Spoiler Warning
So finally, after the warm-up that was The Great British Bake Off, the true king of British reality TV has returned for 2014! Lord Sugar is back (alongside trusted aides Nick and Margar- sorry, Nick and Karen) to find an entrepreneur to go into business with. As usual the show looks to fill its regular quota of clashing egos, as well as the general business related tasks which ultimately impact very little on the final result, thanks to a confusing change of format back in 2011. This week we were treated to a double whammy of episodes, so here I will be recapping both and be giving my thoughts on what is to come…
Episode 1
It must be admitted that first episodes have always been somewhat awkward. With no prior knowledge of the candidates’ characteristics, the process of rooting for somebody with any real conviction is practically impossible. As the series progress, it inevitably becomes easier to sort the wheat from the chaff, but at this stage picking a favourite comes down to which of their generic quotes/hyperbolic boasts repulses you the least. Would you prefer somebody who can ‘sell ice to the Eskimos’, or do you instead ‘believe in the beauty of your dreams’? Tough choice.
Furthermore, first episodes have always ended up being something rather simple and forgettable, partly to ease the candidates (and audience) into the process and partly because of the sheer number of them fighting for screen-time. However, with the show entering its tenth year and being more than aware of it, this series decides to kick things off with a bit of a twist. Rather than simply being told to sell a boring product (t-shirts, hot dogs, etc.), this time the candidates have to sell ALL the boring products from previous first episodes (t-shirts & hotdogs, etc.). While this might seem like a minor alteration, it does actually result in slightly more creativity from the teams than in previous years, and is a nice nostalgic reward for long time followers of the show.
“Would you prefer somebody who can ‘sell ice to the Eskimos’, or do you instead ‘believe in the beauty of your dreams’? Tough choice.”
Another considerably larger change to the show is the number of candidates now in the running, increasing from 16 to 20. What is most interesting about this is Lord Sugar’s revelation that there would still be the same number of tasks as previous years, meaning that future episodes could see the firing of multiple candidates. It’s a threat not exploited in this first episode, but one that injects a good dose of fear/uncertainty into the series (more on that shortly).
As for the episode itself, it was very enjoyable, was certainly a step up from the openers of the past few series. The girls’ team, Decadence (a pun on decade, but one with all the wrong connotations), was led disastrously by Sarah. Whether it was telling teammates to glam up or attempting to sell cleaning products to London Zoo, she provided more cringe-worthy moments in one episode than most shows manage in a complete run. She’d have certainly gone had her team lost the task. Except in classic Apprentice style, they didn’t.
Nope, that honour befell on Felipe’s team, Summit. Or rather, it fell on sub-team manager Chiles, whose inability to decide on a t-shirt slogan for an hour and a half (something the girls managed in mere minutes) ended up costing the team dearly. Although Scott the Scot – with his lack of sales and, frankly, input at all – would probably have gone had Felipe brought him back to the boardroom, ultimately the decision was fair enough. As first episodes go it was a good’un. The changes have breathed new life into Lord Sugar’s baby, and already certain candidates look like they will keep us entertained for weeks to come (sassy Canadian Steven, I’m looking at you).
Episode 2
But enough about episode 1, that’s so last week… sort of. Episode 2 proved to be a strong follow up. Again it feels slightly too early to properly judge characters, so the audience is still at a loss knowing who to support. In fact it can be difficult simply remembering names. How are we meant to separate one young man with a grey suit and a quiff from the other? Nonetheless, the task in second episodes was a step up from the previous. Lord Sugar’s request here was for the teams to create some wearable technology, something which is totally relevant in today’s climate, but lends itself to being utterly tacky in the hands of our wannabe business partners. Basically it’s a perfect task for us, the viewers.
Slightly unusually at this early stage of the process, Lord Sugar tells 6 foot-something fashionista Robert that he should lead Summit. However, rather than seeing this as an opportunity to prove himself and his fashion sensibilities, he bravely opts to ignore this suggestion, fighting for his right not to be team leader amongst the other men. At this point Scott offers himself for the role, realising he has to prove himself after his no-show last week. For Tenacity (no longer Decadence, after a mauling from Lord Sugar and his aides) it is Nurun who is bullied into team leadership, due to her very loose connection to fashion marketing.
“How are we meant to separate one young man with a grey suit and a quiff from the other?”
The products designed are of course as horrible as you hoped. The girls actually stumble across the ingenious idea of having a piece of clothing that charges your phone with solar panels. Smart, but alas, as is usually the case this early on, it becomes a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. Pointless gadgets are added to already ugly blazer creating a visual and practical nightmare. Yet it looks like something straight from the pages of Vogue when compared to the guys’ Christmas jumper with a camera, an item of clothing pitched as ‘something I wouldn’t wear in public’.
A combination of terrible pitches and terrible products make for top television, but awful sales. Tenacity secured one order for their product, giving them the second win in a row. Summit got no sales, an inevitability given what they delivered, making Lord Sugar bloomin’ furious! So furious in fact that he fired Robert on the spot! This actually came as a big surprise, and shows pretty quickly the devastation that can be caused from having this increased number of candidates. Truthfully, although Lord Sugar was never going to invest in his high fashion business plan, there was always a feeling that Rob was going to stay on a bit longer, what with his eccentricities and jazzy suits making stand out from the crowd. Oh well.
Scott brought back Daniel and Solomon to the boardroom, the former for his awful pitching and the latter for… well, I’m not really sure why. Although a now-riled Scott makes a good case for Daniel deserving to go, following his lack of performance last week and his terrible delegation of roles in this task, Scott is sent home as the third contestant to leave the process. All things considered I personally don’t think that he did too badly getting as far as he did.
Everything considered, these were two very enjoyable episodes of The Apprentice, with enough twists and turns to keep the series feeling fresh. I know I’m now more excited for this series than any in recent memory – let’s just hope they can maintain the element of surprise. As a side note, Steven was more-or-less absent this episode. A shame, but I’m certain we’ll see him back to his loud, sassy ways in the weeks to come.
Joseph Kulman
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