The Apprentice

[REG]

At least you didn't prefix your name with "The" ... at least not yet.

[strict31]

My girlfriend watches the show religiously, but avoids other reality shows. I watched the one where they had to sell art. She gives my updates, but I don't really know why...I had a hard enough time sitting through it when i watched that ep with her. Although, I do admit to having watched the Real World very religiously several seasons back...that really helped to get reality TV out of my system for the most part.

Every so often, I'll turn one of them on just to see what all the fuss is about.

Popularity for the Apprentice is reaching a major high right now. Apparently, the chicks who were booted are doing a pictorial in FHM. Not including the Dread Omarosa. They have pretty professional looking bodies, and I don't mean office-professional. We're talking six-pack abs. While I'm sure they were chosen for their relative attractiveness, I'm also starting to wonder if a lot of them weren't ringers, and if there are any ahem...back-end deals for Trump involving this FHM thing.

I tend to think that, like the Real World, they chose their cast based less on professional credentials and more on potential for drama. Even in a show about business acumen, nobody wants to see a bunch of people getting along...


Strictly Speaking

[Don Mappin]

Originally posted by strict31
I tend to think that, like the Real World, they chose their cast based less on professional credentials and more on potential for drama. Even in a show about business acumen, nobody wants to see a bunch of people getting along...

I think you’re absolutely right. For example, why else have Troy on the show (who has been amazing) only to dump him because he’s a “loose cannon” and can’t match up to Kwame’s Harvard MBA? You knew that on day one!

Why? Because he (Troy) was fun to watch.

I was glad to see Troy return but saddened that he is – technically – out of the running.

[D.S.McBride]

Still shaking my head madly, I contend that I have yet to see a single minute's worth of this show.

Okay. Now that I've got that out of the way...

My point of interest in at least the premise of this show is that it's a sort of prototype for the Corporate class in Cyberpunk 2020; kind of like a Resources 101 seminar. The thing that fascinated me the most about that role in the game was the utterly cut-throat, remorseless - and, in fact, sociopathic - mindset that it not only tolerated, but outright celebrated, all the while wearing suits that cost more than most North American families made in a month...and being proud of it. Here, we get to watch a starting Corporate PC - Resources +1 - deal with someone who's got Resources +11 (impossible, yes, but this is an NPC, remember), and who can vault them into corporate Valhalla or consign them to oblivion with the flick of a finger.

Getting back to the show itself, the gossip mill on AM 640 stated that The Hair - Donald, sorry, Donald - claims that all the women on the show have flirted with him: consciously or unconsciously. Nice to see that he's maintained enough presence of mind to comport himself like the dignitary of masculinity that he is. My question: What about the fact that he's apparently on the verge of bankruptcy with a number of his hotel and real estate dealings?

Again, Mr. Phelps: the Secretary denies all knowledge of what actually goes on in these shows. Honest Injun. This post will self-destruct in thirty seconds.

[REG]

Refresh my memory, what prize are they vying for?

[Don Mappin]

President of one of Trump's companies. (A failing one, I'd imagine -- nothing to lose.)

[REG]

Sooo...

The winner gets to be the president of a (failing?) company, and he has gawd knows how many months (perhaps a year?) to turn things around or The Donald will have to cut his loss.

How much is the yearly salary?