The Apprentice 2016 – Our Review
So, The Apprentice 2016 came to an end last night and our feelings about the series as a whole are pretty mixed. So in a week at work which will be slowing by the hour, let’s get into the nitty gritty of it.
As it’s Christmas, I’ll start off positive – the Final. I must admit I thought it was a very professional, well fought and level battle between two candidates who grew and grew throughout the process, and emerged quite clearly as the two front runners and deserving finalists. They dealt with pressure very well and handled the tough audience questions with confidence and style, especially Courtney and his football coloured beaker scenario. But it was Alana who came out on top, and for me, the better and more easily built business plan won over Lord Sugar to ensure the youngest Female candidate of 2016 would take the huge investment and knowledge from Lord Sugar. You also have to admire the bottle Alana showed, as she changed the branding at the 11th hour. The deciding factor some would say.
Being a trophy supplier, I would have loved to see Courtney’s novelty trophy baby beaker carry him to victory. Especially as he felt that designing a trophy would be a good omen for him to go forward and lift the trophy. Not that the winner does get a physical trophy – I think they should. Time to send Lord Sugar an e-mail!
Now for the rest of the series. It doesn’t win any awards for me. In fact, I was left uninspired and disappointed. It felt like most of them were interviewing for a TV career rather than an investment, and my hunch is that they had that in mind when selecting the candidates. If that’s the best 12 business plans and candidates for an investment Britain has, then my first thought would be that we’re in trouble. At times I was cringing, other times I was generally shocked at how bad some of the efforts were. I said 3 years ago it needed a freshen up, but getting worse candidates and making it a bit more TV glamorous was not really what I had in mind. Then again, if the viewing figures were an all-time high, what do I know.
So there we have it, Alana joins the list of Lord Sugar’s apprentices and time will tell how well she fares. I think she’ll do great and has the mental strength to succeed.
But what’s your thoughts on this year’s series, was it just an unfortunate selection process or are they trying to give it more of an appeal to a younger audience? Would you keep it the same for what it is, or would you change the feel of the show? If so what would you change about The Apprentice? Either way, we’d love to know your thoughts!