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how Donald Trump became my latest guilty pleasure.....
Published on March 17, 2004 By Sean Conners aka SConn1 In Movies & TV & Books
Tomorrow night, Donald Trump will offer us his latest installment of his surprise hit show, "The Apprentice." Trump has been pulling in big crowds for his 13 week job interview, and as someone who literally got "sucked into" this show, I can see why.

His premise is simple enough. He brought in 16 young executive wannabees who would give their right arm seemingly to take abuse from "The Donald" on a daily basis for a cool 250K a year. And to say these young go-getters want this job is a harsh understatement.

While it is fun but sometimes frustrating to watch the next generation of Gordon Geckos sell their souls to win a reward from Don like some Pavlovian dog, it are those rewards themselves that are a true highlight of the show. Not quite the highlight of Trump staring at some kid he just made feel 2 feet tall and billowing "you're fired!" for all the world to see, but a highlight none the less.

It is true, these rewards show off some of the best things about New York. Trump also does an excellent job of showing off his city throughout the show as well. He often will meet the kids at some pristine location like the stock exchange or other New York mecca of something. When he took the kids to the skating rink I actually was a little moved when he told the story of rennovating the place after years of city neglect.

Sure, I could do without Trump bragging about his tacky gold apartment. But then I think to myself, "if I could live like that in total gawdiness, why not." Of course, Don's pompousness with his high rise penthouse is mild compared to his obvious refusal to believe that the top of his head no longer grows hair.

Maybe one of the secret things that makes people tune in to The Apprentice is how Trump shows off the fact that his city is quite alive and well to all those who are afraid or just haven't visited the big apple since September 2001. At the very least, Don's obvious and genuine pride in his city I think help make this show a hit.

Of course, it's also because it's fun to watch those kids try to out market the other team and try to show up one another. I haven't always agreed with Trump's decisions, not so much in the firing choices, but in his ignoring both ethical and legal standards the teams used to achieve their reward and avoid the boardroom.

For example, I thought the girl's team used sex way too much long before Trump chastized them. I thought the guys had the better ad campaign on the 2nd episode. I thought Amoroso should have been long gone weeks earlier when she lost the money as the team accountant. But the worst one was when the girls blatantly broke both company policy and state laws regarding drinking on the job at Planet Hollywood. I thought Trump should have had the guys win by default for that bad judgement. I thought that the lesson of staying within the law was more important than the win at any cost motto that Trump was promoting was more relevant. Especially in today's business climate.

But i'll be tuning in tomorrow...and in case you are wondering, I think the best candidates are Troy the good ol boy and Bill the cigar store owner.


Comments
on Mar 18, 2004
Who do you think will get the sack tonight? I'm thinking Katrina or Nick, depending on whose team loses.

This is the only reality show I've ever gotten inot, and I love it!
on Mar 18, 2004
well, tonight wsa a clip show unfortunately,,,but i think the next to go will be kwame (who hasn't done squat since day 1) or katrina.


sean:)
on Mar 29, 2004
well,,,i made the call on Katrin (as did Jill) a,,,lucky for kwame his tema won, despite him not really doing anything,,,again.

now it's the couple who is seemingly using each other to win against bill , who i think is the best, troy, who i would have selling for my company any day, but not in charge of it...and their liability in kwame.

if someone held a gun to my head, i would say Bill deserves the job,,,even tho amy has a better record, he still impresses me more. i think both could run a company, but i trust and respect bill a little more inherently...but that may just be a personal bias.