j123vt_99

starts in a few mins.. curious to how it is going to fair against other "apprentice" type shows... Does anyone have details on the grand prize? Obviously the winner is not really going to overtake all of Branson's companies

j123vt_99

ok.. i watched about 30 seconds, walked the dog and started playing ps2.. any comments on the show?

big whoppa

Yes, winner will become president of Virgin, running all of his companies. Kind of unbelievable that he would allow this based on a reality-based game show. I'm thinking he will remain boss of the winner so that he can still have the final say in decisions.

Kal-El

I'm only watching because one of the contestants works in the same office as I do.

So it's like The Apprentice meets The Amazing Race. Is it me or does Shawn look like Jeff from the British Coupling and one of the other guys looks like Adam from the original Average Joe?

Wazootyman

Branson said on the Daily Show that the person actually would become president... although Branson would remain on as Chairman and would have complete veto power over the winner

Patman

So the winner is pretty much Branson's stooge.

Derrich

I changed the channel right after they split into men vs women and Branson told them to pick a 'group leader'. I'd rather wait a couple of days until the Apprentice comes on.

D

das Monkey

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this. It's a pretty good mix between the best aspects of The Apprentice and The Amazing Race. It's one thing to find a bunch of people who can put together business plans and catfight on camera when the producers say "jump!" but to get those same people climbing up the side of a hot air balloon is pretty impressive. I also like how involved Branson is. With The Apprentice, half the time Trump's reasoning is lame, and often I feel his selections are based as much (if not more) about ratings for the show than anything else. Also, the show is really wrapped around his ego. Branson seemed pretty genuine, and he's both kind and critical of the contestants. His critiques are dead on the money, but he doesn't berate them either. In contrast to Trump, while his ego is also a part of the show, it's more about putting the other people in a position to succeed. And it seems like -- aside from the first two to leave at the beginning -- the running theme will be that before you leave you get to bond with Branson and do something amazing while challenging yourself. I like that aspect of the show. They won't leave empty handed, but likely after one of the greatest experiences of their lives. That's cool.

It's a much more positive and adventurous show than The Apprentice and is therefore different enough to keep watching. As long as the business tasks aren't lame and the challenges continue to get more difficult as he said, I can see this being pretty entertaining.

das

CPA-ESQ.

I liked it! I thought that Branson had some good challenges. He is genuine (or seems to be). Is 100% hands on.

I will definately watch again.

mrpayroll

This was a great 2 hour show and I felt the intensity of the balloon crossing and climb. And I agree that Sara, who made it to the top of the balloon should win that round. She put a lot more effort and fought against her incredible fear of heights to make it to the top. She really looks familiar to me for some reason.

And it was an interesting twist with Candida & Jermaine at the end. They will be elimated pretty soon. For a motivational speaker, Jermaine is sure full of himself. And Candida isn't much better. She doesn't know when to shut up.

So far I am impressed with Sara, but what's up with her being the owner of a company that sells footless pantyhose? What a waste of time!

Chris

mrpayroll

http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve...1,1002,272_617|91727|1|,00.html

The CMAs improved to a 12.3/18 in their second hour on CBS. NBC remained in second with "The Biggest Loser" (7.8/12) and "Scrubs" (5.9/9). ABC's "According to Jim" and "Rodney" finished third for the crowded hour. On FOX, "Rebel Billionaire" improved slightly to a 3.3/5 and edged The WB's "One Tree Hill." UPN's "Veronica Mars" was stuck at a 1.8/3 for the night.


Damnit, they finished 4th. I really thought it would do better than that. Why would anyone want to watch 'The Biggest Loser' over 'Rebel Billionaire' is a mystery to me.

Fox better not cancel this show, if the ratings don't get better.

j123vt_99

i doubt they will.. they have been hyping this pretty good

Roto

FOX won't cancel it. At worst they will move it around like Joe Millionaire 2. At least with reality shows you don't have to worry much about them being cancelled mid-season because they normally finished shooting it all before it any of it aired. They just won't bring it back for another season.

DRG

I taped this last night and decided to drop in to see if I should bother watching it (since my interest was "on the fence"). The comments here have convinced me to give it a shot. I enjoy Apprentice, but between that, Benefactor, and MBF Obnoxious Boss I thought this would be one "boss show" too many. The "Amazing Race" element, however, is a welcome and unexpected aspect and I'm now looking forward to watching it tonight.

Michael T Hudson

I loved how he was the taxi driver at the start. I enjoyed the show and seems like Branson is much less of an egomaniac than the Donald.

JamesBrian

When I become a billionaire I hope I can be as cool as Sir Richard. I loved the way he immediately booted two contestants for being shallow or arrogant. I thought the first hour balloon stunt was exciting, no way I could walk that plank! The second hour business challenge was like the Apprentice without The Donald's annoying presence. Branson is a pleasant and interesting guy - so far. This week he's been on 60 Minutes, Howard Stern and The Daily Show, and even talked about his adult circumcision with Howard.

synergy

I also enjoyed watching this show, and wish the ratings will improve for future episodes. By airing both MBF Obnoxious Boss and this show during the same season, Fox certainly gives the impression that this is just another dud like "The Benefactor", which is far from the truth.

There is no doubt that Sir Richard is using the show to promote his Virgin corporate brand image in the US, but his personality is much better than the pretentious Donald Trump. Also His genuine interest in finding a contestant with true entrepreneur spirits makes this show different than "The Apprentice".

corycouger

I have suspicions about the contestants.


Knowing Fox some of them could be stunt men or stunt women.


Most normal people would never attempt to get on a plane 20,000 feet above the ground upside down no matter the financial reward.


Also none of them stumbled on the plank between the balloons.

Ted The Bug

What does the Virgin enterprise entail exactly? I can think of Virgin mobile, what else is there?

And why did he call it Virgin?

das Monkey

Ever heard of Virgin Records? He doesn't own it any more, but he sold it to EMI a while back for about a billion dollars, probably to save Virgin Atlantic. Now he runs V2 Records. Then you have Virgin Megastores, Virgin Galactic, Virgin Publishing, and a whole host of European companies I know nothing about.

I think I read/heard somewhere that the name was just supposed to "pop" and since they were virgins in the record business, it made sense.

das

Ted The Bug

Never heard of Virgin Records, or Virgin Atlantic (what's that?). Never seen a Virgin Megastore (what's a "mega" store?).

Flashback

What?!? You must be joking. You ever read the news? Virgin has been a well known brand name for a long time. And what's a megastore? Take a guess

I expected nothing and got more. Not a fan of the show but it could be pretty good...never did like Branson either but definitely way more than a Trump.

das Monkey

Hmmm ... ever heard of The Rolling Stones? Virgin Records is a major recording label. Virgin Atlantic is an airline, and Virgin Megastore is where you go to buy virgins. Either that or it's a giant music store (among other things).

das

Patman

If they were concerned about "pop" maybe "Hymen Records" would have been a better name for them...

DJLinus

I flew Virgin Atlantic once and loved it - mainly because of free access to Dr. Mario and the presence of some really "sexy stews." Also had Virgin Cola while on the flight and it wasn't bad.

Richard Branson's my favorite nutty billionaire. I bought his book a couple of years ago, but haven't read it (but then, there's a bunch of books that I've bought that remain unread). I'm pretty much fed up with the whole reality genre, but maybe I'll have to give this show a shot.