RFF Archive > The Apprentice
Apprentice Recaps ~
WENDY:
Wow Puddin!! That was really thought out! :)_| I don't think I ever heard you talk like that before... :)*
puddin:
:)* "it wasn't me"
WENDY:
*()*
puddin:
The Apprentice 2: I'm Not Crazy
Episode 3 Recap
By Professor Dan
September 24, 2004
Mosaic is at DeVries Public Relations, pitching their sweepstakes idea. Ms DeVries, the CEO, is doubtful that it can be arranged in a day, because of all the legal issues involved, but they'll try. Pamela says that "I've got to talk to Legal" generally means "No", and suggests to Andy that since he likes the idea so much, HE call Legal. Andy does, and initially the plan seems to be a go, although it's not certain yet. Privately, Pam grouses: "When the group voted to do this, we put our eggs, chickens; we put the whole damn PEN into this…" She's worried that, if Legal ends up shooting them down, they'll have no backup plan.
Apex: In a hilarious bit, Jenn C and Stacie J show up late that night at a storage facility in a VAN to pick up 20 THOUSAND tubes of toothpaste to give away in the next day's promotion.
It seems that nobody thought to ask how big the tubes were, and Stacie J figured they'd be the itty-bitty travel-size ones. Wrong, shrub head, they're full-sized tubes, and there's a whole roomful of them, 834 CASES! Jenn C and Stacie are like "No WAY I'm moving THIS" (yeah, you might chip a nail!) It doesn't matter-the facility is closing in three minutes, so they won't be picking the toothpaste up tonight anyway.
It's around 2 AM, and Maria is on the phone to the printer who'll be doing their flyers for the promotion that morning. The guy refuses to guarantee the price for the job. Ivana, who is running the laptop and is keeping track of the expenses, questions Maria about this. Privately, she says that she's not going to take the rap if Maria puts them over budget by not locking in a definite price with this vendor. Maria acts like there's no problem.
Mosaic, 2:28 AM: Andy realizes that his butt is on the line over his plan. The call comes in from DeVries-after talking about it all evening, Legal has shot down their sweepstakes idea. Time for Plan Two, which is…?
That morning in a public square in NYC, Mosaic runs their promotion. They'd already arranged to have circus performers there, and they go with that-there are stilt-walkers, fire-eaters, jugglers, circus girls in sequins, and the irrepressible Raj on the mic and bullhorn. AND they're still giving money away-three $5000 drawings! Privately, Pam explains that if you give away no more than $5000 in New York State, there are no legal issues. Kevin privately exults at how well the promotion is going: "It's good to be able to recover like this and have our contingency plan work out." (Hmmm, did Pam even KNOW about the contingency plan? What was all the "chickens and eggs and the pen" thing about then?)
Apex is putting on a good promotion too. Piazza shows up, says he's never tried Vanilla Mint flavor, but he's brushed with Crest all his life and NEVER had a cavity! Jenn C gushes privately: "He was FLAWLESS…" He brushes (with a Crest Spinbrush, of course!) and gives it the thumbs-up: "Tastes great!" Then Piazza signs boxes and the backs of the flyers for the fans, which pleases Elizabeth no end.
Back at Alliance after the event, Apex gets the bad news: the printer is charging them $6,950 for the flyers, because of the rush job and overtime costs. Maria thought it was $1800. Ivana gets on the line: "By you charging me $6950 you are RAPING me…" (Nice sensitivity there Ivana!) The guy won't budge, so Apex is now $5000 over budget. (Hmmm, didn't Trump say he HATES people who are over budget? Sucks being Apex!)
Everybody piles into a meeting room to see the P & G execs and get their verdict. Trump comes in last (of course!) The execs thought that both teams did a great job, but Apex maybe did a bit better because of getting Piazza. BUT, they were over budget. Trump asks Jennifer about this, and she says she "just found out about it". This doesn't sit well with Trump: "You're the Project Manager and you didn't KNOW you were over budget?" In any case, the P & G execs give the nod to Mosaic. Their reward? Dinner on the Queen Mary 2, the biggest ship ever built (Trump likes things big, remember?) as it cruises in New York Harbor that night. For the women: the boardroom!
The guys come aboard the QM2, and it is fabulous: it's longer than the Empire State Building would be on its side, and sumptuously appointed. They have a fabulous lobster-and-filet-mignon dinner, and end up on deck seeing the lights of New York and the Statue of Liberty. They belt out "America the Beautiful", and even Pam is singing with them.
Meanwhile, back at the suite, Stacy and Elizabeth want to hang the blame on (who else?) Stacie J. But really, it's all Maria's fault. Elizabeth confronts Maria, who tells her "You're totally trying to cover your own ass." Stacie J hears them arguing, but she still figures she'll be put up: "They've formed this sorority cliquish girl thing and I'm not part of it."
In the boardroom, Trump isn't happy. They went 10% over budget. He points out that if he was building a $500 million building and went 10% over budget, that'd be FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS. Elizabeth blames Maria, who attempts to defend herself, but is cut off by crusty George, who points out that she went over on ONE ITEM, and that they paid SIX TIMES what that item was budgeted for! (George's math isn't too good here-they paid $6950 on an item that was budgeted for $1800, so they paid roughly FOUR times what it was budgeted for.) Trump asks Stacie J who was responsible, and she puts the blame on Elizabeth for a lack of organization. Stacey and Ivana both claim that Elizabeth's organizational efforts were hampered by having to "put out fires" caused by Stacey J! So okay, who is Elizabeth taking to the boardroom? Maria and Stacie J.
Carolyn says that Elizabeth was a "terrible leader", and criticizes Maria for not taking the blame for her mistake. George says he wouldn't want to trust Maria with any money.
The ladies are called back in, and Maria brings up Stacie's "irrational" behavior in Week 1. This is the first that Trump has heard of this (doesn't he watch his own show? Doesn't Burnett talk to him?) Maria says of Stacie's behavior: "I've never seen anything like this." Elizabeth corroborates what Maria says. Stacie protests: "I'm not crazy!"
In a surprise move, Trump orders Maria to go get the other women back to the boardroom. As she gets up, she says, "I will say that I…" Trump cuts her off brusquely: "Maria, you've said enough… GO GET EVERYBODY." Maria says "Yes SIR" and TROTS out of the boardroom! (I was cheering! Trump is a GOD!) Maria half-walked, half-ran to the elevator, and once in the suite, quickly rounded up the others.
When everyone is back, Trump starts in. Elizabeth "stinks as a leader". Maria did a "lousy job". But this Stacie thing is more serious. He asks each one in turn to describe Stacie's irrational behavior. Jenn C called it "very odd". Ivana termed it "borderline schizophrenic". Stacey said it was "one of the most strange things" she'd ever seen, and that it scared her. Jennifer said it had occurred "in a confined period of time", and had not recurred ("THAT's great-- what does THAT mean?" said Trump derisively.) Sandy said she was "absolutely horrified", and said that she wouldn't have Stacie working in her bridal salon, let alone a Trump company.
Donald has heard enough. Noting that everybody had said the same thing, he describes Stacie J as a "loose cannon". He has no choice, and Stacie J's arc comes to an end as she hears the magic words: "You're fired". Afterwards, George and Carolyn confirm to Trump that he had no choice: "They were unanimous", George said. "Yeah, and they don't even like each other," Trump says to finish the show.
Dan is a college professor who somehow got hooked on Reality TV, especially ones with lots of strategy and twists. You can contact him at Daniel1953@hotmail.com.
http://www.realitytvcalendar.com/recaps/apprentice2/pd-a2-ep3-p2.html
puddin:
Show Recap: The Apprentice 2 - Episode 4
Posted by: Zinc on Sep 29, 2004 - 11:55 PM
I wonder how many people didn't know that Episode 4 was on TV on Wednesday night instead of it's usual Thursday spot. I must say, I didn't and I almost missed it!
We've gone from boy's toys, food things and pearly whites to rested restaurateurs! The 15 remaining contestants have to impress the general public with the "new" restaurant. If you missed show because the network bumped the show foreword a day, never fear … the summary is here! Who will Donald Trump fire this week? Read on!
The show started with the contestants discussing the firing of Stacie R. Jennifer M thought the team used Stacie J to avoid being fired themselves.
The next morning, they received a phone call to telling them to meet Mr. Trump at John George Restaurant at 9:00.
At 9:00, Donald, Carolyn and Bill (last season's winner) were waiting for them. George Ross was away on business so Bill replaced him for this show.
The Challenge:
Each team was given a chef and an empty restaurant property. By the next night, they must transform the empty spaces into beautiful restaurants. The team with the highest Zagat Survey rating wins. It was noted that Kevin, the project manager on the previous weeks winning team, was exempt (could not be fired).
Apex:
Jennifer C was the project leader. Right off the start, Stacey wanted it to be an Italian food restaurant. Jennifer C decided on Asian food and said executive decision (no discussion). Jennifer C said Stacie talked too much. Apex's restaurant was long and narrow. There seemed to be some confusion where they should do their paper work but it was decided that they should go back to the suite to work. Later that night, it showed the Apex team going back to the restaurant to clean it. They were still cleaning at 4:00 a.m. The women thought they had 2-3 hours sleep that night.
The next day, the women were up and out early. Everything that was need (plates, glasses, tables, etc) were delivered. Elizabeth wanted to take a few of the women and go out to promote the restaurant. The next thing you see is Elizabeth crying because she thought she would fail. She felt she was not herself (lack of sleep maybe?). Jennifer M thought that "flyer girl" was all upset because she did not have enough time to pass out the pamphlets and she thought she should just get over it.
Jen C and Stacey continued to argue with each other. Reminds me a little of Roger Dangerfield … they just can't seem to get any respect.
The women all got in their "little black numbers" . Sandy notes that she did the décor and felt she had done a really good job. However, once the restaurant opened, the customers didn't see it the same way. Jen C asked to two ladies what they thought and they said "stark". She felt they were wrong (but, Jen C, remember who is filling out that Zagat Survey). We watched Jen C hover of the customers to the point it was slightly nauseating.
Mosaic:
Raj was project manager. Chris wanted to be the project manager but his job was training the team to be waiters. He was teaching them the importance of making small talk.
Mosaic had the place professionally cleaned. While it was being cleaned, they went back to the apartment … to bed …. and had a good night sleep. John worked on the "look and feel" of the restaurant. John did some artwork for the restaurant. It came out looking really professional (hey, if the apprentice thing doesn't work out, he could always be a artist!)
Finally the restaurant opened and the started to welcome guests. Chris was worried about four gay guys critiquing the restaurant. They were using what they could to get the good rating. They really pulled out all the stops and it appeared that all the customers enjoyed themselves.
*******
Donaldism- quality of a great leader is respect - people have to respect you or you can not be a leader.
*******
We came back from a commercial to hear Jen C being interviewed and saying how she thought she brought the team together. Next, Jennifer F said she did not think that Jen C inspired them. She thought they launched the restaurant "in spite of Jen C"
Back in the Board Room with both teams:
Apex - based on the customer reviews (read by Bill) too many women in black like uptight stewardess, stark modern setting, slow uneasy service, A for effort.
Food 22
Decor 16
Service 19
Total 57
Masaic - based on customer reviews - off to a good start, delicious food, hot eye candy waiters that are clearly anxious to please, etc
Food 22
Decor 18
Service 21
Total 61
Mosaic wins!
Mosaic's reward met with Rudy Giuliani (former Mayer of New York) in his office.
Apex is going back to the Board Room.
The Apex team was back at the apartment to wait to be called to the Board room. Suddenly the whole high school thing started again. So we're back to the backstabbing. It got really nasty. They went at each other … again … I have to wonder if this really is the best and the brightest?
Finally, they go back to the Board Room. The Donald makes his usual grand entrance.
Donald said Rudy spoke about leadership to the Mosaic team and asked Apex team about he leadership on this project. Ivana felt there was serious lack of leadership. Jennifer C defended herself by saying that her father said basically, if you slept the night before, you wasted time you could have been using to get work done. Donald pointed out that the Mosaic Corp hired cleaning people. As a result, the Mosaic team were refreshed the next and Apex was not.
Carolyn felt the restaurant environment did not fit the neighbourhood. Rob felt the energy level was not high, it was tense and that they were peering over the people as they ate.
Then the high school back stabbing started again. As Carolyn correctly pointed out, it was to the point that any working woman would be embarrassed.
Donald asked who should be fired:
Sandy felt Jennifer C should be fired.
Maria felt leadership was a problem. Jen C talked the talk but didn't walk the walk.
Jennifer C chose 2 people - Elizabeth and Stacey to go back into the Board Room
Bill suggested to Jen C that pulling people into the Board Room for the wrong reason was the quickest way to go home. "So make very certain why you are bringing these people into the Board Room with you."
Jen C said that she brought Stacy in because she is "a living thorn" in her side, etc. Stacy said she brought her in for personal reasons. Elizabeth said Jen C picked her because she was looking for someone to pin the blame on.
Then Mr. Trump said that Jen C chose not to be a leader and the entire team hated her. She did not bring the one person that really screwed up and that this was easy…. "You're fired."
So the one that always interrupted Donald was gone, and as he said "I feel good about it".
And then there were 14.
http://www.realityhq.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=267
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