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Martha's New Show Is Criminal
NBC needs to apprentice in TV show planning.
NBC's The Apprentice has always claimed to be about learning important business lessons. Odd that the network's new double dose of the reality show flouts one of the most infamous examples in recent programming history.
Donald Trump remains on Thursday nights with Apprentice "classic," but it has been joined by a new Wednesday night version, starring jailbird Martha Stewart. If one is good, NBC has concluded, two must surely be better. In fact, why not go for four? ABC certainly did.
By now, the story of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire has become cautionary TV lore. Five years ago the ABC network was gifted with an out-of-the-blue ratings sensation as viewers embraced the return of the prime-time game show and made bland Regis Philbin a superstar. ABC responded like sailors on a spree. They scheduled Millionaire marathons almost every night of the week until that golden goose was cooked crispy. When the ratings collapsed, the network had no backup plan. Only now has it recovered with dramatic hits like Lost and Desperate Housewives. TV execs drew the programming lesson -- don't get greedy with a hit show.
Skipping class hurts
Well, some execs drew the lesson anyway. Apparently, the folks at NBC skipped class that year. With their troubled network replacing the resurgent ABC at the back of the pack, this season NBC decided to clone one of its few hits. Martha's unique combination of star power and notoriety made her a natural choice to expand the Apprentice franchise on to Wednesday nights. But early returns have been disappointing.
Watching the Martha Apprentice, it's not hard to see why. Despite the marked contrast between her cool, tasteful style and The Donald's tacky flash, the shows are identikit versions of each other. If you're watching both, it is genuinely hard to keep track of which back-stabbing weasel is stabbing which back on which show.
Then there's Martha herself. Her fans find her admirable, those who love to hate her find her sinister, and either image has potential for a show like this. But her turn on The Apprentice displays conclusively that competence is not charisma. Martha is flat. She is a fallen soufflé.
Cooking up a jail-free image
The introduction to the show featured a Martha voiceover in which did not even deign to mention the word "jail" or any of its colourful synonyms. Early on, it appeared that this Apprentice would be a thinly disguised image makeover for the Queen of Mean.
It can be argued that Stewart would have been unlikely to participate otherwise, but surely the producers of such a high-profile show had some leverage over their new employee. Playing up the dark side of Martha would have lent the show a much-needed shot of fun.
After all, the original Apprentice succeeded almost in spite of itself. There was no real evidence that Survivor impresario Mark Burnett and co. originally intended to take advantage of Trump's camp value as a pompous tycoon with ludicrous hair. And yet, that was at least part of the reason for the show's initial popularity.
School of randomness
The Apprentice can hardly be touted as some kind of new model business school. Quite the contrary -- the bumbling and betrayals of its contestants leave one aghast at the possibility that these people might really be a cross-section of America's best and brightest. The only practical lesson taught by The Apprentice is the thoroughly random nature of executive success.
The Apprentice has always been handicapped by the disconnect between content and result. That these treacherous stooges are supposed to be competing for a serious job in a major corporation always seems unlikely at best, frightening at worst. Reality shows work best when they create their own self-contained laboratories for the study of human behaviour, e.g. Survivor; or when the goal being sought is a believable one, e.g. America's Top Model. (It helps when you can cram a bunch of vicious teenage girls into an apartment for a rolling catfight. ANTM is still the most entertaining trash on TV.)
Reality shows need to start strong to gain momentum -- ideally, viewers will sign on early and following the cast of characters through their trial by fire. If they don't get onboard at the beginning they are less likely to pick up the saga halfway through.
Perfect hosts don't overkill
First ratings for Martha Stewart's Apprentice have been distinctly underwhelming for the Peacock Network. The first two episodes averaged fewer than seven million viewers (by comparison, ABC's smash hit Lost often draws in the low-to-mid 20 million range). Trump's version of the show has faded as well, although it is still stronger than Stewart's. In an ominous move for Martha, NBC moved the Wednesday night Apprentice back an hour to 9:00pm last week, putting it up against Lost. Some critics are predicting the show will be dropped before completing its run, although that seems unlikely.
In creating two Apprentices, NBC showed they're clearly desperate. Even so, they ought to have paused before cloning a show that was already in decline. Trump's edition of The Apprentice has never matched its splashy debut season. Now, the decline of the franchise will surely be hastened thanks to overkill.
Or maybe they'll do a third one with Regis Philbin. Winner gets to program NBC. I wish them luck.
Steve Burgess is The Tyee's entertainment critic apprentice. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
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Fiat lux
6 years ago
Comments on "Martha's New Show Is Criminal"
These shows, as well as all the other "survival of the fittest" crap are nothing more than propaganda messages to brainwash people into submitting to the control of their "betters" in the coming new world of corporate dictatorship. Now called 'democracy".
How on Earth anybody can look at the disgusting, greedy face of Trump for more than a second is beyond comprehension. But selling the idea that we must submit to the demands of these monsters, packaged as benefactors and leaders, is a crime against humanity.
Ed Deak, Big Lake.
Ranbir
6 years ago
Both of these shows feel like infomercials, where they are cross-promoting other companies. I saw a few minutes of Martha's show and she was promoting a book publisher during that segment. An infomercial with commercials. Wow, that's got to be the dream of every t.v. exec.
James G
6 years ago
Steve is missing a few things in his analysis. For one, Trump's contract is up next season and he's given every indication that he won't be back. Given the drop in his ratings (he's up against CSI with a Survivor lead-in, so he won't be making that ground up) and his desire to be "the best", I believe this isn't just bluster to get a better deal from NBC. Apprentice: Martha is supposed to be the continuation of the franchise.
While the intro did not have Martha say the word "jail", her time in jail was featured and a reporter's voiceover did use that word. In addition, she's mentioned her jail time during boardroom segments. There's been no attempt to whitewash her past, although both Apprentice: Martha and Apprentice: Trump have attempted to soften the images of their respective leads. Martha sent one winning team to help build a community garden as a "reward", and Trump not only loaned his helicopter to one candidate for a trip to a funeral but also sent one winning team to deliver electronic goodies to a children's hospice as a "reward".
The "bumbling executive" issue is a tough one for reality shows like The Apprentice. On one hand, you want to project the image of professionalism. These people are supposed to be some of the best of the best, after all. On the other hand, the audience for the show really doesn't want to see the best of the best, because that would be terribly boring. They want to see the backstabbing, the bumbling, the crazed dysfunction that is the hallmark of reality competition shows. The Apprentice has tried to go along a middle path between the two extremes, casting a roughly 50-50 split between serious competitors and headcases and editing the sequences to bring out as much negativity about those who are going to lose as possible. Long-time viewers of the show can tell who's going to be eliminated well before the show ends, because unlike shows like "Survivor" the editing leaves no doubt as to who is the worst candidate. I don't know whether this is to give the shows more "reality TV appeal", or to make the decisions of the leads on the shows always seem wise, but it is normal for the Apprentice franchise.
Moving Apprentice: Martha isn't a sign of doom yet. NBC is trying to keep two new shows afloat on Wednesday nights, E-Ring (a Jerry Bruckheimer show) and Apprentice: Martha. Whichever one goes up against Lost is going to be in ratings trouble. Apprentice: Martha is going to be renewed almost regardless of ratings, since NBC wants to continue the Apprentice franchise, so it's been shuffled to go head-to-head with Lost. The theory is that fans of Lost may tune in to E-Ring at 8, and fans of America's Next Top Model (on at 8) may tune in to Martha at 9. We'll see if it works. NBC is on the ropes ratings-wise, but I don't see cloning The Apprentice as a response to that issue.
Ranbir, it's more than these shows that feel like infomercials. I don't think it's possible to get through an episode of CSI without one blatant product placement, and they've been doing that since season one. It's only recently that the ratings for the big networks have started to pick up, and as those ratings go down ad revenue goes down. Product placement adds to the revenue stream, and isn't going away any time soon.
Steve Burgess
6 years ago
James G, you are a TV scholar. I did indeed note that Martha mentioned jail herself in episode 2, and good for her. I suspect that was a calculated correction by the producers. In the intro, Martha's jail time is referenced only by a news clip, as though Martha did not deign to mention it personally. But I still maintain the show would be tremendously improved if it was not so intent on buffing Martha's tarnished image. As for The Donald's contract, I was unaware of its forthcoming termination. It will be interesting to see whether good sense prevails over his stupendous need to be on camera. I am betting he re-ups. (He has boasted on the show itself of how he beat similar shows by Richard Branson and Mark Cuban. I suspect he will want to revive the franchise. But he may be wiser than I give him credit for).
Chris H
6 years ago
Martha's Apprentice show is lame. I only watched some of the first episode, but no matter who the contestants are, her presence on the show is enough to turn me off.
Not only has she become an unlikable personality, but the format of The Apprentice doesn't even play to her strengths; her ability to talk to individuals as if they were indeed visitors to her own home and that she was actually "engaged" with her viewers. The practical tips she gave viewers on her old shows that made homemakers feel creative and empowered was what made her a success. The cold, calculating style of The Apprentice is actually destroying her "character" in my opinion. The letter she writes at the end of the show is a great example. Is she writing it because she feels bad or is she rubbing in the fact that the person "didn't fit it"? Can you imagine getting "fired" and then receiving such a letter. It would be almost laughable if it wasn't so pathetic.
Martha Stewart was a very poor choice in replacing Donald Trump. The "you're fired" format of the show fit in perfectly with his personal style. If, as James G suggests, he will not be coming back, they could have done a lot better in picking a replacement.
Chris H
6 years ago
Oh ya, I almost forgot.
Cordially,
Chris H
Chicken Slinger
6 years ago
James G,
Critical analysis - a core constituent of the show - of CSI would turn up that along with the product placements are quotes from Shakespear, Emerson, and others of the like in equal stride - mechanics and innovators of the very ideas responsible for lifting us from savagery to decency.
Tonesia
6 years ago
The challenges on Martha's Apprentice are far more creative and interesting than Trump's Apprentice which focuses almost 75% of the time on either luxury goods or real estate. In fact, one of the biggest beefs that I have about Trump's Apprentice is that almost 605 of his "candidates" have a background in real estate. Granted, his business empire is about real estate ... but there are various facets to the industry such as marketing, finance, business development, investor relations, etc. and I don't always see that reflected in the candidates' occupation.
Either way, I agree it's overkill to have both shows on during the same season. NBC is tanking and I don't think it will ever recover from the Thursday highs of having Seinfeld and Friends.
netscaper2
6 years ago
It's quite obvious by the number of commemnts here that nobody with any intellegence would watch either of those crappy productions !