I haven’t done one of these in a while, in part because I’ve been so disappointed with the current edition of Amazing Race (just like Tom the Dog). The casting department really biffed things this time, picking contestants based on potential for conflict rather than charisma or potential audience appeal. One couple, Jonathan and Victoria, was so toxic that I jumped ship about halfway through. I know they’re gone now, but I’m beyond caring.
The current season of The Apprentice is off to a marginally promising start, with one fairly glaring flaw. Television Without Pity recapper extraordinaire Miss Alli puts it best:
“This time, Trump is eschewing gender warfare in favor of class warfare… So Trump’s plan is to see whether ‘practical experience is more important than academic knowledge.’ And this will be a great opportunity to learn exactly that. Welcome to America’s referendum on the value of higher education.”
That motif seems to be fading a lot faster than the men-versus-women dynamic of previous seasons, so that’s a plus. Still, reality shows are artificial enough to begin with, so why add an extra layer?
I’ll be interested to see the Martha Stewart edition of the show. And at this point I will come out and say that I hope Stewart enjoys the kind of comeback that makes every journalist and pundit who took unseemly glee in her conviction and imprisonment vaguely ill. Am I saying she didn’t break the law and didn’t deserve to suffer the consequences for that? No. I am saying that, of the slate of corporate malefactors who have popped up like mushrooms in a rainy forest, Martha is easily the least offensive. I am also saying that I think much of the aforementioned unseemly glee derived from an ambitious, aggressive woman “getting hers” as publicly as possible. Feel free to disagree, but I will not be dissuaded from this position. Take no prisoners, Martha. Living well is the best revenge. (Alternatively, you could insert a gazpacho/served-cold joke if you so choose.)
Deep breath. Moving on.
I’m pretty sure Stewart’s Apprentice will make Wickedly Perfect entirely superfluous. Its title, shamelessly chosen to invoke thoughts of Stewart despite her complete lack of participation, doesn’t work because the show is neither wicked nor perfect. It’s not a bad idea for a reality show, but it errs fairly badly in execution.
For one thing, and this is odd for competition-based shows, it doesn’t put enough emphasis on the contestants’ personal charisma. If the goal is to find someone to be a televised “style star,” I’d think you’d spend more time evaluating their ability to communicate ideas and techniques. There are plenty of people in the how-to field who make up for a lack of specific skills with sheer charisma and the ability to communicate to an audience. It’s why Rachael Ray can get away with making nachos on 30 Minute Meals. (Sometimes you don’t have to pick between goods and charm, as with the excellent Alton Brown on Good Eats or the gifted Candce Olson on Divine Design.)
For another, they have picked the worst panel of judges imaginable. David Evangelista? Candace Bushnell? Bobby Flay? How the hell would they know what a general audience is going to respond to? Okay, maybe Flay might not be so bad in that area, though I personally can’t stand him. But Evangelista and Bushnell are evaluating projects from an entirely urban, upscale, Euro-trash perspective, and I can’t picture either of them having any idea what would constitute a successful general-interest style program. Worse still, they don’t even ultimately decide who gets the boot. That’s left to the contestants themselves, which takes merit even further out of the equation. (I know, I know. Big surprise.)
In my opinion, Wickedly Perfect would do well to model itself more after Project Runway than The Apprentice. While interpersonal conflict plays a part (and how could it not with that pack of freaks), it’s more organic. I like the judging system better, because it’s a more direct evaluation of what the designers have done within the parameters of each week’s assignment.