smarts and plenty of business
aspirations but are all clearly trying to suck up as much as
possible. It can be fun at times to watch each entrepreneur battle
to be the leader in group activities, but no distinguishable
qualities shine forth. With the exception of one cast member named
Sam, who is clearly out of his mind (he tried to sell a cup of
lemonade for $1,000), the contestants are pretty similar.
Since there is no quirky host to guide the show along, Trump
makes numerous appearances. He lacks charisma and personality and
certainly doesn’t seem like the type of boss you would want
to work for. Then again, he is rich, which is certainly enough to
be a star on TV these days.
“The Apprentice” is not the worst reality show out
there. The business activities are enjoyable to watch, but
unfortunately, when characters nobody cares about are coupled with
a recycled playing style, the result is another average program on
prime-time television. This show won’t get canned, but on the
other hand, it certainly won’t get promoted anytime soon
either.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars