There was a time, in the not too distant past, when Sir Alan would have gone for substance over viewing ratings..... ie he wanted to identify someone who had all the attributes he was looking for, and he'd eliminate them one-by-one as they showed that the were not "that one person". But it would have been safe to assume that the least likely person to fit his requirements each week would be the one to go. All agreed so far?

Now I think the show has morphed into something that just wants to be popular.... ie gets ratings. That's totally fine, but it should at least be admitted as the objective of the show. Why not say that they're really looking for that one person who will do well business-wise but, if you want to come on for your 15 mins of fame, then that's fine? Those in the latter category just need to be obnixious and up themselves.

There are probably numerous examples, but the retention of Katie Hopkins (vile person) until almost the final hurdle a few series ago rang big warning bells in my mind..... there was no way on this earth that someone so divisive and just basically objectionable was ever going to be good for any business. In fact, let's fact it, her exit was probably staged as well.

Fast forward to the current series. Maj and Paula have both gone, yet people like Ben have stayed. Makes you wonder...... I run two businesses and I'd have Maj or Paula any day over Ben or some of the others left in. But, folks, Maj and Paula don't make such good telly. And therein lies the problem for Sir Alan. Basically the show has been made in order to appeal to as many people as possible; it has been popularised.

What do others think?

Caroline.

I agree Caroline. I knew that Paula would go last night, because Ben and Yasmina probably make better tv. Paula is a nice girl, who didn't create any conflict - which unfortunately made her not very interesting for a tv show.

I think it has always been like that. It has just gotten worse recently. If you accept that the show has nothing to do with business and is just like Big Brother it is fun to watch, otherwise you would lose all faith in the future of business in this country.
Although SirAlun claims otherwise, I feel the producers give him an idea of who to sack before he goes into the boardroom or during a break in filming.
Charlie Brooker did a great show a while ago about how the apprentice is filmed and how the editing really tricks the viewer into thinking things.

I'd be really interest in seeing that show.. was it on tv? If so, can you remember which cannel?

Yep I agree , although after last year I've come to accept that it's no longer as good as it was but just another reality show with the contestants being at least remotely intellectual , unlike BB.

To be honest I'm still surprised when people who've watched all 5 series say series 4 was their favourite. That was without a doubt the worst IMO. I haven't agreed with all the firings so far this year but the people being fired have been partly to blame for the failure and their firings weren't completely unjustified , unlike last year where Shazia was just fired for no apparent reason.

Quite. Shazia was fired for no reason at all.

Good post.

I'm afraid it was an inevitable consequence of the switch from BBC2 to BBC1.

Sorry I would love to see it again too but I caught the end of it late one night on BBC3 or 4 and I have never seen it again. Maybe iplayer?
It was basically like a fake apprentice show but where Brooker was addressed as King Alan by the candidates. It showed how there were loads of breaks in the boardroom filming and then the editing put it all together to show King Alan as more perceptive with really quick fire responses and so on. Very clever, it makes you watch the apprentice in a different light altogether.

Oh...and one thing I've seen this year is the scripted one liners written for SAS. No offence to him but he really is a terrible actor and those lines sound comletely unnatural.

Agree with the OP.

It's pretty simple these days....Quiet - Out first
Obnoxious idiot - Middle
Normal person - End

Was this it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RsLY5b1GcI

Is this it?

Haha.."I don't like chancers...I don't like bumlickers.....I don't like women"

The Apprentice is one of the BBC's flagship shows and not surprisingly has become more and more entertainment and less of a serious programme on business.

So expect failure - that gets the more coverage; expect the boring candidates to go even if they are good businessmen.

The Apprentice is probably in its "jumping the shark" season. Love to see a repeat of series one to compare.

Genius!

She lost all the laundary didnt she?

No she didn't. She specifically asked Jenny whether she could leave the launderette at that time and Jenny agreed to it , meaning that Jenny then took on the responsibility of the clothes but then Shazia was stitched up in the boardroom

Yeah but Shazia was the only one who knew who all the laundry belonged to and had no business bogging off without making sure that her replacement was fully informed. For that reason she deserved to go.

Is that you, sralun?

I wish!

Part 1 (Apprentice part starts at 3.25)

Part 2

Part 3

One of my favourite episodes of Screenwipe!

I completely agree with the OP and many others, and this has been an issue that has been building up since for the past 2 years, although last year really was when it started to rot.

Paula and Maj would probably make good tv. People were laughing when Paula made the terrible mistake on Wednesday, and that was entertaining. Just because she wasn't shouting in everyone's face, that doesn't mean she's as dull as a dish. The thing that she isn't delivering is extra press coverage, especially in the tabloids, which The Apprentice shouldn't be aiming for. I think the NOTW website had their own Apprentice section and still has I think, and only began once the nasties and big-heads started to taking up more air-timing, in favour of people who would realistically be employed in the industry.

In earlier series, conflict would naturally build up, and wouldn't happen at the first opportunity by the wannabe. Even in earlier series we had know-it-alls, but at least, to some extent, they did "know it all" and their progress in the competition proved this, and the way they clashed people didn't feel so staged and very played-up either.

It's all about ratings now. Paula's team produced by far the best product and marketed & sold it well. She was let down by the two peoplw whom she delegated costings to. Both failed to do the job they were tasked with and just come up with lame exuses as to why they did not do the job.

It was a no brainer that both of them charged with doing the costings should have gone

I agree that the candiates were better, but even in series one there was Paul Toresi who should have gone several times (particularly in the art task) but managed to remain and act obnoxiously time after time.

I agree with the OP

Remember when Sraln used to say 'this isn't a game, it's a job interview'? Well, it's a game.

It's got close to nothing to do with business.

But as someone said on another thread - just because they've gone out early doesn't mean that Maj and Paula are losers in this game; they've got their face on telly and should have no trouble getting useful contacts out of the show. But the likes of Ben and to a lesser extent Debra and Yasmina are just closing all their future opportunities by showing the whole country their lack of competence.