Week one review by Ian Walsh
So here we have it then, the adventures of Ireland’s answer to Sir Alan Sugar. The search for his apprentice has begun. Week one, task one and naturally when you have 7 men and 7 women, its Boys vs Girls.
Where better to start than the place Bill grew up; on Moore Street selling fruit. €350 for each team, and profit is expected to be made ‘and I am not talking about Moses’ quips Bill.
Ooooh hello? This is new, ahh its Ireland & its TV3….the ad-breaks, no less than 3 of course, but it gives anyone who can’t sit still for an hour a chance to pop the kettle on, which I didn’t do.
Right, team names & project managers are what we need now. The boys go for Dynamo & it is Mark (who sounds like he smokes 40-a-day) from Dublin to lead the lads. Brave man! The ladies come up with Pheonix and its a very confident Joanna who leads them. Lads being lads try to get one up on the girls by raiding the house of all the fruit, a little bit sneaky, but thats the cut throat world of business for ya !
Something that made me chuckle was the sign the boys had for their stand ‘fruits from the suits’ - these boys are well up for it !!
Mark certainly sounded at home on Moore Street while the rest of the troops went off selling to hairdressers. Got fruit to sell? I know, let’s go to the hairdressers!
The task forced me to ask the question ‘what is the price of fruit today?’ €20 to €30 for a box sounds a bit Irish (excuse the pun).
4.30pm, boardroom time, and who do we see? Bill’s very own Francis. Its the girls who win the task, be it by only €15.03, leaving the lads feeling dejected and one of them to be fired. Like the UK show, three people aren’t safe and they are Mark, David & Ronan.
David was without doubt the weakest during the task for me was told by Cullen ‘he lost the plot’ and became the first candidate to hear the famous words ” YOU’RE FIRED”
Joanna stood out as someone who is very strong leader and a good candidate for the job, I also like Mark’s spirit through the task giving it 110%.
I can see Bill is going to be great with the quotes and we will probably fill a blog with his wise words by the end of the series.
So, 13 candidates remain, Bill Cullen’s search for his apprentice has begun. Cue the bitchiness next week!
- Excited
- Fascinated
- Amused
- Bored
- Sad
- Angry
What a farce, lets be honest! Yes, the show ! The format might be tried and tested and invariably you will attract mediocre calibre contestants but the very thought of Bill Cullen being the flag bearer as the bastion of Irish businessman is sheer fantasy. Such a pity that TV3 / Shinawill could not muster up a half decent figurehead to front the show. If Donald Trump and Alan Sugar can find time to do the show I am sure someone like Michael O’Leary / Denis O’Brien / John Magnier could have fitted into their busy schedules.
You could tell by the lads body language and the project managers laguid dress sense that they were far from afraid of Bill Cullen when they entered the boardroom. How they managed to keep a straight face when “challenged” is beyond me ! The standard of questions levelled at the 3 lads for the high jump was hilarious, I have had tougher 1st round interviews!
I’ll keep watching, but for the wrong reasons. Maybe thats all TV3 want? But shame on you, another amateurish production with a jovial skanger at the helm, could have been so much better.
John C.
John, this production is fantastic. Bill is a fantastic business man. And it’s funny for someone who think’s it’s so easy and amateur I don’t remember seeing you on TV Monday night. Step up to the challenge next year and we’ll see how long you high opinion of yourself lasts!!
Didn’t see you either Ana funnily enough? Why would I quit a decent job to fanny around on TV for a few weeks? That probably explains why you dont see successful career people on the show, well in Ireland at least. There is no kudos in working for Bill Cullen, stop pandering. Hes no donald trump is he?
Your definition of fantastic might be a tad stretched. Theres plenty of people as successful if not more so than that clown Cullen who simply dont hog the media in the same vein.
Its funny that the vast majority of the contestants either didnt go to university, barely have a leaving cert or only have have certificates to their name… yet most consider themselves “high achievers”…and as for that idiot mark, this guy walks into the family architectural salvage business during the most economically prosperous time in our history and people say hes a great salesman…well let the recession sort the men from the boys and includes the girls!!
Bill Cullen is surely just as amateurish as Sralan.
I haven’t seen it but would quite like to see TV3 have a decent hit for some reason.