Plot: What’s it about?
Two words that nobody ever likes to hear and two that give Donald Trump pleasure to say. Mark Burnett, creator of “Survivor” and his own “Eco Challenge” decided that his grip on reality television wasn’t quite strong enough. So where do you go when you’re already at the top? Well, teaming up with billionaire and media mogul Donald Trump is a good start. It’s been over four years since we saw Richard Hatch win $1 million on the island of Borneo and now we have reality shows that range from “The Anna Nicole Show” to “The Amazing Race”. Naturally there’s varying degrees of how entertaining that these shows can actually be before they start to lose their luster and Burnett seems to know what America wants (when it comes to reality TV at least). For those who don’t like “Survivor” there comes “The Apprentice”, an asphalt jungle version of Burnett’s other show. Naturally this time Manhattan is the island instead of Fiji. Focused on the corporate go-getters, “The Apprentice” takes 16 individuals who are hungry to climb the corporate ladder. Trump gives the winner a one year contract as CEO of one of his companies to the winner, firing everyone else who fails to make the cut. An amazing 215,000+ people supposedly applied for this show, but coming from Trump, we never know if it’s the truth or not. Nevertheless, the show was a runaway success and America is gearing up for “The Apprentice 2” as we speak (though this will feature 18 contestants as will the new “Survivor”).
One of the great things about reality TV is that it’s like a soap-opera in that you only have to watch one episode to really know how it works and become totally addicted. Such is the case for “The Apprentice” in which we meet 16 contestants ranging from Troy, an Idaho-based land broker with only a High School education to Kwame who holds a degree from Harvard Business School. What do all of these people have in common, you ask? They all want to work for “The Donald”. The show is essentially a 13 Week job interview in which the two teams of 8 (women versus the men) are assigned tasks. Whichever team makes the most money while accomplishing their task reaps the rewards of the Trump lifestyle (a round of golf at one of his courses and a helicopter ride around Manhattan to name a few). The losing team, however, has to meet with Trump and two of his trusted executives where one member of the team is summarily fired. And, in a nutshell, that’s it. It’simple, fun and totally addictive. As the cast is whittled down (and the women dominate early on), we get drawn into who’s doing what and who’s just completely insane (Omorosa). The tasks range from selling Lemonade to organizing a Jessica Simpson concert. Why these people put themselves through this I don’t know but it’s fun to watch. I’d get used to seeing Trump’s mug on TV as the show was a success and casting is already being done for a third season. Though unlike the exotic locales of “Survivor”, expect all of these to take place in the Big Apple. The Donald would have it no other way.
Video: How does it look?
All of the episodes are shown in their 4:3 full-frame format which is consistent with how they were aired last Fall. With the increase in HD programming, I’m looking forward to the day when reality shows might be presented in widescreen (and with the DVD release, anamorphic widescreen). But, I’m sure it’s a lot cheaper to produce these shows as is. Still, these look incredibly sharp and the colors are bright and vivid. There’s a bit of edge enhancement in some scenes, but nothing too bad. The great thing about new to DVD shows is that they generally look better on DVD than they did when they aired (a novel concept, I know). Though it would be nice to see The Donald in 16:9 we’ll just have to settle for 1.33:1 for now.
Audio: How does it sound?
I have to say that I was somewhat surprised at the Dolby Surround track. The opening sequence (as well as the menus) have a jazzy, hip song (that seems like it was made in about 1992) to it and it sounds good. Most of the show is dialogue driven and we can hear most, if not all, in good quality. A number of the contestants are from New York and, as such, we hear the “bleeps” from their potty mouths in utmost clarity as well. No major complaints here as we get what we expect.
Supplements: What are the extras?
In this day when DVD’s come out practically bare bones and then a future “Special Edition” is released, “The Apprentice” has been done right the first time. This five disc set has the fifth disc entirely devoted to supplements. We start off with “The Future: A Look Ahead” which is a preview of “The Apprentice 2” which starts in a few weeks. This is neat as of right now because the show hasn’t aired yet, but like this review will be in a few months, it’s easily dated and I can’t image the appeal further on down the road. “The Boss: Donald Trump on ‘The Apprentice’” shares what he thinks of the show and the competitors who are all vying for a spot in one of his companies. Only “The Donald” tells it like it is and his perspective is…unique. There are some deleted scenes that don’t offer much, we see Jessie cleaning the bathroom and learn that she’s obsessive/compulsive (oh, really) and the girls go out to a club after their third victory and party the night away. These aren’t really needed though it is nice to have them included on the set. The contestants’ final words are all compiled (they’re shown during the credits of the show when they’re fired, too) and we can see them in their entirety. “Donald-isms” is merely a collection of things that he’s said from the show. The screen goes black and words come across like “Location, location, location” where Donald will elaborate on the importance of location, etc. Again, nice to have but a bit redundant.
George and Carolyn, Donald’s two sidekicks, offer their advice for future go-getters. This ranges from how you should prep your resume to what you should or shouldn’t say in an interview. I don’t know how well this will work in real life, but I’d trust them over most people…We then get to meet the candidates, seeing parts of their audition tape (the whole audition tapes are included as well), their semi-finalist interview and then a pre-show interview. Watch these after you’ve watched the show as you know them better and it’s funny to see how they all started out. Bill and Kwame offer their insights in “The Job Offer” which is basically a “where are they now” sort of thing. Suffice it to say, I don’t want to give away who wins, but both are doing well. “Creating ‘The Apprentice’” has an interview with creator Mark Burnett, most widely known for being the creator of “Survivor”. Burnett tells how he came up with the idea of the show while in the Amazon filming “Survivor: Amazon” and also tells how he recruited Trump and thus – the show was born. Lastly, we have a music video “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” which plays over the opening credits as well as a preview of the Sylvester Stallone/Mark Burnett production “The Contender”. Tons of extras compliment this great and unique show and it’s hard not to recommend a purchase.
