Don't Be So Harsh, It's an Old Format!
I'll be honest, I've followed The Apprentice in pretty much all its incarnations (in the English speaking world, that is) as well as digested a lot of other business-related reality TV, and I still think that the UK Apprentice is one of the better examples of the format.
With that said, it does have its flaws, partly because the attraction of 'being on the telly' mixed with the continuous quest for ever-higher ratings, leads to some interesting candidate decisions. We all like the 'characters', but it is supposed to be a business programme, and as such when we get to the sharp end of the process, we expect to have some pretty serious people left to fight it out.
Largely, it's self regulating, and the self-regulating part almost works, much of the time. In other words, it's not always the best candidate that will win through, but we are guaranteed entertainment along the way.
The show may well have run its course, but looking back over the last 9 series, I believe that there are a few nuggets of advice, and some lessons to be learned in business, from the tasks that have been set over the years.
But, it is, at the core, entertainment, and we should not forget that.
LeckyT
http://lessons-from-reality-tv.blogspot.com/