Screen Rant » the apprentice

Celebrity Apprentice: Better Than Expected (Did I Really Just Type That?)

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 03:45:03 +0000

I swore that I was not going to tune in to watch what I was certain would be the car wreck titled Celebrity Apprentice on NBC. I wasn’t going to watch it or even mention it here on Screen Rant.

But my wife wanted to watch at least the first episode, and I’ll be damned if I wasn’t going to watch it if she was… and guess what?

It was far better than I expected.

Now I’m not saying it was great television, just that it looks like this twist may actually have made it worth watching again if you were a fan of earlier seasons of the show. What exactly made it worth watching? Not what, exactly, but who:

Gene Simmons.

The dude just rocks (pun heavily intended). For those of you totally out of the loop, Gene Simmons was one of the founding members of the rock group KISS. That was as deep as I delved into hard rock back in my youth. The guys were brilliant with their wild approach to being a rock band, and they serve to this day as a reason for me to keep mouth (mostly) shut about what today’s youth likes in music.

He comes across like some low key, quiet guy, who opens his mouth now and then only to let escape some tidbit worthy of a Zen Master.

I thought that the series would dip deep into some real bottom-list celebrities, but although not exactly A-list, they’ve put together an interesting and non-has-been group which includes:

- Lennox Lewis – 3 time heavyweight champ

- Marilu Henner – Famous “Taxi” driver (She’s been out of the loop for a while, but I like her)

- Nadia Comaneci – Olympic legend (Ok, this one is pushing it)

- Vincent Pastore – Former Soprano

- Tiffany Fallon – The 2005 Playmate of the Year

- Gene Simmons – Founding member of the rock band KISS

- Carol Alt – Former (and one of the first) supermodel

- Stephen Baldwin (The Christian one)

- Trace Adkins – Country singer

- Omarosa (Just for drama, of course. And it’s working.)

In this first episode Omarosa stepped up to be the leader of the women’s team and she obviously plays up her reputation as a she-devil – so much so that she actually seems to be acting instead of being herself. Considering the combined amount of celebrity ego surrounding her she is utterly out-gunned in that department, although she tries her best to look down her nose at others.

They are all playing for charities, and the first task was to raise the most amount of money possible by selling hot dogs from a street cart. The men’s team (named “Hydra” by Simmons) did the brainstorming thing, when Gene announced that this wasn’t about selling $5 hot dogs, it was about tapping into their network of rich friends to show up and buy $5,000 hot dogs. He commences to pull out his little black book and starts dialing.

Freaking brilliant.

Meanwhile, on the women’s team (named Impressario… yawn) Omarosa specifically shot down others’ idea that this should be more about celebrity than hot dogs. She said it was about “delivering a quality product.”

Freaking duh.

So instead of capitalizing on the insane concentration of gorgeous women at her disposal, she slaps them all into t-shirts with a hot dog on them, jeans and ball caps to completely obscure their greatest asset. Eventually they got around to selling hot dogs at $100 apiece, but Marilu Henner sparked to the same idea that Gene Simmons had: Call wealthy friends.

In the end, the men’s team trounced the women’s team, bringing in over $50,000 to the women’s $17,000. And yet, somehow… Omarosa survived the boardroom.

In a twist, the men were able to watch the goings on in the boardroom except for the bit with the final three. In another classic Simmons moment, as he watched what was transpiring he commented on how Omarosa just could not be killed… much like a cockroach.

So yes, I’ve been sucked back in to yet another season of this show. At least I can say that I gave up Survivor a couple of years ago and have never looked back…

Official site: Celebrity Apprentice

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The Apprentice Is Back, And Extends It’s Shark Jump

Vic Holtreman — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 21:15:10 +0000

I’ve been a fan of Donald Trump and NBC’s The Apprentice since the first season, but back in January I wrote that the show had jumped the shark by adding elements of Survivor, with the losing team having to live and sleep outside while the winning team lived in luxury. There were also other twists thrown in for the sake of trying to bolster the sagging ratings.

For the most part, it didn’t work, and now with the show is veering further off into “shark” territory, I predict that the next season will be the show’s last.

What’s the new twist?

Celebrity contestants.

Joy.

Let’s see, if they stick to the previous format (and there’s no guarantee they will), they’ll have to find “celebrities” who can check out of their lives for approximately 12 weeks. So, do you think we’ll be seeing any current A-List celebs competing?

I highly doubt it.

More likely it will be ex-famous actors whose current gigs include TV commercials, infomercials and TV retrospective specials. Rosie O’Donnell’s name was bandied about in the press conference, but I can tell you two things:

1. There’s no way she’ll do it.

2. In the off chance that she does, I won’t be tuning in. Even once.

Source: Zap2It

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The Apprentice L.A. (Season 6) Jumps The Shark

Vic Holtreman — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 01:03:01 +0000

I’ve always been a big fan of The Apprentice and in preparing to write this was suprised to find that we’re already on the sixth season! Unfortunately I think that The Apprentice L.A. has jumped the shark this season.

I don’t follow ratings very much, but from what I’ve heard last season’s show slipped from previous years, so I suppose the producers thought it was time to throw some changes in the mix. In my opinion they’ve made the show at best silly and at worst just plain dumb.

Oh, the whole drama of trying to become the ultimate Type A personality is still there, but they’ve thrown some really odd stuff into the mix that really dilutes the core concept of the show, and unless they go back to basics next season (if there IS a next season) the ratings are only going to get worse.

Of course the biggest change was moving the show from New York City to Los Angeles. Not a brilliant move in my opinion. Even on TV the pulse and life of NYC comes across, while LA is so spread out and devoid of any real energy that it’s just sad. Oh sure they’ve got the beaches and… um… what else do they have?

And now instead of having both teams live in some swanky accomodations, there was a task right off the bat which determined which team would get to live in a luxurious guest house and which team would have to live outside, in tents. This seems really ridiculous to me considering the end goal of this show is to have Trump hire someone to manage some huge project. Wouldn’t he rather have everyone compete on a level playing field? I mean camping is uncomfortable enough, but to have to be ready to conduct corporate level business while living in this situation while the other team lives in luxury is just plain stupid if you’re trying to evaluate all the contestants equally.

And then there is the new idea of having the winning project manager not only continue to be project manager, but to have them sit in on the firing session in the boardroom. How are other team members supposed to prove themselves in a leadership position? Having both George and Carolyn gone from the boardroom makes it seem like we’re watching some other show.

Of course right in line with the whole “LA” thing, this week’s episode featured Hugh Hefner’s Playboy mansion in LA, complete with a poolside party populated with tons of “bunnies”.

Welcome to L.A.

I’ll probably continue to watch this season, but I don’t have high hopes that it will get much better.

At least I still have 24. P

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The Apprentice Season 5 Finale: Anticlimactic

Vic Holtreman — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 02:56:38 +0000

Not much to say about the final battle between Lee and Sean in the finale for the 2006 season of The Apprentice… they were both awesome competitors and both qualified for the job (does Lee make anyone else over the age of 30 feel indadequate?).

Anyway, I would have been happy with either one of them winning.

I think Lee really tanked on his last task… the choice of people to work for him was perplexing and he let his friendship with Lenny blind him to Lenny’s inadequacies. In the meantime, Sean did indeed pick a “dream team”, his selection making him worthy to win the title.

Oh well, it’s not like Lee is gonna starve, right?

On a side note, I thought that Randal once again came off like a bonehead, with Trump introducing the guy and giving him props (no doubt due mainly to the fallout from last season’s finale), and Randall takes the opportunity primarily to pimp his website. Yeesh.

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Apprentice 4 Finale: Randal Delivers a Shocker!

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 04:03:28 +0000

If ever there was a neck and neck finish on The Apprentice, it was this season (Season 4) between Randal, the uber-educated, calm and kind business owner and Rebecca, the cool as a cucumber, broken ankle trooper and business journalist.

When it came down to the final moments, I honestly didn’t know who Trump was going to select, and I almost thought it was going to be Rebecca, when he suddenly made his decision and selected Randal. I’d been pulling for Randal and have thought that he would win for weeks now, so I was pleased with the decision. I was impressed with the fact that someone could actually go through the process with their integrity intact and with no one holding a grudge against them and still win. This, as opposed to the animosity always generated against the finalists by the end of any season of Survivor.

It’s obvious that Trump values exceptional people in his organization so I was kind of prepared for the possibility that he might actually hire both finalists to manage different projects. So when Trump actually floated the idea of hiring both of the two finalists to manage different projects I wasn’t surprised. The shocker was when he decided to ask Randal whether he thought Rebecca worthy of managing the project that Randal had not selected.

I believe that Trump took for granted that considering the mutual respect between the candidates that Randal would say “Hey, great idea!”. However Randal stunned everyone (including Trump, I’ll wager) when he said instead:

“This isn’t The Aprentii, it’s The Apprentice.”

Considering his personality and history to date, I was completely and utterly floored…

The only possible explanation I could think of off the top of my head is that saying “yes” would have invalidated every thing he said about her not being the one for the job. That, and the fact that it would have detracted from his own victory… but I’m trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

Quite an ending to Season 4 of The Apprentice!

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The Apprentice Season 4: More Class, Less Profanity

Vic Holtreman — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 15:52:18 +0000

Ah, the Fall TV season is on it’s way… being more of a TV than movie watcher I’ll have more to write about once again.

Season 4 of The Apprentice will soon be upon us, and in view of last seasons lower ratings, Donald Trump has decided to step up and act like a CEO in regards to production. Apparently last season Trump had made some suggestions as to who should be considered as candidates and ALL of his suggestions where disregarded. He ended up with a bunch of candidates that he wouldn’t want working for him.

Although the idea of college vs. non-degreed seemed like a good idea (and one I suggested a couple of years ago), in reality (no pun) it didn’t work out quite so well. In season 3 it seemed like part of the degree requirement at college was a course taught by “Miss Manners”. For the most part the non-degreed folks came across as childish and foul-mouthed, while the college grads came across as much more sophisticated.

So this season “The Donald” has decided to drop the hammer: He hand picked 17 out of the 18 contestants, including one woman who the producers told him was “too beautiful”, two ex-professional athletes, a Rhodes scholar with five degrees (I personally wouldn’t bet on that guy), and an ex-stripper.

After last season I thought that perhaps The Apprentice had peaked in it’s second season, but maybe there’s some life left in the show yet.

Source: NY Times

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Reality Shows: Is the End Near?

Vic Holtreman — Tue, 29 Mar 2005 17:05:00 +0000

Can we be nearing the end of the Reality TV show era? Some recent newcomers have come and (thankfully) gone quickly, and even Mark Burnett’s golden touch can’t seem to give The Contender big numbers. In an attempt to lure back viewers who are burnt out on mean-spirited, backstabbing behavior, CBS has a bunch of “kinder, gentler” reality shows slated for next season no doubt spurred on by the success of ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover.

Using myself as a barometer of the average viewer (hey, it’s my website, I can do whatever I want), I would say the public has reached saturation as far as reality TV is concerned. I’m not a voracious viewer of reality TV… I don’t watch Fear Factor, America’s Next Top Model, or Big Brother. I have tuned in to one season of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but that was enough for me. Being a fitness buff and really annoyed at the state of obesity in the U.S., I did tune into The Biggest Loser. It was unnecessarily cheesy and the supposed drama too drawn out, but I loved seeing the changes these folks made to their lives. I even watched Wife Swap this season because it did my heart good to see the children in some of these families benefit from the exchange.

However, I’ve hit Reality TV Burnout™. I’ve been a loyal fan of Survivor since Season 2, but I think this current season is the last one for me. The first couple of seasons were fairly real, about surviving, and of course, the million dollars. But since then it’s become about the notoriety (at least for a hefty percentage of the contestants) plus it’s gotten WAY repetitive. It seems that early on the staff psychologists (or Burnett, whoever) hit on a formula for a specific combination of ages, genders, and personalities that would generate the right amount of conflict and side-taking.

It’s gotten old. You can take any season and interchange the contestants. It’s like the cast of a TV show or stage play where you plug different actors into specific roles. There’s only so much “drama” you can drum up to keep things different. This season’s “shocking opener” involved having two extra contestants… that lasted all of one episode. Oooohhh, that was exciting.

I really enjoyed the concept of The Apprentice as well, but even that’s getting old.

I don’t think I’m alone, and I have a feeling that next season will be the last hurrah for this genre. Sure, there will be a couple of survivors (cough), but I think the trend is going to be back to scripted television.

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Omarosa is at it again

Brian Rentschler — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 20:59:57 +0000

It should come as a surprise to no one that Omarosa from Season 1 of The Apprentice is not going away anytime soon. She still gets news coverage by doing and/or saying controversial things. Her latest comment was made during an NBC teleconference for another reality show. She made the comment that the way The Apprentice was produced and edited caused black male contestants to appear lazy and timid, while black female contestants were perceived as being on the opposite extreme.

First of all, considering the fact that her behavior formed much of the basis for the stereotype she is criticizing, the irony is palpable. Besides, I don’t think she’s right about black male contestants coming across as lazy and timid. Kwame from Season 1 and Kevin from Season 2 are the only black male contestants who come to mind, and neither one struck me as lazy. Kwame’s extreme “hands-off” management style made him seem timid sometimes, but I never got the impression that he was lazy. Kevin didn’t seem lazy or timid to me at all.

Mark Burnett, who produces The Apprentice, responded forcefully to Omarosa’s remarks, calling them “insulting.” He also went on to tell her, “Take responsibility for your own behavior and stop disparaging other African-Americans.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Source: CNN

Brian

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Apprentice 3: Finally an interesting match up

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 05:01:40 +0000

Finally got around to watching last week’s premiere of season 3 of The Apprentice (Hey, my DVR got twitchy, thank goodness for the rebroadcast on CNBC!).

I’m really glad that they’ve gotten rid of that STUPID men vs. women premise and instead have gone to what they should have done since the first season: College grads vs. self made non-grads. Being in the latter category, I am, of course rooting for the “street smarts” gang to win. Having said that, I have absolutely no doubt that a non-college grad will not win the title of “The Apprentice”.

I believe that no matter how well the street smart side does Donald will defer to the college grad side for a VP position in one of his companies. He can’t help himself. Of course that may not be entirely a bad call, since if you want a corporate lackey you should select someone trained for the job.

We’ll have to see how it goes, but the first episode showed that those high school folks aren’t fools, and the project leader for the first task will go far in the show.

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Back to the doghouse for reality TV?

Brian Rentschler — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 20:09:55 +0000

If TV ratings are any indication, the reality TV genre seems to be losing some steam. Just about two years ago right now, Joe Millionaire was one of the top shows on TV, but these days it seems like any reality show that doesn’t have Mark Burnett’s name on it is headed straight for the history books. Latest case in point: The Will, which has already been canceled by CBS after just one show.

The concept of The Will sounded sleazy on paper. Friends and family of an elderly rancher had to compete with each other for the deed to his ranch. That meant two things. First, the show technically should have been called The Deed, and second, we had yet another opportunity to watch a family destroy itself in the name of reality TV. The overwhelming majority of Americans wisely decided to pass. (The fact that The Will was competing against an NFL playoff game and Battlestar Galactica couldn’t have helped.)

The Will is hardly alone in its abject failure. Another CBS show, Wickedly Perfect, debuted to less-than-stellar numbers. That show’s goal is to choose the next Martha Stewart. (And who exactly thought this was a good idea?) Also consider Apprentice ripoffs such as Rebel Billionaire and The Benefactor. Both have suffered in the ratings, and The Benefactor actually wrapped things up in six episodes instead of the planned eight because of low ratings.

Even the established ratings winners such as Survivor and The Apprentice are not doing quite as well as they once did, but Mark Burnett is still the undisputed king of reality TV, and he knows it. The only question is, how long will that gravy train last, and what will take its place?

Sources:
CNN
Zap2It

Brian

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Apprentice 2: Kelly wins it

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 17 Dec 2004 04:43:11 +0000

First, I have to say that the finale of Apprentice 2 had to be the most dragged out episode of a reality show I’ve ever seen. It made the extra 30 minutes tacked on to the end of every episode of The Biggest Loser look like a commercial break. Thank God I have a DVR and watched the thing time delayed so I could skip over much of the junk, like Trump asking regular members of the audience (as opposed to professional acquaintences) for their opinion on who should win.

Ok, so I didn’t pick the actual winner way back before the season started, but I did select Kelly as one of the top two finalists way back in August. Once my other selection for top two got booted on the very first episode I’ve never wavered from my remaining prediction. I must admit that Jennifer M. was on my short list of folks to go first, but after skating through the first half of the season she toughed it out to second place.

Doesn’t matter that she didn’t win, number two on this show will go on to receive tons of juicy (and well-deserved, I’m sure) offers.

In the preview for season 3 of The Apprentice, it seems that they’re tossing the men vs. women scenario and replacing it with college grads vs. non-grads with real world experience. I thought that would have been a better split than men vs. women way back at the start of season 1. Of course without having seen so much as a bio or photo of the contestants, I’ll go out on a limb and say that Trump will end up hiring someone from the college degreed side. I think he’s a purist and would never turn over a high level position to a non-college grad (that’s not a slam, as I don’t have a degree myself).

Lastly, props to Mark Burnett for having the ability to turn Donald Trump into a bonafide celebrity. If Burnett can do that, he deserves to get paid whatever he does.

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The Apprentice: Bradford was robbed!

Brian Rentschler — Fri, 17 Sep 2004 15:01:54 +0000

I couldn’t believe what I saw last night on The Apprentice. Bradford was on the losing team, but he received immunity from The Donald ™. (Is this show looking more like Survivor or what?) He was so confident in his performance that he gave up his immunity and made himself vulnerable to being called into the boardroom. Ivana chose to bring him into the boardroom, at which point Trump fired him. I was shocked. I knew Trump was a better entertainer than a businessman, but to fire the best guy on the team?! That was insanity. Let me get this straight — mediocrity is okay, as long as you play it safe? What a great message to send. Ivana and Stacie J. were so entrenched in “catfight” mode that they might as well have begged Trump to fire them, but he chose to fire the guy who brought in most of the business for the team?! What a disappointment. I just lost most of my interest in that show. Trump has no interest in choosing the best business mind. He doesn’t want someone who will take risks and stand behind his performance. He wants people who will play it safe and blame other people for their mistakes. What a letdown…

Brian

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Apprentice 2: More racial controversy?

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 10 Sep 2004 03:35:46 +0000

First off, one of my predictions (albeit based on just what I read online) was WAY off as one of my top two picks was the first to get the axe (Rob). Overall, I’m sticking to my predictions though.

The topic of this particular rant is that the show seems to be headed for another racsim controversy.

It seems to me that the producers were so happy with the buzz generated during last season’s accusations by Omarosa of racism, that they’ve put in another ringer. This season they’ve included yet another apparently wacky black woman: Stacie J.

I say “apparently” because who knows how far off from reality her TV personality really is when subjected to the magic of the editing room. That being said, I do believe that Omarosa had a massive chip on her shoulder. I don’t see that in Stacie J., however it certainly seems like the show is laying the groundwork for an episode similar to last season.

At one point during the season premiere episode she seemed to go slightly off her rocker… kind of like someone who’s had a bit to drink at a party, or someone who is trying to cheer up a bunch of people and doesn’t know when to stop. She was really annoying to everyone, therefore she becomes a target, and mark my words that the race issue will come up before it’s all said and done.

Why did the producers of the show apparently go out of their way to find yet another black woman to play the role of “unstable woman”? In my mind that is nothing more than race-baiting of the worst kind: NBC wants the audience to play into that game and it is bound to cause divisiveness.

I’m absolutely sure that they had hundreds of applications from qualified, strong, intelligent black women. I’m not saying that those descriptions don’t apply to Stacie J., but she does have an edge about her and that was probably a big factor in selecting her.

Shame on you guys for going down this path on purpose.

Again.

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The Apprentice cast: Season 2

Vic Holtreman — Sun, 29 Aug 2004 16:23:12 +0000

Anyone ready for round 2 of The Apprentice?

Here are the new contestants according to E! Online:

The women:
Pamela, 32, an investment firm partner from San Francisco
Jennifer C., a 31-year-old horse-loving real-estate agent from New York
Stacie J., 35, a Harlem Subway franchise owner and former model
Lawyers Jennifer M. (a 29-year-old from San Francisco) and Stacy R. (a 26-year-old from New York)
Business owners Sandy, 28, who hails from Rockville, Maryland, Elizabeth, 31, from Marina Del Ray, California
Virginia Beach-based marketing exec Maria, 31
Ivana, a Subway franchise owner

The men:
Raj, 28, a bow-tie wearing real-estate developer with homes in Philly and Vail, Colorado, who claims not to watch TV
Bradford, a 32-year-old lawyer from Fort Lauderdale
Chris, a 30-year-old stockbroker hailing from Long Island
Andy, 23, a newly minted Harvard grad from Boca Raton, Florida
John, 24, a marketing director from San Francisco
Wes, 27, an Atlanta-based wealth manager
Kevin, 29, a law student in Chicago
Rob, 32, a Texas branding salesman
Kelly, 37, a software exec from Carlsbad, California.

Here are my early predictions…

Not having yet seen these folks, and just based upon what I’ve seen online, here’s my list of who’s who:

Final two:

Rob: Looks like he’s got some varied real-world experience.

Kelly: Unless his personality conflicts, another good bet.

Those who I think will make it beyond the initial cuts:

John: Looks like he might go far, but his age will work against him.

Wes: Unless his personality is abrasive, will be in the half that survives.

Pamela: Experience a bit narrow, but will probably go far.

Sandy: Not degreed, but I think she might go pretty far here.

Elizabeth: She’ll go far, but won’t win.

These guys are toast:

Raj: The guy wears a bowtie. ‘Nuff said.

Bradford: Commutes in a gas-powered golf cart with monster truck tires. Too out-there.

Chris: High school degree only. See ya.

Andy: Too young and inexperienced.

Kevin: I don’t see anything that stands out at this point.

Jennifer C.: Sales skills alone do not make a VP.

Stacie J.: A model who runs a Subway. Might last a while, but not all the way.

Jennifer M.: Lawyer and not much else. Probably very personable, but it won’t take her all the way.

Maria: She just looks…. like she ain’t gonna make it.

Stacy R.: Another lawyer. Won’t make it far.

Ivana: She is so gone. There totally due to the name thing.

For more info on the contestants visit NBC.com’s Apprentice 2 page.

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Are those 15 minutes up yet?

Brian Rentschler — Wed, 11 Aug 2004 05:36:12 +0000

It’s funny how the entertainment world works. First, William Hung is singled out on American Idol as one of the worst singers of the past season. Then everybody starts tripping over themselves about his sincerity, his determination and his laid-back, “can-do” attitude. Next thing you know, he’s appearing on just about every talk show you can imagine. I can almost swear I saw footage of him on The Arsenio Hall Show, and that show was cancelled 12 years ago. To say the guy is ubiquitous would be an understatement. Well, lately his TV exposure has dropped to only two or three appearances every day, so it seems his 15 minutes are drawing to a close. Except…

It’s not over yet. People are still reeling about the fact that William was signed to a record deal, despite the fact that many of the people who made it into the American Idol finals weren’t even afforded that luxury. Not only that, but the album has actually sold more than 300,000 copies worldwide. The guy has been lucky, to say the least, but it’s not stopping there. This year, prepare yourself for William’s sophomore effort — a Christmas album. It seems to be an immutable law of nature that every single musical artist must record a Christmas album at some point. I’m still in therapy for the time I accidentally saw one of Mariah Carey’s Christmas videos on MTV.

Oh, but there’s more. William is about to become a movie star. Jackie Chan he ain’t, but William has reportedly been cast in a Chinese movie. Talk about stretching those 15 minutes. It’s tempting to feel really happy for William (and to an extent, that’s okay), but it’s tragic when you consider that people who have spent years perfecting their skills in these areas are being passed over in favor of a guy who admittedly can’t cut the mustard. The message that’s being sent, loud and clear, is that people who go on reality shows wanting to be the next movie star or musical sensation sometimes get their wish. Are the days of working hard and “paying your dues” disappearing? Or is it just that William will end up paying his dues in a different way? Ereka Vetrini, formerly of The Apprentice fame, has reportedly accepted a job as a news reporter for the upcoming The Tony Danza Show, which officially sends a big “thumbed nose” to all the people who were silly enough to actually study the craft of news reporting and try to work their way up through the ranks. Won’t they ever learn?

Sources:
Reuters
Fox News

Brian

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American Idol: George bites the dust

Brian Rentschler — Thu, 06 May 2004 14:27:19 +0000

As soon as I heard that the theme on Tuesday’s American Idol was going to be big band, I feared that George was going to choke on that musical style and end up going home. The good news is that he actually did much better than I thought he would. The bad news is that he received the fewest votes Wednesday, helping me to maintain my reputation as the worst oddsmaker on the planet. Vic has been calling them right, while I have been… well, let’s just say it’s a good thing I still have a day job.

Ironically, if John Stevens had lasted another week (heaven forbid), he might have actually shown some genuine musical talent with his big band performances. But compared to LaToya…? No contest.

I was disappointed to see George go, not just because he failed to step up and show us what he could do, but also because there aren’t any guys left in the competition. It feels like the battle of the divas now, and I think I speak for almost everybody when I say that The Apprentice had enough diva nonsense for one lifetime.

I don’t see how Diana or Jasmine will win this. For one thing, Jasmine is not very good. She was the worst singer on Tuesday, hands down. Paula likes her, but the other two judges have lukewarm things at best to say about her. Diana is more talented than Jasmine, but Simon doesn’t want her to win. He thinks she’s too young (she’s 16), and on Tuesday he called her a 16-year-old who sounds like a 50-year-old. He wants Fantasia or LaToya to win this, and I think he will get his wish.

Just for once, I want to see America vote for someone totally off the wall, just to stick it to the judges and let them know who’s in charge. (Actually, that sort of happened two years ago when tone-deaf Nikki McKibbin made it to #3). Sadly, I don’t think that will happen this year. It’s looking like LaToya will win this. Fantasia is just too creepy and annoying in my book, and Diana and Jasmine aren’t good enough. We shall see…

Brian

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The reality of reality TV

Brian Rentschler — Sun, 25 Apr 2004 21:06:15 +0000

It’s not exactly a secret that The Apprentice winner Bill Rancic was almost the third Bachelor (Andrew Firestone ended up being chosen), but I think the public’s perception of reality TV (sorry, unscripted drama) deserves a rant.

Everybody keeps talking about what a coincidence it is that Firestone’s former fianc?e, whom he chose from The Bachelor, is now dating Bill. Yeah… coincidence. Anyone who believes that a single contestant on The Apprentice went on that show for the love of the job, as opposed to seeking their own 15 minutes of fame, raise your hand.

The original season of The Bachelor featured Alex Michel, who was some kind of management consultant, as I recall. He was looking strictly for love, right? Nope, he was looking for 15 minutes too, because he tried out for Survivor Marquesas. The worst part is that he was rejected for appearing “too effeminate.” D’oh!

The point I’m making is that I’m never surprised when a Bachelor couple breaks up. What else could happen when the people are there for fame and exposure rather than taking the show’s subject seriously? “Cool, the show’s done. I gotta get me an agent. What? She actually wants a relationship? Um, sure, whatever. What’s her name again?”

In this same vein, I will be very surprised if we ever see Bill Rancic amount to anything more than flavor of the month on the talk show circuit. Sure, the doors are open for him to be an executive, but he probably won’t do it. If that’s what he really wanted, he never would have gone on The Apprentice. Ironically sad, but true. Even Kwame, who I figured would take advantage of his exposure on the show to achieve business success, has chosen to start an entertainment company. Ever heard of a guy named Donald Trump? He got bitten by the showbiz bug too, plus he’s making more money from showbiz right now than he is from his real estate ventures.

I think the inevitable demise of the reality TV fad will occur because audiences will realize that the contestants aren’t taking the shows seriously. They’re after fame — nothing more, nothing less — and they’ll basically let the show’s producers determine the course of events. In that case, how can it be called “unscripted” drama? Reality TV shows are a producer’s dream because they’re very cheap (many of the contestants receive no pay), and lots of people like to watch them. But as with Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the fad won’t last forever, and the contestants themselves will be the primary culprits for the demise.

Brian

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More Omarosa backlash

Brian Rentschler — Sun, 25 Apr 2004 21:04:16 +0000

Former Apprentice wannabe Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth is just not feeling the love from the American public. These days, even the media thinks it’s trendy to snub Omarosa, but it’s a two-way street.

Not long after she ended up on the cutting room floor of Clairol’s latest commercial amid howls of protest that she was even considered for the job, she made a last-minute departure from Jimmy Kimmel Live because she thought she was going to be hooked up to a polygraph machine. I’m sure it can’t be much fun to be stood up by one of your guests on a live show.

Kimmel’s response was good enough to be a “Quote of the Day” in my book:

“Apparently her 15 minutes ended the second before I introduced her. I felt like Jessica Simpson standing alone at the airport.”

Source: E! Online

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The Apprentice: Reality sets in

Brian Rentschler — Tue, 20 Apr 2004 15:07:00 +0000

Now that Bill has been chosen as The Apprentice and he has chosen to oversee the construction of a building in Chicago, one question has been going through my mind. When exactly does this project start?

Apparently, not anytime soon.

What The Donald ? didn’t bother to tell his TV audience during the finale was that his Chicago construction project has yet to secure financing. The spinmeister swears up and down the project will happen, and that he has money people lining up outside his door waiting to get started.

In addition to the little detail about the project not getting off the ground, it is extremely unlikely that Bill, who has no real estate experience, will be given any significant responsibility. He had better hope his purported $250,000 annual salary is written down in a contract somewhere. Otherwise, that trademark smile of his may be diminishing over the next few months.

I’m starting to become more interested in Mark Burnett’s other show, The Restaurant. How can you go wrong with a reality show (oops… unscripted drama) about a business that’s being run straight into the ground? As the recent success of William Hung proves, Americans will take screw-ups over success stories any day of the week. For now.

Source: E! Online

Brian

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The Apprentice Finale: Wow!

Brian Rentschler — Fri, 16 Apr 2004 13:38:00 +0000

I have to say I really enjoyed the season finale of The Apprentice. Thank goodness I have a DVR because my wife and I were “pausing” the episode every 5 minutes to add some comment.

I can see that “The Donald” and I have the same thought processes when it comes to reading people. So why is he a billionare and I’m running this website?

Selecting Bill was a very good call…

He has a combination of street smarts, education, and business experience that’s hard to beat. I was rooting for Troy early on, but Troy, I know Bill, and you’re no Bill. (Sorry, don’t know where THAT came from)

My comments yesterday reflected part of Kwame’s downfall: His selection and handling of Omarosa. Those two items definitely made him a questionable leader. I hate to say it, but it felt great to see Omarosa get her just desserts at the live gathering. Trump asks her a straightforward question about getting caught lying, and she immediately starts to tap dance around it… whereupon Trump says “Excuses, excuses. Enough with the excuses.”

One shining moment was the (in my mind) complete vindication of Ereka Vetrini concerning the slander suit against her by Omarosa. Erika positively glowed as she sat right next to “The Diva” and stated that Omarosa is a liar, and has been a liar throughout the entire series run. You go!!!!

As a testament to the selection process, I have to say that given the building project that Bill selected, I would run screaming from the room in terror at the prospect of managing that. Supervision or not.

On a final note I have to say I was VERY disappointed to see Omarosa shown as a returning person for next season. Fine, she adds tons of drama and she’s “the person we love to hate”, but I just thing it’s plain wrong to reward her hideous behavior by keeping her in the limelight.

It’s the same issue I have with athletes who act like complete asses, but because of their skill (and the controversy they generate), they continue to be rewarded.

P.S. Sam slays me. $250K to Trump for the opportunity to work for him? Brilliant.

Vic

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