I made the mistake of watching "The Apprentice" last night

[underpants]

IT takes something special to get through my thick skin but last night was one of the worst things I have ever seen on TV.

There was a contestant on "The Apprentice" named Brent-overweight lawyer whom everyone completely hated. He was portrayed as being slack, forever eating, always late, completely undependable...all this after 3 weeks of the show (last night was the 4th).

LAst week a woman who looked to have altered herself to purposely look as much like Heather Graham as possible (with HUGE oversized boobs) was fired. There is also a guy who looks remarkably like Orlando Bloom.

The show followed normal reality show formula as it featured Brent offering commentary throughout-see anyone who is shown to poke their neck out is 90% of the time GONE on that show. Brent had already been made out as the bad guy so there was no need to establish that any further.

The losing team (a cereal billboard contest) were taken into "the boardroom". Usually the team leader picks 3 or 4 of their losing team to stay and they have it out and "Mr.Trump" fires one of them. The competition is to see who amongst these go getters will get a $250,000 a year job in the Trump organization. Last night it all started as it normally does and then Brent pipes up and goes on the attack. This was a bad idea since he was being left out of it and he had no role in their losing the competition.

What followed was just plain cruel.

-One of my main pet peeves is debasing or lowering people and that goes double if you are just doing it as sport or to make yourself feel/look better-

Trump and his daughter ( don't get me started on that subject) and the entire team jumped on this guy .

They went on for five full minutes about how horrible this guy was as a person not just in the game.

Seems that since one contestant is a "multi-millionaire" she necessarily knows more than he does (they said twice that he only made $50K this as a lawyer). Well if the is true, why have the competition? Just line up the 16 people and compare their net worth and *POOF* clearly someone is the best capitalist simply from the numbers.

Did they have this guy, Brent, on the show for just this reason?

One of the tag lines on this show is "It's not personal it's just business" well this was very evidently personal and that includes Trump himself.

If this woman is a "multi-millionaire" why is she going through 16 weeks of this for a $250K in NYC? as part of someone else's organization?

Trump actually called the guy a "loser" on national TV. That was it for me. I have to say he took it (the whole time) a lot better than I would have but then I wouldn't have been in that situation for several reasons.

The whole thing was disgusting.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. I wouldn't work for Trump for a billion dollars.

In fact, if he talked to me like that, I'd kick him in the face until I was knee-deep in blood. :mad:

[underpants]

3. Well I had watched one of the seasons before this one

The part that kills me is the God like status they assign to Trump. Okay he is "rich" well at least for now (actually the TV show has probably got him set up in a position that would foster the image of...having a TV show) but taking over the family empire is not really a Horatio Algier story now is it?

Most of the contestants have much more business acumen than he does. At least from what I have seen.

[LynneSin]

6. Oh I would

because that means I'm probably worth more than Trump and I would use that Billion dollars to buy him out and throw him out on the street

[Ravenseye]

2. He did himself no favors

I agree though. For weeks they've made him out to be a lazy fat overeating slacker with crazy ideas. Who knows, maybe that really is him and he's nuts. Still, why was he even there then? Was he the William Hung of this season's Apprentice?

I didn't like the whole "Well she's a multi-millionare so she must be better than you." thing either. I would have come back and said "Mr. Trump do you think working for low pay as a public defender helping out the people who can't afford multi-million dollar legal teams like you is a suckers job? Sure she made more money than me, but really at the end of the day is that what it's only about, money?"

Anyway I have very little respect for the people on that team. As a small business owner myself I find the show something of a joke for a couple of reasons, but still i watch.

1) Trump has the weirdest predilictions and things that sometimes sway his decisions in stupid ways. He also doesn't seem to understand the difference between making an excuse and giving an explanation. If you fail he doesn't want to know why, even if you admit culpability. I think that's a huge problem. A key factor of success is learning from mistakes.

2) The things they have them do are usually marketing or PR related. It's rare they do something that isn't a creative task in some regard. Why no simulations of labor negotiations? Why not bring in some Union reps and put the teams in a situation where they have to negotate and get a settlement within a certain time limit in order to keep a construction project moving along? Judging people by how they function while setting up a technology showpiece at a retirement home or creating a banner for post cereals is nearly meaningless. You can judge the project manager for how she manages people, but otherwise...you're hiring an exectutive not a graphics designer or a party planner.

[underpants]

4. Point 2 is excellent

Sitting and watching it -during the commercial- my wife and I (accounting degrees she also has a fashion degree) came up with the idea of a guy in a suit climbing a NYC skyscraper and a box of the cereal in a backpack. Okay we just riffed that out and needed only a selling line.

They are all PR and marketing because that makes for visual TV. I would guess that is the reason. I would agree that even a logistics problem (say coordinated JIT shipments or pipe and fittings) would be more practical probably more stressful too but then that isn't as exciting as hosting a luncheon at a polo club where Tony Bennett is going to sing no is it?

I think the whole thing serves more to promote Trump more than anything.

I understand that this is supposed to be the crude capitalist competition but does having money in your pocket mean you really are the most talented? HOW did you acquire that wealth? Does that matter?


BTW_ I read his bio but TELL ME that Lenny isn't Uzbekistan mafia.

[Love Bug]

5. This is why I quit watching this show

Trump is a capricious asshole and I wouldn't work for him for all the tea in China. I also think he is the worst possible example of what to emulate in business. I agree with the post above about some issues being more important than money but Trump only cares about the bottom line, not how you get there.

[LynneSin]

7. This is a man who said he would date Ivanka if she wasn't his daughter

and also made some derogatory comments about his third wife Melania being all bloated & fat when she was like 5-6 months pregnant.

Someone needs to neuter this man so he stops populating the earth with his sperm. You can pretty much guarentee that his current wife will replaced in about 5-6 years and the next wife will pop out a few kids too

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. That's assuming anyone would still want to sleep with him.. or maybe they

get a doctor to help these days?

[underpants]

9. I have a whacked out theory about trophy wives

it involves fake pregnancies and host bodies for their offspring.

See I told you it was whacked out.

[LynneSin]

10. If you're filthy rich, you can be fat, bald & ugly with a nasty combover

And still get hot models to date you.

SEriously, if this guy made $60k/year you think he'd be married to a hot model?

[Radio_Guy]

16. If he made $60K a year

with that personality, he would have a hard time being married to anyone with half a brain. Most would tell him to hit the road.

[Squatch]

11. Why would one of the contestants, who's worth "millions and millions"

want to work for Trump?

[underpants]

12. That's what I asked

Is it a stepping stone position? Is her business on such a footing that she doesn't have to be there?

BTW-she isn't going to win either (not that she is EVIL or anything) she dies her hair red and just doesn't have the look.

[Squatch]

13. I hit reply before I read your OP.

I hate it when I do that.

I'm rooting for Lenny.

[TreasonousBastard]

14. I can't watch it...

I just can't. Trump makes me ill, and the whole premise of the thing is flawed-- it's just a publicity stunt for Trump. I'm constantly amazed at his ability for self-promotion that manages to get him out of the holes he digs for himself. What does he own now, 5% of his former empire, with all operational control taken away from him by his creditors? I'd be mildly interested to see just what his net worth really is. During the Ivana divorce, some thought the settlement checks would bounce.

Remember, after generations of rich kids losing their inheritances in gambling houses, Trump is the first one in history to lose his inheritance RUNNING a gambling house. And he did it twice!

Reminds me a bit of our President-like object.

[graywarrior]

15. Bad enough dealing with The Donald, but throw in the family

business concept and I'd be the hell out of there. Daughter never shuts her mouth for a minute. Saw her on some talk show. Holy shit, talk about self absorbed.