The Grad Voice

Recently, I had the chance to watch an incredible television show that I had somehow missed the first time around. This program had first aired in 2005, to unimpressive ratings. It was on the FOX network, which decided not to even bother showing the second half of a ten-episode season. However, the entire season is periodically shown in marathon sessions on the Fox Reality Channel (number 158 for those of you with Time Warner Cable), a channel devoted to some of the worst reality shows ever made and therefore an excellent time-waster during final exams. I'm talking, of course, about "My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss." Named after another show titled "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé," it has no relation to the latter and is basically a spoof of "The Apprentice." An actor named William August reveals in the first episode that he is playing a billionaire named N. Paul Todd (which, according to my research, was chosen as an anagram of Donald Trump). Twelve unsuspecting contestants believe that they are competing for the chance to win a job at his company, which is described as a venture capital firm. August is assisted by other actors, who play his executives, wife, and son.

Each episode consists of the familiar format of a business-related challenge run by a project manager, a meeting to discuss the winning and losing teams, and a firing in the boardroom. So what makes this show different than all the other formulaic knockoffs out there? The pointed insinuations that these contestants should know better than to fall for the ridiculousness that they are subjected to. August and his henchmen (and women) continually mock the candidates, who in turn remain blindly loyal in pursuit of what they perceive to be their dream come true - a job at IOCOR (the fake company, named for the Latin verb "to jest"). In the pilot, the candidates were welcomed with a reception that included champagne and appetizers. Little do they know that the champagne is the cheapest brand from the local deli and that the pate was made with pureed Spam and other equally unappealing ingredients. They dutifully compliment the refreshments, assuming that this is what things taste like in the world of the very wealthy.

The challenges range from the relatively benign (selling soup on a hot day, working on an advertising campaign) to the completely outrageous (protecting the team leader from paint balls shot by August, bartering using a live chicken - you have to see it to believe it). In the first episode, the candidates must beg for money on the streets of Chicago. One woman is so desperate to gain attention for her fake charity that she begins to dance, prompting henchwoman "Jamie Samuels" to sneer to the camera something along the lines of "She has a degree from a good school. And now she's break-dancing on the street because she thinks that it will actually help her business career?!" It makes you wonder what has happened in the universe to make people believe that this is actually a normal way to obtain employment. Although a few of the candidates express some reservations about shady IOCOR (what kind of company doesn't even have a website?), many of them shrug off the constant weirdness and accept "Mr. Todd" and his associates along with all of their offensive antics. Each of the actors behaves as inappropriately as possible, flirting with or yelling at the contestants at random moments. Yet, somehow the "business lessons" imparted by August ring more true to life than the ones shared by Donald Trump. During the first boardroom firing, he states that the project manager will always have immunity from being fired, since in real life, the boss is protected by others. Sound intriguing? How about when he brings the group to visit a "convicted felon" (played by yet another actor) who was recently released from prison for fraud? This guy lives on a huge estate under house arrest and yet whines about his electronic ankle bracelet. The contestants take in their surroundings in awe and wonder what he's complaining about. The message? Crime does pay.

Throughout the series, August maintains that although the competition is an illusion, the prize money is real. Indeed, there is a cash prize of $250,000 at stake. Every episode ends with the familiar scene of a boardroom firing. However, before selecting a candidate to go home, August consults with an unseen "secret boss" who makes a decision behind the scenes. The audience is aware of this, but the contestants are not. During the finale, August comes clean to the two remaining contestants. After explaining the entire con, he brings them to a room to finally meet this illustrious boss who has been settling everyone's fates. It is a monkey, who has been spinning a wheel that determines which boardroom loser will be eliminated. August announces that the final winner will be chosen in the same manner. And before the monkey spins the wheel1, he adds that despite all their strategizing, the contestants forgot one key component. Luck.

Note
1. Yes, I realize what an utterly unexpected turn this article has taken.

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