1/8/2004

in

Erica Medina

Just when you thought Donald Trump had everything anyone would ever want, he agrees to become involved with the biggest trend in television. Trump is not only the host, but the producer of a new reality show called, "The Apprentice."  
  
The brainchild of "Survivor" creator, Mark Burnett, pitched the idea to Trump with hope that he would agree to host. Never one to shy away from the media, Trump jumped onboard. "People are going to learn a lot about life and business in New York," he said.  
  
In this 15-episode series, 16 contestants will fight for the $250,000 paycheck that comes with the position as president of a division within the Trump organization. NBC was flooded with 215,000 applications, more than any show in television history. Eventually, the contestant pool was narrowed to eight girls and eight guys ranging from ages 21 to 36.  
  
"It's not a game," Trump insists on the premiere, "it's a 13-week job interview." The contestants, all undoubtedly eye candy for viewers, are split into two teams, one team of girls and one team of boys. For 13 weeks, they will live in a Trump Tower suite, trying to claw their way to the top and stay there. It is only a matter of time before stereotypes show their ugly faces as the girls begin making friends and talking behind their backs and the guy's egos blow up bigger than Trump's hair.  
  
Each week, contestants will be given a task to perform with their designated teams. Some of the challenges include selling lemonade on the streets of New York, finding an artist, putting on a show and selling some if the artist's works and putting on a play and selling tickets. No matter what the task, each team wants to do it faster and better than their competiting team. While the winning team will be bathed in luxurious prizes, the losers must face Trump in his boardroom, explain themselves and, then, wait while Trump decides which of them is fired.  
  
If the first season of "The Apprentice" does well, it could lead to a series. Trump says he will wait to see how it fares before making any plans. Another advantage of the success of the show is what Trump referred to as the educational value of the show.  
  
"They are supposed to be learning a lot during this year," Trump says. "Then, they will go out and be very successful people, hopefully billionaires."