NBC's "The Apprentice"

Just some quick thoughts while watching tonight's episode of "The Apprentice":

1) When Troy and Kwame went off to watch the magic show with the animals, did anyone else think of poor old Roy Horne when a tiger stood on its back legs and hugged the performer? And also, did anyone else think it was demeaning for the African lion to be ridden like a donkey?

2) I really dislike Katrina. When she and Amy were trying to get the car dealer to put up a car rental, and she complained offscreen about Amy's butting in, what was hilarious was that Amy was the one who closed the deal.

3) How come Trump's assistant George is always off on important business trips, but Carolyn never is? Glass ceiling?

4) The previews for this episode had Trump wondering who came up with some dumb idea. When the white tiger was wheeled out in the cage, I couldn't help but think, maybe the tiger will get loose and maul some VIPs . . . .

5) Notice how Protege started out as the all-female team, and right now, it's Bill, Kwame, and Troy.

6) I thought the look of disbelief on Amy's face when the team results were announced was priceless. I guess she really started to think that she was invulnerable.

7) What was with the super-mini skirts that Amy and Katrina wore to the final boardroom? Maybe it's just me, but I would think that if you fighting to stay in the game, you'd want to show Trump that you are professional. . . .

8) Finally, who knows what else she might have said in the cab that was not aired, but I thought Katrina's final comments -- which were pretty much pure vituperation directed at Amy -- were just catty.

All in all, a fun episode. Only 2 regular episodes left before the live finale . . . .

UPDATE (3/26): Prof. Althouse offers thoughts on some of my observations.

Comments

[Jeremy C. Wright]

3) George is International Council. Carolyn's in charge of golf courses. 'Nuf said? ;-)

[tom]

Carolyn is an attractive blond woman and appeals to the 18-34 male demographic, George is a frumpy old man and appeals to no one. Remember, in television, it's all boils down to demographics and market segments. That's probably also why the two women wore mini-skirts into the final board meeting with Trump. I'm sure the producers determine the players' wardrobe for that meeting every week.

[Jeff Findel]

Bill basically won that event for Protege' by getting the VIPs to sign up. How come they didn't end up having more people than versacorp? Didn't they make them signup when they went to spin the wheel? And what was with that kid, was that just a stunt? Did they just tell that kid what to say?

Weird episode!

[Craig]

As I (and presumably almost ever other viewer) predicted last week, Katrina is gone. I'm curious to see how he works the "teams" next week - will he leave things at 3 and 2?

[Tung Yin]

From the previews, it looks like it'll be 3 against 2, and if the two lose, I guess they both go to the boardroom.

Hard to predict how things turn out, but I think if Versacorp loses and neither Nick nor Amy stands out, Amy will be fired. The sheen is off her with the loss, and while her past saved her this time, Trump seems to like Nick.

[Craig]

I also think Nick will do a better job in the boardroom - he certainly has more experience. Amy really didn't make much of an argument in there, and Trump has really seemed to grant a lot of leeway to those who stand up for themselves.

[Will Allen]

What was strange about last night's contest was that it didn't seem to entail actually increasing the casino's revenues, but merely getting people who had already decided to gamble at the Taj Mahal to use one team's tracking card over another's. Did I miss something? Did the teams actually entice these people to increase their wagering?

[fishkite]

I get the feeling George's "business trips" generally lead him to the doctor's office. That is, unlike Ponderosa's "concussion," his medical problems are fairly serious.

[Jeff Findel]

"Ponderosa", I like that...

Yeah I agree with Will, and Amy basically pointed out this fact on the floor to Trump which just seemed to highlight how stupid the premise of their assignment was.

What about the part where Trump is on the golf course and the wind is blowing his hair all over the place. He plays it off cool-like by saying that it proves his hair is real... but seriously, we could see the staples...

[Stephen Silver]

Why did they wear short skirts? For the same reason that all eight women on the show had model-like figures: because it perfectly matches the well-established sexual proclivities of Trump himself.

What I liked in last night's episode was that the "VIPs" were some the scummiest, most shabbily-dressed "high rollers" I've ever seen.

[frogurt]

Honestly, Amy is the only women who has shown me anything at all. Katrina was always negative, always complaining about not being heard, and did a terrible job of closing the deal at the car dealership.

Nick and Kwame have been lucky to survive so far. In my mind, they are not in the same league with Troy, Bill, and Amy.

[Will Allen]

Kwame may be the perfect corporate climber without discernable talent; he doesn't offend anybody or stand out in any way, and is thus always there to benefit when things go right, while not being noticeable when things go wrong. As a manager, he contradicts himself, revealing his lack of feel regarding how to accomplish that task. Did anyone notice that he summed up his management style last night as being (paraphrasing from memory), " I like to tell people what they should do, and then let them use their own initiative to do it". So much for the inevitable brilliance of the Harvard MBA. I don't think this can continue to work as the field narrows.

There are times when Troy displays tremendous intuitive feel, and times that it seems missing. This guy could end up a Trump-like plutocrat, given a few good breaks, and then, Trump-like, find himself in a deep hole to climb out of .
Nick reminds me of countless salespeople I have worked with who completely overestimate their abilities and accomplishments. Amy and Bill strike me as the most traditionally competent businesspeople. If they have meaningful tasks in the coming weeks, unlike last night's episode (I think the apartment rentals, celebrity auctions, and pedi-cab business have been the best so far), how this contest ends could be quite entertaining.

[jimbo]

I disagree about the celebrity auctions. In the end, their take was almost entirely determined by which celebrities they were assigned at the beginning, The "experiences" they came up with were kind of obvious, they didn't have to persuade any of them to do it (they'd already agreed to do something), and they weren't even invloved in marketing the event or their celebrities. It seemed like pure luck of the draw. At least with the artists, they had to choose which artist to go with...

[Will Allen]

Maybe you are right; I'd have to see the show again. I seem to remember that some of the players actually came up with better ideas than the others. One contest I didn't mention was marketing Trump's water. I thought it was pretty good as well.

[Tung Yin]

I agree with Will's analysis of the remaining candidates. Amy and Bill are most like what you would expect from competent business people, Troy is a risky salesman, Nick is lucky, and Kwame is still kind of invisible.

Since this job is to run one of Trump's companies, however, maybe Nick wouldn't be a bad choice. He seems to have the knack for putting people to work and free-riding off their efforts.

[terpitude]

I think Donald Trump should also look at the final contestants background. What they did for a living, how sucessful they were etc. This makes a huge difference.

I think Trump is an arrogant man who thinks he owns the whole world or something, which might i add his stocks aren't doing that well. For his Trump Hotel, its down to ~$2.47 per share... he's also in quite a bit of debt too.. besides the point.. (i just had to get it out)

Kwami has not shown anything to prove himself as a worthy leader, neither has Nick. Nick has been following others, waiting for their suggestions being a lassiez-faire leader and taking quite a bit of credit. These two men will get jobs obvious with this amount of explosure, but to be the ultimate winner working for a man that is famous for this gaudy buildings and gaudier affairs, a man, (Trump) who wants to succeed, should consider the final two to be Bill and Amy. Both have incredible creditals from education to the business world. Both has shown to have taste, ability to be in such a high position. Sometimes you need the look, yes this isnt fair and this is the business world, but no one will take you seriously if you don't look the part and walk the part.

Nick, in my opinion, is like a used sales man; greasy, no class whatsoever. He can't negotiate a deal for his life and we've seen the proof of that for Trump Ice.

Kwami, havent seen anything much, so can't say anything much either. Ahhh im babbling again