# The Apprentice -- 4/8 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-8/238860 "2004-04-08T01:26:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-8/238860/141 "2004-04-11T19:15:04Z")
Clarification: Not to say that sitting in your basement and writing software constitutes the end all and be-all of business or whatever. I just don’t understand the thought process for 97% of these candidates as anything other than TV drama. The Trumpire doesn’t need a TV show to help them find CEO candidates. They can already walk into Wharton, Harvard whatevs and get any number of candidates. Or accept applications via a normal process. And the tasks…managing a floundering restaurant chain and trying to maximise profits…with cameras around for 4 hours. So demonstrative of…absolutely nothing. And yet so, so, so entertaining! ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-8/238860/142 "2004-04-12T18:10:02Z")
Precisely. Apart from a few ideas here and there (like the ads on the rickshaw), I haven’t seen any creativity or even strong leadership from any of the contestants. I couldn’t believe how non-confrontational Kwame was in the last episode. Any run-off-the-mill manager would have gotten to the bottom of the screw-up. Kwame blissfully ignored it even with the other members in the group openly mis-trusting Omarosa. Unbelievably asinine! ---
**Author:** ![AV8R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AV8R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AV8R)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-8/238860/143 "2004-04-12T18:37:20Z")
> [@anu-la1979](#): > > … I have a hard time believing that BFFs Katrina and Ereka represent a good sampling of Today’s Cutting-edge Entrepreneurs. … What’s a BFF? ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-8/238860/144 "2004-04-12T20:03:48Z")
Best Friends Forever. Just sort of a slam at their Junior High attitude. I remember if you had a BFF you used to be able to buy these necklaces with pendants that were split in half so that you wore half the pendant and the your BFF wore the other half. This was also about the time that snap bracelets were really big. I don’t know if they’re really de rigeur at middle schools anymore… ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-8/238860/145 "2004-04-12T22:27:23Z")
> [@litost](#): > > Precisely. Apart from a few ideas here and there (like the ads on the rickshaw), I haven’t seen any creativity or even strong leadership from any of the contestants. While I agree with you wholehearedly, I also kindof liked the [phallic private jet ads](http://www.nbc.com/nbc/The_Apprentice/ad_campaigns/marquis_jet_card_protege.shtml) the women came up with near the beginning of the series. Ahem. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-8/238860/146 "2004-04-12T23:01:39Z")
> [@litost](#): > > Precisely. Apart from a few ideas here and there (like the ads on the rickshaw), I haven’t seen any creativity or even strong leadership from any of the contestants. I agree, but I think a big part of the problem is the tasks themselves. The tasks are the only real problem I have with the show; they’re usually too short and sometimes too structured, and often the outcome is pretty random, or at least not really dependent on which team performed the best. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-apprentice-4-8/238860.md?page=7)