The Celebrity Apprentice

The Celebrity Apprentice has been an entertaining television show despite itself.  I had no intentions of enjoying the series – the idea seemed a desperate attempt at reviving a dead show.  However, The Apprentice ended up returning with a vengeance and, for the most, it's because Donald Trump and NBC got lucky.  I know Trump has said on numerous occasions that he was overwhelmed with requests by celebrities who wanted to participate on The Celebrity Apprentice, but that's probably a downright lie – just look at the caliber (or lack thereof) of celebrities who were eventually cast.  They got lucky because of the cast they did end up with, and the way they ended up interacting with each other.  The newly fired Stephen Baldwin was a big part of this.

The thing that surprised and impressed me the most about the cast of The Celebrity Apprentice was how game they were for all of the tasks.  No one was too cool for, or even indifferent about, the challenges they faced.  The charity aspect of the competition played a large part in this, but I was happy with the players' effort nonetheless.  More importantly, the celebrities interacted in a way that made for entertaining television.  Not everyone brought a ton of TV personality to the table, but they didn't need to.  The important celebrities, in terms of entertainment value, were: Gene Simmons, Omarosa, Piers Morgan, Trace Adkins and Stephen Baldwin.  Baldwin, even though I'm not sure if I even like the guy, was a master at bringing both intentional and unintentional comedy to the proceedings. 

Early in the season, the best parts of each episode were the interactions between Piers and Stephen.  Their love/hate relationship was entertaining, whether they were bickering or co-conspiring.  Baldwin is such a manic, full-of-himself, full-of-hot air, dynamic person that he can't help but be a magnet for screen time.  Later in the season, his irrational dislike of Piers always made me laugh.  Was Stephen Baldwin, of all people, really getting on his high horse over actions taken in a game being played for charity? 

But, despite all of his eccentricities, Stephen was actually a valuable player on The Apprentice.  He knew what he was doing, constantly came up with good ideas and mostly got along with everyone.  I never thought I'd say this, but I'm a little sad the Stephen Baldwin era is over.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of NBC)