Behind the Curtains

I'm not an avid watcher of reality TV shows, but The Apprentice is one that I watch almost religiously (Unfortunately, due to schoolwork and such, I missed Season 5). And watching this show (as I'm sure would be the case if I watched any other reality TV show) has inevitably made me wonder what really goes on behind the scenes and how much of it is actually real.

There were a couple shows on VH1 and E! which documented the un-realness of reality TV by interviewing contestants from different shows and having them reveal that, in fact, many things were staged. I think I remember one of the contestants saying that once the cameras didn't catch a fight between the contestants and they were asked later to try and re-enact that scene. I've also learned that reality TV shows are known for their notorious editing to make some contestants look especially villainous.

Armed with these facts, I was dying to find out what goes on behind one of my favorite shows, The Apprentice, this season. Thankfully, my quest to find this information quickly ended when I came across one of the contestant's blogs. Not only does his blog reveal (or will reveal) what goes on, in detail, behind every episode before he was fired (which was fairly late in the season), it also details the extremely secretive and super excruciating audition process. I was in heaven.

In fact, finding his blog served two purposes: first and foremost (and very obvious) finding out for myself what goes on behind-the-scenes on The Apprentice, and two, satisfying my own curiosity about this particular contestant, whose name is Tim Urban. Almost everyday for the past couple of weeks, I found myself browsing his blog daily, looking for Apprentice-related entries. Surprisingly, in the process of doing this, I think I've just about read every one of his entries because they're very interesting, and above all, funny.

Some facts about The Apprentice Season 6 which I thought are interesting:

• The contestants were there on location for a week before filming began. They had a couple of meetings with the producers but they weren't allowed to interact with one another because the producers wanted to capture all the first impressions on camera during the first episode.
• All the promotional images, videos, including the opening credits, were filmed that week.
• When someone gets fired, they don't actually go home right away (which is what you see--them with their suitcases getting into a car). They actually only pack a night worth of things and the car takes them to the hotel they were staying at before filming. And they come back the next day, while everyone is on a task, to get the rest of their stuff.
• The interviews that are interjected in each episode were filmed on the day following the completion of a task.
• Living in the tent, according to Tim, is not that bad. It's all editing.
• The second round in the audition process consists of an interview with the producers which is taped. For the 3rd round, you have to send in a video showing what you do in your life. Fourth round is a background check. The 5th and final round consists of psychological tests, an IQ test, one-on-one interviews, and a debate with the remaining people.

Some thoughts on what Tim said about the contestants so far:

• I can't believe that Martin is actually a decent/nice guy
• Stefani is definitely NOT a "bitchy old hag"
• I can't believe Tim liked Surya
  

A little background on Tim: He graduated from Harvard, moved to LA, started his own tutoring company, and landed a record deal (plays the piano).

A taste of his entries:

• The one about the chocolates
• The one about the poodle
• The one with him and his fish, Doug
• The time he met Larisa Oleynik, the star of The Secret World of Alex Mack