Flame wars and criticism popped up almost immediately after the first episode of "The Successor" was broadcasted.
Some people think that Alex is not qualified to serve as a mentor on the show. Their evidence? His inability to recruit team members.
Other people, however, believe that Alex is not a single bit inferior to the other judges. Their evidence? His ability to easily and effectively communicate with the other judges as an equal. Additionally, when "tested" with some "professional" questions, Alex was able to quickly come up with the correct answer.
The two sides quarreled and flamed each other online; which kept the show fresh on people's minds.
It was in this environment that "The Successor" continued to be filmed and broadcast.
-----
"Don't give up!", Krystal moans, "You can do it!"
"Don't worry Alex, you'll find someone ... someday", Keith says in a consoling voice.
"Just because you're trash, doesn't mean you're not capable of great things. After all, it's 'garbage can', not 'garbage cannot'," counters Alex.
The judges chuckle as S.Q. pats Alex on the back and says, "Worry not."
Keith addresses the Announcer, "Next contestant please."
A deep male voice booms from the heavens, "Contestant #32, come on down!"
As contestant #32, an unkempt masked black man with lean muscles, makes his way to the stage, the Announcer introduces him, "Contestant #32 is 'Tyrone' - an African-American man from New Hope City, Michigan."
Tyrone retorts, "B*tch, I ain't African. My family's been here over 300 years. Call me black. Or black American. Not this 'African' bullshit."
"Oo-kay", responds Keith, changing the subject, "So Tyrone, why do you want to be a hero?"
Tyrone responds, "For Justice."
"Elaborate", commands Keith.
"Why?", Tyrone answered with an aggrieved tone, "You think your justice is different than my justice?"
Keith waves his hands dismissively, "Poor image, bad attitude. If he were a trainee, he'll never make it. Pass."
Krystal shakes her head and sighs, "Feisty... but it takes more than guts to become a hero. Pass."
S.Q hesitates for a moment before remarking, "Skill can be trained. Attitude cannot. Pass."
Alex strokes his chin before addressing the audience, "I think he has potential."
Looking at Tyrone, Alex asks, "So Tyrone, what heroic talents do you have?"
"I know karate", Tyrone offers.
"Please", Alex motions.
Tyrone looks like he was about to verbally respond, but swallows his words and launches into a relatively complex kata.
At the end of the kata, Alex claps his hands and asks, "Tyrone, will you join me?".
Tyrone quickly replies, "Yes!".
"Great! With my help you'll definitely make top five", Alex promises.
And that is how Alex acquired his first team member.
-----
"Maybe you should just give up, Alex", Keith advises. "There's three contestants left."
"Don't be depressed", S.Q. chimes in. "You only need two more members for your team."
"I do not have depression issues", Alex states, "My mind is like a temple. However, it's among the temples in Thailand where monkeys are allowed to shit all over."
Krystal chirps, "next contestant please?"
A deep male voice booms from the heavens, "contestant #57, come on down!"
As contestant #57, a dark-haired tanned white man wearing a denim suit, makes his way to the stage, the Announcer introduces him, "Contestant #57 is Berig Jordanes - a recent immigrant from East Thervingia who is residing right here in New Amsterdam City."
"Well hello, Berig", Krystal coos, "Why do you want to become a hero?"
Berig vacantly stares at Krystal.
"Umm. Hello?", Krystal waves her arms.
Snapping back into focus, Berig responds in slightly accented English, "My kountry taken over by dic-tator. I want overthrow him and restore demo-crazy."
"Those are lofty goals.", Krystal purrs, "Just how *gifted* are you?"
"No talent", Berig responds, "just determine."
Krystal looks at Alex and murmurs, "Alex?"
Alex shuffles through some papers and sighs, "Ok. I'll take him."
-----
At the end of the second episode, the teams have been made. Compared to the other mentors' teams, a lot of viewers would say that Alex's team is shabby and hastily put together; especially considering how Alex was forced to fill his last two positions with the three final contestants. A few viewers, however, would argue that the gap between the teams is not insurmountable; after all, all of the contestants who appeared on TV have passed multiple audition rounds.
That said, more than 80% of the people polled believe that Alex's team will take last place in the team competitions, and nowhere is this more evident than on the names the fans "affectionately" gave each team.
For example:
Keith Cuhyll's Team: "The Trainees"; consisting of Buckman, Lacie, Landon, Leo Righeris, Ms. Good, and Powerman.
Krystal's Team: "The Sidekicks"; consisting of Candy, Jackalyn, Purity, Scales, Snow Lily, and ZanZan.
S.Q. Wong's Team: "The Inscrutables"; consisting of Ace Pilot, Betty Boom, Delilah, Infinite Blades, Robolox, and Tiff-For-Tat.
And
Alexander Malger's Team: "The Rejects"; consisting of Berig, Diego, Red Rover, Risky Business, Tony T, and Tyrone.
On the internet, a few of Alex's more vocal supporters cursed the show's producers; obviously the producers wanted to capitalize on Alex's embarrassment, humiliation, and misery.
What the audience doesn't know, however, is that the show is partially scripted; Alex had a full list of the contestants' biostatistics data, and Alex had secretly arranged for many of the more promising heroic candidates to appear in the latter half of the second episode.
-----
After the Selection phase, The Successor moved on to the Competition phase.
In this phase, The Successor will show scenes of the different teams planning and preparing for various team competitions, before showing scenes of the competition itself. It will then finish with footage of the teams holding a post-competition review.
In this phase, the producers will focus and give more screen time to "key characters", contestants that the producers believe will become fan favorites. After all, the whole point of a superhero talent show is to allow prospective heroes to build a fan base and develop superpowers. Although the mentors and other support staff will naturally be recorded during the process, the producers will take extra steps to ensure that they don't inadvertently steal the limelight from the contestants.
-----
The third and fourth episodes of The Successor open up with a debate competition.
Superheroes often have to give motivational speeches to their fandom and allies, and debate villains on the righteousness of their cause. This competition is meant to showcase the debating and speech-making abilities of the contestants.
The mentors' teams are split into two, three-member teams and sent to debate one another in a round-robin elimination tournament.
Each debate round contains a hot button issue, such as abortion or gun control.
A debate round is composed of eight speeches delivered by two teams, representing the Proposition and Opposition. The first six speeches are each six minutes long, with each team finishing by giving a three-minute concluding reply.
The winners are decided by public vote. During the debate's performance as well as the recap at the end, a toll-free telephone number for each contestant is displayed on the screen. For a two-hour period after the episode ends in each US time zone, viewers may call or send a text message to their preferred contestant's telephone number - with each call or text message received being registered as a vote for that contestant. Viewers were allowed to vote as many times as they wanted during the two-hour voting window.
-----
Post-debate, the Trainees room.
"...But white privilege doesn't exist," laments Landon - a large masked white man wearing a purple and green spandex costume, "there are poor white..."
"Bullshit!", interrupts Lacie - a tall muscular masked woman with a light complexation and angular, upturned eyes, "white privilege doesn't mean economic advantages, it means being seen as an individual and not some monolithic bloc like the Blacks, Chinese, or Muslims..."
"Fuck Muslims", Landon says as he attempts to talk over Lacie.
"...it means not being afraid to be pulled over by a cop during a 'routine traffic stop'...", Lacie raises her voice as she continues, "...Or being able to travel and live anywhere in your own country without fear of becoming the target of some kind of hate or ignorance..."
"Fuck China", Landon interjects as he raises his voice.
"...whether it be someone whispering a racial slur behind your back, straight up violence, or people asking 'where you're from'...", Lacie continues her lecture.
"All nig...", Landon begins to say.
"Enough!", shouts Keith as he raps the table with his knuckles.
"What?", protests Landon, "It's a Spanish...".
"I said Enough!", Keith angrily says as he bangs his hand on the table.
"Team B", Keith harshly says while shaking his head, "I'm disappointed in you. You could have done so much better."
Keith continues, "I want a ten page paper, double spaced, reflecting on your mistakes. And I want it by Monday."
"Team A", Keith says in a softer tone as he turns to address Lacie's group, "even though you didn't take first, you did the best you could."
"Enjoy your weekend", upon saying that, Keith stands up and leaves the room.
-----
It was to no one's surprise, however, that the Rejects (with the exception of Berig) were among the worst performers in the debates. Alex's detractors continue to gloat while his supporters grit their teeth in frustration.