NBC plays its Trump card
NEW YORK -- Donald Trump and reality TV: They deserve each other. Now their time has come. "The Apprentice," in which 16 would-be moguls vie for The Donald's favor and "the dream job of a lifetime" as his yearlong protege, opens for business on NBC tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. (before moving to 8 p.m. Wednesdays).
Created by Mark Burnett, who brought "Survivor" to the airwaves, "The Apprentice" trades on a similar survival-of-the-fittest strategy.
"It's not a game," Trump insists on the premiere. "It's a 13-week job interview."
Actually, it's a 15-episode game. And let there be no doubt who's the big winner: Donald Trump, the developer/businessman with a taste for glitzy edifices carrying his name. "The Apprentice" rewards Trump with a welcome new outlet for that name, and for the personality who loves to sing its praises.
Now the billionaire developer is starring in a series -- in the same role he's been developing his whole career. It's about time. In 1997 I called for the networks to give him a series, arguing that "Trump is TV incarnate -- renowned for what he buys, sells, consumes and discards, and for how he promotes himself doing it. Trump is a television natural, because his story is the story TV tells around the clock. It's the saga of insatiable desires and acquisitions."
Such is a fitting story for a high-stakes, winner-take-all game like "The Apprentice," whose cutthroat capitalists, picked from more than 200,000 applicants, are blessed by Trump as "16 of America's best and brightest."
Whatever. The eight young men are a reasonably attractive bunch, identifiable on the spectrum of reality-show hopefuls somewhere between "The Bachelorette" and "Average Joe."
As for the eight ladies: Each is a babe. Clearly, businesswomen lacking "leggy" on their resumes need not have applied.
On the premiere, these 16 candidates are ushered into a boardroom with Trump, who, gathering his jowls into his trademark pout, informs them they'll be split into two competing teams -- men vs. women. They face "13 weeks in hell," he warns, though they'll stay at Trump Tower, "one of the great buildings of the world."
The next morning, they hit Manhattan streets for their first assignment: to make more money selling lemonade than their opponents.
Then, too soon, the losing team will be back in the boardroom for the "Apprentice" version of a tribal council: One member will be fired by Trump.
But perhaps the most telling interlude is when Trump treats the winners to a tour of his Trump Tower penthouse -- "the nicest apartment in New York" -- where Melania Knauss, his supermodel girlfriend, serves as hostess.
"If you're really successful," Trump tells his guests, "you'll all live just like this."
Which, dear viewer, is the moment of truth for "The Apprentice": As you behold Trump's digs, with their overblown extravagance, are you dumbstruck with amazement, even envy? Or are you seized by an urge to burst out laughing at this spectacle?
To put it another way: Will you really care who wins "The Apprentice"? A year working for Trump -- to some viewers, this may seem more like a sentence than a prize.
Globe on NECN
Here's what's happening on "Around the Globe" today on NECN:
12:30 p.m.: "Globe at Home"
4 p.m.: "Around the Globe"
6:30 p.m.: "New England Business Day"
8 p.m.: "NewsNight" Schedule is subject to change.
Talk of the dial
8:25 a.m. WBIX-AM (1060) -- "Early Exchange" with Dave Anthony & Bonnie Bleidt. Guests: Robert Carp, president, Galaxy Internet Services; Andy Kessler, author, "Wall Street Meat: My Narrow Escape From the Stock Market Grinder."
2 p.m. WSRO-AM (650) -- "Heart Healthy Wednesday." Guest: Dr. Gabe Mirkin, author, "The Healthy Heart Miracle."
5 p.m. WBNW-AM (1120) -- "PM Magazine" with Lindsy Parker. Guests: David Bach, author, "The Automatic Millionaire;" Earl Johnson, PhD, on "Avoiding Financial Fraud in 2004"; John E. Arnold, author, "Fallback Position."
Other radio highlights
8 a.m. WGBH-FM (89.7) -- "Classics in the Morning." Rosseti's Concerto in E for two horns; Schumann's Fantasiestucke (Op. 88); Brahms's Sextet No. 1 in B-flat (Op. 18); Vivaldi's Stabat Mater in F; Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9; R. Strauss's Songs; Mennin's Symphony No. 6.
9 a.m. WCRB-FM (102.5) -- Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21; Brahms's Clarinet Sonata No. 2; Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake selections.
8 p.m. WCRB-FM (102.5) -- Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5; Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5; Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor.
11 p.m. WUMB-FM (91.9) -- "Folk Stage" with Rich Warren. Live Performances from the studios of WFMT, Chicago.
11 p.m. WGBH-FM (89.7) -- "Jazz Set with Dee Dee Bridgewater." Guests: Benny Green and Russell Malone.
