Thoughts on Celebrity Apprentice: Two Years ago
 

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Two Years ago Meat was on Celebrity Apprentice. He did a freaking amazing job, making the FInal four and getting fired for the most bullshit reason ever: Being too emotional.

Since being introduced to it through Meat's appearence Ive watched every season of the show (Including the non celebrity seasons) and have been engrossed in the current one that sees Meat collaborator Trace Adkins and magician Penn Jillete in the finals.

I know some people have issues with how meat was portrayed in Episode 5 with the art task and few negative edits in future episodes like the whole potty humor stuff.

But putting that aside it was highly entertaining and still is the best season of the show by far.

The only problem (besides Episode 5 and how they edited meat) was Trump's logic. He based his final 2 on the opinions of advisors who weren't actually there watching everything go down.

Meat was snubbed. To the point of, I think, the worst snub in apprentice history. And Meat proved it on the finale task.

marlee couldnt lead and only had the money she raised to stand on. Meat took charge every time she was in charge. Every single time. Meat was more passionate then all them combined.

Firing meat for being too emotional was BS. And you think Gary survived for ratings basically throughout the season, and the finale's ratings were horrible.

If Meat was in the finale I think that wouldve been ratings gold. Rock vs Country.

That being said I highly suggest watching the current season. I wonder if anyone else's opinions have changed about the show since this epic season aired.

The only thing i find odd about the current season is its name: "All-Star"
You cant have an "all star" cast without the true all star: Meat.

Maybe Meat was asked but had to decline because of his Last at Bat tour (and the preparation of it).

But he was in the final anyway wasn't he? According to Wario.

I never watched it. I don't think the American celebrity one goes out here on UK TV (but maybe one of the subscription channels - I wouldn't know), the normal one definitely does/used to but it's at a crazy time like 1am Monday nights or so.
In comparison to the UK one I find it difficult to watch and stay interested in. It is edited in a strange way, similar to most American TV things. Too much repetition coming back from adverts etc. Don't think it made any difference to Meat's reputation here in the UK or Europe.

No. They are saying he should be in the current all star series.... But he's on tour.... Mind you, its all pre recorded isn't it.

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My thoughts on the series?

I tuned in for about 10 minutes (because of Meat), and had to turn it off because it was so bad. I was embarrassed that ML was on that show.

But hey, to each their own...

I wasn't embarrassed that Meat was on the show ... he did an amazing job, and raised a lot of money for a great charity.
That's really what it's all about :-)

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Meat post on here that they asked him and he turned it down ? With his busy
schedule and the fact that it was filmed while he was recovering from knee surgery, I certainly don't blame him. Although
I have to admit I would have LOVED to see him and Trace Adkins working together :D

Not really. I only watched it because Meat was in it, and haven't watched it since. The US Celebrity Apprentice isn't aired on any channel I get, and I wouldn't pay to see it without Meat. I wouldn't describe it as "epic" ;) .. but I did enjoy watching Meat throw himself into the process, and also enjoyed seeing something of his leadership and creative thinking in action, and that passion we see in his stage performances used to achieve challenging tasks.

Yes, he was selected to be in the team of one of the finalists, rather than being a finalist himself.

Lord Sugar has said he'll never do a Celebrity version again .. and the two we have had were both for Comic Relief, and aired over just two days each. I've watched part of 2 episodes of Apprentice USA .. agree it's shocking. Orchestrated/edited for ratings, rewards and bizarre punishment, too much repetition caused by their frequent advert breaks and lack of faith in their audience's short term memory (doubly annoying when it's shown on BBC here!), and a business ethos I can't abide.

As to Meat's reputation .. I think there will be UK fans who happened to know he was in it, watched and were impressed .. but agree that many fans probably never even realised he was on it. It wouldn't have aired here anywhere near the time, even if it's aired since on a channel I don't see.

I wasn't. He did it to raise money for a wonderful organisation, and achieved that goal, whilst learning a lot along the way .. the latter being something I cannot remember any of the other contestants saying with any conviction.

I felt for Meat and his embarrassment on ONE brief occasion when he was pushed beyond the limit, and his actions were edited for effect. But throughout the series he showed himself to be thoughtful, creative, a good and effective leader both in terms of managing and motivating, persuasive and interpersonally skilled, a passionate and caring man, and one who used the process to learn about himself and develop as a person. All wholly admirable imo, and far, far outweighing one momentary loss of control which he regretted .. but one he learned .. something his protagonist in that brief moment seems to have signally failed to do!

I think in retrospect it was well worth him doing. The Painted Turtle benefited financially, Meat did in terms of learning, and I don't think it damaged his reputation at all. The B incident will be one that a few will always use as a stick to beat him with .. but these are people who would find SOMEthing to use anyway. Most fans I meet who saw him on CA have nothing but admiration for his work throughout the series, his commitment to the charity, his passion and his emotion.

Caryl

I think it's the worst show on tv.

I'm not a big fan of reality shows usually and don't think it's the worst show on tv. IMO it's actually fun to watch, and I have to admit Gary Busey was funnier this season :-)

Oh Lord .. I wish it WERE the worst show on TV!! :lol:

It lacks Nick Hewer and Lord Sugar. I can't stand Trump.

Agree with that! Sugar may be a crusty old sod, but he's not chasing money and ratings, and doesn't seem to encourage some of the questionable practices that Trump seems to admire. Nick is sharp and on the money. I miss Margaret and her dry humour (and facial expressions, which were sometimes priceless), but I have a lot of time for Karren, also very focused. The quality of observation (which is continuous on the UK version and seems a bit hit and miss, more based on watching recordings than being WITH the groups all the time and seeing at first hand what goes down) and in particular feedback, is light years better imo, and more what you'd expect from any genuine recruitment assessment process. I think it's this that leaves me generally disenchanted with the US versions

Caryl

Karren isn't a patch on Margaret.

True .. but she's better than either Trump spawn ;) I think she's good .. but she doesn't have that edge Margaret has

I haven't watched it much this year, but I'm Glad Penn is in the final. :cool: I had thought he'd go far the last time.

I've been rooting for Trace this season :-) But I really like Penn too, and I'm so glad he's in the final.
Now I really don't care which one of them wins because they both deserve it :D

And for the record ... I really like Donald Trump !

Penn arguably deserves it a little more then Trace imo. Only because winning 7 of the 10 tasks and being a bit more energetic should count for alot.

And I think Penn's flavor is also better. nothing against trace. Love this final so much

I'm rooting for PENN. met him years ago when him and teller started at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and I was a lot younger! HAHA

I'm still rooting for Trace ... but I like Penn's ice cream better :D

You go to wallgreens? Penns turtle Ice Cream is soooo good. so good.

Trace's is ok, but i dont like nuts. I like the coffee taste tho.

For those confused, this season on CA the final was an icecream task, much like Meat's 7-up task

If I were Meat I wouldn't go on there again if Gary Busey was there. Cause that guy is a jackass who riles people up and then makes you look like a jerk if you think he is messing with you. And I tell you what this is 100% true they fired Meat not for his anger problems or getting "too emotional" they do this in every season, Meat in the eyes of the producers just wasn't "tv appealing" to win.

Namely he wasn't face pretty, name me one damn ugly celebrity or one that didn't fit a curtain slim profile, you can't!

They are all slim, charismatic people, who sell well to the public! The shows a joke to sell views by having someones favorite celebrity on. Lets face it how many people here would've cared to watch or get involved in that show if Meat wasn't there.

Show business is a terrible world that drops you like a baby from a ten story building.

Yep .... there's a Walgreens right down the street. The woman there was laughing at me the other night
when I went there just to buy the ice cream :D
I'm exactly the same way. I really don't like nuts either but I love the chocolate in Penns ice cream :D

If Meat was a finalist, the carmel turtles would be SO fitting.

:twisted: My thoughts, it was what it was :shrug:
He played the game, played it well, and won money for his charity (as well as raising awareness).
Did it make him a major star selling records world wide? He was that already.
He blew up on Gary, but did it hurt his career? Nope.

So no harm done (except maybe putting rap on a Meat Loaf record :p :lawl: ) and a lot of good done for his charity.

Overall, a pretty good result :up:

Have you ever seen Penn Jillette? The man is a giant! I met him in Las Vegas. He says he's 6'7", but he seemed taller to me (my husband is 6'6", so I have a comparison).

I had no idea about the ice cream. It sounds delicious- think I'll go get some. :-)

He and Trace are both giants :D And both of the ice creams are delicious :up:

Its such a great finale. I like it even better then john Rich vs Marlee matlin (even though we all know it felt like John Rich vs Meat Loaf cause Marlee doesnt know how to lead and Meat lead the team for her)

I was watching the UK apprenticce the other day and was thinking about the range of tasks on this show compared to the range of tasks on the US apprentice and I think the tasks given on the UK apprentice are far more testing and involved doing a variety of things whereas the ones that I saw on the US Celebrity Apprentice seemed to be very focused to marketing events.

Personally I'd have liked to have seen less of the marketing type tasks on the US Celebrity Apprentice and perhaps if the tasks had been less focused on this, perhaps the outcome would have been different?

When I watch the US Celebrity Apprentice back, part of me feels that it was decided very early on who the finalists were going to be and regardless of how hard the others worked, they wouldn't have realistically been in with a chance. I don't necessarily think that either finalist stood that far above some of the others when it came down to the actual work but they were the favourites.

Although that's comparing The Apprentice in the UK with Celebrity Apprentice in the USA. From what I've seen of The Apprentice in the USA, there's a broader range of tasks given to the competitors too; the business ethos advocated/seemingly admired by the two shows may be different, but both are about competing for a job (or now in the UK a joint business venture), so both would need to test and assess a broader range of situations and skills. However, both Trump and Sugar are in business to make profits, so there will always be a bottom line focus on marketing, selling and making $$$ or £££' That's the acid test.

If you compare each country's Celebrity Apprentice, the US version is longer and more robust/testing. The only 2 UK versions both consisted of one task; the first was primarily about sales and marketing .. the second about product design and sales & marketing (and the design element was so dismally performed it was the kiss of death on the programme's future).


The programmes (both straight Apprentice and CA) are about business tasks though, and if they don't have an ultimate marketing/sales focus they can't really be assessed in terms of success. A team could work really well together and design a product for eg .. but if it has no chance of commercial success it's not much use ;) And remember, Meat's first task was the design of a children's book, and presented to an audience of children and appropriate (I want to say "adults", but that sounds like the person brought in to safeguard the rights of someone of low IQ being interrogated by the police) .. appropriate senior people in the industry? That task was about creative design, but was still market tested/assessed by end users .. that's business ;)

It's a business reality show, so ultimately a team's success is judged on what they achieve rather than through a series of management games, and the best way to test a team's output that is to either sell a product or idea direct, or pitch it to the organisation it's been designed for. It's much more tricky trying to assess ability to provide a service rather than a product. You could test for eg a team's ability to design or effect change in an organisation, but only by putting them into it, and either having them present a proposal to the board, or letting them effect the change and assessing the result. I've been able to organise the first, but never the latter :lol: Companies like Abbey National or Fortes might let you send in a team of amateurs to investigate and present proposals, but they wouldn't, couldn't let them actually implement anything, or for eg run a working department for a day :-)

However, you couldn't put a team of "celebrities" into a real life organisational situation to even investigate and formulate proposals, because that very status would screw the dynamics of their original investigation :-)

I think that has a significant effect on the outcome .. plus the result of the big fund-raising tasks. Once Marlee made the first ever million raised on Trump's CA, she was going to be in that final even if someone else had walked on water! John Rich performed well overall and raised the second largest amount .. QED ;)

Ultimately it's a reality show. The CA version raises funds for worthy charities rather than recruiting anyone to work for Trump, (and doubtless makes him a considerable amount of money, some of which I think he could add to the amounts donated by participating organisations). It's successful in that respect .. and for some contestants, like Meat, it's a valuable learning experience. Like the odious Celebrity Big Brother for others it can be a way of reviving a flagging career .. or sometimes damaging it!

But that's another story ;) I only watched the US CA because Meat was in it .. half the contestants I'd never heard of :lol: I doubt I'd know many in the current series .. but if it helps charities by raising shedloads of money, that works .. and doesn't need me to find ways of watching it from the UK :-)

Caryl

I don't have anything against Penn Jillette, I am just saying that the producers of that show won't elect someone who isn't sell worthy in their opinions. And lets face very little people thought Meat Loaf was ever marketable why did you think it took so long for Bat Out Of Hell to find a producer?