She totally gets her own thread.

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN. Girlfriend got cat-ty tonight. Though Lord, who can blame her with a belligerant Heidi staring her in the face?

Still... I'm surprised she was so... talkative and even (in her composed way) aggressive tonight. I always though she was more of a silent viper that strikes painlessly but fatally... now it seems she's more firey than I thought.

This is not a bad thing at all!

loved her eh response to donald. He seemed to be seeking her approval and she totally wasn't giving it to him. Love her. I appreciate the fact that she totally mocked Heidi. I haven't been converted to loving Heidi and I am glad to see her go away. Wow, it getting tough in there. can not wait until next week.

And once again, I'm let down by a preview promising something spectacular from Carolyn. What happened to "Don't. Cross. Carolyn"? No one crossed her at all, though Heidi seemed to manage to disgust her with her sidewalk manner.

Every bit as disappointing as her way-too-gentle reprimand to Protege v.1.0.

I wish the show would stop doing this "teasing" stuff, because I think what she does say is great and incisive, and I'd rather focus on that than be waiting for things that aren't a-comin'.

I like the points she brought up. I think you do have to look for refinements in technique at some point--you can't just pat everyone on the head, give them a cookie and lemonade, make small talk, and flip a coin to see who goes. A lot of good questions brought up that I think about now--i.e. what have I done for my company recently?

And on Carolyn's age here's my take: I guessed she was 42 years old but took very good care of herself so as to seem almost 10 years younger. When I found her real age out I was amused how I double faked myself out.

Yeah, this was a let down, just like the ho'-down earlier. I mean, she was honest and all, but nothing spectacular. It was annoying the way that Heidi was sitting there squirming and saying "I know I know I know" and interrupting Carolyn. Ultimately pretty unsatisfying, though.

Carolyn looked fab in that pink sweater at The Plaza, though. Just fabou.

Carolyn's impression of Heidi was priceless. TPTB are clearly getting wind of the Carolyn-love -- let's just hope for more next week.

I really didn't like how Trump implied that Carolyn was being harder on Heidi because they were both women. I felt that pretty much undermined Carolyn's opinion, which is ridiculous.

I wonder if she's always been that chatty in the boardroom and we've just never seen it before?

I didn't get the impression that he thought that Carolyn was being harder on Heidi, as much as he was sort of eliding the question "As a professional and as a woman, you don't think that she's delivered the goods?" To me it seemed more of a recognition that Carolyn had a view of business that he couldn't share, because he's not a female in business.

Could be just me, though.

Yeah, I didn't mind that (as I might have expected I would): Trump asking if she was perhaps especially bothered by Heidi's behavior because of the women-in-business issue, and she conceding that that may be part of it, but not all of it. It seemed reasonable and not overemphasized to me.

I thought Carolyn's "smackdown" of Heidi was pretty perfect, actually. She said what she had to say, didn't raise her voice, remained professional, and didn't seem to give a rat's behind whether Heidi agreed or not. I especially liked how she called Heidi on not volunteering to be PM, when she's only done it once. She's helping TD find people to lead his companies, and her questions to Heidi perfectly showed TD that she would NOT be a good candidate for him to keep around.

How old *is* Carolyn?

I figured that as head of one of Trump's divisions she had to be at least in her 50s -- and, of course, one of those women who has it together enough to look like she's barely 40.

On one of those entertainment shows (Extra, Access Hollywood, whatever) I believe they said that Carolyn was 35 and had worked for Trump for 10 years. I remember because I thought that was too young (not that I'd say that to her face). Maybe I misheard and it was 45.

leuvenator--

Here's an article that was linked to from sirlinksalot.net that reveals her age.

Article

Hope this answers questions for future lurkers as well--and that the link stays valid for a while!

Wow, I'm 32. She makes me feel like a total loser. Sigh...

I think it's sort of interesting how the fired apprentices turn on George and Carolyn. I heard Sam on the radio. Paraphrasing, he thought George was a total hardass, but he adored Carolyn. Thought she was incredibly beautiful too. OTOH, the women seem to think Carolyn was gunning for them, but loved George even Omarosa. When George showed up at the gallery last week, I believe it was Oma who said "Oh there's George" in a happy voice.

I wonder if Carolyn was an apprentice of the Donald. I mean, she's been with his organization for 10 years.

Another thing with her age, this means she is about the same age as some of the apprentices. Troy is 32. Bill has got to be in his early 30s also. This may explain why some of the women didn't give Carolyn her proper respect.

On a weekly basis, I love her way of making her few words count. After the auction, when given the floor she merely asked Omarosa, "Isaac's last name?" and that was all that was needed.

My interpretation of that comment is a bit differet-- I thought DT was really asking Carolyn if she was being hard on Heidi because she is female and because women are inherently catty (not my view, but I thought that's what DT was implying).

Rinaldo, I'm glad you brought that up again so I could relive it. That was one of my favorite Carolyn moments. And one of my favorite Assorama moments too!

It seems to me that at the end of every boardroom sequence, Trump would turned to Carolyn and say "that was pretty good", or "that was tough", as if asking her approval. Hahahaha.

I so want to be Carolyn when I grow up.

I think Carolyn's perspective about women in business was really played up by Trump this time. I often see women who don't step up and promote themselves properly; the minute Heidi realized that the PM opportunities would get skewed, she should have said, "Hey, guys, let me take this one to even things up." Instead, she hid behind a 'round robin' deal and coasted behind the guys, thinking she could get by on being a great contributor. Trump doesn't just want a contributor; he wants a leader. When Carolyn called her on those behaviors, I felt all squeeee!

When Heidi dismissed Carolyn's very real, very earnest critique with her "Well, that's your opinion, but why the hell would I care?" routine, I knew she was toast. [As opposed to getting a little sassy when addressing co-players or when Trump gets blustery/cranky.] That seriously sealed her fate. You don't dismiss the Carolyn.

Meanwhile, Heidi looks like she was pushing 40. But, anyway.

I'm really thinking I would like this show even more if we got to hear more from Carolyn and George - do they just follow the contestants around and not contribute at all, or is there a role that they provide during the challenges?

While I really am impressed with both Carolyn and George, they don't seem to really do anything. They each get maybe 2 sentences in the boardroom, where Trump has pretty much already decided (based on what, I don't know). I would like to see more of the deliberation process, but I'm guessing that Trump really isn't around as long as they purport.

My thinking is that Carolyn and George are there to watch what is happening, so they can report back to Trump. He can't make much of an informed decision if he goes only by what happens in the boardroom. And, since their reports will be contain their own view of things, Carolyn and George really hold the power. Trump may make the decision, but since he wasn't around to watch everything, his decisions will be based on what he hears from the viceroys.

So, why haven't the apprentices figured that out by now?

Maybe having IQ's of over 200 doesn't leave much brain power available for common sense.

I wonder about what Mannie posted above. Specifically, I wonder if George/Carolyn review the full tapes, then report to DT? Or maybe MB reports what he thinks to George/Carolyn, then combining that information with their in-person visits, they report to DT? Or heck, maybe even DT looks through the full tapes? But I imagine that he delegates that task...he has to.

Carolyn was at the guys dorm with them while they were planning their Planet Hollywood task. We have seen both Carolyn and George out and about with each team on game day as well. My guess is that they actually spend a fair amount of time with each team.

Carolyn is one of those people who don't have to say much - or even raise their voice or sound commanding to get people to do what they want. She's totally awesome and I would love to work for her.

I think the girls on this show hate Carolyn because they feel like she should be on their side. I think Carolyn would have been if the girls didn't use the sex appeal angle to win challenges. The girls on the Apprentice give corporate women a bad name. Even Omarosa used her "feminitiy" at times.

As a business woman myself, ITA with your comment maggy. I went into this really hoping that the women would do well, and when they started using the "sex sells" technique, I got really, really ticked off. I think Carolyn is harder on the women for that, but I don't blame her. Although there are a few men that are annoying [cough*nick*cough], they have all behaved in a fairly professional manner.

It occurs to me that the women are playing this like a game, not a job interview. In many reality shows, the strategy is to try to survive each segment, hopefullly to reach the finals. The women used any strategy that would help them win each task, not thinking about how it might look to Trump in the long run. Did they really think Donald Trump would want to hire one of the "shooters girls" to run one of his businesses??

The men seem to realize that it is a job interview. When they strategize, they use phrases like "I'm taking a calculated risk" or "I'm making an executive decision." Even crazy Sam tried to justify his $1,000 glass of lemonade by saying that he was taking the kind of risk that Donald Trump would take. They seem to realize that even if they don't win the task, they need to act like the kind of person who would be running a large company.

So, no wonder Carolyn seems to pick on the women. It must be as aggravating to her as it is to me that these women just don't seem to understand what it is they are supposed to be doing. I agree with her, that I really haven't seen any of the women stepping up and acting like a leader. Even Amy, with her great ideas, seems content to stand back and let others lead the group. A valuable team member, not necessarily CEO material.

A fascinating thing about this show is that, whereas Burnett & Co. have structured the series and cast the apprentices as if it were a slight variant of Survivor (camera-ready personality types in varied molds, showy small-scale tasks that aren't necessarily like what a true CEO does)... Trump and his viceroys are judging them as if it were a real job interview. Particularly, perhaps, Carolyn, which is why I'm posting this in her thread. So the usual reality-show assiness doesn't fly because at the end of the day it's not a popularity contest or an alliance strategy or a fly-under-the-radar moment -- it's Trump saying "you bore me," George being unimpressed, Carolyn telling you where you did poorly and why. Which totally rocks, and makes this show unlike any other.

Maybe my favorite thing (out of many) that Carolyn has said was "Yes, it is my opinion, and ours are the opinions that matter." Love. Her.

A problem with society in general, I believe, is illustrated by Carolyn's 2 pages to Omarosa's 91. (And I'm a guilty party, to be sure.) We pay more attention to the train wrecks than we do to the properly functioning locomotive (or in Carolyn's case, high speed train).

Well, there's so many different things to slam on O about, and so many different ways to say it, that it's easier to post in her thread.

That said, maggie, mannie and Rinaldo have all made good points: I agree that the women are feeling betrayed by Carolyn in a "don't us women have to stick up for each other?" way, and I suspect that Carolyn is feeling let down by the women, in a "what on earth are they thinking?" way.

I'm kind of confused by the number of people who have assumed that Apprentice is supposed to be just like Survivor, simply because it's Mark Burnett behind both of the shows. I don't know, but to me it seemed clear from the start that it was a whole different game, and would have to be played differently. It's not Lord of the Flies, it's the lovechild of Twelve Angry Men and Jerry Maguire.

Anyway, Carolyn. She's smart, she's sharp, she's decisive. She knows where her power lies, and how far it extends, and she's not afraid of it. She's not trying to be anybody's bestest friend, and I think, even as a mentor, she'd be demanding as hell. All that said, if I was still under the delusion that I wanted to be an executive (I got over that long ago), and I worked for her? I'd walk through fire if that's what she needed done. And I'd do it because I'd be very sure that she'd done it herself, before me, and knew that it could be done.

Edited because apparently "underscore" is no longer an option.And because I can't spell. And to straighten out my tenses.

Carolyn is self assured. It's amazing how many people are not. I wonder what Carolyn thinks of the show? She gives me the impression that she's amused and disgusted (in equal parts) by some of the goings on. Has she done any interviews? If there is a polar opposite to media whore, Carolyn is an exemplar of such person.

I'm convinced, as many posters here are, that the women are treating this show as a game, a chance to be on TV. The men, on the other hand, are treating this show as a job interview, plain and simple. I do think the women "think" that they're in a job interview, but they sure aren't acting that way.

At first, to me anyway, Carolyn's dressing-down lecture in the golf episode seemed really toned down and not very harsh at all. I've been called on the carpet for much lesser offenses than the women. Now that I think back, though, this was Carolyn at her best: quiet, dignified, saying in 20 words what many people would say in 50. You could tell she really thought it through before she said it. That's what separates her from the women in this show.

And I, too, was really looking forward to a strong female winner (and by strong, I don't mean whiny, "oh, why can't the world believe my head hurts" strong).

It also separates her from the men, and most of the human race. She rocks.

I just saw George and Carolyn. I went with a work friend to Trump Tower during lunch. We wanted to get out of the office and with the snowstorm here there aren't many places to go near the office. Anyway, they were walking together down on the basement level (where Tower records is.) I said "hi" to them. George waved back and Carolyn gave me a curt smile.

Wow, I'm jealous TVGirl. To be in their presence AND they were nice too!

Color me GREEN with envy, TVGirl! That is too utterly cool. Oh to live in NYC...

Hmm...they were walking together? Did you see any of the players? I heard thta the finale is live right? That means it hasn't been filmed? How did you say hi? Not a very nice smile by Carolyn if it was "curt".:P

The thing that has bugged me the worse in the female firee's interviews is they believe that they have earned a right to bad-mouth Carolyn. Do they think that will help them get a real job? Excuse me but bad mouthing your mentor because she gave you honest feed back...don't think I'd want to hire someone whom is going to be pissing about the preceptor because they didn't want to carouse and do shooters with them. Ignorant wretches! I only hope they either get some "real" executive in training women next apprentice or the ones that apply have paid attention to the vibes Carolyn gives off and try to emulate her a little bit.

Sad thing is, I don't think the female contestants see Carolyn as their mentor. Perhaps she's not really even supposed to be in that role, since she is judging their performances. However, they could damn well observe her and learn a thing or two (proper business attire, and proper business behavior being two that come to mind). Does Heidi think Carolyn at the left hand of DT because she's "eye candy?" Based on Trump's line wives/girlfriends, I would assume that Carolyn is not his type, except in terms of an exemplary business associate.

I do think Troy has won her over though. He always has his game face on.

Sentinal:

I only saw Carolyn and George. I was on the basement level of the building, where they have a couple of lunch-type restaurants and a Tower Records. I was sitting with my friend on the ledge of a fountain right by the escalators. They came from around the corner and went up the escalator. I just said "hi" as they passed by me. I didn't say anything else. I'd characterize Carolyn's smile was sort of a polite acknowledgement of my "hi" but with a tone of "please don't bother me further." That's why I described it as curt.

Request for info: I was typing up an interview a reporter did with Carolyn and the reporter kept insisting that there was a recent episode where Carolyn criticized Heidi for attacking other women but laying off the men. Carolyn insisted she would never make such an observation (she feels she generally avoids the gender issue) and the reporter, despite her claims, did such a brilliant job of mixing up the episodes and what happened where and couldn't cite the quote or the situation that she's no longer a reliable narrator. I can't remember this, either; anyone?

Ccrean, check out the old joint Viceroy thread for Carolyn's opinions on Apprentice hype. There's an article on one of the first few pages in which she basically says that it's nice and all, but she finds her own life interesting enough that reality TV hoopla isn't that big a deal. It's the most non-famewhore answer in the history of the world. My Carolyn worship began with this article.

DustyALR, the only two times I remember gender being an issue in front of Carolyn was the little golf outing "talk" Carolyn gave the women regarding their using sex to win and then when The Donald raised the gender issue in the boardroom this week. When in the closed door session with Carolyn and George, Carolyn pointed out that Heidi had been merely riding the coattails of the men, by letting them lead. Trump asked that stupid question about whether or not that was some sort of "woman on woman" crack. Carolyn just said that she was being honest and calling it as she saw it. No references at all to gender entering into it, from Carolyn.

I could be wrong, but those are the only two things that come to my mind when the words "gender" and "Carolyn" come up. Can't remember her having said anything at all regarding Heidi going easy on the men, versus the women.

Wasn't it Heidi who said that Carolyn was easier on the men?

Good point, goobaletta. I think you're right. The reporter must have gotten the facts completely switched. Heidi's jumping on Carolyn about that does ring a bell.

On a side note, DustyALR, if you can get your mitts on transcripts of "The Today Show" for last week, George and Carolyn appeared talking specifically about gender in the workplace. Not that our dear Carolyn was able to get much in, edgewise, with that blowhard of a professor sucking up all the airtime telling us what her poll of forty students reveals. But Carolyn did speak specifically to the fact that the women are doing a very poor job sticking up for themselves in the boardroom.

Thanks for the help, guys. That seems more reasonable than what the reporter suggested. I just didn't remember anything like that at all, but she was really forcing it. Even after Carolyn's husband went off and doublechecked the episode she had in mind, she kept insisting she'd seen it somewhere.

So I go away for a bit and come back to find Carolyn with her own thread? Damn right, she gets her own thread!

The Heidi-dissin' has been discussed much already so I'll lay off and wait for some fresh material from tomorrow's epi (recap epi? Maybe there'll be some new tidbits??). But I just had to pop in and gush over the new digs! (BTW, I was here previously as wearing red.) And reading 4 pages of pure Carolyn talk has been just fab!

I love this picture! This is the happiest I've ever seen her!

This could go in the Media Articles thread, but I love Carolyn so I'll post it here!

The Boston Herald's TV reporter had a pretty long article on Carolyn and George today: Trump's teammates help `The Apprentice' cast spell on viewers

Highlights:

Kepcher has earned the reputation of being, well, a little scary. She rarely smiles, and a recent NBC promo warned, ``Don't cross Carolyn.''

"I thought the commercial was a hoot," Kepcher said. "I'm a tough person. I think you need to be. I am demanding. I don't take excuses. I don't have time for excuses.''

-------------------

"Some people gave up,'' Kepcher said. "I think whoever is going to win is going to have to jump off and start running. I know the last two contestants. They're strong people.''