The Apprentice

This article refers to the reality TV show starring Donald Trump. For the meaning of the word "apprentice", see apprenticeship. For other uses, see The Apprentice (disambiguation).

The Apprentice is a reality television show that originated in the United States on NBC. The show is hosted by Donald Trump and the final prize is a job with a starting contract of one year at a hefty six-figure salary.

Premise

Each season begins with a group of contestants with backgrounds in various enterprises, typically including real estate, restaurant management, political consulting, sales, and marketing. During the show, these contestants live in a communal house, allowing their relationships to build. They are placed into teams, and each week are assigned a task and required to select a project manager for the task. The winning team receives a reward, while the losing team faces a boardroom showdown in order to determine which team member should be fired (eliminated from the show).

Elimination proceeds in two stages. In the first stage, all of the losing team's members are confronted. The project manager is asked to select up to three (one, two, or three) of the team members who are believed to be most responsible for the loss. In the second stage, the rest of the team is dismissed, and the project manager and the selected members face a final confrontation in which at least one of the two-to-four is fired. However, if one or two candidates do especially badly on the task, then Donald will fire that candidate right on the spot, which has happened to only eleven people so far: Elizabeth in Season 2, Brian in Season 3, Toral in Season 4, and Brent, Lenny, Andrea, Charmaine, Tarek, Tammy, Roxanne, and Allie all in Season 5. If all candidates in the final boardroom confrontation did badly, all of them will be fired, which has happened twice in season 4, and once in season 5.

When the final candidates are left, an interview process begins, involving executives from various companies who interview each of the finalists and report their assessments of them to the host. After that, a firing takes place. In the event four are left, a double firing occurs. Seasons 4 and 5 were the only exceptions to this rule. In Season 4, interviews were used to eliminate one from a final pool of three; in Season 5, there were no final interviews, as Allie and Roxanne were fired together, cutting the final four down to the final two and eliminating the need for interviews. The final two are then assigned different tasks, along with support teams comprised of previously fired candidates. After the tasks are done, a final boardroom occurs, with testimonials from the team members and a last chance for the final two candidates to prove themselves to the target CEO. Finally, the CEO hires one of the two candidates to become his/her new apprentice. The opening theme music used on the show is "For The Love Of Money" by the O'Jays. The background music is written by David Vanacore, Mark T Williams and Jeff Lippencott.

American version

The first season aired during the winter and the spring of 2004. The Apprentice is produced by Mark Burnett and real estate magnate Donald Trump, with Trump as the host. The premise of the show, which bills itself as the "ultimate job interview," is to conduct a job talent search for a person to head one of Trump's companies. The position starts with an "Introductory" 1-year contract with a starting yearly salary exceeding six figures ($250,000 USD to be exact, roughly about $4807.70 USD per week assuming a 52-week workyear). The show led Trump to become known for his fateful catch phrase, "You're fired!"

The contestants live communally in a suite at Trump Tower in Manhattan and the boardroom showdown is with Trump and two of his associates (usually Carolyn Kepcher, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager for the Trump National Golf Club, and George H. Ross, Executive Vice President and Senior Counsel, The Trump Organization).

A spin-off, Martha Stewart followed the same concept, with Martha Stewart as the host and eventual employer. It debuted in fall of 2005, following Stewart's release from prison and home detention. Due to poor ratings, the show was not renewed for a second season.

Seasons

Season one (January 8–April 15, 2004)
Season two (September 9–December 16, 2004)
Season three (January 20–May 19, 2005)
Season four (September 22–December 15, 2005)
Season five (February 27–June 5, 2006)
Season six (filming in progress and airs in January 2007)
Season seven (January 2008)

Martha Stewart (September 21–December 21, 2005)

Ratings

The finales for the first five seasons have attracted progressively smaller audiences:

Season one: 27.6 million
Season two: 16.9 million
Season three: 14 million
Season four: 11.8 million
Season five: 11.19 million
Season six: unknown
Season seven: unknown

Criticism

US version

The chief criticism of the U.S. version of The Apprentice is that the challenges often amount to nothing more than commercials and product placements. This became more evident starting from the second season. The companies that have supplied challenges to the show include Planet Hollywood, Lamborghini, Domino's Pizza, Staples, Bally, Burger King, Yahoo!, Nestle, Visa, Sony, Home Depot, Microsoft and many others. These companies pay NBC to showcase their brands on the show, and usually the challenges revolve around the teams marketing existing or new products for the sponsorsRebecca Lieb (2005). "Apprentice" Advertisers Share Their Numbers Retrieved Feb. 24 2006. The second half of the show is usually set entirely in the boardroom, which typically degenerates into finger-pointing and name calling amongst the contestants.

There is also controversy regarding the jobs given to the hired Apprentices. Instead of becoming the CEO of one of Trump's companies, the winners of the show are hired as PR spokesmen for Trump and his brand. For example, Kelly Perdew, winner of the second season has been reported as working at a desk "in a small, windowless space next to the assistant to Donald Trump's wife. It was reported that Kelly's mainly involved in Sales and Marketing rather than the so called President/CEO role." ^*

Video game

Legacy Interactive created a video game version of The Apprentice for the PC. It features Donald Trump and his advisors, as well as past candidates, and will play exactly the same way as the real show.

The game is currently available on Yahoo! Games.

Martha Stewart

On February 2, 2005, NBC announced that they would broadcast the first spin-off from The Apprentice, called Martha Stewart. The show, which premiered on September 21, 2005 is hosted by Martha Stewart, who was the first woman in the world to become a self-made billionaire. It keeps the general format of the original series, with the show tailored to fit Stewart's personality. Trump is one of the executive producers of the show, where applicants were reviewed from castings in 27 cities all across the United States.

The fourth season of The Apprentice earned less than spectacular ratings, while The Apprentice: Martha Stewart struggled. Trump claimed that there was "confusion" between the two shows. There has also been talk that Trump did not want Stewart to host the spin-off show. NBC announced that it would not bring back the show for a second season, although the network stressed that the show was initially planned as a one-season endeavor.

Other countries

Belgium

In Belgium, VT4 broadcasted 'De Topmanager' on March 1, 2006.

Brazil

O Aprendiz, a Brazilian version of The Apprentice hosted by marketing business man Roberto Justus, premiered on November 4, 2004. People+Arts (a cable channel that broadcasts The Apprentice in Latin America) and Rede Record (a Brazilian broadcasting network) teamed up with Fremantle Media to create the show. The show is aired twice a week with new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. People+Arts shows the episode 8:00pm while Rede Record shows it with a two-hour delay. The last episode aired on December 23, 2004 on a live show, with parts recorded earlier (the last task and a part of the board room). Justus' catchphrase is "Você está demitido" ("you're fired"). The second season of the show was shown in 2005.

The final two were Denis and Vivianne. On the last task both of them had to organize two charity auctions. Vivianne got 45% more money than Denis. Another point that was brought up on the board room was that when asked by Roberto Justus himself to change the day of the auction, while Vivianne accept the idea right away, Denis did not.

By the end of the show, Justus decided Vivianne should be The Apprentice, and just like the U.S. version, when he told her he hired her the whole stage opened showing a live audience and all the others candidate's as well as Vivianne's family run to hug her and gave her a tee shirt with the saying "I'm hired".

Justus then told Vivianne she wouldn't leave in a taxi like the ones who lost the show, but she would leave driving her new Class A Mercedes Benz. He also showed her in which of his enterprises she would work on her new ^*]250,000 yearly job.

Due to success of this show, another Brazilian version of The Apprentice was aired, Porcel being the winner.

Colombia

Hosted By Jean-Claude Bessudo, a French-born tourism entrepreneur. The show first aired in May 2005 on Canal Caracol. The Spanish version is called El Aprendiz (literal translation from the original show's name). The show's catchphrase is "Estás despedido!" (You're fired!).

Denmark

Hosted by Klaus Riskaer Pedersen in the Danish version. Pedersen's catchphrase is "Du er fyret" ("you're fired"). Louise Holm was hired at the end of the first season.

Finland

Jari Sarasvuo hosted the Finnish version, called Diili (slang term for "deal"). The Finnish catchphrase is "Olet vapautettu", or "You're free to leave". Olli Rikala was the winner of the first season. First season was flop, so no more seasons made.

Germany

In the fall of 2004, German TV station RTL aired an adaption of The Apprentice on German television called Big Boss. The show was hosted by former soccer manager Reiner Calmund and only scored fair to poor ratings. The catchphrase was "Sie haben frei", or "you are excused". Carmen was hired at the end of the first season and Sandra wound up getting fired at the end of the first season.

Greece

Publishing tycoon Petros Kostopoulos hosts the Greek version, where the catchphrase is "Efiges", which is slang for "you're out."

Indonesia

Media mogul Peter Gontha is the host. The show, the first Apprentice spin-off in Asia, started on October 3rd, 2005, and aired every Monday on 21.30 Western Indonesian Time (GMT +7) on the television station Indostar. According to the show's official website, the apprentice winner, a 29-year old male whose name is Fendi Gunawan Liem, will be earning a salary of 600 million Rupiahs, equivalent to about USD 66,000. The catchphrase is "Anda saya pecat", or "you are fired"

The Netherlands

High-profile barrister Bram Moszkowicz offered a highly paid position ("the new Moszkowicz") in his law firm in AVRO's show De Nieuwe Moszkowicz. The show focused much on the character of Moszkowicz, a flamboyant man known for defending a number of very unpopular figures, most notably Desi Bouterse.

Norway

Produced for network TVNORGE, this was notable for being the first Apprentice spinoff in Europe. Hairdressing mogul Inger Ellen Nicolaisen hosted the first season of the Norwegian version. The show is titled Kandidaten (The Candidate), and the catchphrase is "Du har sparken" ("you're fired").

Pan-Arab

Real estate tycoon Mohamed Ali Allabar hosts the Arabic version from Dubai called " el idara jadara". The show hasn't started yet on LBC lebanon.

Russia

In Russia the show is called "Kandidat" (The Candidate) and is broadcast on the TNT channel. The first season in 2005 was hosted by restaurant tycoon Arkadi Novikov, and the winner was hired as the CEO for one of Novikov's companies. The second season in late summer of 2006 will be hosted by the mining, banking and property tycoon Vladimir Potanin. According to Forbes magazine, Potanin's personal wealth is $7.6 billion as of 2006, which makes him three times richer than Donald Trump and the richest host of any version of the show so far.

South Africa

The South African version is hosted by Tokyo Sexwale. During the live finale September 22, Mr. Sexwale hired the final two -- Zanele Batyashe, 24, and Khomotso Choma, 34, which not only elicited anger from viewers, but also resulted in complaints across the country after the announcement was made. This incident inspired an incident in US Series 4, but US Series 4 winner Randal Pinkett recommended Mr. Trump not to do so (See US Series 4), something which may have been inspired by this incident. [http://www.news24.com/News24/Entertainment/Local/0,,2-1225-1242_1805211,00.html

Switzerland

Swiss publishing mogul Jürg Marquard hosts the show, which first aired in April 2005 on SF1. The show is titled Traum Job (Dream Job), and the catchphrase is "Sie sind duss" ("You are out"). Martin was ultimately hired at the end of the first season.

Turkey

Turkey's version is hosted by one of that country's most successful businessmen, Tuncay Özilhan the CEO of Anadolu Group. The show is titled Cırak (The Apprentice), and the catchphrase is "Seninle calısmak istemiyorum!" ("I do not want to work with you"). Ahmet Isik was the winner of the first season.

United Kingdom

Sir Alan Sugar, founder of electronics company Amstrad, hosts the show The Apprentice UK in the United Kingdom. He ranks 71st on The Sunday Times Rich List 2006 list of richest people in Great Britain, with an estimated worth of around £800m. His catchphrase is "You're fired". Unlike the US version, the show also has an unseen narrator, Mark Halliley. The show started on 16 February 2005 on BBC TWO, with the final episode shown on 4 May 2005. Tim Campbell, a former transport manager for the London Underground, was ultimately hired on May 4, 2005, and as a result, landed a position at Amstrad with an introductory contract of 1 year with a salary exceeding £100,000. Saira Khan was fired on the season finaleStory about the winner of the BBC edition from the BBC but has used the show to help launch a media career including a regular column on the BBC Apprentice website.

Series 2 of The Apprentice UK began on Wednesday 22nd February 2006 at 9pm and ended on Wednesday 10th May 2006, with the winner being Michelle Dewberry, chosen over Ruth Badger.

Oddly, despite the RTL Group licence (RTL Group holds international licence rights for the show worldwide), and the show being produced by RTL's Talkback Thames, the UK opening theme is Dance of the Knights from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, with the Boardroom music provided by UK artist Dru Masters.

India - has started 'Business Bazigar' on the same format on Zee TV