I was just thinking tonight that The Apprentice was perhaps getting a little bit bored.

I don't know if it was because it was the first week and I'm not yet familiar with the candidates, but no one really grabbed me or excited me tonight.

@mattstvworld tweeted out his review of the show and seemed to think the same...

http://wp.me/pCi4U-enB

Is it just me, or is anyone else bored of all the one liners and that silly wrestling ploy was annoying!

Sorry, I 100% disagree. I've waited since the Young Apprentice finished for this to start and I think that it didn't disappoint. The one-liners are part of the show and apart from the firing, I was completely happy with the episode.

we'll see their true colours by the end of the series, and OH BOY, will THAT be fun. Haha.

The first episode is always really formulaic and predictable. First they big themselves up with ridiculous "quotable quotes", then they go into the boardroom where Sugs makes some witty comparisons (I believe it was something about a dog this year). They then argue over names (no so much tonight!) and then all back out of being PM until someone steps up.

I enjoyed the show tonight, but the first 15 minutes are the same every year!

What i don't get is if he wants a business partner then why doesn't he just do it dragons den style, instead getting them to do 12 weeks of mundane tasks.

I am finding myself much less enthusiastic about it as before

I'm not tired of it yet. It just takes a couple of episodes to get into a new series. But there is a lot less buzz about this series it feels like - though last year was kinda the same.

I always look forward to it as it's the candidates themselves and their personalities which end up making the show.

That said, it would be good to see a bit more of an unpredictable format so that the candidates are thrown a bit of a curve ball.

They are all way too savvy and for that reason alone, the format needs to change a bit where a bit more surprises are thrown in. Especially where it comes to selecting the teams, nominating the team captain, and the end boardroom showdowns.

It's all three of these areas that I see as weakpoints where the candidates can easily exploit gameplay in their favour.

Yes, I think it is predictable & cliched now. I was hoping they might make some changes this series; the obvious one being to reveal their business plans at the start & make them part of the competition.
But its the same old egotistical nonsense & tasks set up to make people bicker & look stupid. Which was funny once, but its all too obvious now & not as entertaining. As the OP says, tired.

I agree. If it is not about finding an Apprentice anymore the business plans should be discussed at the start and the tasks related to them.

yep i have to agree i was bored last night, i have seen every series so far its becoming a bit predictable

As with Dragon's Den where you know the last inventor will get the investment, it is now getting very predictable to see which team will win the task.

The winning team always look as if they are loosing through out the show and last night was no different. Worst design, lack of imagination, bad printing and no real discussion on sales direction/pricing. The thing that won it for them, attention to cost and margin was not really mentioned much throughout, only when they reached the boardroom. The girls product was shown to be a much better design, mum's loving it, Nick saying this to camera, suggested high sales etc.

I noticed this pattern occuring in the last series and was dissappointed to see the same thing last night. I just knew they had won.

Same here. And as an example, I just love Masterchef and every new series that comes along. I used to feel that way about The Apprentice but I don't know what's happened. Not sure why the sparkle's gone.

Maybe we need a new 'Lord Sugar'. I think with Masterchef, it's really John and Greg that make the series. The Apprentice needs a new 'Leader' I think.

Other than the wrong person being fired, :sleep:, I thought it was fine, but none of the candidates really stand out this year - apart from Bilyana (in my opinion anyway, why she was fired is beyond me) and perhaps Maria and Nick, who we haven't seen much of. The rest can all get fired now as far as I'm concerned.

I have suggested this before but here it is again...

One task could be split into two halves. If you don't complete the first half within the time limit (say, for example, four hours) one member of your team is automatically up for firing. Sugar would choose the candidate based on what Nick or Karen tell him. The task could be to buy a certain amount of products within the time limit. If you fail to get all the products within the time limit, you're in trouble.

A variation on this could be some form of elimination from the task. In other words, if a candidate doesn't achieve a certain amount of sales or whatever it is they have to do, they're eliminated from the rest of the task or have some penalty carried through to the next task (assuming they're not fired).

The tasks are fine but the show could add something new. Time limits, elimination from tasks, penalty points, stuff like that. Candidates could incur penalty points over the series. This could be taken into consideration later on when Sugar is deciding which candidate to hire. A time limit such as "you must achieve blah blah blah by 1pm or one of you will be removed from the rest of the task" would add more drama, perhaps.

That the men were spending a lot of time on the numbers instead of on design was made very clear to me during the task. That the women took too long getting to the zoo, and then finding a shop outside the zoo, and then failed to offload their stock at the end, was also made clear.

Does anyone know what became of the wonderful Stuart Baggs?

the candidates have prob watched the show for years so know what to expect

Then it would be Dragon's Den, not The Apprentice, and it would all be over in a couple of weeks. Sugar doesn't just want a business plan writer, he wants a business partner. They still have to prove they can perform in business under pressure. In that sense "the process" serves exactly the same purpose, regardless of the prize.

I don't know why people get so wound up about the prize changing everything (when it hasn't) and just enjoy the show. It's still basically about the deflation of enormous egos and watching that is great TV. The "six figure salary job" was never a proper job, at least the investment is real and it's up to the winner to make a success of it.

The review is only slightly negative, certainly not damning. I don't think he's thinking the same as you. As for the wrestling "ploy", if it's his hobby then he's going to mention it. That his name is Ricky Martin only adds to the comedy, but as they say, "you couldn't make it up". Unless you think the BBC has?

Doing 'motivational speaking' and occasional media work like 90 odd% of Apprentice candidates. http://www.stuartbaggs.com/about.php

I'm not bored of it yet otherwise I prob wouldn't have even bothered to watch this first episode. I get that people can lose interest because it has been on for a good few years now but, I don't know, there's still some amusement in it for me yet. And I think Junior Apprentice is good too.

I think if they could think of new tasks that could help to keep things fresh. But I'm not sure how much they can play around in freshning the format as I presume they have to ask permission from the American creators first?

Because the show would be less entertaining without the tasks? The Apprentice is still my favourite reality tv programme and I actually think it's one of the best comedies on TV. I've watched every series too, including the Junior versions. I'm surprised I haven't got bored of it yet myself, but I still find myself getting hooked to each series.

After last night's episode, I really can't wait for next week's one!

Whilst I would generally agree with you about the Apprentice often pulling the 'old switcheroo' in the editing, I don't agree with that being the case this time. The girls were quite clearly shown as struggling throughout....

I don't like the rigid sticking to of the boys v girls format. Should be mixed teams from first week for me.