# Martha Stewart's "Apprentice" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686 "2005-09-21T13:37:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/1 "2005-09-21T13:37:57Z")
Tonight’s the premiere. A softer version of the show – “Sweet Dreams” is the theme song. 😉 I’ll admit to looking forward to it – whaddya the rest of you think? As good as? Better than? A cheesy spinoff? ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/2 "2005-09-21T15:05:50Z")
I’ll take “Cheesy Spinoffs” for $200 please, Alex. Tonight’s synopsis: “Candidates must rewrite classic fairy tales.” This sure isn’t the business-world jungle. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/3 "2005-09-22T03:45:21Z")
I liked it. I disliked some of the contestants immediately, even before they split into teams and started working. That’s a good thing, isn’t it, for a reality show? 🙂 My TiVo messed up and I missed most of the boardroom, or conference room, whatever she’s calling the firing session. I wasn’t surprised at the two people Jeff chose to accompany him. Did I miss anything good? What did Alexis and Charles (is it Charles?) have to say? I wonder why Charles mentioned Betheny’s friendship with his daughter, but didn’t mention that she dated his son. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/4 "2005-09-22T03:46:30Z")
As someone who’s getting a wee bit sick of Trump’s never ending quest to have his face visible by everyone in the world at all times, it was a nice change to have The Apprentice with someone else. Martha is a pretty compelling mentor too. The candidates? Not really any standouts yet, at least not for good reasons. The guy who made it to the board room and survived (Jim I think) is our token agitator of the season I reckon. Dawn? Seemed to definitely be useless if the slightest thing is out of place, so I can’t see her going for the long haul. The girl that hates Dawn? Not only did she date the George guy’s son, but she also has a new [movie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121164/) coming out! The rest were pretty forgettable. Oh, except that one dude with the mop top - he needs a haircut. Usually “mop top” is a figure of speech, but I really think there’s a bare mop handle out there somewhere wondering what the hell happened. Overall, I dug it. I’ll be tuning in next week. And now to see if Trump can learn from past mistakes and give us a decent season starting tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/5 "2005-09-22T03:58:19Z")
Is it just me or do most of the women look like younger physical versions of Martha? I enjoyed the show but I really hate Martha Stewart. I’ve yet to hear her admit she did something morally, ethically and legally wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/6 "2005-09-22T04:03:35Z")
I just wished she could fire all three of them. Especially Jim, who not only is practically a caricature of everything bad ever ascribed to an ad executive, but set my teeth on edge within 3 seconds by the way he tips his head back and sneers down his nose at the world. Not to mention “If I’m not telling everyone what to do at all times, it’s not right and it CAN NEVER BE RIGHT!” Way to go, Mr. Team Player. So I figure he’ll probably be around long enough to work his way up to a place close to Omarosa on my top 5 most hated reality contestants list. (She comes in at #2 currently, the #1 spot being permanent reserved for Jonathan of Amazing Race 6.) ---
**Author:** ![Rainbowthief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4bbf92/32.png) [@Rainbowthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rainbowthief)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/7 "2005-09-22T06:05:09Z")
That was…not good. Maybe I’m too big a fan of the original, but I definitely won’t bother watching another episode of “Apprentice: Martha Stewart.” ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/8 "2005-09-22T11:31:14Z")
I liked it enough to keep watching, but I’m not in love. Having her write – by hand! – a little letter to the person who doesn’t fit in – that so … uh … delightfully cheesy. Martha Stewart is someone who I have this kind of horrified fascination with, as I do with Trump, making her the perfect focus. Loved the cheesy segment of her walking through her empire interacting with the underlings near the tope – yikes. How totally phony. I expect Trump to be that wooden – but my god! Interesting how they dealt with the whole, oh yeah, convicted felon thing in the life story section – all of a sudden it goes from first-person to third. The other thing I found interesting was that they didn’t do much at all to introduce the contestants – no 15-second bios, nothing. I wonder what that’s about? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/9 "2005-09-22T11:52:02Z")
The handwritten notes were a good touch, in light of the wholesome homemaker image that Martha tries to project. Of course, behind-the-scenes reports claim that she’s no sweetie, but still… the handwritten letters of regret do at least fit the Martha Stewart Inc. corporate image. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/10 "2005-09-22T14:28:15Z")
I only saw parts of it, but I did see the stories get read and Martha’s reaction to them. Did anyone else think it was stupid that Martha had a problem with the Hansel and Gretel remake because it was ‘too dark’ for children or something, and that kids wouldn’t be able to handle it? She was bothered that the children could change their names and sneak out of the house. Hello, are we talking about Grimm’s tales here? The one where, in the original, the kids are abandoned and then go on to murder by shoving a witch in an oven? Has she ever read a real fairy tale? They are all full of horrifying things happening to kids. The remake was probably the gentler of the 2. (Not that the rhyme story idea was well done, it wasn’t. But not because it was too dark.) ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/11 "2005-09-22T14:29:14Z")
I liked most of the ways it deviated from the original, towit: I liked the letter at the end, but I hope they get a little more specific. They could be a good way to have a more detailed view of the reasons for the firing. I lurved the new theme song. The task was good, kind of fun and showed a combination of creativity and business acumen. I didn’t like: The catch phrase - you just don’t fit in - ugh. MS not confronting the recent “unpleasantness”. ---
**Author:** ![annieclaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@annieclaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annieclaus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/12 "2005-09-22T15:15:19Z")
I liked the show a lot. I admit it, I’m a reality show junkie and this one seems to have a lot more class than The Donald’s version. (Mostly because it doesn’t have The Donald in it!) I enjoyed seeing the Martha Stewart Living Omnipedia offices. Looks like an environment I’d like to live in. What bothered me was Charles’s cigar! What’s with that, anyway? Is it his Security Cigar? Does he need to have some phallic symbol in his hands at all times? I wonder if Martha has ever wondered about this? And daughter Alexis does seem to be a pale shadow of her famous, high-power Mom, no? ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/13 "2005-09-22T15:34:47Z")
Well, I tuned in, both because I was a fan of the original (at least until season 3) and because somebody I know worked on the show. What **JThunder** said was true - the crew was told that anybody who either made eye contact with her or was caught staring at her bracelet would be fired. Note also that Martha was not allowed to use the F word at all throughout the show. One bit of hope I have is that the contestants seem like a good bunch…way better than last season! Creative vs Corporate sounds like a great standoff. Jeff deserved to go…telling your teammates to shut up when they’re trying to brainstorm is not what I’d call “fitting in.” I have to wonder why they even bothered having men on the show…you know they’re all going to be fired sooner or later. I’m still trying to make up my mind as to who the show hottie is - Dawn or Martha Jr? ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/14 "2005-09-22T17:25:45Z")
phungal really wanted to watch this and I was hankering for the Lost premiere, so I hung in there… it was nealry unwatchable for me… kinda like _The Comeback_ on HBO. Thankfully the _real_ Apprentice starts tonight, so martha can fade back into obscurity, at least in the phunhouse… ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/15 "2005-09-22T17:48:04Z")
Jim is quite the irritant. He has more facial expressions than Max Patkin. And the continually held cigar of NotQuiteGeorge was the oddest prop since Oddjob started flinging hats at James Bond. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/16 "2005-09-22T18:09:19Z")
[ot] **waves to Mullinator** Long time no see! How was your summer? How’s the baby? [/ot] ---
**Author:** ![Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d9b06d/32.png) [@Ichini\_Sanshigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichini_Sanshigo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/17 "2005-09-22T19:44:35Z")
I had to alternate between this and “Lost”. All in all, I liked it. I never did see what the big deal was about Martha, but I do know she has a ton more class than The Donald. I alreday completely hate one team, “Matchstick”. Craetive name, great logo, but matchsticks do burn out rather quickly, you know. Jim (“I TELL OTHER PEOPLE WHAT TO DO!”) isn’t very bright, is he? He’s clever in that making-plans-to-get-over-on-other-people way, but he’s one of those schemers who can’t see the forest fpr the trees. He’s marked himself as a smug asshole in the very first episode, which, as per the Rancic-Perdew, means he cannot possibly win. This is too easy. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/18 "2005-09-22T20:30:50Z")
_Jack and the Beanstalk_ is now available for purchase from Random House. I’m not kidding. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/19 "2005-09-22T21:46:13Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > _Jack and the Beanstalk_ is now available for purchase from Random House. I’m not kidding. I watched Martha for a few minutes this afternoon. Jeff was on. He presented her with a crafty thing (“quill work”?) that he said he made for her. Everyone in the audience was given a copy of the book. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686/20 "2005-09-22T23:56:07Z")
Goodness me, what a bunch of c\*nts. Stewart is positively saintly in comparison, though I suppose that’s the whole point. I’m so good Greyhair McShowerwithme was booted off. Maybe I wouldn’t have been as pissy as the woman he booted from reading the story, but I would have fought tooth and nail to get his retarded story idea shot down. Sigh. I guess I’ll be watching. I have no interest in the original, but Martha is my hero and everything. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martha-stewarts-apprentice/322686.md?page=2)