'Apprentice' Moves To LA

I was an "Apprentice" fan when the show first hit the airwaves, three years ago, and became an instant phenomenon with an average of twenty one million viewers tuning in. Too many back-to-back series made what was a fun, smart show seem stale very quickly. By season five the ratings had dipped to below 10 million viewers. Donald should have taken a cue from "American Idol." One of the main reasons "Idol" has sustained its viewership is fans are given a chance to miss it. You have to wait an entire six months before the next season starts.

To breathe new life into the failing franchise (though Trump, the self-proclaimed ratings machine, is convinced 10 million viewers is still a good number) they moved it to Los Angeles. Cue the musical montage of palm trees, beaches and Hollywood boulevard. Yep, it's in there as well as some footage of Trump driving a car which I'm convinced is actually him sitting in a car being driven around on a flat bed truck. Does the man actually know how to drive a car? Does he even have a license?

After watching the first two episodes of the "The Apprentice: Los Angeles", I'm not completely impressed with the show's attempt to re-invent itself. The producers idea to spice things up seems to be to cross "The Apprentice" with "Survivor" and throw in a little bit of the "The Bachelor" for good measure (think hot tubs and make out scenes). The only thing missing is a ballroom dance competition but hey its still early.

At least the show has made a few changes to give it a different feel. Change number one: George and Carolyn are out as his trusted advisors and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, is in. Ivanka's aloof personality works well for her on this show and in the boardroom. She just may be the best thing about the show.

Change number two: The winning project manager joins Ivanka and the Donald in the boardroom to help make the decision about who gets fired.

Change number three: The winning project manager remains project manager until their team loses. Eventually this will begin to cause major tension among the candidates.

Change number four: If you've watched any primetime NBC lately I'm sure you have seen the promos, "It's the most in-tents season yet". The losing team must live in tents on the lawn of the mansion where the winning team stays. While its certainly not ideal, they at least have sleeping bags, outdoor showers and sinks.

I guess Trump doesn't want dirty, smelly employees working for him. "The Apprentice: Los Angeles" premieres Sunday night on NBC at 9:30pm.