By
Michael Sophocles
I was discussing only today with a friend of mine how little coverage the Apprentice has received this year from the media. Is this because there is very little scandal surrounding the candidates that can not be embellished and placed emphatically in a red top newspaper?
Well this is very possibly the case, coupled with the public relations company keeping a tighter reign on the exploits of the competitors, The Apprentice this year seems a little more understated than normal.
The main contributing factor towards the show feeling a tiny bit more unsung than usual is of course the presence of three major reality television shows challenging for space in the press.
The X Factor is the tabloids’ favourite chocolate bar of choice so to speak and The Apprentice is more like a small complimentary mint that one has after dinner in comparison.
This is of course makes Lord Sugar a happy Lord in deed as he wished to remove the celebrity aspect from the show entirely while maintaining its entertainment value. Whether this can be done or not is something that I can not answer.
All I can say is that this weeks’ episode was as flat as the screen with which they were trying to promote.
The task and the boardroom that followed were devoid of any real excitement saved only by the bombastic irritant Stuart Baggs who has to be loathed and loved in equal measures by Apprentice fans.
Stuart has placed himself firmly as this years’ villain of the piece. His arrogance and attitude are well matched and it is amazing how his physical appearance matches the vileness of his personality.
The teams were assigned the task of selling the big screen experience to the general public in Westfield shopping centre a set up that is starting to become repetitious.
Both teams made mistakes and both teams made a decent profit, but it was Sandeesh and Synergy that came a cropper.
Sandeesh was never going to win this process, she has no cutting edge or charisma to ever be considered to work for the tycoon she really did just fill the numbers in the process.
Both Chris and Liz were brought in my Sandeesh but neither was ever going to go instead of the much maligned recruitment consultant who never really displayed any brilliance or innovation what so ever.
And so we are left with eight hopefuls fighting it out for the prize. There are some great challengers left including Jewish lad Jamie who I think will get to the semi finals and should be proud of his efforts.
But the two blonds are my front runners for the final. Both Stella English and Chris Bates have showed the skills required to work for the boss man and I see them being unstoppable from here on in.