Techtite's TV Reviews!

"...this series was a very pleasurable watch ...Every location was interesting. Even better: no chances of "alliances" keeping the do-nothings in the game (yay!). Even better than that: no bug eating. What moron is so obsessed with reality TV that involves bug eating?!? Please look at this show and get a clue. This is how it's done."

---from the review

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The Apprentice

A Review by Techtite

Who knew that Donald Trump was such a ham? I mean; from the credit card commercials to advertisements made to look like this show with Donald's help; clearly he loves the spotlight, doesn't he? That's fine with me, since of all the many reality TV shows that have come out since Survivor became such a hit, few were as intriguing as The Apprentice. The only bad news: Donald is signed on only for one more season after the first, meaning that, most likely, this series will last only two seasons. I'll certainly enjoy it while it lasts though.

The concept is that a batch of business hopefuls are competing to be Donald Trump's new "apprentice." Although it wasn't known until the finale what this apprenticeship was, we now know that the winner got to choose between either a top-notch job helping Mr. Trump build a gigantic new Trump Tower sort of skyscraper in Chicago, or they could be the head of a new golf resort in California. This isn't even getting into how every hard-working businessperson got to show their stuff on national television. How cool of a video résumé is that?

The trick is to keep in the game. Here's what I love about this show; it is borderline impossible to have kept in this game with any form of deception, or any form of an "alliance." In other words: Richard Hatch and Susan Hawk, had they competed, would need a whole lot more than Rudy and Kelly to stay in the game. Why? Because this isn't a democracy kids; it's a business decision, and that means that who stays and who goes is, inevitably, Donald Trumps decision alone. Although he does bring in the losing team to his "boardroom" and lets the team leader choose which two LVPs to take with him/her to see who goes, it is inevitably Donald's decision who must leave. This is a lot of power for one man, yes, but it is Donald Trump, and let's be honest: his "You're fired!" comment at the end of each show became a part of reality TV history.

The competitions were pretty inspired, too. Let's be honest and confess how hard it is to make any part of big business seem interesting to a third party. Sure, it's interesting to people who are part of the deal, who are about to make thousands, if nor millions, from one signature on the dotted line. It's a whole different ballgame for the third party, who has nothing to gain from a business meeting aside from its entertainment value. That said; kudos to both the video editors for the show, and the contestants themselves, who made each competition so intriguing. From trying to sell a commercial concept for a new airplane, to literally trying to sell lemonade on the streets of NYC; these were some intriguing competitions to watch.

Likewise for (most of!) the contestants. Since this show was originally split evenly among male and female contestants, let me name my one favorite of each gender --Ladies first!-- and wouldn't you know it, the most interesting female was the first woman to go(!): Kristi. At the start of the show, Kristi helped her woman's-only team cream the men's-only team, with a perfect record of flawless victories. Sure, as soon as she got one singular loss, the two women she sent to the boardroom made her the scapegoat, and for whatever reason, Donald took was reeled in by their song and dance: hook, line, and sinker. So, Kristi was the first woman to go, though it was sweet justice that her supposed friend was next to go, with Omarosa following soon after. Ah, yes; Omarosa! Who could forget her! But we'll be getting to that...

Before we drag up the whole Omarosa factor of season one, let's take the time to compliment the MVp of the men. Sorry, oh winner Bill Rancic, but when it comes to most congenial, most entertaining, and all around nicest guy, I'd have to pin that medal on Troy. I doubt anyone except Troy can truly say why or how he got on the show, though let's just say his approach was far less dog-eat-dog than nearly every other man and woman on the series. One of the few exceptions, Kwame, quickly became Troy's best friend in the competition, and when it came down to "he or I," neither one held a grudge, and Troy went down to his farewell taxi with a shake of Kwame's hand and a slap on his back. Talk about a really good sport!

Not that all contestants were golden. Yeah, you knew this paragraph was coming, didn't you? This would be the "Omarosa factor" that any review of the first season of this show, would just have to include. Where do I begin about her? There just isn't the time or space to try. How about the time she got hit on the head with a piece of plaster in a redecorating challenge, only to be healthy and hearty enough to play ball with a kid outside while supposedly "recovering," yet still using this "head injury" to excuse every single lackluster performance of hers, until her dismissal...? Nope; not good enough of a summary. Allow me to swallow some pride and allow the professional snide remark artists at Television Without Pity summarize her long-awaited, long-overdue ouster: "After a long string of bitch sessions, glamour-fests, harangues, and a bump on the head that's gotten more camera time than Martha Stewart in the last week, it's finally time to get rid of the truly odious [Omarosa]. May we all soon forget she was ever here." I couldn't have said it any better myself.

Yet Omarosa aside, this series was a very pleasurable watch. It was like the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" of reality TV! Every location was interesting. Even better: no chances of "alliances" keeping the do-nothings in the game (yay!). Even better than that: no bug eating. What moron is so obsessed with reality TV that involves bug eating?!? Please look at this show and get a clue. This is how it's done.

                                                                    ---Techtite

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