My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss was a television show on the Fox Network in 2004-2005, similar to My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance. It was a parody or a hoax of shows such as The Apprentice. Contestants had to perform several tasks in order to win a job, however the contestants didn't know that there was no role on offer - they were really just being humiliated on national television. Some of the tasks endured by the contestants included begging on the streets of Chicago, selling hot soup on a hot day, creating mascots for a company that sells cyanide and selling reusable toilet paper.

The show was usually punctuated by the actions of the "boss" 'Mr. N. Paul Todd' (an anagram of 'Donald Trump'). In any episode, he or a member of his 'family' could usually be found doing something to unsettle the contestants or to test the limit of their blindness to truth when faced with money. A good example of this was when N. Paul Todd claimed to have Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur (himself a myth), in his townhouse. Some of the contestants commented about what this must mean about Todd's personality, oblivious to the fact it was actually a sword bought off the Internet and run over a few times by a car, then put in a fancy case. Another example is shown when he presented and showed off his "first million" which was supposedly the first million dollars he had earned framed in a large, transparent case. The truth was there were only photocopied hundred dollar bills taped on the inside of the glass case. His "security system" for the case was also faked using simple laser pointers bought at a convenience store.

When the task was completed for the episode, N. Paul Todd would refer to 'the real boss' for the decision on who was to go. The real boss gave no reason for the decision, so Todd was given free reign to make it up as he went along.

The show was cancelled in the USA due to low ratings five episodes into the run, although Fox did release the remaining 5 episodes online in late March 2005. All 10 episodes were broadcast in full in the UK on Channel 4 (and on Channel 4's sister station E4), in Australia on Channel 7, in Singapore on Channel 5 and in Poland on TV4 and Polsat.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

All episodes are online as of April 1, 2005. The boss was actually a chimpanzee who spun a wheel to determine who would get the axe. The chimp spun the wheel one final time and the winner (Annette from New Jersey) received $350,000. The runner up, Mike, received $200,000.