The first season of The Apprentice was compelling television and wound up being better than it had any right to be. Despite the usual boisterous nature of Mr. Trump it could be suggested that no one beyond he, Mark Burnett and Jeff Zucker imagined that the show would be the phenomenon it has. Predictably, the second season of the show came out this fall, with a third installment soon to follow. It has taken the path of another one of Burnett’s shows, Survivor, and has become a ratings juggernaut. Sadly though, this second season pales in comparison to the first, and the reasons are predictable. One only needs to look at another flop in the world of entertainment to see the problem.
The flop in question is actually two things, both of the same entity, the Matrix second and third films. The first Matrix was an unexpected smash hit that combined a truly compelling story with mind blowing visual effects that set the standard for years to come. It was never expected to make huge money and when it did it set the wheels in motion for parts 2 and 3, which were filmed back to back and in secrecy but promised huge surprises. What resulted was a combined six hours of nonsensical drivel, boring visuals and a dark shadow cast upon the greatness of the first movie. While The Apprentice is not shrouded in nearly the same amount of secrecy, the words secret and Trump do not go together, the show is still setting up to be a disappointment, at least in the eyes of this viewer.
The problems were apparent right away, in the person of Caroline, one of Trump’s associates on the show. In the first year, no one knew who Caroline was, what she did, what she was like. She was the somewhat quiet blond lady sitting next to The Donald who at times gave very observant statements and could surprise you with her sometimes ruthless candor. In essence, she was a pleasant surprise in her real ability to snuff out those who were good and those who were putting on a show. This season Caroline is totally different. If ever there were a case of fame going to someone’s head, she is the poster child for it. From the first boardroom there was Caroline, talking as much as Trump, being mean, telling people to shut up, it was laughable. Perhaps that is how she really is and she was reluctant to come out of her shell in the first season, either way, she has become totally unlikable and I cringe when I see her on the screen.
We must address the “Bradford” situation as well. For this is the moment that officially turned me off the show, though I still watch, it is in hopes of mocking rather than enjoying. Bradford was fired in Week 2 for saying he would give up his exempt status cause he was confident that he would not get fired. His move made some sense. Trump had just gotten done complimenting him for being the best member of the team and that he had really shone brightly thus far. Furthermore, his teammates all agreed leading Bradford to assume he would be safe. In fact, the real culprit in his demise was not he, but team leader Ivana who chose him for the boardroom. She was given the chance to take 2 or 3, and she chose 3, for no reason, and selected Bradford as the 3rd, for no reason. Why even bring him in there? Moving on, for all the talk Trump gave about how dumb of a move it was for Bradford to give up immunity, it paled in comparison to the outright animosity everyone had for Stacie J, including Mr. Trump himself. So when it came time to fire someone, should it have been Bradford, who made a wrong decision but one that was minor in reality, or Stacie J, the one who alienated her entire time, failed on the mission and generally seemed mentally unstable? The answer was of course Bradford, but for none of those reasons. The reason behind his firing was ratings, pure and simple. Trump chose to create an exciting television moment to spike ratings instead of making the right business decision. Now I take no illusion to the fact that this show is not like the real world, but I would hope that those involved, Mr. Trump included, wouldn’t be so blatantly obvious in their motivations. Everyone knows that the more compelling the personality the better chance for success on a reality show, but never before has it been so transparent, so obvious, so, dumb. Frankly, I expected more, and maybe that’s my fault as much as theirs.
The final point, or nail in the coffin if you will, was the most recent firing of Jen for incompetence and her later dismissal from her real life job due to comments made on the show. It should be plainly said that she was wrong to referring to the women as “Old Jewish ladies” in a derogatory manner and she should’ve have known better, especially with cameras rolling. However, the problem lies not in the fact she was fired, she should have been regardless of her comment, it’s the coverage she has received after the firing. We now are reading in depth articles about her family and employment history, hearing comments from co-workers from six years ago, all of which leading to the big story that she lost her job in real life. This is what we call “Maximum Saturation.” It’s the point where a subject gets so much attention that the backlash is inevitable. Although the coverage is about Jen, it really is about The Apprentice, and it has achieved critical mass in only the 4th episode of its second season. At least with Survivor, it took to the All Star game and the “match made in television heaven” of Rob and Amber for it to reach that level. They got a solid six seasons out of it before people got tired.
Therein lies the problem for The Apprentice. After one and a quarter season, it has shot its load, given us the best it has to offer and now is becoming a parody of itself. Like other Trump ventures, it is now doomed for failure, and sadly the ride wound up being way too brief.
