'The Apprentice: L.A.' Season Premiere -or- "I don't like the way you talk."

Let me preface this with saying, "I don't like Donald Trump." I never really did like him, but his latest publicity fiasco isn't going to stop me from watching the show. I've watched it since the first season. Hey, I don't even like the corporate world much. But I usually enjoy this show despite myself.

One thing I didn't do this season was check out the website prior to the season premiere. I usually do that to get a handle on the names with the faces and such. But this season, I went in blind to anything but first impressions or what I get from the candidates from watching the show itself.

Go figure... the two candidates I decided I liked the least ended up in the boardroom and the one I thought should go, did. But I'm getting ahead of myself here, aren't I? There are a lot of changes this season which need to be addressed before anyone gets fired.

• The Los Angeles location instead of New York City. Now, I enjoyed the NYC location as I know the area so much better. I moved away from the L.A. area after first grade. I don't remember much more than mountain fires and Disneyland. Due to the location, unlike filming in winter in NY, lots of bugs were flying around. Perhaps one will fly into someone's mouth?
  
• No more Carolyn as she's "no longer with the company" as they say. Unless I missed the news, George is still a lawyer on Trump's staff, but not on the show. Instead, there's dear daughter Ivanka and, in the beginning, an empty chair to accompany her on the board with Daddy Trump. I won't be surprised if Donald Jr. doesn't show before the end of the season, but he wasn't in the premiere.
• The Project Manager of the winning team remains the same as long as the team is winning. I'm not sure how much I like this change. It's going to affect the dynamics of the other team members who might not get the chance to step up to the plate if one team keeps trumping. (I couldn't resist.)
• The winning Project Manager fills the empty chair in the boardroom and discusses who will be fired with Trump and Ivanka. Odd move, that one.
• The winning team stays in a luxurious house overlooking the valley, all amenities you could imagine.
• The losing team stays in Tent City. Everything is outdoors, including their showers. They're close enough to peek at the Have's pool and hear them, but they're the Have Nots.
• There's a butler named Otto.
• One of the candidates, Angela, was a winter Olympics gold medalist.
  

With bugs buzzing about their heads, Trump first assigned the whole mob the task of building a huge tent without telling them the losers would be living in it. During the task, they ran amok until one of the women, Heidi, spoke up as she was familiar with camping and tents. Then this really loud excitable boy Frank just took over. Even Trump, who's way too loud for such a teeny mouth himself, told Frank to tone it down. Oh, and Martin, who wears striped suits with checkered shirts (red and white like a picnic tablecloth) and differently patterned tie, decided he was the supervisor and didn't do much at all.

Right off the bat, I didn't like either Frank or Martin. Martin also, upon first meeting Trump during introductions, asked about going to the bathroom. Can you just see my eyes rolling? @@

From the tent-building, Trump met up with the candidates in the boardroom and asked them who they thought took over the task and displayed leadership. Heidi and Frank were chosen by their peers as the leaders and became the Project Managers getting to choose their teams. Martin was the last chosen despite his high opinion of himself.

Teams then went off to run a car wash - the team earning the most money would win. Heidi's team played it right. They enlisted two shirtless guys in a mainly gay area to hold up cardboard signs touting a free lunch (hot dog) with a car wash. They went for quantity more than quality - get the cars in and out as quickly as they could. They ended up backlogged, but the whole team really hustled and worked hard.

With Frank's team, I don't know what the hell was going on. Frank and Aaron went off to make flyers for handing out on a busy street? Duh, guys. They wanted to push detailing vehicles for $100. Now, if I decided to have an impromptu wash of my car, it wouldn't be a full detailing. The team didn't work together at all.

What surprised me was that Heidi's team didn't win by a huge margin. Less than a hundred dollars separated the winners from the losers. The winners got to go off to dinner with Donald Trump at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant Spago. Trump told the losers they'd have to build another tent and live outdoors while the others moved into their fancy digs.

Excitable Boy Frank got all excited and Martin thought he got shrewd and psychological as both campaigned against each other in the tent talks before the boardroom. I expected Frank to thump his chest and, by golly, he did! All their actions really did was to conceal any faults others might have had and make them larger targets for the rest of the team. Silly boys.

In the boardroom, most of the candidates seemed to think the Frank or both should go. If it was time for a double firing, I'm sure both would be gone. Ivanka is sounding more like Dad as she talks - her voice seems to be lower even. She's pursing her lips. We better watch her hair! She came across as quite surly at times... to the point of telling Martin, "I don't like how you talk." Huh? Say what? What kind of reasoning is that? If she's going to mention that, she should have mentioned the checkered shirt business, right?

Even though Excitable Boy lost his composure on a major basis, it was still Martin who heard the words...

"Martin, you're fired."

A good choice, but I don't think Frank's long for the show. Passion is a good thing, but self-control in stressful situations is a much better thing.

A few random closing thoughts after this week:

• I think that the man named Tim looks like Fred Savage.
• A perfect pot calling the kettle black scenario happened - Trump to candidate Stefani in the boardroom - "You're very vicious... oh, but you're a lawyer." Reality check. Trump isn't a lawyer.

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice 5' Season Finale -or- "I Hear There's An Opening In Hawaii"

As of tonight, Donald Trump has a new employee in his organization after a grueling, yet entertaining, 15-week long interview. Yep, tonight was the hour and a half live finale coming to us from the Orpheum in Hollywood, California. I found that rather unusual as all of the other seasons ended right here in the New York City area. Not that I was ever invited, mind you. (Sniffle.)

However, Trump had a card up his sleeve. The Apprentice 6 will take place in California. Dang, it just won't be the same, at least not for me. I'm used to the NYC setting, know the areas and often see familiar sights. Yes, I lived for a few years outside of Los Angeles, but we're talking first grade. I think it's changed since then. Ah, well...on with the show...

The finalists -- Lee Bienstock and Sean Yazbeck -- were still amidst their final tasks as I wrote in last week's entry. Lee was in charge of a celebrity hockey game fundraiser at Chelsea Piers (NYC), while Sean was in charge of a Bare Naked Ladies rock concert fundraiser at Trump's Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Both had woes. In my opinion, Lee chose a horrible team. No matter how much loyalty he feels with Lenny, the man is not good for business. Pepi? He chose Pepi, fired in Week Two. Roxanne had some strong points, better than Lenny and Pepi, but...! And, then Sean had a strong team -- Tarek, Andrea and Tammy -- but Andrea had a health crisis and went running off to a doctor. Eep.

As we watched them complete their tasks this week, both still had woes. Yes, Andrea returned (which is great as she's a very strong team member). Her health crisis turned out to be a burst blood vessel in her sinuses. But Sean delegated too much responsibility to Tarek, in particular. Tarek actually did well, but even Trump's representative George commented on it, so it wasn't just me.

Lee was totally disorganized and really turned off the fundraisers by not having everything planned. Then he went and put Lenny (of all people!) in charge of the celebrities! What the hell was he thinking? Lenny all but deserted them, offended the fundraiser folks with ill-timed jokes and even got Lee ticked at him.

In the end, both candidates managed to get their acts together, although I don't think Jaime Pressley (the auctioneer for the hockey event) ever wants to see Lenny again. To quote her, "You're not together, little Apprentice Boy!" Nonetheless, both Sean and Lee seemed to have success with their events in the end. I'll admit I couldn't do it.

The task endings, as well as recaps on both Lee and Sean, were filmed and shown to the live finale show audience on a huge screen. Live hooplah included Trump asking his Trumplets, Donald and Ivanka, who they'd choose to win. Neither committed. Nor would George commit. This season's other candidates were split pretty much down the middle, too. Perhaps Sean had one more in his court than Lee did. Finally, Carolyn committed and chose Sean. Judging from the audience, Sean was a more popular choice.

Me? I wasn't thrilled with either of them, but I'm sure both will go on to success in business. But, they once again didn't ask me. Well, they did, but I didn't vote online for either candidate. I decided to be an apathetic slug. Or something. I thought Lee was too sneaky and Sean wasn't on top of things. Maybe I could have voted for Brent!

Trump told them that there were two job locations from which they could choose. No, each didn't get a job. He indicated that their choice may play a role in his choice of the winner, but that didn't come to play as both chose the same location. The choices were Hawaii or Soho (a nifty-keen quaint ritzy neighborhood in New York City that is being ruined with stupid highrises - my opinion, of course). Both chose Soho.

When Trump revealed the general vote from the online audience, he said it was overwhelmingly in support of one candidate. He chose the same one for the win, but said it was a hard decision.

The envelope, please. Um...okay, no envelope. The winner of The Apprentice 5 is Sean Yazbeck, the Brit in Miami. Throw confetti, dance and sing...if you must.

Just a few tidbits:

• Sean said he plans to marry Tammy (aw, golly gee, how sweet)
• Was Andrea wearing jeans? What was up with that?
• Denis Leary broke the NYC law by smoking in that locker room.
• Those Pontiac G6 cars are really attractive. May I have one?
• Trump believes you must take credit, blow your own horn, in business. Why am I not surprised?
• Hmm...it seems to me that there is a position open in Hawaii. Should I apply?
• Brent had to jockey for position to shake Trump's hand one more time.
• Lenny is still surly and a step behind the world.

All in all, I was entertained this season, more than I have been for the past few. After all, I'm not applying for a job with Donald Trump. I'm just sitting here writing about a television show. If it entertains me, then it did its job. Donald Trump, I guess you're hired. (The paycheck is in the mail. Really. Would I lie?)

Thanks for reading this season and I'm sure to be watching next season.

Until then...

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 14 -or- "The Prelude to a Finale"

I wasn't expecting much from this latest episode of The Apprentice as it's basically just setting things in place for next week's season finale. And, sure enough, I wasn't delivered much. So, no recap/review this week.

Oh, okay, since you're here and reading and all...

The show opened with Roxanne and Allie getting fired once again. Been there, done that! Lee and Sean, the only two remaining candidates, were awaiting the return of one of the girls to the suite. Lee was already chowing down and Sean, perhaps the more mannerly of the two, decided against waiting. After all, his Tammy is gone and he felt her firing was the work of Roxanne and Allie. They received a phone call instructing them to head to the Boardroom immediately. Of course, they had no clue both women had been fired, so they fussed while dressing to meet Trump. Once there, he gave them the news they were the final two. So, it's the Politician against the Brit, friend against friend.


Trump told them they were about to undertake the hardest task in the fifteen-week long interview. They would have to select a team of three to lead in the task from previous candidates and meet Trump in the morning.

Little did they know that all their former rivals for the position were waiting for them at the suite. Woohoo, a par-tay! All of the former candidates were vying to be on the teams. Sean had his team selected -- Tammy (of course), Andrea and Tarek. Other than Lenny as a definite, Lee seemed a bit more undecided with his decision. He finally settled on Lenny, Roxanne and Pepe.

Pepe? I had forgotten he existed! Was it the second week that he went? Yikes! I personally have some doubts about Lee's team. I know Lenny is fiercely loyal to him and that's why he was chosen. But Lenny is abrasive, falls back on his "I'm Russian; I didn't know" bit too much and he could be a detriment. Why Roxanne and Pepe, I haven't a clue.

The teams had a choice of two fund-raising, celebrity-laden tasks. They had to manage all aspects -- business, creative and logistics. Sean, whose team became Synergy, took the BareNaked Ladies (rock group) performance at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. He only got that as Lee handed it over to him, taking a celebrity hockey game at Chelsea Piers instead. It was an act of good will or perhaps politics on Lee's part.

As the teams got into the tasks, they realized how much they had to do. I think Sean and his team were more on top of things as Lee seemed clueless about so much. Both teams appeared to be overwhelmed.

Sean got a decent start, touring the facilities at the Taj Mahal and such. However, he seemed to be letting his affection for Tammy take him over a bit. Tarek and Andrea, thankfully, are both strong and smart.

Oh, but, Lee! He managed to offend Denis Leary's representative for one of the big recipients of the proceeds. He missed an opportunity with one of the Pontiac folks where he could possibly have gained matching funds. Even Carolyn commented that he was too laidback and not showing good leadership qualities.

Then Sean faced his own team dilemma. While I never liked Andrea, she is a smart woman and an important part of the team. For unbeknownst reasons, she started coughing up blood and ran off to the doctor.

Oh, no! What will happen? It's a cliffhanger, I guess. The task completion wasn't shown; the last we saw was Andrea walking away crying. The finale show is next Monday, June 5 at 9:30 ET/PT in most viewing areas. In the meantime, viewers are encouraged to vote for their favorite at the NBC website and could even win $30,000. If you visit that site, don't bother with Trump's Blog -- it's "notes" from the Trump University. Yes, I rolled my eyes and deep-sighed, too!

Lee and Sean have their respective sites begging for votes, too.

Me? I won't bother voting. I think Lee will win, but right now it's not looking too good for him. But he has a history of succeeding while always on the brink of failure.

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 13 -or- "The Embassy Suites Space Cadet Program"

It's down to the Final Four, two episodes to go after this one. Yes, indeed...it's the 13th week of the 15 week long interview. Thirteen is bad luck, right? I guess it was for...

Wait, let me tell you about the episode first!

The show opened with Sean preparing a salad for whichever Synergy team members survived the Boardroom. He was so hoping that Tammy would return, although he acknowledged there was a strong possibility that she was the one Trump fired. He looked absolutely crestfallen when Allie and Roxanne walked in. Then he changed to determined and outright angry. "They lack integrity!"

In the morning, the teams met up with Donald Trump and the Trumplets -- his adult children Ivanka and Don, Jr. For no reason on earth (that I can think of) other than to promote his own fragrance, they met at the Estee Lauder offices. The actual task for the teams involved Embassy Suites, so you figure the reason they met at Estee Lauder and showed the design of the fragrance bottle.

The task had the candidates in their gender war team mode, Gold Rush men, Synergy women, designing uniforms for Embassy Suites staff. They had to create four designs -- front desk, bellmen, suitekeepers, and chefs. The finished product would be voted on by Embassy Suites employees.

Lee decided he wanted to be the project manager for Gold Rush, and he went with Sean to meet up with the E.S. executives. He wanted a focus group of employees and that's pretty much what the execs suggested, too. They went about asking the employees what they liked about their present uniforms and what they would want changed if they could. They didn't go hog-wild and worked on more functionality than changing everything around.

Sean seemed to know a lot about fashion and clothing design. He believes it's because he's a metrosexual. That prompted Lee to say, "What's a metrosexual? A cross between a homosexual and a heterosexual?" He must live under a rock.

I was out in my kitchen getting a cold tasty beverage during the commercial break prior to the Trump Firing Prediction Quote, so I missed the actual quote. The gist of it came down to business and friendship don't always mix. Hmmm...at that point in the show it could be either team. Sean and Lee had just been saying how great they got along. We know that Allie and Roxanne are tight. Or...are they?

The second they showed Synergy (Roxanne and Allie), I knew they were doomed. Allie decided to be the project manager, but oh-we're-really-co-PM mindset took over. She didn't want to just tweak and update the uniforms; she wanted to create fashion! I swear Roxanne almost rolled her eyes at her, perhaps gave a deep sigh. But she played along. Bad mistake. Roxanne thought she was rude to the designer (she was, she was!). But she told us; she didn't tell Allie.

The day of the fashion show was a hoot! The Gold Rush uniforms were the clear winner with the crowd -- fashionable, but very functional and improvements the employees themselves suggested to Lee and Sean. You could almost hear horrified gasps coming from some of the employees when Allie's Space Cadet designs hovered down the runway. Oh. My. God. It was like she took her designs from a '60s science fiction space novel! On the models they kind of looked um...interesting. Put real people with not-so-great builds in the uniforms, get the fashion police -- a crime has been committed!

Sure enough, the employee vote went overwhelmingly to Gold Rush - 83 votes against 37 for Synergy. Sean and Lee won the honor (well, to them, I guess) of having dinner at Aquavit with Ivanka and Don, Jr. As for Roxanne and Allie, someone wil be fired. Or...

Lee and Sean's dinner with the Trumplets went very well. They asked a lot of questions about growing up Trump, being Trump employees and on and on. I found it interesting that Trump gave his son $300 a month on a credit card when he was in college. He had to budget or get a job if he wanted more. I went to college in the Dark Ages, so I could have done a semester on that, but judging on his age, that wasn't exorbitant at all. Lee spilled the beans that Sean was smitten with Tammy (fired last week).

As Allie and Roxanne prepared for their last night together, they cuddled and said they'd never turn on each other. "I'd throw myself under a truck for her," said Roxanne. Yeah, right.

In the Boardroom, all started well. Then, the more nervous and defensive she got under Trump's questioning, the faster and higher-pitched Allie's speech became. Soon she was laying the blame on Roxanne. Then Roxanne spoke up (which she should have done in the task) saying she didn't decide the designs and Allie was rude to the designer. Catfight! Meow! Ivanka literally lit into Allie. Don, Jr. just watched for the most part. Meow, meow, hiss, hiss.

"Stop it! Roxanne and Allie, you're both fired!"

Afterwards, he commented on the lack of loyalty. They came in as good friends and all fell apart over a loss. Well, of course it did. One would have to get fired. While I understand where Trump was coming from, what did he expect? Each one would have to defend their own actions and they best way to do that is to focus on what the other did wrong. Although I get his reasoning for the double fire, I think Allie should have gone as she made the fashion decisions and failed miserably.

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep.12 -or- "Eye-Rolling? Me? @@"

Oh, my...this season is dwindling down to its last few weeks. Oh, whatever will I do? Survivor has ended; The Amazing Race finale is on Wednesday. I might have to hit up my book pile for entertainment going into June. Well, that can be fun, too! Onto the show...

When the girls (Roxanne, Tammy and Allie) saw Lee and Sean returning from the Boardroom without Michael, they all seemed a bit surprised Lee remains in the running for the job. I personally think that no one's more surprised than Lee himself. They all pretty much think that Trump has taken a special liking to Lee. I can't really disagree. He squirms his way out of that Boardroom each and every time he could be fired -- and that's a lot of times! Tammy, of course, was happy to see Sean return. She fluttered her eyes and all. I think she's smitten with the Brit.

This week, it's Bill Rancic and Ivanka Trump who monitor the progress of the teams and report back to Big Daddy Trump. The task looked like fun, but I don't think it's the best challenge they could face. Bigwigs from MicroSoft and Wal-Mart explained that the teams had to create an environment within a Wal-Mart store focusing on MicroSoft's XBox 360™ geared for display and promotion of the product. The envirnoment created had to be interactive and three-dimensional. Now, that seems to be kind of easy. Just with the "360," it screams out full-circle, doesn't it? Use their promo designs and colors and you're there!

Sean and Lee were immediately full of ideas and excitement about the task at hand. Their team, Gold Rush, is down to just the two, so they outsourced almost all of the labor details -- flooring, a roof, the banners, signage and all. "No more Kinkos for us!" Sean was the Project Manager, but they both took on even roles in the task. Both were very familiar with the product, so they knew what could tie in with it as far as goods sold within Wal-Mart. Ivanka peeked in on them and seemed to be very positive about their teamwork and enthusiasm. Their only real downfall was that by sourcing out the work, they lost control on the completion time. That's bad, very bad.

Ah, the after-commercial Trump quote and Forecast O' Firing this week was "Death to Traitors." I think it was a bit over the top, but then I was never good with office politics and backstabbing ways. He lectured about getting rid of those who sabotage your efforts from within. Hmmm...I never was into that either. Since they had already shown Lee and Sean working great together, I knew it had to be the Synergy team. And, it was.

Tammy wanted to be the Project Manager for the task to prove herself worthy or something to that effect. She literally said, "I want this to be about me!" Eep. Her idea was a rather odd red carpet Hollywood ordeal focusing on the entertainment aspect of the Xbox 360™. Okaaay...that's her choice, though certainly not something which would come to my mind when I think of the product.

She assigned Roxanne the sign-making tasks as she's into graphics and, to be honest, I can't recall what she assigned to Allie, if anything. As they shopped for supplies, both Roxanne and Allie were so not into her ideas or her plans that it was super evident. Not only to me, but to Bill Rancic who stopped by to check on their progress. He saw the eye-rolling and disdain wafting out from both Allie and Roxanne. Uh-oh! Traitors! Off with their heads! Oh, wait. Trump didn't say be-head, just generic "death." Tammy was the Rodney Dangerfield of the episode -- "I don't get no respect." I think her main turn-off with the team dates back to her statement that she wanted it to be all about her.

As the time came close, Gold Rush (Lee and Sean) had a super-dilemma on their hands -- no ceiling for their enclosure! They did the best they could with the banner-walls decorated in the product theme, having several related items from Wal-Mart, the specification sheets, and the pricing of the items.

When the Wal-Mart and MicroSoft bigwig dudes arrived, they didn't seem all that thrilled with either exhibit. In the meeting to discuss the efforts of both teams, they went with the Gold Rush effort even though it remained unfinished. They loved the product tie-ins and thought it integrated both companies very well. The reward was a neat one this time around. No stomping grapes, we're talking a private jet trip to California. a meeting with Jeffrey Katzenburg of DreamWorks Studios, and a voice audition for parts in the upcoming movie Over The Hedge. I officially give this one the Best Reward Award! Oh, but it made the Synergy team quite jealous. Plus, of course, they have to go to the Boardroom where one will be fired.

[If you watch the movie, watch for BBQ Barry in a scene where critters run through his barbeque -- that's Sean's voice. And Lee is the voice of Lunch Table Larry, a critter himself.]

Before heading to the Boardroom, Allie and Roxanne moped and whined and then fussed that they wanted that reward. Too bad, girls! Tammy thought Allie gave a half-assed effort in the task. She thought Allie was just following Roxanne who "isn't capable of sabotaging me!"

The catfight in the actual Boardroom pitted Tammy against Roxanne while Allie was smart enough to basically sit this one out. I noticed that she went for the Lee Politician Approach a lot during Trump's questioning. A very wise decision, indeed. Trump thought their task looked like a place where tired shoppers would sit and fall asleep or, as he said, "a cheap third-rate liquor lounge." Well, it did look comfortable enough! Voices were raised! Accusations of eye-rolling or not were um...accused! Trump declared he actually hates some people! Nobody can get along with each other! A lousy idea! A horrible team leader! A shot rang out! The maid screamed!

Ahem.

"Tammy, you're fired."

All in all, the best thing about this episode was the reward. Y'see, I am a firm believer in eye-rolling. I eye-roll a lot at my own writings. @@

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 11 -or- "Don't Give Up the Cheerleaders, You Bloomin' Onion!"

Once again this week, Deal or No Deal ran over its finish time. What's up with that, NBC? It's annoying to get all settled to take notes for blogging The Apprentice and then sit through 3 minutes of a show about people choosing briefcases. I don't understand the show; I don't watch it. I want it to end on time so I can watch "my" show. Is it too much to ask? What's Trump's opinion on this? Is he going to let a bald Howie Mandel stomp all over him? I think not! Okay, now that I have that out of my system, it's onto the show...

In the hotel, Sean has worked his way up from repeating "awkward" situation by adding a syllable. Now it's "awkwardness." Remember, he spoke against Allie in the Boardroom two weeks ago and she wasn't the one fired. She's as thick as thieves with the other two members on Synergy, Roxanne and Tammy. He said, in his British accent, "I'm adrift in a sea of eastergene." In came Lee and Michael from the Boardroom with the news that the most recent event was a double firing -- both Tarek and Charmaine gone. Right then and there I figured Sean has his way out. The teams can't run two against four. Trump will flip one Synergy member to Gold Rush and I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that would be Sean.

They got the call to meet Trump at Rutgers University Stadium in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Not far from where I'm writing this article.) He took his TrumpCopter and they hitchhiked. Well, perhaps they didn't hitchhike. I suppose they drove there. Once there, Trump explained the upcoming task. At the Navy versus Rutgers football game, the teams were to each put on a tailgating party feast selling Outback Steakhouse food. Synergy was assigned the Yellow Lot while Gold Rush had the Blue Lot. Naturally, the team earning the most money would win the task. And, as I had thought, he evened the teams out. Sean volunteered to join Gold Rush, so the show's back to a gender war once again. Tammy, Allie and Roxanne were so happy that they danced. I personally thought that a bit much, but that may just be me.

This week's ominous foreshadowing quote and Trump lecture after a commercial break was "Deliver the Goods." It was a dead giveaway as to which team would win once the task was on. "You can talk a good game, but it's no good unless you deliver the goods," said Trump.

Lee stepped up to be the Project Manager for Gold Rush saying that he's a recent college graduate, a football fan and blah-blah-blah. I think he thought it was a sure thing, didn't you? He delved right into things, planning and scheming with Sean and Michael. He arranged an exclusive on having the cheerleaders join them, got a "money pit" (an enclosure with dollar bills blowing around - people pay to go in and grab as much money as they can in an allotted time span), planned an eating contest and generally went to town with plans run amok. They decided on low prices and went for the crowd scene.

Meanwhile at Synergy, it looked like the women were doomed. Roxanne was the Project Manager and, to me, it looked like they didn't have much of a plan. They decided to visit Outback to sample the food. (Now, I wouldn't have to do that...give me a bloomin' onion any day, mate!) They decided that each dish would be $5, no matter what. They lagged in the actual doing of things to prepare, though. While they were planning, the men were already hyping their tent at the pep rally with flyers. The women's flyers weren't even ready at the time! The more they showed of the team, the more sunk they seemed to be. It looked like the men had this one in the bag. Synergy tried to get cheerleaders, but Gold Rush's exclusive deal with the cheerleader team's coach nixed that. Actually, the coach tried to give them some and silly Michael almost agreed, but Lee and Sean made him insist on all the cheerleaders.

So, Synergy themselves donned little cheerleading outfits. I think all of them were cheerleaders in past lives, or at college. Then it happened. The Trump Quote came to play. Gold Rush had so much going on that it was a cool party, but the focus was on partying, not selling the food. Synergy had almost nothing but themselves and their $5 an item food plan when they hit upon delivering the food through the lots. The baseball team bought $200 worth, taught them the Rutgers football cheer and they were on the run from that point on. They were delivering the goods.

In the Boardroom with both teams present, it was obvious that the delivery (thought of on the spot at the event) won for Synergy. Their proceeds for the Outback Steakhouse were $2750 and Gold Rush only brought in $1750. Synergy won a trip to Raphael Vineyards on Long Island where they made and private-labeled their own wine while Gold Rush won a trip back to the Boardroom where someone would be fired. I would like to mention now that everytime I see people stomping on grapes with their barefeet, I promise I'll never drink wine again. They had a grand old time and each left with a bottle named after themselves.

As Gold Rush prepared their bags in the hotel, it was clear that both Lee and Sean would go against Michael in the Boardroom. They thought he spent too much time on the microphone being the emcee of the tailgate party and not enough time selling. Plus, they still were shocked that he almost gave some of the cheerleaders to Synergy. Once in the Boardroom, the latter is what did him in. Somehow Lee's performance as Project Manager skated through, but Trump and Company focused on Michael almost giving up the cheerleaders. "You don't give away your assets to rivals."

"Michael, you're fired."

All right, even though I still think Lee's days are numbered, I don't think Michael was the best candidate for the win anyway. I'm not sure that if I were Trump I'd fire him over Lee, but he did have to get gone. Michael seems like a very nice man, but he's wishy-washy. In corporate life, unfortunately, nice doesn't often make the grade. A politician-type such as Lee would do better. Sean is still a bit of a non-entity even this late in the game. I'm thinking it may be a Tammy or Roxanne win at the end.

Mark your calendars -- next week's The Apprentice will air at 10 pm ET/PT in most viewing areas. Be there or be square.

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 10 -or- "It's Two, Two Firings at Once!"

First, I have to get a gripe out of my system. Feel free to skip this paragraph if you're a fan of Deal or No Deal. I refuse to be held responsible for any hurt feelings of readers. Okay. Here goes: Get that stupid Deal or No Deal off the air on time! What's with that usurping the first few minutes of what should be The Apprentice? What's the deal that idiots opening briefcases is so exciting? If it has to be on, end it on time.

There. I feel better already. On with tonight's The Apprentice episode...

The rather typical brouhaha about the Boardroom events went down in the show opening. Allie was all hugging and sweet-as-pie with both Roxanne and Tammy as she thought they were on her side. Then she points out that Sean didn't back her up at all. (Remember last week he kept mumbling "you've put me in an awkward position" over and over again? Well, he's still awkward, perhaps more awkward since Allie made it through and his friend Andrea got fired.) Now Allie and Roxanne have a target drawn...right on Sean's back. He can't be trusted! Tammy is leaning towards, "Oh, he wasn't malicious." On it goes...and on and on.

This is the second week they've been running the "Get Rich With Trump" gimmick with home viewers. I wonder how this works outside of the East Coast as viewers are asked to tell Trump who they want fired via text messaging or the NBC website. One home viewer wins $10,000 each week. Hmmm...do they give out another 10 grand to West Coast viewers three hours later? Is it just an East Coast thing? It hardly seems fair. Ah, but who am I to complain? I neither text message, nor go to the site during the show.

This week it was back to Bill Rancic and Carolyn being Trump's Hitmen. Um, er...make that assistants in judging the task at hand. Yeah, that sounds good! They met up with the candidates and an executive from Hair Cuttery, a chain of hair salons. The task wasn't thrilling. At least, I didn't think it was. The teams each had to hype separate grand openings; whoever sells the most wins. Yawn.

Charmaine was the project manager for Gold Rush while Tammy took the reins for Synergy. Once again, I don't think Trump sees these candidates in the light of how a home viewer or their teammates see them. The more I see of Charmaine, the more I'm just not thrilled to death by her. I don't think she's a good leader and she whines way too much. (Just a note: I would never go on a national television show because I whine too much. It takes one to know one and she indeed is a whining Nellie!) Charmaine started out her project manager leadership by not leading. The rest of the team wanted a theme, so she arbitrarily chose the first they mentioned - "Making You Happy." Feel free to roll your eyes; I did.

The after-commercial break clue of what will come was "Watch Your Back." Trump lectured us about how people will come after you and when you're right, fight for yourself. Stay focused. Now, a few different people came to mind for me with this one. Most are fairly clearcut and you know who will end up fired. This time I was thinking Sean with Roxanne and Allie targeting him. Or, it could be the Charmaine/Tarek squabbling.

The oft-promoted romance between Tammy and Sean during the week turned out to be a simple pizza lunch. Yes, they seem to like each other. Perhaps they're dating now. Who knows? Who cares? I only care in regard to how it will affect the show and the remaining candidates.

I didn't need Trump's clue to determine which team would win the task. It was clear that Charmaine blew it. Lee, as usual, kept pushing marketing. Well, duh, Charmaine should have listened to him. Instead, they tied up 5 hours making the shelves of product look pretty. Then, when it was basically too late to really market anything, she sent Tarek and Lee out to litter cars with trashy flyers. I so hate those things. It's actually illegal to do that in many towns and with good reason! When Bill stopped by, Charmaine was having her own hair done. That calls for a double eye-roll, doesn't it?

Meanwhile, over at Synergy, Sean and Tammy started handing out flyers to passerby the night before the event. And, once the day was on, Allie pushed selling product and did very well at it, too. Her reasoning was that more people would buy a product, it's less time-consuming and it's money in the till. She was absolutely right.

In the initial Boardroom, there was no question in my mind which team would win. Sure enough, Synergy earned about $1000 while Gold Rush only earned a paltry $700. The Synergy team got to write a song with Burt Bacharach. How exciting, huh? Again, I think I'd rather swim with sharks. When it comes to singing, they should all stick to their day jobs. The lyrics they put together were okay, though. It's certainly not anything I'd run out to buy.

So, the scheming started for the Gold Rush team members, each one wanting someone else to get fired. In watching Lee, though I think he's a great marketing type, he's sneaky and slimy. Yes, he's been called a politician by Trump many times. He's playing the hand to get Tarek fired by plotting with both Charmaine and Michael. Tarek has been his quasi-buddy, but does that stop him from the backstab? Nope!

Once the team gathered in the Boardroom, all heck broke loose between Tarek and Charmaine while Lee just sat there. Michael spoke for Tarek's firing, but did so politely. Lee squirmed and talked in double-speak. He looked like a cornered rat every time he was asked anything. The tension between Charmaine and Tarek shouting at each other finally broke above the heck breaking loose level forcing Trump to break in...

"Charmaine, you're fired! Wait, stay in the room. Tarek, you're impossible to work with or for. Tarek, you're fired."

So, they're both out of the running for the job. I personally think it was a good call. I think that Lee's days are numbered, too. I predict he'll be the next gone. Or maybe not. I'm never good at predicting these things.

I felt tonight's show, with the exception of the Boardroom at the end and the double firing, was a bit ho-hum. I think that even the part which was meant to be funny when Trump defended his hair wasn't all that humorous. The task was a bit mundane and so similar to others they've done before that it brought nothing new to the table. Now, if Lee and Tarek had been picked up by the cops for putting all those flyers on cars, that would have livened things up a bit.

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice 5' - Episode 9 -or- "Ding Dong, Give a Deep Sigh, She's Gone!"

All right, after a week with no show, it's now the 9th week of the most famous (and most likely only) 15 week long interview! Even though two episodes aired in one night two weeks ago, I felt a bit bereft last week with no Apprentice.

After the recap of the last episode's firing (Leslie), Lee made a huge faux pas upon his return to the candidates' suite. Instead of saying that Leslie fought the hardest of any of the folks with whom he's been in the Boardroom, he said: "She fought the hardest of any of those I've fired." Delusions of grandeur there, Lee? While I think he has lots of great ideas, especially when it comes to marketing and focus, he's the youngest candidate there and has been brought into the Boardroom more than any of those remaining on the show. Methinks he's gotten a bit cocky.

The candidates met up with Donald Trump, his son (Donald, Jr.) and daughter Ivanka in the lobby of the Trump International Hotel and Tower. Representatives from Ameriquest, the sponsor of the task ahead, were also there. This week's task had the candidates designing a souvenir tourist program for Ellis Island which would include historical bits, photos and such. Ellis Island, of course, is where 12 million immigrants arriving in the United States would enter the country from 1892 through until 1954. The main building was reopened as a museum in 1990 and is a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Proceeds from the sales of the brochures made by the teams will go to the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.

Teams had to take a Circle Line boat to the island. Those run on a fairly regular schedule around Manhattan daily. Lee decided he had to be the Project Manager for Gold Rush and, if they lose, he knows he's history. Allie stepped up to the plate as the Project Manager for Synergy. Again, Lee's ability isn't necessarily that of a true leader. He delegated Tarek and Michael to go to the island and take the photos needed for the task while he and Charmaine stayed in Manhattan trying to cold call hotels in attempt to sell bulk copies. That wasn't all that fruitful and I personally think he left Tarek too much in charge. Perhaps it was the right path with the final outcome, but if they lost would he blame Tarek? He made a few excellent decisions otherwise, though.

The whole Synergy team went to Ellis Island and, not surprisingly, Andrea balked at Allie's leadership. Allie wanted them to explore around and take notes. Andrea thought they should just get the pictures and snag all the brochures already offered to use for content ideas. Uh-oh! Tammy was the note-taker and left her notes behind as they were leaving the island. So, half the team took off, the rest remained until they could catch the next boat. Andrea decided, since she's a graphics expert, she'd create the brochure cover layout. (May I roll my eyes here, please?) It was bad. It was so bad. Thankfully, Allie stuck to her guns about how bad it was despite Andrea's nastiness about things. "I heard you deep sigh me! Don't deep sigh me," ranted Andrea. Heehee!

The weekly after commercial break quote and lecture didn't seem to have much to do with the candidates at all this week/ Trump lectured about priorities and balancing family and business. The only connection I could see with this one was the fact that Donald, Jr. and Ivanka were there instead of George and Carolyn.

Okay, here's where Lee stepped up to play with the big boys. While he once again delegated a bit too much to Tarek by letting him create the brochure (he's a graphic expert just like Andrea!), he did some things very right. First, he got the team up before dawn to head out to sell the brochures. Second, he snagged the best location for selling them -- Battery Park where the tourists often wait in line for at least and hour or two to take the ferry to Ellis Island. It wasn't only a captive audience; it was a captive audience with an interest in Ellis Island. It was win-win. Plus, Tarek actually seemed to create an attractive cover shot for the brochure. In addition to getting up early and snagging the best location for selling, a $100 bulk sale came through from one of the calls made by Charmaine.

By the time Synergy arrived at the same location, Gold Rush already had the crowd of tourists in their hands. Foolishly, Synergy decided to go to the museum itself to sell their brochures. Now, that just doesn't make sense to me. If you can't sell to the folks waiting on line to go to the island, what would make you think you can sell them the brochures once they get to the island? Huh? I think, if I were leading the team, I might split them up and send each one to various tourist hot spots in town rather than try to sell to a crowd which already has bought a more attractive brochure. Folks visiting the Tenement Museum may also be interested in Ellis Island ... places like that. The Empire State Building crowd. Anywhere but trying to sell to people who already bought Gold Rush's brochure!

The initial Boardroom with both teams didn't really hold any surprises for me. Gold Rush sold $1548 in brochures while Synergy sold only $843. Ameriquest donated an additional $10,000 to the foundation. Allie wasn't confident even before the results were announced. When Trump asked her, she was already blaming Andrea. It turns out that Andrea also claimed to be a bulk sales expert, but didn't use her expertise to help the team. I couldn't believe that Trump actually acted like it's the first time he's heard of any problems with Andrea. How could he miss her attitude, the problems she has with others, her lack of ability to lead or follow? Maybe his hair has affected his mind or something. I say, as far as Andrea goes - lead, follow or get out of the way, preferably the last. I couldn't work with or for her.

Trump accompanied the winning team on the prize, a golfing trip to his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. Giving pointers was pro VJ Singh. I couldn't get excited about that. I think I'd rather swim with sharks.

While Gold Rush was out there on the green swinging and putting, Synergy was at the suite conspiring against Andrea. "I will go after her!," vows Andrea. "This will be the worst boardroom ever. There will be blood on the walls," claims Allie. Tammy, Allie and Roxanne try to convince Sean that Andrea's brainwashed him. Although he's not convinced, it puts him in some sort of stupor where pretty much all he can say is "I'm in an awkward position" over and over again. Andrea eavesdropped on the others, got caught and the circus went on.

Back in the Boardroom with Trump, he once again played his "I'm so surprised that Andrea isn't a star" act, praised Roxanne a lot for how well she puts forth her thoughts in a rational manner and didn't even ask Allie to select anyone to go into the firing Boardroom segment. In her defense, Andrea claimed to be an expert at hiring experts. I thought Ivanka actually seemed a bit on Andrea's side. What was up with that?

"Andrea, you're fired."

In the cab heading home, Andrea told the truth. "There's a reason I work for myself." There sure is!

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 8 -or- "P'eatzza Party'

All right, it's onto the second episode aired tonight. Or, last night by the time most will read this. (Grr.)

Trump had the candidates meet him at the fountain in Cherry Hill in Central Park. No, don't ask me. I know where a lot of things are in the park, but that's not one with which I'm familiar. It's a big park, y'know.

He came driving a fancy-schmancy souped up car with doors like the old Pantera or DeLorean cars. I'm thinking the term is gull-wing doors, but what do I know? Why they met there makes no sense to me other that he could drive up in the cool car. He made the offer for anyone from Synergy who thinks they can help Gold Rush win to make the switch. Michael was feeling very alienated by his team as they all told him that they won the last task in spite of his poor leadership. (Yes, I agree with them. He's a nice guy, but doesn't trust his own judgment.) So, he went over to Gold Rush.

The task this episode was to promote 7-11's new P'eatzza sandwich -- a combination of pizza and sandwich. Each team was assigned to a store and the goal was to increase sales through promotion of said sandwich. Eh. Andrea decided she wanted to be the Project Manager for Synergy and Leslie took the reins for Gold Rush. Andrea abruptly decided caps would be the promotional giveaway. "It is HATS." Um, okay, Ma'am.

The foreshadow quote was "Know Your Customer." Of course, Donald Trump gave a mini-lecture about it. So far this season, the phrase has indicated something wayward with the team which inevitably loses. This time, not so much. I think this time it referred to the final two in the Boardroom. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

Synergy picked a decent price for their promo -- $4 for one or $6 for two. And, they had the caps. Over at Gold Rush, Lee kept saying he knew the area and he knew the customer as it was a college clientele. Leslie really didn't listen to him on the price. He kept saying it was too high. They were giving a rather neat six-pack cooler with the sandwich, but the price was $7.99 for one, $8.99 for two. Yikes! I know 7-11 prices. For eight bucks a sandwich, cooler or not, I want a table! Lee was right. Leslie also came up with odd trivia doings. I still don't see her reasoning on that one. She obviously doesn't know the 7-11 customer. Except for drunks in the wee hours, most people go to 7-11 planning to get in and out quickly with their purchase and trivia isn't going to attract them. Lee, meanwhile, asked the manager to pull all the sandwiches except the P'eatzza. That was a good move.

On the day of the event, the trivia failed and Lee vanished, irking Leslie even more at him. It turns out he was trying to make a deal to sell a thousand sandwiches to a corporate customer. He would be the hero or the goat. In the end, the deal fell through. But I was impressed with his actions with management and his deal attempt. He's not just political -- he tried to get it done.

When it came time for the Boardroom, both teams did better than I thought either would. Gold Rush increased sales by 608% at their location. Alas for them, Synergy increased by 997%. Unbelievable!

As a reward for Synergy, the team took a private jet plane to Washington, D.C. where they met New York Senator Chuck Schumer. After a nice time with him, it was off to the White House where Sean got all choked up. He only had his green card for six months and loves America. He thinks he's living the American Dream. Aw.

Back at the Boardroom, Michael feels that he fit in better on the losing team than the winning one, so he has no regrets. Leslie was intent on blaming Lee when the main mistake the team made was the high price point. That was her decision and he was very vocal more than a few times about it being too high. She chose to only bring Lee in the Boardroom with her. Of the two, in my opinion, Lee really tried harder and was innovative. Plus, he wanted the lower price.

"You're fired, Leslie. Oh. And, happy birthday!"

She really didn't give Trump much choice on this one. What was she thinking with that price? What do you think?

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 7 -or- "Russian Through the Ice"

I hate when they do this. I really hate it. The Apprentice aired two episodes back to back and there will be no new show next Monday night. Oh, whatever happened to one new show a week at the same time (as in same Bat Channel and same Bat Time) each week for an entire season? The next new show will air two weeks from now on April 24.

This episode opened with Leslie crying over losing Bryce, someone she considered a friend. We all know she wants Lenny gone. Will she get her wish? Lenny decided since he was on thin ice, he'd be Project Manager to prove himself ... or not.

The candidates, wearing silly hardhats, met Donald Trump, wearing a silly hairdo (apparently it doubles as a hardhat) atop of the Trump Building at 40 Wall Street. There were two executives from Ace Hardware there, as well as an executive from the Boys and Girls Clubs. The task? Well, based on creativity, originality and judge's approval, teams had to renovate a Boys and Girls club with a theme in mind. Woohoo! Fingerpaints! Oh. Okay, no finger paints. Sigh...

Lenny started right off on a bad foot with the project. He decided music or dance, which were okay. But he didn't make a real decision although he finally focused on music. More than one time I heard him say "I don't care." What kind of attitude is that? Even if he was having problems dealing with Charmaine, that's not the phrase he should use. Eek! When they had the meeting with the executives, Lenny just went tongue-tied. If not for the rest of the team, no questions would be asked. That was their chance to find out what the execs wanted which, in the end, would win the task.

The commercial break return foreshadowing quote and lecture from Trump this episode was "Be Decisive." D'oh! Why didn't he say, "You're fired, Lenny" and get it done and over with right then and there?

Over at Synergy, Michael was the Project Manager and was pretty much the polar opposite of Lenny. He didn't stop asking questions of the executives to the point of repeating himself and becoming a bit annoying. But, at least he asked good questions for the most part. They decided on a variety of activities which would be interactive and children could gather in groups. They went for a big screen TV, video games, music, a comfy girls' gathering corner and board games.

In my opinion, both teams blew it with time management. It's a wonder either team got things done. Michael dawdled and was indecisive. Lenny was dismissive of others and indecisive. Everyone fussed at each other. Lenny and Lee like each other, but Charmaine and Tarek don't like either. Synergy on the whole was frustrated with Michael's lack of leadership. Both teams were a mess. Bill Rancic actually asked Andrea what she thought of Michael's leadership qualities in front of Michael! Ack! She fumbled through it rather politely for her.

However, when the execs arrived, both clubs were finished. They seemed more impressed with Synergy's multiple interactive activities than with Gold Rush's simply music. The children brought in actually seemed more excited by the music only one, but they weren't the ultimate judge. In the end, the judges went for a Synergy win. As their reward, they took a young girl with cancer to a Make a Wish Foundation sponsored toy buying spree at Toys 'R Us. It was touching.

Gold Rush got to visit the Boardroom once again. Lee, in a show of loyalty to his buddy Lenny, coached Lenny on what he should and shouldn't say to Trump. Now, of course, I'm wondering how even Loyal Lee could think that Lenny could indeed actually work for Trump if he won the show. Yes, Lenny has drive, but he has few people skills at all. Lenny asked Lee if he could bring him in the Boardroom and it was given that he'd bring Charmaine as those two are like oil and water.

Lenny pleaded conspiracy. Lenny tried his best to make Charmaine look bad, but it didn't work. She really did nothing wrong in the task. A "no-brainer" as Bill said.

"Lenny, you're fired."

Trump did think highly of Lee's loyalty. I personally think it was misplaced unless Lee planned to have a poor candidate against himself at the end. Friendship is one thing, but defending someone like Lenny ... I don't know.

Welp, there's another episode yet to be written up before I hit the sack. What did you think of the show?

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 6 -or- "What's a Jingle? A Bell?"

Well, here we are at the sixth week of the fifteen week interview. Gee, that's longer than some people I know have ever held a job! No, I'm not referring to me. I've been gainfully employed for a number of years. Um ... decades. Okay, more than a score. Eek. At least Donald Trump is older than I am!

Back to the show - As Gold Rush awaits the non-fired, they want it to be Tarek gone. Alas, no go. Even though Charmaine and some of the others think Tarek holds the team back, he's not the one fired. Bryce decides to take Tarek under his wing and help him. He calls a team meeting to discuss how they should get off to a fresh start and forget past problems. Yes, it's a great idea, but it doesn't seem to go over too well. He's volunteered to the the Project Manager, but will his team listen to him? Will they respect him?

Of course, Tarek blew the play nice party when he decided he was oh-so-great-and-powerful and told them that's why they target him. After all, they're the coyotes chasing after the buffalo (him). Yes. I'm rolling my eyes. Aren't you?

All the rain they kept showing looked very familiar to me. It rained for a good part of September here. Sure enough, it was filmed during Yom Kippur - another holiday that Lee took off to observe. I don't fault him for doing so. Religion is a personal issue and most businesses allow folks the time off for such purposes. I will say it's a shame that the show was filmed when it was as Lee has had to miss part of the "interview." Even though he definitely had a valid reason to go, it can create problems on the team to have a member missing for a task. Or, it can if the Project Manager delegates responsibility properly.

Trump summoned the teams downstairs to the lobby area of Trump Tower where he showed the display cases with the Trump branded merchandise. I took the photo above in the same area of Trump Tower the last time I was in there. (No, I wasn't there for an interview, but I do recommend the public restrooms there!) He then introduced two Arby's corporate bigwigs to the teams and told them their task this week is to create a jingle touting Arby's new all natural chicken line, the only fast food chain offering such. The rest are unnatural, I guess. Aren't nuggets a body part?

They had to write the lyrics and the melody or tune with the aid of a professional band to perform the finished jingle. Lenny wanted to know what a jingle is. Even after it was explained, he played Russian about it all. I know he's smarter than that. It's something I feel just wasn't a strength of his and he fell back to acting like he just stepped foot into modern society. I don't buy the act.

Sean decided to be the Project Manager for Synergy and, for the first time, I personally thought both teams worked well on the task. No one really fought; no catfights. Andrea was almost nonexistent except for working along. Gold Rush made a horrible error which cast a shadow on anything they'd do in the task, though. They showed up 25 minutes late for the meeting with the CEO and other bigwig. Yikes! Dumb move!

This week's Donald Trump lecture and quote was about needing the respect of your employees. I think he was pulling straws with this one. In other weeks, it was evident who would lose the task by the lecture point. This time, I found it a bit murky. Neither Project Manager was really not respected. Out of the two, perhaps Bryce was a bit disrespected as his smile on your brother meeting didn't work. But Gold Rush did pull together as the task went on. I think Trump could have gone with a "Nice Guys Finish Last" quote and lecture, but it wouldn't put him in a great light, would it?

The jingles were played for the bigwig folks, Trump and a bunch of Arby's customers. Donald danced to the Synergy one. I think I'll probably have nightmares tonight. Unfortunately, Gold Rush left out the vital "Arby's is the only natural chicken" and, combined with a bit catchier tune from Synergy, they lost. They will have to go to the Boardroom.

Synergy won a fancy-schmancy meal which included $4,000 a pound white truffles. The girls fawned all over Shawn while poor Michael (who is an attractive young man) was left out. Shallow, shallow. Thankfully, Andrea was a bit quiet. Me? I'd prefer a meal at Arby's, probably going for the roast beef and not the chicken.

As Gold Rush prepared to go to the Boardroom, they were all getting along and really wanted no one fired. Heck, they even forgot how much they disliked Tarek! Bryce did something very right in leading this team in the task. While they lost, they had worked as a team. Bryce also held his head high and refused to backstab or place blame. I think his actions were pretty admirable, but it was a bit like Dead Man Walking to me. Unless he blames others, it will be him gone as he was ultimately responsible for the entire team as the Project Manager.

In the Boardroom, we didn't see fighting as in previous weeks. Lenny knew he didn't contribute much to the task and was resigned to his fate of being chosen to be a fired possibility. I think Bryce took the easy way out by choosing Lee to go with them. He knew Lee wouldn't be fired and that had he brought Charmaine or Tarek, one of them might be. I believe he figured he was a goner. He didn't want Lenny fired either. But, someone had to be fired. He was the Project Manager. He was responsible. Plus, he argued with Trump which sealed the deal.

"Bryce, you're fired!"

When he rode off in the taxi, he was a bit arrogant. But I think he may be right. Watching him bring Gold Rush together on the task this week, he worked miracles. I think Bryce may be the best candidate not hired yet. He wasn't perfect, but he got that team working as a team. I understand the firing - he was the logical candidate in this case. He'll do well in life without winning the show.

Your thoughts?

Dollar bills, y'all...

"The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 5 -or- "Whose Ship Was Sunk Tonight?"

It's Week 5 of the 15 week "interview." I'm finally getting to know some of the names of the quieter folks or those not really highlighted by the show's editors. After tonight, I got to know who Leslie is. And, um ... Dan.

The show opened with the candidates wondering who would be fired. The Synergy folks really wanted to no longer see Brent while many of Gold Rush were hoping for Brent's return because of his detrimental inflluence on the team. All were shocked that Brent was gone. Some relieved; others wondering if they need to worry about Synergy now. Andrea went at Roxanne for saying that Tammy did a better job as a Project Manager. Ohhh! Catfight! Well, not quite. I personally don't think Roxanne's a really strong candidate for winning, but at least she's personable. Andrea irks me. Be gone, witch!

Ahem.

This week's task for the teams was a bit more along the lines we've seen before. They were brought on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, the Norwegian Jewel, and instructed they must make a 30 second television commercial touting the cruise line's new "freestyle" cruises. They're cruises without any organized events time schedules. (Okay, that's a cruise I'd like!) The hitch was that the teams only had 3 hours to complete the filming with a crew and equipment provided. If they didn't finish by then -- the ship leaves port. And, but of course, they're stuck on a cruise. Hey ... that doesn't sound so bad, does it?

Dan decided he wanted to be the Project Manager for Gold Rush and the team instantly liked an idea Lenny had with a storyline of a castaway coming aboard and showing all the fun activities. They set about with the film crew. Over at Synergy, Roxanne went for the Project Manager position much to the dismay of Andrea. They came up with the idea to contrast traditional cruises with the more fun and exciting freestyle ones. Now, Roxanne did look a bit bewildered and overwhelmed at times, but Andrea irked me more. Please, please get her off my television set!

The foreshadowing of the error a team would make came after a commercial. This time it was the quote "Listen to your people" along with a little lecture by Trump. Okay. So, we know one Project Manager wouldn't listen to his people. It was so easy from that point on to see who would lose the task. While Roxanne didn't particularly listen to Andrea (can't blame her), she listened to the others on her team. Ah, but Dan tried to do everything by himself, didn't delegate tasks and, more importantly, didn't listen to Lenny when he said that text alone wasn't good, the commercial needed a voiceover, too. When Bill Rancik peeked in on the team, all was chaos. Dan was more worried about Lee shmoozing with Carolyn and Bill than he was about actually assigning Lee a task.

The results were pretty clear. I knew the castaway part of the Gold Rush ad and the first thing that struck me was you didn't know he was a castaway! Synergy easily won and with no help from Brent! They won big time, too. They got to go to a secret (yeah, right) Brinks diamond vault where they played with diamonds and got to select $30,000 worth of them to take home.

Gold Rush was in turmoil. Lenny came up with the castaway idea which, even beyond the confusion, didn't fly well with the thought of a cruise. Tarek shouted down Lenny's balking at the text only on the ad and pushed that as it's something he can do well. Dan wasn't a good leader at all. He didn't delegate tasks and he didn't listen to his people. Tarek told Dan he would back him up in the boardroom, but then went on to say he (Dan) didn't have any friends in the boardroom. The plot thickens!

Once the whole team got together in the boardroom with Donald, Bill and Carolyn, all heck broke loose. They argued like little kids. Here's the corporate future, eh? Dan decided to take Lee into the boardroom mainly because he doesn't like him. Lee really didn't do anything wrong on the task. He didn't do much, but he wasn't asked to do much. Again, no delegation. Dan didn't want both Lee and Lenny in there and Leslie actually spoke up for herself, so he chose Tarek. I thought Tarek was going to be a goner, but Donald fired Dan because he didn't bring Lenny in and the whole concept was his idea.

"Tell Lenny he hasn't long to go!"

The best line of the night was Trump to Tarek: "Mensa should change their test." I'm sure that Mensa is rescinding Tarek's membership right now.

Next week's show will be on at 10 PM instead of 9 (ET). Until then ...

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice 5' - Ep. 4 -or- "Aw, Grape-Nuts! Only TRUE Leader Fired!"

Well, well, well ... it's about time. But, I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?

As the show opens, the candidates are worried. Tarek knows one more time in the boardroom could be his last time. Charmaine bursts into tears and climbs in bed when she's told that Trump wanted to know why she wasn't called into the boardroom. After all, it was she who secured the lewd comedian and then paid said lewd comedian the full amount. It was she who should have been fired. Oh, woe is me! Everybody's worried except "What? Me Worry?" Brent. After all, why should he worry? He's done nothing wrong.

The two teams are summoned to the Trump Tower Bar and Grill where they learn their next task will be to create a billboard touting Post cereal's new product -- Post Grape-Nuts Trail Mix Crunch. (My own advice would be that the name of the cereal is too long, but I wasn't consulted. What exactly is a "grape-nut" anyway? I don't think I want my grapes to have nuts. But, I digress.) Carolyn is absent this week and it's the posing pretty progeny Ivanka Trump along with George who'll be looking in on the teams' progress.

And, so it starts ... Tammy stepped up to be the project manager for Synergy and Brent immediately volunteered his expertise in presenting to the executives. Oy! She tried to politely tell him it was a healthy product and that she didn't think he was best suited to present it -- plus, he messes everything up and he's an embarrassment to the team. No, she didn't say the latter to him, just on camera and with the others. She made him in charge of selecting the clothes. Now, there's an important task. Brent may be batty, but he isn't stupid. He also thinks she called him "fat" when she actually didn't go that far at all. Ivanka peeked in and immediately made the Brent plan -- don't let him touch anything important to the task.

When the commercial break ended and the show intro was just a "Keep it Simple, Stupid" logo, the good ol' KISS Theory, it was a dead giveaway that one team would overdo things. Ah, but which team?

Over at Gold Rush, Charmaine took on the project manager role in hopes to redeem herself from last week's faux pas. Now, watching her, I have to say she did very well. She solicited ideas from all and decided a "less is more" approach is best as folks don't really pause to read billboards -- something should just jump out at them and make a quick impression. (See the KISS Theory.) Oh, and now it's easy to figure which team will win, isn't it? Bryce came up with the idea of someone chugging cereal because "it's just that good!" The team went off looking for a healthy All American girl for the photo shoot.

Meanwhile, Synergy is in flux. They have way too much going on! Their graphics and pictures don't line up. They decided to go with a "new generation" of cereal theme, hiring what they presumed to be an older man with someone they thought looked like a daughter. The guy was nowhere near old enough looking to be her father! Eek! And, then the graphics were all over the place.

Task completed, the teams went off to New Jersey early the next morning to meet the Post people. Well, one team went early. The other team waited for a Brent Without Pants to iron and get ready. They were a good half hour behind. Once there, both billboards actually looked pretty good, but the chugging cereal was the obvious winner -- clear, concise, exactly the right model for the shot and a quick glance would convey the idea. Synergy's next generation just had much too much going on. In the presentations, Synergy's Sean got tongue-tied and blew it. Two strikes. Gold Rush wins.

The reward for Gold Rush didn't seem all that to me, but the team seemed to enjoy it. They got a chance to go cook with Chef Jean-Georges, the world acclaimed chef at the Trump Tower. Lenny was a bit embarrassing, but it looked like they all had a good time and quite the feast. The team sang the praises of Charmaine's leadership. She is redeemed.

And it's to the Boardroom for Synergy! Woohoo!

The team so wants Brent gone. Since they didn't give him any real responsibility, they don't think it's going to happen. They think Tammy may be blamed as project manager, Sean blamed as he blew the presentation or Andrea because she was the one responsible for the too-busy graphics. Of course, Brent is confident: "Save my seat here (at hotel). I will be back stronger and more powerful than ever! Keep me out of the boardroom or you'll be sorry!" Yipes. He's reminding me of the old Twilight Zone episode with the talking doll that killed Telly Savalas and then told his wife, "If you're not nice to me, I'll kill you too!"

The Boardroom never got to its second stage. Brent proved himself a liability, an embarrassment and probably a bit of a fool. Tammy didn't have to choose to take anyone into the Boardroom at all. It never got that far. With the full team there bickering mostly about Brent, Trump hit his Brent Limit.

"Brent, you're fired. Out! Over! Go! GO!"

It's about time.

Dollar bills, y'all...

'Apprentice 5' - Ep. 3 -or- "Chaos on the Course"

Are you ready for more Brent shenanigans? Well, I think that as long as he lasts on the show, they should be expected.

After the recap of last week's show, we see Andrea absolutely freaking out because Brent wasn't fired. Oh, not to his face. She shut herself in a room for some cry time, then announced she was okay. She decided she wanted to be the Project Manager on the next task and she will manage Brent. Will she get her wish? Will she be able to manage him? Heck, it sure gives more incentive to watch after the debacle with Brent Management (or lack thereof) last week!

Over on the Gold Rush team, much to the dismay of Lenny, both Lee and Dan leave the team to observe the Jewish holiday. Lenny claims to be Jewish himself, but wouldn't desert the team. Dan and Lee feel they have a right to go and I agree with them, although I may have stayed had it been me. But I feel religion is a personal thing and no one can really dictate to another how strongly to follow their beliefs. Lenny, however, is very judgmental and says that if the team loses the task, he will blame them because they left. Bryce, barely seen in the last two episodes, agreed with Lenny and was quite outspoken about both Dan and Lee.

I found this week's task a bit more challenging than the ones so far this season. The teams had to organize a corporate retreat and introduction of the 2007 to General Motors sales folks. It was supposed to be classy, motivational and informational. Now, you could tell something was going to have to be improvised or changed as Trump did a bit on "Plan B" - flexibility is needed or you'll never be successful. Hmmm.

Gold Rush headed to the War Room and promptly went into a cacophony of ideas with Theresa as the Project Manager. She appointed Tarek in charge of creative ideas and then promptly interrupted him every time he tried to talk. She started going on about models, comedians, golf courses and horse-drawn buggies. Yipes! As I was thinking she was all over the place and what the heck did any of those things have to do with the task, both Tarek and Lenny voiced the same concern in confessional segments.

Meanwhile, over at Synergy, the flow was unbelievable. They started talking about the Tahoe and learning about the vehicle, connecting it with both nature and class. William came up with a theme of "Nature Refined" and they worked off that. Um ... Brent said something about being naked, but they shut him down pretty quickly. Leading the task, Andrea pulled the team together on a nature inspired rock climbing, fly fishing and skeet shooting bit while promoting the Tahoe.

For Trump's side, it was Carolyn and Bill checking out the tasks as George was observing the Jewish holiday. (Clue 1 to Gold Rush: Don't trash someone for observing the holiday!) At Gold Rush, they encountered chaos -- the models who supposedly learned about the car and were to teach the GM folks knew nothing, horses (horses?), a golf course set in what looked like a dog park run, a comedian (Cory Kahaney from 'Last Comic Standing') who was lewd and inappropriate for the event and just a total disaster. The team was fighting amongst itself and it was horrid all the way around.

As for Synergy, at the last minute they found out that skeet shooting wasn't allowed in the park. Andrea substituted golf cart racing which ended up being a big hit with the GM people. Andrea even managed Brent. She gave him important tasks such as strategically setting out the trash cans. Brent had spent a good chunk of the War Room time chowing down and not being helpful, but at least he didn't really hinder the team.

When the teams were brought into the Boardroom after the tasks, there really weren't any surprises. Synergy won the task while Gold Rush couldn't have done any worse. So, it would be reward for Synergy and the Boardroom where one person would be fired for Gold Rush. Synergy's reward was a trip to Atlantis Marine World where they swam with sharks, bonded and had a grand ol' time.

Dan and Lee returned to join their team in the Boardroom. Blame got tossed at everyone except perhaps for one who really made bad choices -- Charmaine. Lenny blamed Dan and Lee because they left and Theresa for being a bad leader. Bryce blamed Lenny as he didn't get a generator (which Bryce secured without incident). Theresa's dislike of Lenny made him the scapegoat for all going wrong. It was just as much a mess as the task was. I noticed that Charmaine wasn't mentioned at all when it was she who secured and paid the comedian who so turned off the crowd. Oh ... Tarek was also blamed.

Theresa chose Tarek and Lenny to go to the Boardroom. Trump did the right thing -- "Theresa, you're fired." She led the task and, inevitably, she was responsible for its failure. Trump said she should have brought Charmaine in. I disagree. In my opinion, Theresa was the one to fire. What do you think?

Dollar bills, y'all...

'The Apprentice' Cast Announced - Going International?

I think what I'm most pleased about is the change to Monday nights at 9 PM. The Thursday night slot meant that it got taped in other seasons. At this time, there's nothing on at 9 PM on Mondays which thrills me, so I'm sure to be watching (and blogging) the show. The premiere is February 27th. We can expect Don Trump, Jr., and his sister Ivanka in the boardroom this season. That will be different, I guess. It doesn't sound like they'll be there for every episoded.

This site - NBC Announces 18 New Candidates for Season 5 of The Apprentice - seems to have the most information on the new cast that I could find.

In other 'Apprentice' news, you might want to check these out:
Baver up for 'Apprentice' spot
Zap2it - TV news - 'Apprentice' Goes Global for Season Five
Zap2it - TV news - 'Apprentice' Reserves Spot for Olympian