For job with Diddy, vying proves trying

VH1, of late, has not been a network that celebrates the virtues of competence. The reality contestants that pass through its shows - some of them more than once - tend to follow the giant-steaming-mess mold of human behavior. They're good at trash-talking, catfighting, spitting, and showing cleavage, and while those skills are open to multitasking, they're not going to earn you a leg up in the business world.

Sean "Diddy" Combs may be many things, but he is not a mess. So it's refreshing, off the bat, to see the entertainment mogul helm his new reality show in his trademark tailored suits, celebrating the high-class trappings of his formidable empire. Yes, "I Want to Work for Diddy," which premieres tonight at 9, is a blatant rip-off of "The Apprentice." But it's a good-natured rip-off with a healthy point of view: It largely expects its contestants to rise to the challenge.

The challenge at hand, it turns out, is to grovel, rush, and hold it together while competing for the job of Diddy's personal assistant. And while a bag-schlepping stint doesn't sound like a glamorous prize, this job is touted as a ticket to the big time, a chance to be like the classic ill-treated Hollywood receptionist who goes on to head a studio (and terrorize assistants of his own).

Former Diddy assistants are filmed in testimonials, describing the years of sleep-deprivation, but also the entree they got into the hip-hop world. Two of them now have big-name jobs in Diddy's organization, and serve as cohosts and judges of the show. One is named Capricorn, which can't help but make you think of the entertainingly-named women who have always surrounded Prince. If nothing else, Diddy has had good role models.

It's these judges, and the 13 contestants, who do the bulk of the work; in tonight's premiere, at least, Diddy only makes an extended cameo, spouting lines like, "I sometimes feel sorry for people that don't work for me. 'Cause I know they're not having as much fun." Unlike Donald Trump, who dug in early with the hand motions and knowing jokes about his hair, the head of Bad Boy Entertainment doesn't quite seem ready to make himself into a full-fledged cartoon character.

But some of the contestants are cartoonish enough to compensate - most notably a woman named Kim, who seems to think that she can prove her competence by yelling nonstop, and a striking transgender woman named Laverne, who looks and talks a lot like Janice, the flower-child guitarist from "The Muppet Show" band.

Sparks fly, mistakes are made, and cleavage appears. People say, "Oh, hell, no," and "I know you better step off." This is still VH1, and a show like this can't and shouldn't get too serious. Indeed, the most entertaining part might be the opening credits, which spoof the titles of a James Bond movie and imagine life with Diddy as high-flying, death-defying work.

The opening challenge isn't quite so glamorous; the contestants run around New York, charged with accomplishing 50 menial tasks in 24 sleepless hours. But it's probably closer to the real thing than anything Trump ever asked his minions to do. And the lesson is clear: If Diddy tells his people to tell you to jump, you get the message on your BlackBerry, and you jump.

Joanna Weiss can be reached at weiss@globe.com. For more on TV, go to www.boston.com/viewerdiscretion.