America’s Next Top Mogul

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

If the Fox network is going to hinge its future success on reality shows like “The Rebel Billionaire: Branson’s Quest for the Best,” then we’d all better start preparing for a world without Fox. This is what happens when you begin your programming initiatives with a marketing concept instead of an idea. The two-hour premiere, which airs tonight at 8 p.m., reeks of ripoff; it’s a pastiche of all the successful reality shows that have come before it – “Survivor,” “Fear Factor,” and “The Apprentice” – with its only unique feature being the underwhelming personality of Sir Richard Branson, the 54-year-old British, self-made billionaire who likes to live dangerously close to the edge. Well, he’s done it this time – he’s on the brink of a colossal failure.


The premise of “Rebel Billionaire” is that Mr. Branson has assembled 16 young entrepreneurs on a worldwide adventure journey to test their mettle. One of them (without knowing it) stands to win the prize of Mr. Branson’s own job. In the annals of reality television, this ranks as the most ludicrous line of baloney we’ve been asked to believe yet. We all know better than to believe the claims of reality shows – of course they’re scripted by producers and tightly controlled by executives to keep the storylines moving for maximum ratings. The art seems to be in making us suspend our disbelief for an hour a week.


But the demands are too great in this offering from the producers of MTV’s “The Real World,” another show that bears about as much resemblance to reality as a Pixar movie. Even from the opening scenes, it’s clear we’ve begun a journey into duplicity and deceit. In the first sequence, Mr. Branson eliminates two contestants immediately over their bad behavior in the cab from the airport. Of course, it turns out that Mr. Branson was the cab driver, and we are expected to believe that these 16 worldly young men and women haven’t even bothered to suspect Mr. Branson of such a deed. They act far too surprised for us to believe them.


Next up is a brutal test of their wills, forcing them into hot air balloons above the British countryside and demanding that they walk from one balloon to the other via tightrope. Even if we buy the premise that these folks are risking anything but their reputations on this stunt, it’s still way too predictable for an audience raised on rat-eaters from “Fear Factor.” It’s not scary, it’s not pleasant, and it’s irrelevant to the supposed premise of finding a suitable chief executive. Why would Mr. Branson’s successor need to do something so foolish in running a major corporation? We’re never told.


Among his other weaknesses, Mr. Branson suffers from a soft-spoken manner that doesn’t lend itself to this sort of brinkmanship. Much as I loathe Donald Trump, I have to concede his natural ability to cajole and annoy his troops in equal measure. There’s something about Mr. Trump (and his consiglieres) that ring true for the youth demographic the networks are so desperately courting with shows like this. Mr. Branson may have seemed perfect on paper – rugged, handsome and dangerous as opposed to Mr. Trump’s mercurial demeanor – but it doesn’t play on camera. Somehow, it seems like a greater achievement to please Mr. Trump; plus, the rules of “The Apprentice” lend themselves to the boardroom confrontation that caps each episode and give it a power lacking in “Rebel Billionaire.”


But what else do we really expect from this creatively bankrupt network? Every time there’s a hit on the air, you can count on Fox to copy it. Don’t the Fox honchos realize that their greatest success has come from trusting writers and producers with original visions and fresh ideas? Look at “The O.C.” if you need more proof – or, for that matter, all the way back to Matt Groening and “The Simpsons,” a groundbreaking show that has kept Fox in the game all these years. Even Major League Baseball was someone else’s idea.


***


Could it be that “Quintuplets” stands for originality on Fox? That can be the only reason this wretched excuse for a sitcom remains on the air. Even the network’s attempts at classy, original programming – airing Tom Fontana’s latest hour-long drama, “The Jury,” last summer – feel misguided. It’s great to have faith in the creative talents of a producer like Mr. Fontana, but it would behoove Fox to make its decisions based on the strength of the idea, not the talent attached to (or the high-concept notion behind) the enterprise.


Gail Berman got her job running Fox in part by being the executive behind “Malcolm in the Middle,” an enduring (if far-fetched) look at suburban family life. She probably prides herself equally with the fact that she’s standing behind “Arrested Development,” Fox’s other true sitcom success – the winner of the Best Comedy Emmy in its first season. But even the presence of such shows doesn’t forgive Ms. Berman’s flagrant rip-offs. It’s a shame to see Ms. Berman squander the demographic clout she earned with “American Idol” and the World Series broadcasts on so many worthless, repetitive concepts. To have two hours’ worth of quality programming (and that’s being generous) on a network that broadcasts seven nights a week isn’t a badge of honor – it’s a record Ms. Berman should be ashamed of.


The New York Sun

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