The Apprentice

Categories: Reality television series | NBC network shows | 2000s TV shows in the United States | The Apprentice

This article refers to the reality series, for the episode of Xiaolin Showdown see The Apprentice (Xiaolin Showdown).

This article refers to the reality series, for the book written by I. Lewis Libby see The Apprentice (Book).

The Apprentice is a reality television show that originated in the United States on NBC. The show is hosted by a well-known business person (Donald Trump or Martha Stewart in the U.S. version) and the final prize is a well paying job in one of the businesses run by the host.

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 two 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 one of the three is fired.

American version

The first season aired during the winter and the spring of 2004. The Apprentice is produced by Mark Burnett Productions in association with Trump Productions LLC. Mark Burnett and real estate and entertainment magnate Donald Trump are executive producers. Trump is 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 comes with a 1-year contract and a starting yearly salary of 250,000 USD. Trump is now well known for his 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).

The show's theme song is "For the Love of Money" by The O'Jays.

A new spin off, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart follows the same concept, with Martha Stewart in the big seat. It debuted in fall of 2005, following Stewart's release from prison and home detention.

Seasons

• Season one (winter and spring 2004)
• Season two (autumn 2004 and winter 2004)
• Season three (January 20–May 19, 2005)
• Season four (premiered September 22, 2005)
• Season five (applications in progress)
• The Apprentice: Martha Stewart (premiered September 21, 2005)

Criticism

The chief criticism of U.S. version of The Apprentice is that the challenges often amount to nothing more than commercials. 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 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 sponsors.

Other countries

Brazilian version

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 open 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 is now being shown by both networks.

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 R$250,000 yearly job.

For the grand finale, Justus told everybody that the production of O Aprendiz 2 had started.

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 "Estoy 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 the winner of the first season.

Finland

Television mogul 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.

Currently there are no plans for a second season.

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 the winner of the first season and Sandra was the runner up.

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 in October 3rd, 2005 every Monday on 21.30 Western Indonesian Time.

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 language version from Dubai. The show hasn't started yet.

South Africa

The South African version is hosted by Tokyo Sexwale.

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 the winner 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 in the United Kingdom. He ranks 25 on The Sunday Times list of richest people in Great Britain. His catchphrase is also "You're fired". Unlike the US version, the show also has an unseen narrator, Mark Halliley. The show started on 16 February 2005 on BBC2, with the final episode shown on 4 May 2005. It was won by Tim Campbell, a former transport manager for the London Underground who received a position at Amstrad with a £100,000 salary. Saira Khan was the runner-up. [1]

A second series is currently being planned once again starring Sir Alan Sugar. You can visit the official website here.

Spin-offs

The Apprentice: Martha Stewart

On February 2, 2005, NBC announced that they would broadcast the first spin-off from The Apprentice, called The Apprentice: 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 has gotten off to less than spectacular ratings. At the same time, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart has really struggled in the ratings. This has prompted Trump to claim that there is "confusion" between the two shows. There has also been talk that Trump did not want Stewart to host the spin-off show.

Similar programs

• The Assistant, with Andy Dick, an MTV-produced parody.
• The Benefactor, with Mark Cuban of the NBA Dallas Mavericks
• The Cut with Tommy Hilfiger
• Fire Me... Please/The Sack Race, where contestants try to get fired from their job
• Hell's Kitchen with Gordon Ramsay
• The Law Firm with Roy Black
• My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss, a parody and hoax
• The Rebel Billionaire, with Richard Branson of the Virgin Group

External links

• Reality TV Magazine: The Apprentice
• NBC.com: The Apprentice season 1, season 2, season 3, season 4 (official websites)
• NBC.com: The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
• The Apprentice Rules: Unofficial site with a lot of information on Donald Trump and Martha Stewart editions.
• The site for the UK version on the BBC
• The site for the South African version on SABC3
• The site for the German version on RTL
• The site for the Colombian version on Canal Caracol
• O Aprendiz - The Brazilian version of The Apprentice (Portuguese language)
• The site for the Finnish version on MTV3
• The site for the Indonesian
• Reality TV at survivor.com - Trump
• Reality TV at survivor.com - Martha
• Profile of Apprentice 4 Contestants from New York

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