Friday, Dec. 17, 2004
The Apprentice (ABC)
Some people complained that Donald Trump's Survivor-in-Manhattan had nothing to do with a real workplace, where cooperation is more important than backstabbing. Which is probably true, if your workplace is Santa's Workshop. For the rest of us, The Apprentice is just ridiculous enough to be entertaining, and just close enough to reality to be involving. (If my editor is reading this, I'm referring to my previous jobs — I swear!) Getting ahead by sucking up to a vain, mercurial boss? Check. Learning that doing a good job is less important than making sure someone else gets the blame for a bad job? Check. All this, plus Trump dispensing pseudo-wisdom ("Know Your Enemy") and playing the most amusing pretend businessman on TV.