Question: When The Apprentice ...
Question: When
The Apprentice first came on, I was immediately taken by the show, but you seemed to have an utter dislike for the program, calling it "obnoxious" and stating "I'm not hooked, but I suppose I'll have to keep watching, however grudgingly" in your January 19 Ask Matt
column. In your April 12
column, you seemed to have done a complete reversal, saying, "some weeks have gone beyond compelling to even illuminating." I was just curious what it was about the show that made you change your opinion. I love your columns, by the way — they make watching TV even more enjoyable, and you've made me take notice of great programming that I would have otherwise ignored and now cannot live without. — Brodie L.
Matt:
Glad to know that my critical inconsistency hasn't cost me a reader. And that's one of the things I love about following TV shows and trends: Even after all these years, I'm still on a learning curve. I've often discovered with reality shows that they gain in appeal as the season wears on. I know I didn't really start enjoying The Apprentice fully until after they blended the teams. When it was guys vs. girls and the results were so lopsided, it just seemed way too contrived and forced. I also found that the challenges got more interesting than selling lemonade on the street or trying to convince people to drop their standards and walk into the Times Square Planet Hollywood. So it grew on me, but I also think the show improved as it went on. I still think Donald Trump is creepy, though, and his ego is almost as scary as his hairstyle. Some things haven't changed.
