The Apprentice last night

O my gahd, I hate the Apprentice! This is mainly because I have spent my working life teaching people to be professional managers, which has nothing whatsoever to do with being vile to other people! Two of the main skills required are a degree of self knowledge/personal insight and the willingness to keep on learning. The characters on both sides of the Apprentice have not the least shred of either of these qualities.

The latest episode certainly threw a spotlight onto these shortcomings. The candidates were completely unwilling/unable to learn from the older people who they interviewed and were outrageously disrespectful to boot. None of them will get anywhere in business because they think they know it all already.

Rant over!

Haven't seen the programme,so can't really comment,it all does sound very patronising. But why do we need another magazine when we have the Oldie! Funny, smart anarchic,written by some of the most intelligent "Oldies" around!

I've been playing around and wondered you'd be tempted to pick up my version of Zimma

A one-off to wipe the floor with them Magsie. Now you're talking. Incidentally, when did the brain get reclassified as a muscle?

Ah absentgrana although we know we are too wise & too busy, the young Apprentices think we need little puzzles to keep our brains active (as suggested to the focus group). They should have got the message when they asked the focus group what magazines they read and the first man said "The Economist". They still went on to be extremely patronising. I just thought it would be fun to do a one-off programme where a team of over-60s took on the current Apprentices and wiped the floor with them!

Sorry notsogrand – I did say that I hadn't seen the programme. If they consulted a focus group and then went ahead with such ludicrous ideas, it's even more worrying. I think I would have played around with a title based on 60…and Still Counting, trying to get over the double idea that a) over sixties have lots of years ahead and b) they still matter. I don't think they could have used Zimmer as it's a registered trademark. A Senior Apprentice would surely be a contradiction – don't we already have bags of experience and aren't we all too wise and too busy to bother with silly projects?

The Apprentice is like watching a slow car crash. Essentially its another big ego trip for Lord Sugar, an excuse for Nick to exert his Stalistic management style and lord only knows what Karen Brady thinks its doing for her except showing her lack of people skills and her large flabby double chin on national TV.

Jim is a classic narcissist having met loads of those in senior NHS management I feel like an expert now he will proably do very well in the Public sector where they give CEOs huge packages to ruin organisations and then send them on garden leave with full pay (look at Suffolk County Council).

Where are all the previous winners - have they trasnformed the business worls - as far as I know only Ruth badger has a successful business and one of the blonde bimbos presents a shopping channel or something suiting her business acumen.

So having said all that I'm glued to it!!!

Did it not occur to these contestants for one second that his Lordship is of the demographic they were targeting? And would you really try to teach him how to use a mobile phone? A good laugh though. Susie ought to be renamed Cassandra as they never take any notice of what she thinks and she's often right - and getting quite a chip on her shoulder about it. Look forward to seeing them patronising the French next week!

Yes I agree with the comments re the patronising and fearfully awful lack of understanding. But I like watching the program and find it instructive about the thoughts of young adults. They should have called it 'wisdom' or 'voice' or something like that. We all need to keep up with the views of the younger generation so we are ready for it. One can wield a zimma with attitude.

Ah, but we wouldn't have all that 5am nonsense goldengirl! The young ones have to get up at that time to be taken to a completely irrelevant location. They then watch a recording of Sir Allen, who is no doubt still in bed. We could just as easily watch the recording in our dressing gowns, over coffee and a nice cooked breakfast.

I don't think getting up at 5 am to answer the phone AND getting all poshed up in 15 minutes AND get by brain into gear would be my idea of fun but I'd enjoy watching other people's torture

If there was a Senior Apprentice made up of Gransnetters, can you honestly imagine anyone on this forum taking any stick in the boardroom from Surallen? Would be fun watching him try though.

Just got The Choir that Rocks on tv in the background, what about a mag. title along those lines -- The Age that Rocks - give a sense of stability, strength, durability and people having fun! (or would there be a stereotypical association with chairs!)
Senior Apprentice is a brill idea.

That's a brilliant idea, magsie. How about it, BBC?

We've had Young Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice- what about a Senior Apprentice series? I think it would make great television- contestants with real character and experience for a change!

One of the items in the magazine, was teaching us old folk how to use the telephone!! After a few years of watching the Apprentice, I realise they don't want really 'bright' young people. The best episode of the whole programme is towards the end when they really look into their experiences and qualifications and find them 'wanting'. They must know all of this right from the start.

I agree with seraphicDigitalis about the contestants. For me this is one of the funniest shows on TV, along with Top Gear.

I suppose one shouldn't say these things, but why the ** not? My days of PC behaviour are done. My impression is that the youths who appear on this type of show are by definition not, shall we say, the brightest. They lack maturity, obviously, or they wouldn't be chosen, but they're daft enough to think that appearing on the Telly will transform their lives. Having achieved this aim, they also lack the wit to develop the necessary humility, courtesy, imagination to do the job. Perhaps the word is 'arrogance'?

I think Nana-Anna has hit the nail on the head re-viewing figures. It is entertainment, after all! I wonder how the participants are selected?

I don't know anyone of retirement age who wants to be reminded that they are passed their sell by date, so can't see there would be queues to buy their Hip replacement magazine.As for those patronising would be apprentices,I think they need more education in how to get on with older people I hope the ones on the other team are more aware of today's grandparents needs.

I love the apprentice and this was the best yet. I just shows how the young see the over 60s yes it was a laugh but maybe would should concentrate our efforts into changing this perception, 60 is the new 50 I have been told.

Very funny programme - if a bit worrying. Don't any of these youngsters have grandparents?

Yes, I agree Cressida but Glen is boring whereas Jim is good for viewing figures ..........

I loved the suggestion of Zimmer but would have spelt it Zimma and used the tagline - 'for those who don't need the other sort' or something along those lines. It clearly identifies the target market but in a different way which is what their magazine set out to do although somewhere along the way things went a bit wrong. I can't understand why Glen was fired - it should have been Jim as he was the one responsible for the appalling cover.

I did see this - (very painful it was too!). I cant believe how daft these people are - I suppose it could be the editing, but honestly! One suggestion for the magazine was the 'baby' market, which I thought was excellent, but no, it was completely ignored for !!HIP REPLACEMENT!! I'm sure I speak for most 'older' people ....... I wouldn't have touched this magazine with a barge pole!

So was Nick's! I really enjoyed this cringe making episode. None of them seemed to have had any contact with older people at all - nor the young man of today, judging by the front cover of the 'lads mag'. 'Hipp' [2 p's] would have been better and ditch the 'replacement'. I think the wrong person got fired though. I liked the one who was team leader at first [can't remember his name which perhaps is significant] but he's irritating me now.