Rebecca suggested they focus on soccer. The equipment for that sport consists of - what? The ball?[/quote]
It's got as much as baseball has to sell. Who's going to buy their own Radar gun?
Plus Soccer has a lot of little girls playing besides little boys at this point.
All in all, not as good as golf, better than baseball.
unreal
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:02 pm
My prediction for next week, the Rhona phone will ring and ask all Apprenticies to come to the boardroom right away. The tuxed-up Trump will then announce another reshuffling ("Alla, since you were the winning PM, who would you like to get rid of?" "Clay.")
So there will be no death-watch. They won't go to bed without knowing what happened.
I think Excel was doomed to failure from the start. Baseball was a terrible choice to sell. People are not going out every weekend wanting to buy more baseball stuff. Baseball is a simple sport. You need a glove, a ball and a bat. You could get totally decked out with all three things for $50.
If I were Excel, I would have chosen a sport people would want to get into if they knew more. Say, running. Wouldn't they have a better chance to sell running gear (shoes, t-shirts, shorts, jackets, watches, etc.)? Or how about camping? Tents, stoves, sleeping bags, GPS,... I mean, I can't imagine people spend more than $200 on baseball in their lifetime, while golfers, runners, campers, etc. are always searching for new gear and gadgets.
As far as the choice of golf goes, I think that might have been the most difficult category to choose. So good on Capital Edge that they were able to increase sales by so much. I mean, Dick's probably sells $10,000 in golf stuff per day, so to try and increase sales on the top seller was not the easy path to victory.
I loved the mass firing. I am sure Trump was told in advance he could fire four people at any time, so this "worst loss ever" was a convenient time to use it. The Apprentice is back.
Again, the Apprentice editors love to forshadow events before they happen. "This task will be a grand slam for us." "You never know what's going to happen in the boardroom. You never know." "Well, at least you know you're safe because I'm not bringing you in." I mean, watching this again a second time is just as funny as the first time, but for different reasons.
And finally, it seems that Excel tried to make this an event: batting cage, teaching kids to bat, hot dogs, pretzels... And missed the "uh, how are we going to sell stuff?"
Who ever buys radar guns, anyways? I mean, only 1 person in 10,000 baseball players would want to own one. I guess it's the highest dollar item in the baseball section, but I bet high-cost golf equipment ($750 driver) sells more than a relatively low cost radar gun ($200).
PinkyTuscadero
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:03 pm
Golf is a game that many people play seriously or casually, and there's a lot of stuff you need to buy to even begin to play the game, much of it expensive.[/quote]
Exactly. Golf would appeal to a more high end customer. They picked a sport that atracted a more affluent customer which means they could heap all sorts of useless crap on them and they'll buy it just because they can. Polo shirts, visors, shoes...and those clubs are mighty expensive, too. Baseball/softball equpiment/clothing is lower end.
Josh's team didn't think it through. They thought too small. Josh was a lazy sack of shit anyway. He was just such a worm and always looking for the easy way out.
pacestick
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:03 pm
Liked Alla a lot more this ep than in past ones. She still seems bossy though.
mjs1777
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:05 pm
Posting again tonight. ;) I'm calling a final four of Marshawn, Randall, Rebecca, and Alla. I'd like to see Randall take it all, but I think Trump is going to have the same criticism of him that he had of Kevin...he's too educated. So now I'm going with Rebecca winning the whole shebang. She'll do well in the interviews, IMO. She's smart and succinct.
Someone upthread mentioned the penis phone. WTF is that? It's so like Trump to have that in the suite. Yuck.
BTW, does anyone know who the only person is on this show who wasn't handpicked by Trump? Thanks.
Arkay
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:05 pm
Jennifer's expression in the cab ride home did not strike me as though she were trying not to laugh. Instead, I felt she had that beauty pageant loser fake smile, the one that the runners-up plaster on when the crown goes to someone else. That totally weird "did I just lose?" smile.
She looked baffled and unable to process what had just happened, since in her delusion, she felt that she was destined for the crown.
I also felt that she absolutely deserved to be fired, if for no other reason than the histrionics in the boardroom. She isn't top executive material.
Bassari99
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:05 pm
Obviously, the main problem for Excel was that they had a near Major Leaguer on their team, James, which distracted them from focusing on the fact that this was supposed to be a sales task. I wouldn't have pinned most of the blame for that entirely on James, however. As PM, it was Josh's job to focus the team. It apparently never occurred to the rest of the Excel team that it wasn't necessarily an advantage having a member who was so enamored of the game. Still, a majority of them agreed to support the baseball/batting cage concept as the focus of a sales strategy. It seems Rebecca might have been the sole holdout. I also thought it was very foolish that Mark and Josh would have trusted Jenn's sales ability to pull them over when she clearly couldn't identify the merchandise (what it was called and what it was for) that she was supposed to be selling.
Now, that crafty Alla has a good head on her shoulders (and I believe her when she said she could have handled Kristi and worked her to good purposes). Still, Alla was quite fortunate that there were no jocks on her team. Ironically, that gave Capital Edge the advantage. It left them all free to concentrate almost exclusively on sales with the little put-putt golf course as a not too distracting loss-leader to draw the customers in.
funnymoney
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:06 pm
Also, not to harp on my hormonal bereavement, but: who do we have left to look at? Markus, Clay, Adam and Randal? Randal's kinda cute, but no way no how that those others are going to equal even one wavy lock or masculine dimple of James. Bastards. [/quote]
Look down.
Nope, keep looking.
A little lower.
... look, Brian's still here!
shippert
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:07 pm
Not quite. Certain attire is requried, especially the right kind of shoes, unless someone wants to twist their ankles in the grass. But, clothing, padding, footwear would be involved.
I don't think her idea was bad, it's just that soccer is not quite as popular as baseball or football. Unless of course, they're in Europe.
[/quote]
Soccer is also a lot bigger with kids (who play) than with adults (who watch). Also, Rebecca suggested soccer in order to include girls as well as boys, which is a smart marketting idea. Girls can play little league, too, but I suspect there are more girls playing soccer than baseball; at least, I didn't see any girls hitting in the cage.
Oh the humanity
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:08 pm
Golfers always spend money. It was a no-brainer IMO.
JeffersonAero
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:10 pm
The worst part was he was holding her hands in the same way a husband on stage on a daytime talk show tries to gently explain to his wife that he's been sleeping with her parents.[/quote]
Okay, BWAH! Awesomeness. It bugged me because it was like Clay was the manager and Alla was the underling who was screwing up. In the first few scenes of Capital Edge's conceptualizing at Dick's (so many jokes, so little time), I actually forgot and thought Clay was the PM for this! I liked the way Alla handled it overall - she didn't lose focus or make him order takeout or whatever.
Re: Jen & the radar guns - at least she could've used some sex appeal to sell them! Get a couple of old guys over there and start fluttering those big beauty queen lashes. The only I saw Jen do (and I could be wrong) was yell "Hot dogs, peanuts, lemonade!" and then in the BR we find out that was a vendor's job, not hers!. No, Jennifer. It's time to go back to Sales 101.
I'm not sure if it's kosher for me to post again since I did several pages back....but I'm sure someone will let me know if not....
karenftx
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:09 pm
Having a son who played soccer, let me tell you that it involves more than the ball. And it also takes a certain kind of ball depending on your size and league.
That said, I was very happy with tonight's episode. All 4 deserved to be fired. Jen for her big talking sales skills and the other 3 for general frat obnoxious. First of all, 3 people only on sales was stupid in a sales task. The batting cage was just a "let me show off my mad skillz" male ego.
As for eye candy, I hate eye candy. Unless they know EXACTLY what they are doing, let them go and have someone competent in there. In fact, maybe if Trump actually has someone not quite so attractive, they would do much better at the tasks.
As for the cab ride, Jen looked as if she wanted to crack up laughing but it was great the way the camera kept going back to the cab and nothing.
Greatest Apprentice ep ever.
jnes1021
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:12 pm
Fire all the rest next week ... and call it a season
heebiejeebie
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:12 pm
Also, not to harp on my hormonal bereavement, but: who do we have left to look at? Markus, Clay, Adam and Randal? Randal's kinda cute, but no way no how that those others are going to equal even one wavy lock or masculine dimple of James. Bastards.[/quote]
Look down.
Nope, keep looking.
A little lower.
... look, Brian's still here![/quote]
Yeah, despite the horror of last week's rubbleman dancing, Brian still brings a little male sweet vision to the TA screen. James just never did it for me anyways. A bit too condom-in-the-wallet, roofie-in-the-pocket for me. There was something a little too slick about him for any attraction.
OHNicki
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:15 pm
I agree, because didn't Kendra (or Kelly, I forget honestly because I think they can go suck it, too) pick the LA golf club as their year-long job when they won? [/quote]
That was Bill's other choice. He picked the Chicago project over the LA golf course. Speaking of Bill, half the time in the board room he looked ready to cry or pee his pants.
As soon as Carolyn described the task, I though they should do golf. Golf stuff is pricey and it makes sense to focus your event on selling more expensive items. A weekend golfer can be talked into splurging on a new expenesive putter, but it's a hard sell to get a little league parent to spring for a batting cage or radar gun. You have to sell a hell of a lot of bats to equal one $299.99 club. Soccer would have been an even worse choice. What is there to sell? Balls, a backyard goal, maybe a jersey?
ETA - Sorry, I didn't mean to be repetitive on the soccer thing, it took forever to get this to post and by then, several people had chimed in on the soccer thing.
Also, I'm not quite clear on the task, was it just increased sales in the target area or was it overall store sales?
Evasla
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:17 pm
That touching? The grabbing on the wrists? Was a catty little, "I'm your friend and I'm sooo disappointed in you!" Hate! It was so condescending!
DeepInTheHeart
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:17 pm
Ah . . . The Donald . . . . the Trump-in-A-tor . . . . sitting in the Boardroom . . . . firing Apprenti . . . . no limits for the billionaire . . . .
ghettofabman
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:18 pm
Josh's team didn't think it through. They thought too small. Josh was a lazy sack of shit anyway. He was just such a worm and always looking for the easy way out. [/quote]
Welllllll! Let the chuuch say Amen!
Seriously though, I thought that Josh and Mark were both looking for scapegoats. I also could not believe how Mark just stabbed James in the back and sold him out to Josh like that. I think that three of the four should have gone:
Josh - For all the smack-talking he did, he sho couldn't back his own shit up. Shut that shit up, Josh!
Jennifer M. - What the hell was with her turning into the Incredible Hulk in the boardroom? Getting smart with the Donald will get yo ass cut!
Mark - He stayed with the ball shooter and did not sell one damn thing! He definitely needed to go.
ETA: In the words of Janelle, "Bye, bye Bitches!"
Obladi
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:20 pm
I wonder how much of James and Mark's firings had to do w/their gender.
Almost every person fired this season has been a woman. This was the best chance for Trump to even up the odds. I don't know if that was a factor in Trump sending Rebecca and Marshawn up to the suite (Marshawn has always been a competent task player), but I think that may have helped him to make the final firing decision for James and Mark.
anwen
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:21 pm
The worst part was he was holding her hands in the same way a husband on stage on a daytime talk show tries to gently explain to his wife that he's been sleeping with her parents.[/quote]
Thank you! Oh, that sums up the extra layer of ickiness sooo much better than I did.
prettyannamoon
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:22 pm
I didn't see the task portion of the episode, but if they were selling not only basic equipment, but all the fun stuff like posters and pro replica jerseys, I'd imagine soccer is
on par with most other sports. It still wouldn't have held up to the high priced golf equipment, but it could've drawn in a more diverse crowd.
catrina
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:22 pm
I think how this task was graded was a little fishy. Because the numbers that were said on TV were rather meaningless. We have no idea what kind of sales are normally made in those departments. It doesn't surprise me that there was considered such a huge discrepancy between the two teams because this task was graded unlike any other. In all honesty no one has any real sense of what the numbers actually would show. So we just have to "trust" the producers about the differences and that they were meaningful.
That said, clearly going after an adult market (golf) verses a kids one (baseball) set the tone. I'm not sure even if the baseball diamond-thingy had even been set up as planned would they have won. Golfers are by design a richer clientele, and one especially willing to spend money on their hobbies. Baseball, except for the shoes and gloves, most children get their equipment and uniforms from the leagues they play in.
lucelu
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:25 pm
That was just too funny in the boardroom. When I saw the lone cab parked in front I had to laugh!
My impressions: Alla was fantastic, in control. Clay was a whining bitching complaining kvetching piece of work until it was time to sell. Jenn M. take notes. I wondered what kind of dynamic Clay and Kristi would have had--it would have been either totally excruciating or classic reality tv. I actually thought that Clay was more annoying than Kristi tonight. I like how Alla didn't gloat or boast like many of the others. She seems cool and to the point. She's my pick.
Felicia--she's a competent wanna-be. Good as a greeter but would have sucked as a closer.
I don't get all the love for Marshawn and Rebecca besides their looks. Marshawn out-pouted Kendra in today's boardroom. She shouldn't hold her face like that.
Marcus/Danny doofus--he's like free entertainment. Once I worked for a lawyer who liked to pretend he was a big invester finance king. He had this friend who described himself as a "venture-capitalist" but was a total tool. His name was "Robert James" and he was always trying to get me to type up stuff for him and give me copy jobs when he was not my boss, I didn't work for him and it wasn't his office. Marcus reminds me of him.
I like Randal, he seems to play things close and doesn't really stand out.
This is the first episode I've seen in almost 3 weeks as I kept falling asleep when starting to watch the other two.
I still can't believe Marcus is still in the show.
blocked writer
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:26 pm
Damn, I'm shocked. I should have seen this coming, when he asked four of them to stay behind, but I didn't. I didn't really think he COULD fire four at once. I thought there was an obligation to have a certain amount of episodes. If so, I imagine we'll see a clip show, or some other filler.
I don't really know how I feel about it all, except to say that I agree that the cab ride was a hilarious visual gag.
Alla did a great job, but what the hell was that pink monstrosity of a suit she was wearing at one point? Girlfriend's fashion sense is scary. That pink thing was almost as awful as Tana's red leather and fur (or feathered?) horror of last seaon. Not quite as bad, but close. Those dominatrix/hooker shoes that were shown a few weeks ago had to be hers.
Markus continues to be embarrassing to watch. He wanted to impress them so much with that champagne knive stunt, and it took him three times? Not only was it awkward, but I thought there was going to be another trip to the emergency room. I think the team cheered just out of relief. And he really should stop proclaiming to be a champagne expert when he can't pronounce the names. The harder he tries to impress, the more hapless he looks. His team members didn't give a shit about what he might or might not know about champagne, unless it applies to a task.
Well, I can't wait to see how it all plays out next week.
RainbowRat
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:26 pm
Well, I was halfway over my Jen(thura) love last week, but when she said "What do you call them? Radar guns?" that was IT. Rebecca, if y'all recall, called this when she brought Jen into the boardroom back in the third task. Something about "Jen focuses on things that... are important, yes, but they don't contribute to winning the task". Yep.
And Josh's firing has been building for ... ever. Last week when he was going on about Markus I was thinking "Ohhhhh you need yours, buddy."
I was a little sad for James and Mark, although it's been pointed out upthread that Mark has been living on borrowed time since "Green With Envy". So, okay, a little sad for James. Mark? Should have been paying attention the minute the merchandise stations were moved off the diamond.
Alla continues to impress (and intimidate--yeesh! I'm starting to see why she and Kristi got along). I've had a bet with myself that she is most likely to fall apart like Tana, but it hasn't happened yet. If it doesn't happen, I'll eat crow. If it does, you saw it here first.
Very glad Rebecca and Marshawn survived it and shone too. Loved that despite all the bickering everyone agreed they plus Brian (who, I'm sorry, I don't care one way or the other about) did a great job.
meowing
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:27 pm
This may have been the best show in all 4 cycles.
How will Trump top this?
pacestick
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:27 pm
Soccer is also a lot bigger with kids (who play) than with adults (who watch). Also, Rebecca suggested soccer in order to include girls as well as boys, which is a smart marketting idea. Girls can play little league, too, but I suspect there are more girls playing soccer than baseball; at least, I didn't see any girls hitting in the cage.[/quote]
Yes but the adults who watch are the ones spending the money. In my own expereince in soccer as a kid was this. I was allowed to play because registration was cheap, and I had sneakers. That was all I needed. Someone else had a ball. I though soccer was an iffy choice.
being from Canada I would have picked Hockey (becasue you need a lot of euipment, I mean a lot) But if they had done hockey I am sure they would have gotten shallacked even more. I never said I was smart.
Kaylee529533
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:27 pm
From the best boardroom performance ever (Rebecca three weeks ago) to the worst, what a season! I thought that Josh was the most obnoxious person I've ever seen in the BR on TA--worse than Omarosa. The way he made faces while Jen talked (even though I dislike her and don't respect her), and the way he just got more and more dismissive of her as the final br wore on made him seem like one of the biggest jerks on the planet. He should have been fired for that behavior alone--I can't imagine who'd hire such a tool now, he'd better go into business for himself--but who'd work for him?
I was chanting dou-ble, dou-ble, dou-ble--then we got four! Priceless, I was cheering. Perhaps it wasn't quite fair to the other two, but they had no shot anyway--Rebecca and Randall will be the final two, and Marshawn and...someone else will round out the final four.
I know folks will vote for O's as the best firing--but I'll take the firing of Josh any day. Too bad the ratings are down, I rank this season right at the top with season 1--and the boardrooms have topped those of season 1. Nothing will ever top the Troy/Kwame vibe, though. And boy has Bill calmed down--I wasn't crazy about him in season 1, he just seemed too on edge and nervous, but now I like him a lot. He's great in the boardroom.
[I]Edited because I really do know the difference between to and too.[I]
MyEyesSee
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:32 pm
I still can't believe Marcus is still in the show.[/quote]
...and came up with the golf idea. What a world!
yruneh
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:34 pm
The Thursday Night Massacre was so beautiful! I feel like shedding tears of joy. I don't have sympathy for many Corporate Weasel on any season, so I don't mind if it's "unfair." But I'm glad to see Rebecca get some props. She's one of my faves.
Like lostcawz posted, the point was to get the biggest percentage increase for your department. In that case, picking a less expensive or less popular sport like soccer wouldn't necessarily be a bad choice. It might actually be an advantage to pick a department that usually does poorly, as long as you could interest some impulse buyers.
I love Alla remark about Markus at the reward - something about failure to perform. It seems appropriate coming from Alla.
Word to everyone who mentioned how creepy and inappropriate it was for Clay to grab Alla's wrists regardless of his orientation.
I hope they do something creative about the Corporate Weasel Deathwatch with no one coming back next week.
jjj343
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:35 pm
When Alla said that Marcus can't perform, was I the only one thinking she isn't the first woman to say that to him?
alexmarsz
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:37 pm
What a stupid stunt. I'm so done with this show.
There were times when 3-4 at once would have been justified, and certainly I would have been happy with 2 here. But they just didn't lay the foundation for James and Mark to go. Flawed in their execution? Sure. But no more than the dozens of times we've seen others be excused.
Furthermore, I'm unconvinced it was such a huge sales-ability blowout. Most sports are pretty seasonal, and wasn't this taking place at the end of baseball season? Seems to me they're trying to sell items to kids who A) already have one and B) are going to grow a bit before upgrading for next season. You can't talk me into buying my son new baseball cleats now if he's not going to play again for 8 months. Soccer would have been better.
IMHO, the secret weapon would have been choosing camping equipment. It doesn't have a true season but sells well during summer. There's a lot to buy, you can come up with any list of items to talk people into. Most importantly, people buy it expecting to use it later, even if they don't see an immediate need.
Regardless, the "you're all fired" seemed more convenient and shocking than appropriate. I'm tired of the show and sick of The Donald. They should have given him a season off and let Martha run in his place, rather than blowing up the franchise right now.
Trader Joe
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:41 pm
*Going to the closet to get my stick to shake at the kids on the lawn*
Hey You Kids What the Fuck is wrong with taking notes with pencil andn paper?
And GET OFF MY LAWN!
Bulldog
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:42 pm
Sure the quadruple firing was a stunt, but it was damn entertaining. Best. Cab. Ride. Ever.
I think the biggest thing about tonight's episode is how it probably altered the final outcome. I had thought that James and Mark (and to a lesser extent, Josh) were all capable of reaching the final four. The only ones I see with a chance of making it to the end now are: Randal, Marshawn, Rebecca, Alla, and Brian. The rest have no shot whatsoever. I can totally see them keeping Markus around for awhile simply for the entertainment value.
My pick to win it all: Rebecca. Trump seems really impressed with her.
Knots Landing
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:47 pm
I can't believe it. I don't think anyone thought Capital Edge would win, based on discussion in the Spoiler Thread. I also didn't think, for a second, that they'd win at ANY point it the episode. I'm (almost) speechless!
First of all, I must give Alla props, I thought she did an amazing job as PM and I've liked her from the start. I know the Blonde Coven is hated here, but with me it was only Felisha and Kristi. For the record, I still hate them...Getting back to Alla, I loved the way she handled Clay and that she gave him credit at the end of the task. She did a great job of taking ideas and blending them to find something that worked.
Over at Excel, I knew that they'd win. They got better players added to their team, they claimed Markus was the problem and he was also gone. This is also the team that had been winning so there was no reason to believe that wouldn't continue.
Even though I was a little wary of the Expo taking over, I still kept thinking that by some miracle, they'd win. Boy was I shocked and extremely pleased when they lost! That boardroom was a classic. It has never been better.
I definitely think all four of them deserved to go. Josh was an absolute ass in the boardroom to Jen. He kept going on and on about how she failed and I was *so* happy that Carolyn pointed out that he failed as well. I thought she did a mediocre job as PM last week, but was excellent compared to the horrendous job he did. And how delusional he was, I'm definitey glad he was gone.
I agreed with a lot of the things Jen said in the boardroom and had she done better last week it may have mattered, but she shot herself in the foot.
Next week I'll miss seeing Bill as Not!George, but it will be great seeing George back. I always miss him when he's gone. BTW, has Carolyn ever had a Not!Carolyn?
nubbs
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:49 pm
Bill 'Step up to the plate' Rancic is a sycophant and a pain in the ass.
Not sorry to see any of them go, they did fail pretty miserably. Jenn M was a little stronger in the boardroom than I expected. To no avail.
Cab ride? Kind of funny. Jenn M was dying to say something, but just couldn't get it to come out. I'd love to have heard it.
Whee, James got to have Jenn on his lap. At least he got a cheap thrill out of it.
Josh seems to have problem chewing. And that other guy needs to stop whitening his teeth. And Markus needs to not be a wine snot. And Josh needs to stop making stupid expressions. What, is his dad Rich Little? And Josh needs to basically drop dead. He needed to go more than any of the four.
Marshawn...please. 'Geez, I'd like to buy this bat, but I just spent $3 for a pretzel'. Oh well, first misstep of the year. Still like her.
Alla makes me laugh. I hope she hauls her ass over the finish line.
Lily Bart
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:53 pm
When Alla said that Marcus can't perform, was I the only one thinking she isn't the first woman to say that to him?[/quote]
*Raises hand*
blackwing
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:55 pm
I don't think all four of them should have been fired. I think Josh was PM so since the whole thing was a disaster, it should have been an indication that he was horrible. Josh should have been the sole firee.
None of the other three were very effective, but the problem is the management.
The preview for the show in two weeks looks hilarious. I know he doesn't really fire Chewbacca, but that was one of the funniest things I've ever seen on the Apprentice. Especially watching Chewie take the down elevator lugging around Verna's (?) pink suitcase.
sleazydinosaur
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:55 pm
That was amazing, I didn't see it coming at all. I actually thought Jen might survive because all she did was talk a lot of smack about her sales ability, it still wasn't her fault they lost. But they all sucked, so they all bought it. I think Jen was just relieved that the jerk pm got fired along with her, that's why she was smiling.
rlcarr
Oct 27, 2005 @ 10:57 pm
Alla had the best line of the night:
Clay is not a man. He is an insecure bitch-woman times one thousand.
That said, it was nice to see her give him credit for doing a good job despite how much she can't stand him. If it wasn't for her background and that there's no way The Donald won't have a black person win it this time, I think she'd have a shot at winning it.
Also, given that this task was about greatest percentage increase in category revenues, I'm surprised neither team thought of promoting the hell out of some sleepy category. I wonder if they were told that certain categories (like bowling?) were off-limits?
SmedIndy
Oct 27, 2005 @ 11:01 pm
Heee! Loved it.
It can't be a sweeps stunt. Sweeps aren't until November.
Loved the cab ride - loved it.
I think soccer would have been great. Maybe soccer moms and dads could be convinced to buy their teams new jerseys, new equipment, etc. when the kids are kicking the ball around.
I was just thinking Trump's version was getting lame - not anymore.
This was the shiz-nit!
Lovechild
Oct 27, 2005 @ 11:02 pm
I can just see the people waiting in the suite... Alla and crew are out at the lobster feed until late and not around, no one is coming back from the boardroom... where the hell is everyone???
Mobius
Oct 27, 2005 @ 11:06 pm
Okay...I think I may be alone in thinking this, but here goes...I'm not really impressed by the four-firing...this was a ratings gimmick.
"Worst failure in history" How about Raj not finishing the renovation, Elazabeth finishing $5000 over budget, and Cucumber Porn? Granted, numerically, this may have been the "worst", but there have been many tasks in which the failure was more egregious.
And there have also been many times (too many to count) in which more than one should have been fired. In fact, didn't Carolyn say once "fire all of them", pretty disgustedly?
My take: these tasks are decided before filming even starts (speculation). They couldn't find enough corporate sponsers, and god forbid we decrease the number of candidates, so...fire four at once. TD just had to wait for a suitable opportunity, not necessarily one in which all four really, truly, really, truly deserved to be fired. YMMV
Priceless:
1. TD's channeling the Dalai Lama at the end. Please donald, please don't try. Granted, you share Bad Hair, but no one with your amount of gold-plated geegaws can pull it off
2. The Cab Ride of Mortified Silence. And you know that each one of these losers had probebly been composing the "if I lose (which will never happen) these are the pearls of wisdom I will impart as I leave, so that I look like a Classy Edumacated Famewhore" at some point. And who'd have thunk that you could fit four adults into the back seat. All we needed was Nelson from the Simpsons pointing and going "Haha"
I can't believe that Markus and Felicia have outlasted Jen and Mark
tiggeril
Oct 27, 2005 @ 11:09 pm
Oh, I almost forgot!
(Paraphrased)
Carolyn: [slides into Trump's chair] Man, this feels good!
Bill: [eyebrow pop] Yeah, you look good.
Bow chicka bow bow...
aunthelen
Oct 27, 2005 @ 11:10 pm
Trump's glowering face and turtle-necked slumping posture when he said "Life continues" after the Hottie Massacre entertained me.[/quote]
I laughed my head off at this, too! The look on his face was priceless.
(I love it when Trump issues a random proclamation with grave seriousness. Until tonight, my favorite was "The last thing dogs want to know is that they're helping cats" from the "dog wash" episode a couple seasons back....)
Magsi2
Oct 27, 2005 @ 11:14 pm
Look down.
Nope, keep looking.
A little lower.
... look, Brian's still here![/quote]
HEE HEE!
This ep amazed me. I was SURE Excel would win after the reshuffle. I guess we should have known better. Josh wasn't a very good PM (especially after all of his whining and bitching about everyone else). I was happy to see him and Jenthura gone. Mark was questionable, but he was trying to blame everyone and anyone so he wouldn't get any blame. He also was overdue from the "little i" and green w/envy deal. That said, he only did what Josh assigned for him to do this time. James.....Oh, James...we barely knew ya! While he didn't do much selling, he was occupying the kids in the batting cage area. The rest of the team, minus James & Mark, should have been selling their asses off. I would have liked to been able to see what he had to offer. Too bad he couldn't have stayed.
I'm not feeling all the Marshawn love. We really haven't seen her DO anything except comment/complain about everything else. She's been hidden. Alla seemed to be a great PM. She was firm and effective. LOVED seeing her treat Clay like a 5 year old. (Good comparison BTW). He needs to go.....along with Markus. I really don't see a clear winner. Randal will definitely be in the F2, but he hasn't been all that exciting either.
lurknomore
Oct 27, 2005 @ 11:14 pm
think how this task was graded was a little fishy. Because the numbers that were said on TV were rather meaningless. We have no idea what kind of sales are normally made in those departments.[/quote]
That didn't matter. Nor did the average ticket item. They were looking for the highest percentage increase over average sales for the department they chose. Capital Edge won because Alla kept them all focused on sales, pure and simple. For example, she immediately shot down Clay's idea to close off the approach from the merchandise.
Josh, conversely, moved the merchandise out of the way to accommodate the batting cage. I knew they were doomed from that moment.
Chiming in to agree that the cab ride was the best moment of the entire episode. Looks like the Apprentice editors are trying to make a run at the TAR team.
candoatt
Oct 27, 2005 @ 11:19 pm
Mobius, nah, no such luck - I mean, you are not alone. I too think this was a ratings gimmick.
There was absolutely no reason to fire all four of them. Josh was a piss poor PM - he should've been fired. Just Josh. If DT was so disappointed with Excell's results, he should've fired all of them, except for Brian. That would've been fair. This team did not have any marketing or sales strategies, and at least one of them should've pointed this out. If not directly to the team or PM, then at least while interviewing on camera. But they didn't because they all, including Rebecca and Marshawn, were clueless.
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