I was never a big "The Apprentice" watcher in the early years, which was a bit odd because I loved Mark Burnett's other creation -- "Survivor" -- and I was a fan of Donald Trump since I was 11 years old and had my own copy of "Trump: The Game" that no one would play with me.

I tried a couple of times to watch the show, but I always found myself waking up to the evening news, "The Apprentice" long over. And when NBC pulled the plug in 2007, I wasn't surprised.

Except The Donald made it clear his show wasn't going away. NBC wasn't going to cancel him. He had the greatest television show in the world, based on the greatest man in the world: Him. And it wasn't hyperbole -- NBC did indeed bring the Apprentice franchise back in 2008, not with Martha Stewart, but instead with celebrities at the same caliber as what you might find in a star-studded edition of "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here." (Sorry, Lou Diamond Phillips -- you know I love ya!)

I couldn't get into the previous versions of "The Apprentice," yet there was something eerily strange drawing me to the celebrity version. And you know what? I loved it!

Piers Morgan became a man I rooted for time and time again, ever since Larry King's future CNN replacement turned to Omarosa and asked how she qualified as a celebrity. It began a rivalry that you had to tune in for each week, and it worked because unlike the schmucks that usually get roped into reality shows, these were people who knew how to ham it up for the camera, and weren't afraid to do so.

Morgan and Omarosa didn't return for a second season, so there was some doubt in my mind the kind of in-fighting that kept me watching the first season wouldn't be there for the next. And then I had a chance to see Joan Rivers and poker player Annie Duke meet, and I was in reality TV show heaven again.

And then there was last season. Some of the celebrities didn't take "Apprentice" seriously, and bolted when they got bored. But it was basically Cyndi Lauper versus Holly Robinson Peete versus the world. And something not even Trump could anticipate -- Poison frontman Bret Michaels spent much of the later part of the third season in the hospital fighting for his life, while the previously taped episodes featuring him continued. By pure chance, he ended up in the final two against Peete, and what was his first appearance since being in a coma, Michaels triumphantly returned to the live season finale broadcast, and made ratings gold.

It had solid ratings despite the fact we knew Michaels would be named the Celebrity Apprentice. We didn't care. We wanted to see Michaels alive and well.

But what does this latest outing of "The Apprentice" have to offer? Give the producers some credit ... they tied into the current economic crisis and looked for people who were once successful and later victims of the Great Recession. Yet, watching the season premiere Thursday, I realized I just didn't care.

A friend of mine came over to watch the show with me, and we made it through about 30 minutes, and we both looked at each other at the same time and said, almost in unison, "Want to go do something else?" And you know what? We did.

I have no idea even what the first task was. I heard the team names, yawned, and moved on with my life.

But apparently, there were more people even smarter than me. "The Apprentice" averaged a 3.1 rating/6 share, according to Fast National overnight ratings from The Nielsen Co. I heard Jay Leno chuckled when he heard those numbers, because even his crappy primetime show last year did better.

So what's going to happen to "The Apprentice"? Will NBC let it run its course, or will the network trying to pull itself off the floor and the bottom of the ratings heap replace it with something else, something that is more relevant to our times?

If NBC has been anything this year, it's unpredictable. However, while "The Apprentice" may have been A-OK in numbers in 2009-10, or even 2008-09, it's not going to cut it here. NBC shows have produced vast improvements already, with "Parenthood" drawing some of its best numbers, and "Outlaw" having a terrific premiere.

Despite all that goodwill, "The Apprentice" pulled weekly ratings for NBC down from a 5.9 household rating -- where it was at least challenging last year's ratings champion CBS -- to a 4.5 household. Sure, not a lot of television shows are airing quite yet, but still -- one program dropping overall ratings by 23 percent?

I think it's time for NBC to rethink this strategy.