When I first heard about a reality show called The Shark Tank, I thought, oh great. They've taken things too far and are planning to throw people into tanks with sharks. It's not quite that insane, but budding entrepreneurs might want to tune in for some pointers. Helmed by Mr. Reality himself, Mark Burnett, The Shark Tank has been ordered to pilot by ABC. As I understand it, the unscripted project is adapted from a Japanese show called Money Tiger, which aired on Nippon Television from 2001 to 2004. The show has since been produced in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland, Nigeria, and the U.K.
The premise is interesting: aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to moguls, a.k.a. "Sharks," in hopes of landing investment funds.
This is ABC's second reality show for entrepreneurs, but it also has a connection to the first, American Inventor. That show was helmed by Simon Cowell and Peter Jones. Jones is one of the judges, a.k.a. "Dragons," on the British version, called Dragon's Den. Got all that?
Burnett is no stranger to biz-reality either. He created and is executive producing The Apprentice, which returns with a second celebrity edition in January. Really? I thought that show had imploded by now. Then again, I liked On the Lot, and it only lasted one season, so what do I know?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-04-2008 @ 9:24AM
Philip said...
Dragon's Den here in Canada is my least favourite show on the air - the "dragons" are so nasty to the people who appear on the show, and the inventors themselves are often delusional and nasty right back. Altogether way too much negativity. Of course, I don't watch it myself - but my boyfriend loves the show for some strange reason, and I often have to suffer through snippets of it while he flips channels.
It is my sincere wish that the US version of this piece of trash bombs, and bombs hard.
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9-04-2008 @ 10:37AM
Argus said...
I really like this show. Nasty or not, these people give entreupreners a direct line to capital. My friend went on it. I have no idea how it went for her though...
10-27-2008 @ 4:16PM
Pepperfire said...
I own a SMB here in Canada and I love watching the Dragon's Den. I think that if the model is done well and the "Sharks" have the power and ability that the Canadian "Dragons" bring to the table, then the show could be quite interesting.
Dragon's Den, here in Canada holds at least one Gemini award for best reality show. It's better than sitting through more game shows or sitcoms designed to have you turn your brain off.
I look forward to watching Shark Tank if and when it airs.
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