The Apprentice Finale

For all its attempts to achieve a sense of climax, Sunday's series finale of The Apprentice left me cold. I confess to a mild obsession with the show, one of the BBC's greatest achievements, having overcome my despondency from last year's run in which Raef "the spoken word is my tool" Bjayou was prematurely given the chop. I'm extremely cynical when it comes to the shaping of character in any form of reality television; I recognize that, with enough raw footage, the editors and producers can construct any narrative, any conflict, or any outcome they like. We're not supposed to feel coerced in this way, and they, largely, do a very good and subtle job. But with every episode it's easy to point to examples whereby the audience is manipulated into siding with one individual or one team. However, I felt as though this series' creators withdrew this aspect of the show, particularly in the final weeks. It was clear in previous series, and in early episodes of this series, that Loraine and Debra, for instance, were two no-hopers, but in the closing stages it was as if the production team got a little carried away with presenting an empathetic, balanced view of the candidates. This culminated, rather negatively, in the final episode in which I had no real favorite; both candidates were shown to be worthy winners, and very little separated either of them, both in their skills and mentality. Take last season's final where Lee, the likable everyman, went up against Claire, the loud-mouthed personification of arrogance, and you'll see the obvious conflict that underpins the whole show. Of course, congratulations must go to Yasmina, though there was no sense of victory or finality. The conclusion felt rushed, dull, and, if this is possible, inconclusive. I left with the impression that Kate, who I'd tipped as a winner fairly early in the run, would likely end up in a higher paid, and better job anyway. Never mind.