Well, I saw the second episode last night. One thing I'm liking is how the guy who acts like the Donald Trump of this show really knows how to present challenges to the ex-cons! The first episode had the ex-cons servicing cars. This episode had the ex-cons handle a boat cruise in Canada and the cruise serves ice cream.
As it turns out, a boat cruise is a tricky business to handle. The first part involves attracting people and selling tickets, and some would call this marketing. The second part involves buying the ice cream ingredients and serving ice cream to the customers. The third part involves going through safety procedures, point out sights and telling about them. All this might sound easy, but the episode reveals that it's actually quite difficult!
There were 10 ex-cons in the game. Now it's come down to 8! The peek at the next episode indicates that the fat guy Leslie might end up in the hot seat.
Out of curiousity, has anyone noticed that this show doesn't even have an article on Wikipedia?
Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!Well, I finally found out that the host's name is Kevin O Leary, and that this show takes place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Yep, I guess you can say that this show is Canada's equivalent to The Apprentice!
Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!
It may interest you to know that Kevin O'Leary is best known as one of the venture capitalists on the Canadian version of Dragons Den, as well as on its American version, Shark Tank.
Haven't watched this series, but I'm glad you're enjoying it!
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And even if it is broke, just ignore it and maybe it'll be sort of OK — like the environment."Thank you for telling me that!
You know, I'm surprised that we don't have a page on Kevin O Leary!
I saw the new episode last night. This time the contestants had to wash dogs. Leslie got the boot. Then again, it was pretty clear that he was setting himself up for a bad fall. I mean, he alienated the people he was supposed to be working with, he flunked at being a manager, and he ended up being the one to wear the dog costume! That is so not a good place to end up in!
Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!I got around to watching this week's episode on DVD today. This time they were selling raffle tickets during a football game. What is interesting is how this sort of job requires 30 people to sell tickets and make $3500 on average. The ex-cons were made up of 6 people and they made $3880!
Unfortunately for Ryan, he didn't even show up at the event! He went on a drinking binge, and didn't even contact anyone! He made no apologies and said right to everyone's faces "You're not my priority!" Well, gee, pal, if you're going around with that attitude, then you shouldn't have signed on for this game in the first place! Kevin O'Leary was so angry at him that he gave the guy his consolation prize and told to get out and never come back! Yep, Kevin was so pissed that he decided no second chances for him!
Oh, yeah, and there's The Reveal Adam made to the others. He was a Correctional Officer in a prison, and he got involved with a group of CO's who were engaging in illegal activity, which he obviously paid a price for. Now, that's interesting, because CO's and cons hate each other like poison! Naturally, some of his teammates are going to hold that against him. Other people on the team seem more irked that he didn't reveal this at the beginning! Hoo, boy!
edited 7th Feb '12 11:24:18 AM by TiggersAreGreat
Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!Wow, yesterday's episode sure had a lot of twists and turns! The contestents were given the job of opening up the market for men's facial moisturizer. They had to come up with a logo for the product, work with a chemist to make sure the moisturizer had an acceptable smell to it, and then present the product to the higher-ups.
Adam was chosen to be the team leader of this venture, but his performance proved to be less than stellar. The big reason was that he let Joe manipulate him! Joe tried to play politics in this episode, by contributing little to the project, calling the shots, and even tried to leave Brian twisting in the wind! Luckily, it turned that Joe had underestimated Brian, because Brian actually did a great job presenting the product! You can be sure that Brian was unhappy when he found out that Joe and Adam had tried to throw him under the bus!
The twists and turns, however, occurred at the end of the episode. Kevin picked Adam and offered him his exit package. The others were surprised to find out that Adam decided to reject the package and stay on. Meanwhile, as a result of What the Hell, Hero? and a Heel Realization, Joe's conscience caught up to him, and he decided to quit, and was given his exit package on his way out. It just goes to show that while ruthlessness is a requirement in business, if you try to exercise ruthlessness the way Joe did, you'll just crash and burn!
Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!Well, I saw the new episode last night, and I sure like how Kevin O Leary challenges the contestants!
In this episode, the ex-convicts find themselves in an art gallery trying to sell art to the rich and famous! The art ranges from paintings to pictures to wood carvings and photographs that look like paintings. The most expensive piece is $23,000!
Brian was made the team leader this time around, and Adam discovers that he is not Easily Forgiven by the group.
In fact, at the end of the episode, the evaluation went a little differently, because O'Leary loves using numbers and the bottom line to measure people's performance, but the art gallery managers prefer high social skills to high amounts of money sold! The managers preferred Allie and Sam, because they got along great with the clients, even though they didn't sell that much!
Jeff and Adam were put in the hot seat. Jeff made the mistake of claiming that he's an artist and showing clients the tattoo on his leg, and he had to learn the hard way that when you're selling art that you didn't make, you can't make it about yourself! Adam apparently stepped on too many toes and just could not regain the trust he had lost a couple episodes back.
In the end, Adam got the boot! He was given the consolation prize he had refused in the previous episode, but one of the two things on the package had been removed. Oh, well, at least he got something after everything he went through!
Previews of the next episode have four contestants remaining and now each one is given an individual challenge instead of a team challenge. This is good, because it allows each contestant to strut hir stuff. This is bad, because each one will have no one to blame but hirself if s/he screws up!
Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!Yesterday's episode was pretty fun to watch! Alia, Jeff, Sam and Brian were given the job of selling coconut juice at a festival. Each one had to design hir stand, buy supplies, pick a spot for selling, and actually sell the stuff!
Sam played the challenge perfectly! He gave his stand a tropical look, because where else would you find coconuts? Each person was given 200 dollars to buy supplies, but he only spent 2 dollars on straws. Why? Because he realized that only had to make holes in the coconuts, put a straw in them and sell them to the customers this way! He was able to find a good selling location several minutes quicker than the others. He was able to attract customers like a magnet, especially with saying that coconut juice is nutritional. He accepted help from two complete strangers, who helped in cutting coconuts and attracting customers! Would it surprise you to know that he made over $1000, more than anyone else in this challenge?
Alia had some problems early on, but once she moved to a better location, she was able to do a pretty good job.
Brian certainly had some problems, but he apparently managed to pull through. Cutting his prices from $10 to less than half didn't hurt!
Jeff made his stand look like a pirate ship, and he designed a pirate captain costume that cost him over $126. He did attract a number of customers, and had a lot of pictures taken with them, but it seemed to cut into the time for him to sell coconut juice.
Brian and Jeff were put in the hot seat. Jeff got the boot and took his package, because he actually made the least amount of money from this challenge. It goes to show that artists and businessmen generally don't mix!
The next episode is going to be the finale. There are three people left, and they have a challenge to face that is harder than any other! They will have to dress up nicely, they will have to come up with their own pitches for something, and then each one has to make a pitch to Kevin O Leary's panel of judges. From the looks of the preview, these judges are going to eat those three contestants alive!
edited 21st Feb '12 5:00:40 AM by TiggersAreGreat
Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!I saw the new episode of this show last night. Alia, Sam, and Brian had to start up a business. Alia decided to start up a business that involves gardening, tractors and snow removal. Sam decided to start up a business that involves selling shirts and several other items. Brian decided to start up a business that involves selling guitars and giving music lessons to entry-level people.
Each one paid a visit to a group that specializes in setting up the business. The guy in charge of that preferred Sam as a businessperson. Each one got evaluated by a psychologist. The psychologist preferred Alia as a leader. Each one was tutored by a woman who is an expert in presentation techniques. She preferred Brian as a presenter.
Each one got dressed up nicely, and made hir presentation to Kevin and his panel of judges. Brian gave a presentation that was pretty good, except for an uncomfortable moment of silence in which he was clearly trying to remember his train of thought. Alia gave a presentation that was also pretty good, and while she did lose her train of thought at one point, she managed to recover thanks to some cue cards she had! Sam gave a presentation that seemed great...until the panel pointed out that his focus seemed to be all over the map, and that it would be a good idea for him to focus on one thing!
In the end, Kevin O Leary had the final say in who won. He chose Alia. The other two did get some very sweet deals, despite not winning. There was celebrating and drinking champagne(?).
But wait! There's more! There is one more episode that seems to be an epilogue. It will focus on the contestants and what they've been doing since they left with their prizes. This I've got to see!
I saw the epilogue last night, and boy, was it interesting to watch!
Alia has set up her business of clearing out snow in Prince George. As the episode pointed out, Prince George is apparently a Wretched Hive in Canada. Sadly, it hasn't really snowed for a while in P.G., so Alia has to save up and wait on a number of things. Good thing for her that Kevin O Leary is willing to offer her advice and keep tabs on her!
Adam and Joe have teamed up and are running a pawnshop where they buy and sell things. Those two are evidently quite the pair!
Ryan has apparently managed to pull himself together and is moving along in life just fine.
Nicole is trying to get herself an apartment, and she feels that the show has helped her, however briefly she was in it.
Aaron is living the great life of a woodsman. He is relatively isolated, living in a tent and car, and takes baths in a cold river.
Brian found himself back on welfare and struggling to get a job (which is difficult to pull in this economy). Fortunately, O'Leary and his connections assisted Brian in getting a job.
Sam has set up his business, and from the looks of it, it's going along just swimmingly!
Jeff is now putting tattoos on army men (he set up shop next to a training base), and it is clearly never dull where he works at!
Leslie...I'm not quite sure what happened to him. Well, he's probably doing fine!
Redemption Inc has proven to be an interesting show to watch. I hope it gets renewed for another season!

I saw this show Redemption Inc last night, and I have to say that I like what I'm seeing so far!
What's it about? Well, think of it as The Apprentice, but Darker and Edgier. You have a rich man who has 10 ex-convicts work in a business he chooses. At the end of the day, he figures out which one of them is the weak link and boots that one out. The one person left standing will get a lot of money and the rich man will be hir mentor.
These ex-cons have committed different crimes, like stealing cars, extortion, selling crack, and things like that. They were caught and put in jail for their crimes. Now they're out, and they want redemption.
Personally, I'm glad none of the ex-cons committed a crime like murder, rape, or pedophilia. Redemption would be difficult for those three crimes!
I found it interesting how one of them crashed a car into another, and she was punished for being a car thief! It's revealed that she doesn't have a driver's license. I guess it goes to show that stealing cars does not necessarily translate to being a good driver!
So, what are your thoughts?
Oh, Equestria, we stand on guard for thee!