Hee! This show looks like fun. I've been sucked in.

I love seeing familiar faces from TARcon, like iMissEthan and pseudostudent. And that Reichen's mom probably won't be here to cause grief to Schroeder. (Hey, did you vote for Reichen and Chip as the "Mover[s] and Shaker[s] of 2003" in the planetout.com poll?? Hee.)

But really, a show with Donald Trump and where the phrase "think outside the box" will be repeated until my ears bleed? Yikes.

Yep, here for the recaps.

I think I'd rather see a show that featured the most Dilbert-esque work force on the face of the planet trying to hold onto their pathetic jobs way more than this. Seriously, the folks on this show are the kind of folks that I would never even want to meet, much less have a "friendship" with.

That said, I'm looking forward to the snark and sharing the ickiness with the likes of iMissEthan and pseudostudent, my buds from the 24 threads.

Aw, who would ever think I'd get a warm, fuzzy feeling from anything even tangentially related to Trump. Thanks, guys - looking forward to suffering through this with you, too.

Wasn't going to watch this but will for...the recaps. What else?

Gotta say, TWoP has totally changed my TV viewing habits. Now, instead of watching "quality" programming, I tune in to shows I never would have admitted seeing only so I can understand the recaps. I'll be in front of the TV. Can't stand The Donald, but Alli's recaps will be sublime!

From Schroeder:



Tee, hee! Stupid underwear! Yes, I'm 12 and proud of it!

Gods above and below...spelling!

I think this show is going to be fun to watch. Would everyone think that Trump will pick someone who is most like him, or who he could beat in a hot dog eating contest?
Still, interested to see who wins.

Is it wrong that I keep imagining the two Veeps as George and Elaine?

No, because I'm doing the same. Hee! :)

I'm turning into NBC's Reality Whore. First Fear Factor, then Average Joe, then Average Joe Hawaii, and now The Apprentice. Sheesh.

(N.B. on my Fear Factor love -- Joe Rogan is HOT! Did you not see him (and his chest) on NewsRadio? No? What do you mean, you couldn't ever figure out when NBC aired it? If it makes you feel any better, neither could the rest of the country.)

Not bad Schroeder, five out of six!

This show has done something I haven't been able to do -- get Mr. AG2 interested in a reality show! I'm just going to assume it had nothing to do with the tastefully garbed female competitors.

BTW Rain, I've become an equal opportunity Reality Whore -- CBS (TAR, Survivor and Big Brother), FAUX (AI) and now NBC's. Wonder what ABC has planned for the spare 30 minutes I've got on Sunday?

A general point of order: What would stop The Toupe from firing the winner after two weeks? Nothing? Does he have to keep the winner on the payroll for a minimum time?

Oh, yeah. Hi. :)

I guess that would depend on what kind of contract they sign. Hopefully for the winner, the contract is a good one that guarantees employment for a solid year. Unless, the winner is a total fuckwit, I guess. Which might not be surprising.

Well, I'm tuning in for the snark factor and the recaps -- and there seem to be enough familiar faces from the TAR boards for me to wave my hand around and yell "here! I'm over here!" We can only hope that the Hair and wondering what Sam will do next will hold us over until Phil and his sweaters return to make my heart glad again. Wheee!

(waving from down the road aways) Hi Jenex! How's your wonderful Aussie puppy these days? My rotten kids are most upset about the weather. They try every way possible to poop on 3 legs or less. Of course they won't wear the boots that we shelled out the big bucks for. Even I I use duct tape they fling them off.

Love this show! I rewatched last night and man, oh man, Sam bugged even more the 2nd time around as did Heidi's eyebrows. I'm glad they changed the time back to Thursday this week, I teach from 7:30 to 8:30 on Wednesdays, thanks NBC!

Wow. I'm suddenly feeling like my job is so much more powerful than I thought it was. As the receptionist, I can make or break people!!!! Or not.

Hee!

Anyhow, this is the show that finally brought me out of almost a year of lurking on the boards, so allow me to say hi to everyone for the first time.

Hi everyone!

Quickly checking in here -- good to see so many familiar faces from TAR! I was sure this would be an "I'll read the recaps because it's Miss A, but never watch the show itself" case (Married by America, anyone?). But then I saw the first episode, and I'm hooked. With The Donald, The Vi-Ce-Roys, and (among others) Omarosa, Ereka, Tammy, Troy, Kwame (*sigh*), Jason, and SAM... I'm hooked. And glad of it.

Of possible interest to all those hanging out in the Executive Washroom: today is National Clean Off Your Desk day (in Canada, anyway). So go get busy, folks (Lord knows my desk needed this day as an excuse).

And this is just reason for me to be happy that this is the first show Miss Alli recaps that I will have watched from the get-go. I think they should bring the receptionist into the boardroom so she can give Donald the skinny on everyone's behavior out in the lobby, including Sam's weird crawling.

I'm Oldersis. I loves me some reality tv.

Hi. I'm stinkylulu. I knew I would love this show...so glad to have y'all to share it with.


Totally -- it would be brilliant if they had a stealth member of the Board (ala my beloved The Family) to catch the doofs unawares...

Is it really watchable?? I tried watching a few minutes at a time, but everyone seemed like those types on the first day of law school that raised their hand (and practically leapt out of their chairs) at every question. And those types were annoying enough for me not to want to watch them in their own show.

I did catch Sam in his sit down/stand up bit, but I can't decide if it was amusing or painful or both.

We called them "gunners" at my law school, LawDog. And I agree--that's exactly who I was thinking of when I watched this show. (Yes, Mongo, I'm talking about you!) But everyone was openly laughing at them this time (at least, everyone in my living room was), instead of politely snickering behind their hands, or rolling their eyes, and that is what made all the difference.

And Sam was the biggest gunner of them all, God bless him.

Hi all. I'm FleaBailey and I am as happy as a pig in slop with this show.

Hey, Kitelady! My puppy is just lovely, thank you, and unlike yours, she adores the snow. Wants to be let out 47 times an hour, just so she can play in it. Which gets a little old. We keep trying to explain to her about the boy who cried wolf, but somehow she's just not grasping the concept.

I set my TiFaux to record this show weekly. My husband asked me if I was kidding. I told him at least it's sparing him from Smallville. Heh.

I'm kind of on the fence with this one. I was in that environment myself for a while, then decided I didn't value the way I was spending my time. Like, what would they have put on my tombstone had I died at 28: "She was a good assistant manager of marketing research for a Fortune 500 company"? But as a self-employed person doing what I want (and wearing fleece yoga pants, an old sweater, and house slippers as I write this), I still interact with ambitious hotshots occasionally. They seem ridiculous, probably because I made a career shift as a result of rejecting the values they appear to have embraced. Do I want to spend an hour each week watching more of these people on TV? I can't decide.

Ahhhh fleece yoga pants! One of the gifts from the gods.


Unlike my cat, who HATES the snow, and only picks distainfully through it maybe once a day. Which means the rest of the time she stays indoors and drives us crazy with her restless, bored, cabin fever. Her favourite habit is sitting on my keyboard. Which explains why I have cat hair embedded into my space bar. Eggh.

Actually, they like the snow, it's the frozen ground where they go potty that they hate. Whenever we get a significant amount of snow, I take them out to the yard and shine the laser pen on the snow. They never get tired of chasing that red dot. I just have to be careful not to run them into a tree!

I think I'm one of the few here who was planning to watch this crapfest even before I saw the glorious news that Miss Alli was recapping.

Burnette's shows offer so much to make fun of, I can usually entertain myself to no end all by myself. Having great TWOP forums and Miss Alli's recaps make it so much sweeter.

And really, it doesn't matter who makes the show or what network it's on. If it is a reality show, I will watch it (yes, I admit I need help ).

My puppy is lucky- we live in the south. It was 60 degrees today! No snow here-ever.

Now that's a comedy visual. Reminds me of the time my dog (actually puppy at the time) -- who loves to go anywhere in the car -- got so excited when I picked up my car keys that he was jumping around with his eyes on me as we're walking out to the driveway, and then he immediately went to jump in the back of the SUV. Only problem was, I hadn't opened the rear gate yet.

He bounced off the back and ended up sitting on the pavement with this look on his face like, "Why did you do that to me?"

I just love dogs.

I'm with MormonJenRN, I was planning on watching this show since NBC started promiting it. (Miss Alli's recaps are just a fabulous bonus.) A friend of mine actually did get fired by the Trump -- although not on network television; since she can't stand to see his face every week, I feel it's my duty as a friend to watch it and give her the highlights.

Coming out of lurkdom to say hi to all!

Sheriff! That's a good question. If he had to, and you were only in it for kicks and didn't mind completely screwing up your career, that situation could be a lot of fun. Just imagine the possibilities...

Hello all, I'm revi. I'm sadly fascinated by this show, and lyric, I love dogs too.

In the 1-2 episode thread, String Theory wrote:

I want to address this here because I'm going off-topic for the original thread.

I am a consultant to a company, and in the department I work with most, half of the employees are ethnic minorities. We had a bad manager for a long time. Everyone hated him, and we danced in the streets when he left. The black employees -- but not the Asians -- said he was also racist. Away from the office, there was some debate as to whether he was really racist, or whether the black staff members perceive negativity in the workplace through their experiences with racism, which might lead them to see the negativity as racism, when in fact this guy was just a shitty manager. I ended up talking to two of the black senior staff about this, and they both said they knew the difference. So I decided that the guy was indeed racist, because I trust these two people and I know they're smart and perceptive and have good judgment. Anyway, right or wrong, I think this is a question some people are going to have in similar situations. Don't get me wrong -- no one was condoning this jerk's behavior in any way, shape, or form. But he treated everyone badly. I did find it telling that her first morning on the job, maybe even her first hour on the job, the new manager put in for promotions for 3 of the 5 African Americans. Anyway, String Theory, I think you were indirectly saying "don't accuse anyone of playing the race card until they actually do", and I guess what I'm saying is that it is sometimes puzzling for people who do not condone racism to tell what's really going on.

DariaG, I can totally understand why you might find what went on in your company confusing. I think race issues often are confusing and leave some people seething and others scratching their heads.

At my job, there is a white guy who feels the need to append everything he says to me with the word "girl", as in "How's it going, girl?" or "What's up, girlfriend?". Now, I've paid careful attention, and noticed that he does not address any of our white female coworkers this way, just me, the only black woman in our group. Do I find it slightly offensive? Yes, because it reduces me to a stereotype. It seems some sort of attempt to "identify" with the black girl and it implies that altering the way he speaks to me is some way to do that. Which is silly because I don't even talk that way....to anyone, white or black. But do I take him to task on it? No. Because I don't think he means anything negative by it and he's actually a very good guy. And bringing it up would only cause tension that doesn't need to exist. I'm sure if I even mentioned it to any of my white co-workers, they would wonder what the big deal is and if I wasn't being "too sensitive". Then all of a sudden, my race becomes this "issue" which is the last thing I want because it's really not an issue at all.

These kind of subtle references are made everyday to alot of black people and I think is the reason that many people get overly defensive, even when there isn't an apparent reason to be. I'm not necessarily saying the Omarosa/Ereka thing fits into this category because I personally feel that is just a personality clash taken to the next level. However, now that race has been brought into it, there's a good chance it will become a race issue whether it started out as one or not.

H'lo, m'dear. Welcome to "Assorama's Firestorm", also known as "The Apprentice," and, if you're my co-workers, "that crap on Thursday after Friends."

I believe I read elsewhere after posting that that the contract is for one year, and, presumably, if you've done a faboo job to that point (or kissed enough corporate kiester), even longer. :)

Good to see you here. Now, help me get Shhh, jempilot and dob over here. I'm lonesome.

Hi everyone, I'm nichelle. I've been here for quite a while but I spend most of my time lurking. I love this place, but am a bit quiet.

I do want to respond to PetuniaP, though



I had a former boss who did that to me as well. Once while visiting my 'market', he looked at my co-workers/employees and greeted them with 'hello, good to see you, how are you, etc'. He greeted me with his typical "What's up girlfriend?" This in no way represented my language or behavior professionally. I'm not knocking your way of handling it because not all situations are the same. For me, it wasn't only a matter of his treating me differently but also others witnessing the difference. As in your case, he viewed it as a way of relating to me. (I have lots of stories of people trying to relate to me, but I digress) For the good of our working relationship as well as a bit of an education for him, it was better that he understand the impact of that treatment. My silently 'taking it' is also a sign that it is ok with me. There are some who don't know what is appropriate and I would rather they not think his way is what I prefer. I also didn't want him to continue in case he repeated that behavior with someone who would not be so nice in their response.

My work environment is not exactly diverse and there are people who simply don't know how to initially interact with me. So, I find it's better for us, in awkward situations, if we just have a quick conversation and get all of that weirdness out of the way. There is only one person who has not become comfortable with me (after our conversation about her choice of terms to describe me) but well.. that's her problem!

Woo hoo, I'm next! Hey everybody! I'm just getting started, although I've been lurking a bit to see how this works.

I admit it, I got sucked in by the NBC promos, and I've been looking forward to watching "The Apprentice". I have pleanty to laugh at my own "higher-ups", sometimes you need material for those boring meetings.

Hi everyone! I usually post in the episode threads but I wanted to duck in here to see what you guys were buzzing about. I hope that this post is not in the wrong place.

Omarosa and her antics have sparked a number of discussions about race in the episode threads. I am a professional black woman in the legal profession, and I am personally offended by the manner in which Omarosa played the race card. Many others have pointed out the problems inherent in her strategy, namely Nichelle and String Theory and they have laid out the arguments eloquently enuf that I need not rehash them. In a nutshell, I have been in professional situations where I am often the only black woman. You either choose to deal with people and their sometimes disparate reactions to you, or you react defensively to everything and everyone. It's hard to completely judge her actions in context (even though I did trash her in the episode thread) because there is a great deal of editing going on, and we're not seeing everything that Omarosa reacting to. Perhaps there's more to the story.

What I found interesting is this: on Friday, Oompa and her behavior so dominated the posts that I started getting bored! Everyone made excellent points, but many post were 'Oompa overreacted', or 'Oompa had no reason to believe that people were reacting to her because of her race.'

One thing is for certain. Oompa, as well as Sam and his desperate need for a mood stabilizer, both have us talking. Most of us will tune in to see just what the hell they'll do next week. Both MB and Trump are no fools, and know that many people are buzzing about these two characters and the drama that they create, and drama/buzz = ratings. Hence, I suspect that they're not going away anytime soon. I certainly don't think either one will be the last man or woman standing. Sam is certainly waaaay too unstable to become the president of a major company, and Omarosa has a long way to go with people skills. But MB will suggest to Trump that he keep them around for the long haul.

Sorry that I'm so wordy tonite!

Does anyone know when exactly this was taped? I was wondering if they were shooting during the August blackout.

Howdy sherifftruman! I thought I'd take a peek over here. So far, am loving the show. I'm strangely fascinated by The Donald's hair. Yikes!! And I'm waiting for that annoying Sam to get the boot.

Hi guys! I'm from Toronto, and used to hang out on Trading Spaces until I knew I couldn't look at another stripey cushion without throwing something through my tv. I love the show. Love Sam (I know, hardly anyone else does!) Loathe Ompa for all the reasons other people do, and am completely MB's bitch. I am also working up a complicated theory about how DT does his hair which involves multi-partings and combings-forward over combings-back with some combing-sideways.

And I'm finding a small but growing respect for Heidi Bressler. That's if she would just put her boobs away for a while...

Okay, I'm just curious, isabella19: What on earth helps you find a "small but growing respect for Heidi Bressler"? Try as I might, I can't see a think about her that I don't find offensive.

Well, for a start, she's the token homely one, which attracts my sympathy. Secondly, on occasion she's tried quietly but well to get the group back on track. I can remember once during the melee at the beginning of the lemonade Challenge and another time last week, which I'd have to rewatch the tape to remember, but I did note at the time. I don't like how she shoves her boobs in people's faces. But then I don't appreciate the extremely short skirts of Ompa, Tammy, Kristi (sp?). Nor do I like the off-the-shoulder, decolletee or strapless look that the other women are going for. They are all dressing/behaving unprofessionally IMHO. But she is striking a chord with me. I don't find her nearly as offensive as some of the others.

Interesting. I guess I find all their clothing so skanky that I have a hard time looking past the wardrobe. I'll have to watch more closely. It's safe to say that the editing is going to show more boobs-in-the-face shots than quietly-working-to-get-things-on-track shots if they have a choice, so those things slipped right past me.

cutecouple I found the following reality tv bite which says shooting started on September 16, 2003.

Sheriff I also found this quip, Trump, always the businessman, was noncommittal about the winner's future. "It's a one-year job, and at the end of the year, we'll see what happens," he says. Hmmm, it could go either way, performance or keister driven.

I have a little dumb advertising campaign story of my own. A while ago I was asked to take part in a focus group for a high-end hotel chain print ad campaign to be featured in glossy magazines. There were about 12 or so groupies, even male/female mix. We all travelled extensively on business. The group organizer had thoroughly gone into our business travel habits and how long we were away etc. to prequalify us for the group.

We were shown four ads by the group leader, who told us ahead of time he was completely neutral so we could say whatever we liked...

First ad showed a busy exec arriving happily and quickly at the Hotel de Posh with plenty of time for his first meeting, because the hotel was so well-situated.

Second ad showed the busy exec making good use of the well-stocked business center where he could use the internet and even have business meetings in small boardrooms.

Third ad showed the busy exec taking advantage of the superfast no-wait checkout system so he didn't have to hang around the front desk tapping his foot.

Fourth ad showed...a lady in an Ompa-mini relaxing in the hotel tearoom having taken full advantage of all the lovely stores and exclusive boutiques handily close to the hotel. She looked wonderfully relaxed.

The ladies in the group fell about laughing. The group leader was nonplussed, and left to go behind the two-way mirror to check with his bosses what to do next. He came back and asked us in a tone I can only describe as 'hectoring' what on earth we would want to see in an ad that featured a woman traveller. We told him. All the things you see that guy doing, we would want all of those. Oh yeah, and dedicated floors just for women, with a concierge up there. Screw shopping, we said, we don't have time for shopping. We want security.

I never saw that campaign in magazines, so I guess they ditched it. I will never forget the group leader's panic when he saw every woman in the room laughing her ass off and he just didn't understand why.

See, I told you this show was thinly disguised softporn. :)

OK, ok, I'm here. Sheriff, you think everything is thinly disguised softporn. Or is that *wished*? ;)

I am loving this show, if for nothing else than the fact that (seemingly) no one is trying to launch their modeling career. When the prize is working for Donald Trump for a year, you've got to really want it, and not just want to be on tv.

Oh, and I *heart* Bill from Chicago. (Is it Bill? Between this, ANTM, the Bachelorette, Average Joe 2 and the upcoming American Idol, I've got so many damn reality people swirling around in my head, I'll never keep them all straight. Thank god I already know all the Survivors! What? Stop looking at me like that.)

*smooch* Welcome aboard, Shhh. Pull up an ergonomic chair, power tie and Dilbert collection. May I get you a martini?

They sent me over from TB:MM to find you two. Ah hah! Why are you are buttoned wrong Shhhh?.

I will go back to the I Am Sam thread now.

Whhhaat? Oh, the Sheriff and I were just...rehersing a play. Yes, a play where my buttons become mysteriously undone. By aliens.

[looking down] Sorry, IGG. We'll behave now.

Shhhh, Ingress and Sheriff! AH HA!!! Well I guess we're all big fat, cheaters now. But i love this show.

A quick hello - freakishly compelling tv here. And I don't know when I suddenly turned into a reality-tv-obsessing person. (Okay, thinking about it, I do - it was when a friend first pointed me to TWOP & Miss Alli recaps. TAR 3. Life, good.)