If ABC is hoping The Benefactor is their Apprentice-killer, they're fired. The show misfires on every level. Mark Cuban comes off as a self-indulgent doofus caught up in the idea of playing Geppetto to sixteen human marionettes. The first episode was all talking heads, with no real action or drama to speak of. The apparent structure is that Cuban has devised 15 rules for success in life, and each one will cause someone to get eliminated. The problem is, the contestants are playing the game without knowing the rules. The first player got axed within seconds of Cuban's appearance, for making an off-handed comment about thinking the game will be "stupid, but not stupid stupid." Cuban showed him the door as an example of how you only get one chance to make a first impression. It came off as capricious and cruel, an emperor exercising his power simply because he can. The lesson appears to be to cowtow before him or risk eviction. Mark Cuban's game isn't one I'd want to play, and it isn't one I'll be watching.
Posted by Peter at September 13, 2004 11:27 PM