Martha lacks The Donald’s edge

Martha, Martha, Martha. Despite her flaws and sometimes snotty disposition, I’m a fan of her but haven’t been sold on the show. Apparently, I’m not alone.

Perhaps because her catchphrase isn’t quite as dynamic as The Donald’s, or possibly because the new NBC show just doesn’t have “it” – whatever “it” is, either way, “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart” isn’t bringing in rave reviews or ratings and is being moved to a new time slot Wednesdays at 9 p.m. where it’s being forced to compete with ABC’s hit “Lost” and the new CBS “Criminal Minds.”

Martha’s premiere drew only 7.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, and ran a distant second to ABC’s “Destination Lost,” which recapped the Emmy-winning show’s first season and attracted 15.3 million viewers.

The culinary diva debuted her “Apprentice” spin-off in September with 10 women and six men who are competing to become Martha’s first apprentice.

Martha’s daughter, Alexis, also appears on the show as one of her mother’s board-room advisers and claims to be her mom’s first real apprentice.

Ranging in age from 22 to 42, the contestants are competing while performing tasks in the publishing, apparel, entertainment and branding world.

Last week, the two teams were introduced to the wonderful world of weddings, which Martha says is a multi-billion dollar business nowadays.

Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s the contestants who are turning viewers away. I’m afraid it’s Martha. After all, the show has all the components of a reality hit.

The Omarosa-like deception in contestant Jim Bozzini and the controversy that one contestant had a relationship with the son of one of Martha’s advisers are enough to keep an audience interested.

But Martha appears to have gone soft with her gentle way of terminating potential employees and the personal letters full of niceties and words of encouragement that each fired contestant receives.

We need a little more of The Donald-like edge to keep it interesting. Yes, Martha tells contestants that crying isn’t allowed, and she takes tasks seriously.

But please, where’s the hard-nosed, work-for-what-you-get, leading lady entrepreneur that we knew and loved before her stint in the pen? Give us some of that Martha back and see what happens to the ratings.