On the popularity of "Hell's Kitchen" and "Apprentice"

Had an epiphany about why I like Fox's "Hell's Kitchen" and NBC's "Apprentice": People get fired. In today's professional world, mediocre performers remain year after year, bringing down the average productivity of the group. Because there's no turn-over, there's no real incentive to replace those people who've lost their edge with fresh faces with new ideas.

There's a very real thrill associated with seeing white-collared folks dealing with the same crap (job insecurity, performance requirements) that blue-collar folks deal with every day.