NBC's "The Apprentice 2": Wave bye-bye to he who waives

Just catching up on "The Apprentice," since once again I waited for the Saturday extended episode (120 minutes instead of 100). I have to say, considering that the real game is often in the boardroom, the extended episodes just make the show that much more interesting. It's too bad that it looks like this was the last of the extended shows.

Anyway, some unrelated thoughts about the episode (a summary is here at the Apprentice Blog):

- Was Bradford totally stupid for giving up his immunity? (Notice that he actually used the lawyer's term, "waive" -- maybe a non-lawyer wouldn't have thought of the concept of waiver, and therefore been dumb enough to have waived it.) The explanation he gave in the taxi-ride after being fired was not a bad one: he wanted to show Apex that he was part of the team. Too bad he didn't offer that explanation in the boardroom; Ann Althouse even has the speech written for him.

- Speaking of Bradford, I thought it was hilarious when he said to the camera, "I hate to lose. Coming in second is just like coming in last for me." You know what? When there are only two teams, coming in second is exactly like coming in last.

- Do the writers script Trump's responses in the boardroom? Or is he that fast at tearing people apart? When Ivana kept insisting that she did a "great" job, Trump responded: "If you think you did a great job and you lost, you shouldn't be here." That shut her up for a short while.

- Raj is a bit of a blowhard, but he's also a pretty funny guy. His impression of Pamela's stiff attempts at selling ice cream were dead-on.

- Notice that when Ivana called a "team meeting" just before the boardroom to make sure everyone knew what happened the day before, it didn't include Stacie J.? Some "team" meeting.

- Speaking of Stacie J., what is it with Mark Burnett's casting of African-American women, anyway? I realize that two data points are hardly conclusive, but doesn't it seem suspicious that each season of "The Apprentice" has had exactly one African-American woman, and each time, she's been completely nuts? (You haven't really forget Omarosa, have you?) Compare that to the one African-American male cast in each season (Kwame in season 1, Kevin in season 2), who seem like normal, likeable guys.

- Not too many of the contestants stand out yet, unless it's in a bad way (Stacie J. = crazy; Ivana = lame). But Trump's confidante Carolyn really impresses me. Her comments in the boardroom are insightful and concise; she's confident without being overbearing or obnoxious. I especially liked it when she asked Ivana, "Why did the men beat you?," and without letting Ivana answer, said, "I'll tell you because I don't want a long-winded answer."

- Finally, let me again say how much I like the extended episodes. I'm not enough of an "Apprentice" fanatic to watch the Thursday night version (which I did tape, just in case) to see what was added in the Saturday version, but the extra boardroom time is a treat. In tonight's broadcast, Trump asked each Apex member who should be fired. (Stacie J. said Ivana; everyone else said Stacie.) I get the feeling that Trump did this each boardroom session but the finished episode was edited tightly. I read somewhere that the boardroom sessions were as long as two hours, which would explain Carolyn's comment before the final four faced firing that she was "exhausted." It's too bad that NBC is wedded to its otherwise dumb Thursday schedule that it won't air the longer episodes on Thursday; even worse, it's cutting the Saturday repeats back to just one hour. (What else is there to air on Saturday, anyway?)

All in all, a terrific episode.

UPDATE (9/19): Prof. Althouse notes that Stacie J. is probably being edited to seem like she's the next Omarosa, but that it's just a fake-out by the producers.

Also, while I'm still really impressed by Carolyn, I did wonder why she kept harping on how Mosaic beat Apex by an even larger margin than the reported $250 or so, considering that Mosaic donated $150 to a leukemia charity. But is that fair? After all, one reason the men sold more ice cream may have been that the advertised charitable contribution motivated buyers. If Mosaic had spent $150 on advertising, I don't Carolyn would've counted that as part of the net profits; why should the donations be considered?

Comments

[Dylan]

A somewhat high proportion of black, educated women do appear to be nuts. I don't know if it's due to mate selection issues or what (lots of black men marry white/asian women, and relatively few have similar education to the women, and this really pisses them off), but it sure seems to be the case. I'm acquainted with a particularly extreme example at school.

[Riley]

What an odd take on black women. Sadly, if we speak out and fight back against these constant negative images then we're nuts. Dylan's post seems to be saying we're nuts because we need to get laid.

[Tung Yin]

Sadly, if we speak out and fight back against these constant negative images then we're nuts.

I'm not sure if this was directed at my post or Dylan's comment. In case it was addressed to me, my point was that I'm sure Burnett can find African-American women who can be portrayed positively, and that I just find it suspicious that he hasn't done so. Instead, each season, the African-American woman is the "foil."

[Riley]

I was commenting on what Dylan wrote.

[Dylan]

I doubt getting laid is a problem, but the statistics show that black women are the second least married racial/gender group, behind only Asian men. (Way to go, Professor!)

[Riley]

Most reality shows feature the Crazy/Angry Black Woman. I've seen this many times. I think the fault is the editing, but sometimes it's the setup: something happens that would make any reasonable person angry, then the others involved pretend it didn't happen or remark that the Angry Black Woman is overreacting, too sensitive, nuts, etc. Then the whole rant is aired repeatedly. I don't know what that has to do with black women being the second least married racial/gender group.

[Dylan]

It doesn't, I just wanted to through that bit of extraneous by interesting knowledge out there.

Next up: a sociological analysis of that white cheerleaders vs. black cheerleaders movie I haven't seen.

[Federalist No. 84]

I'm sure Burnett can find African-American women who can be portrayed positively, and that I just find it suspicious that he hasn't done so.

I concur. I wonder if there's not a cause of action here for "disparate impact." Humor me here, as I took Title VII 1.5 years ago and may have forgot something.

I might say that Burnett and NBC's The Apprentice has a hiring policy or custom that disparately impacts black women. To wit: They only hire crazy black women. Because most black women are not crazy, it follows that this policy disparately impacts a protected class.

Or, other qualified black women were qualified for the job but were rejected because they did not meet Burnett's racial sterotypes. Thus, we could say that Burnett relies on race (where race is not a b.f.o.q. since he wants not just black, but black and crazy) in hiring for The Apprentice.

Am I off my rocker?

[Craig]

(I know nothing about how they actually cast or cull for these programs.)

Could it be this: the vast majority of sane, intelligent, capable people are unwilling to subject themselves to that which is reality television. The sane black women, perhaps moreso than the rest of America, are disinclined to enter that circus. Hence, the aptitude of the capable black women keep them from consideration. However, the producers need black women, so they pick from the dregs remaining in the try-out lines.

Alternatively, affirmative action programs based on both gender and race make the opportunity costs for capable, intelligent black women higher than they would be for the rest of America. Again, the good ones escape the reality television net.

[FN84]

Could it be this: the vast majority of sane, intelligent, capable people are unwilling to subject themselves to that which is reality television.

Craig, I think you have solved the riddle. The only problem with your solution is that I did not think of it first! ;^>