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[TV] The Apprentice 2024



nwgull

Well-known member
Jul 25, 2003
13,798
Manchester
It’s worth remembering that the boys basically held their guests hostage at the end.

“We really need to leave in 5 minutes”

“Ah well unfortunately we have 30 minutes of dancing for you.”
Yes, and that was all down to the muppet that had them back an hour later than planned. So if this was the reason that thei refund was so large then it makes even more of a mockery of the PM not being fired.

I know it's all for the entertainment and that in reality LS and his minnions have probably already chosen his final few candidates based on the business plans, but hey, I let the result of a football match between 22 millionaires dictate my mood most weeks!
 




Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,221
Surrey
The whole process is a stitch up from start to finish. The firing decisions are not based on the tasks but which business idea Sugar thinks he can make a few quid out of in the end game.
If that isn't the case, then the only other reason I can think of is that Virdi is likely to make a complete arse of himself through the series, and therefore good TV. It's annoying though - there is no integrity in the decision making, yet I'll still end up watching it.
 


rippleman

Well-known member
Oct 18, 2011
4,578
Total morons f***ing things up at every opportunity makes better telly than sensible, astute young entrepreneurs. You can tell that over the years the producers have really double dumbed down on the contestant pool. It's more "situation comedy" now.

You can't even rely on Lord Alan to kick out the biggest moron any longer. The idiot Virdi is going to continue to be comedy gold which was presumably why Lord Alan was told to boot Ollie.
 


Bry Nylon

Test your smoke alarm
Helpful Moderator
Jul 21, 2003
19,869
Playing snooker
After 19 years or so, years, I finally gave up on The Apprentice part-way through the first episode of the last series.

As I recall, the very first task was selling excursion packages at a Caribbean resort, during which Claude made some sort of bizarre cameo-comeback. It all felt very much like a surreal dream and even to this day I'm still not sure if any of that actually happened or if I just imagined it.

It feels like the producers think we all want to see the 'big' show-tasks - the foreign trip Specials. Whereas in reality I far prefer watching them running around the suburbs of London with wheelbarrows and hedgecutters, making a complete balls-up of routine garden maintenance, wearing skinny suits from Next and and high heels, whilst some bemused homeowner watches The Boys take 2 hours to jet wash a drive with a strimmer.
 


hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
61,366
Chandlers Ford
If that isn't the case, then the only other reason I can think of is that Virdi is likely to make a complete arse of himself through the series, and therefore good TV. It's annoying though - there is no integrity in the decision making, yet I'll still end up watching it.

Total morons f***ing things up at every opportunity makes better telly than sensible, astute young entrepreneurs. You can tell that over the years the producers have really double dumbed down on the contestant pool. It's more "situation comedy" now.

You can't even rely on Lord Alan to kick out the biggest moron any longer. The idiot Virdi is going to continue to be comedy gold which was presumably why Lord Alan was told to boot Ollie.
100% this.

I don't buy the idea that he makes firing decisions now, based on the final business plan - unless there's one that's an absolutely GOLD idea - which face it, isn't likely from the moron contestants they select - evidenced by past INSPIRED winning plans of 'a plumbing company', 'some sweets in jars', 'a recruitment agency, and 'make some f***ing CAKES in my Mum's kitchen'.

Sugar is told by the producers who to keep in, based purely in the interests of entertainment.
 






Uncle Spielberg

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 6, 2003
42,819
Lancing
I am starting to think this is all a wind up now and staged. A group of 8 year olds would have done a better job than both teams. These are meant to be the cream of young entrepreneurs. Crumble on the fishcakes, really ?
 


FloatLeft

Well-known member
Jun 12, 2012
1,603
The episodes where the candidates have to cook always seem ridiculous to me. Its not MasterChef!!

They should not be involved in the cooking and the BBC should lay on chefs to cook what the candidates have planned according to the costs they've allowed for.

After all, when it comes to the design or branding challenges, they always have access to a designer who knows his way round Photoshop, Illustrator, etc
 




Whitechapel

Famous Last Words
Jul 19, 2014
4,074
Not in Whitechapel
I am starting to think this is all a wind up now and staged. A group of 8 year olds would have done a better job than both teams. These are meant to be the cream of young entrepreneurs. Crumble on the fishcakes, really ?

They’re young business types. They live on a diet of Huel, Hello Fresh & Cocaine. I’m surprised it’s never gone that badly before!
 


Jesus Gul

Well-known member
Feb 23, 2004
5,474
That bloke clapping is potentially the best moment ever. Incredible TV.
After his 'high IQ/bench press/eye candy' intro and his clueless clapping I think he's safe as this generates discussion and drives viewing figures. Maybe he really IS clever and it's just an act. Who knows (cares)?
 


Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
31,859
Brighton
I'm not bothering any more tbh. Has become a it of a joke.
Every year I feel this way. Most years I still get sucked back in. Not quite sure why. The contestants annoy me, Karen Brady annoys me and Alan Sugar annoys me. That Tim guy might as well be an AI bot as well, complete personality vacuum.
 




happypig

Staring at the rude boys
May 23, 2009
7,974
Eastbourne
The episodes where the candidates have to cook always seem ridiculous to me. Its not MasterChef!!

They should not be involved in the cooking and the BBC should lay on chefs to cook what the candidates have planned according to the costs they've allowed for.

After all, when it comes to the design or branding challenges, they always have access to a designer who knows his way round Photoshop, Illustrator, etc
I dunno about that. Photoshop etc are complex and take a lot of skill to master. Take any group of nine young people and you would expect at least one of them to have an idea about how to cook something; when I was that age I had a rather limited range of dinners but I knew how to follow a recipe, as did most of my chums.
I've never made crumble but I'm pretty sure I could serve up something that, whilst not exactly Gordon Blue, would at least be cooked and edible; that these fuckwits couldn't speaks volumes.
 


Sid and the Sharknados

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Sep 4, 2022
4,078
Darlington
I dunno about that. Photoshop etc are complex and take a lot of skill to master. Take any group of nine young people and you would expect at least one of them to have an idea about how to cook something; when I was that age I had a rather limited range of dinners but I knew how to follow a recipe, as did most of my chums.
I've never made crumble but I'm pretty sure I could serve up something that, whilst not exactly Gordon Blue, would at least be cooked and edible; that these fuckwits couldn't speaks volumes.
Also, watching people cock up cooking is funny.
Watching somebody stare at a computer screen shouting "where's the f***ing crop button!?" is.... actually, that probably would be quite funny.
 






Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
31,859
Brighton
He's just trying to play an intimidating figure like Claude. I've met him once through his Bright Ideas Trust in real life and he's a lovely guy.
Haven't watched this series but I'm going on previous series. I didn't see him as intimidating, I saw him as just completely nothing - literally like an android come to life - no emotion whatsoever.
 


Notters

Well-known member
Oct 20, 2003
24,869
Guiseley
Indeed, and that was borne out by this very task.

The girls made a mess of almost everything, yet they still deservedly won easily. The PM picks the loch package and then ducks out because she can't swim. They didn't feed their guests any edible food whatsoever as the fish was made with crumble mix and the crumble was raw inside and burnt on the top. The wheeler dealer woman who faced up to her worst fears and took on the loch tour guide role.basically saved them.

As for the boys, where to start? Utterly shit from start to finish. Absolutely incredible that the PM was not kicked off. Even his choice of colleagues for the board room was atrocious.

For me, Sugar undermines the credibility of the show by failing to boot him off because I don't think in 18 years there has been a project that has failed so badly and for which so much of the fault lay with the PM.
See for me, the boys' activities were good, and their food was good too (until it was delayed) so to say the girls won easily doesn't ring true to me. They all should have been fired for the crumble fishcakes.
 
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Bry Nylon

Test your smoke alarm
Helpful Moderator
Jul 21, 2003
19,869
Playing snooker
And what's worse, is that none of the girls this year are even particularly CUTE. You can usually rely on there being a couple of nice looking ones, to brighten the show up a bit.
That is particularly disappointing to hear.

The is literally no point in the ‘treat’ for a future winning team being something like a luxury spa experience now. Grrrrr
 




hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
61,366
Chandlers Ford
That is particularly disappointing to hear.

The is literally no point in the ‘treat’ for a future winning team being something like a luxury spa experience now. Grrrrr
Indeed. In fact, just to reinforce the disappointment of the lack of eye-candy, they've given them a POOL in the house.
 


Beach Hut

Brighton Bhuna Boy
Jul 5, 2003
71,975
Living In a Box
There is no reason at all as to how the PM was not fired
 
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