Man, those Backstreet Boys came off looking like total douches. First, they get clowned by Trace rightfully pointing out there "has-been" status, and then they start making all sorts of douchey requests at a CHARITY EVENT. Totally owned.

Total douches indeed. Do they know that Trace ain't no sippin' tea when it comes to being a recording star and that he knows bullshit when he sees it?

Word on the BB douche factor. They didn't even have the decency to be embarrassed about their demands.

Too bad they couldn't bring back Gene Simmons. He would have laid down the law.

I can't put my finger on it, but the woman represented The Intrepid Fallen Heroes charity wigged me out a little. She had a really weird vibe.

Omarosa had it wrong. Piers is not in the closet. Trump is. He denies Carol the chance to win just because he wants to see two guys fight? Puhleeze! Go Trace! Good on Lennox for pointing out that Pier's wins were because he was able to use him & good on Trace for snapping up Lennox the first chance he got!

LMAO... "wheatgrass"? Poor Trace. I do have to say, nice to see Trace vs. Piers, although good on Piers for calling on Trump's desire to pit "good vs evil".

Ahhh, the Flea. Such a total frelling tool. And a useless one, too. (Well, unless you *really* need somebody to accurately predict the other group's strategy. Boy's got that shit down, for some reason or other.)

Thank God, though (for reals), no Assorama being brought back. But yeah, count me in as wanting to have seen Gene come back. Oh well.

*rushes off to view first half hour on DVR...*

I hate country music, but I absolutely love and adore Trace Adkins. I don't know if he has a writer shooting him lines, but his analogies and observations are some of the funniest things I have heard on tv in a long time. I don't care if his track record doesn't reflect the most money won so far- I want to see him take down both Piers and the Backstreet Grayhairs next week. I really, really hope he does take in more money even though he has already conceded a defeat in that area of competition because unfortunately I have a bad feeling about the whiny, wheat grass drinking, *ussies that are supposedly the entertainment. I can't imagine Trace having a bullshit rider on his contract or if he does, I would image it would be much more reasonable than the nonsense on display tonight. Go Trace!

Trace bugs me. He acts like this is all about the charity when I know with all his success and his friends he could raise a lot just by donating and asking them to donate at any other time. Yet, he acts like this is his only opportunity. I respect him for calling attention to a worthy charity but seriously I do think a huge part of this is about his ego and his beating "the little chihuahua".
I would anyday choose to work with Piers over Trace. Yes, musicians are fussy. They all are. They all have rituals and certain things that rev them up before a performance. One singer's wheatgrass may be a country boy's beer. I think he has little patience for anyone who thinks differently than him.
I seriously didn't see anything but Piers being cooperative with him once the task had begun. I would rather Piers run my event any day and whether or not he wins means nothing to me. He's going about it with a sense of humor and a sense of passion to help the charity and he'd like to win as well.
I just am tired of the sinner vs saint routine because I truly truly believe what Piers said. He is not as evil as he is painted out to be (else why in the world would Fergie, Richard Branson, Ramsay and others help him out) and Trace is not as good as he is painted out to be. I find him extremely rigid and unforgiving.
Blah. I don't really care who wins at all.

The Backstreet Boys? WTF? They had to be picked for the drama because what a bunch of has-beens and then to act like Trace is a nobody and demand all that crap.

I'm very happy it's Piers vs. Trace but I don't think Trace is as good as Trump thinks. He didn't win a single time as PM while Piers has by far done a ton more.

The next time I hear "I want it that way," I'll be thinking about their wheatgrass and black nail polish.

I think Trace should rely on Marilu to get the weird stuff like "wheat grass". That would be right up her alley.

Given the way this is set up, I'm not sure I see any way for Trump to actually choose Piers in the end. I guess we'll find out next week.

I think that in reality if you wanted to build a strong team, putting Piers and Trace on a project together--if Piers could dial things back a bit--would be a winning team. Trace is not a project management kind of guy, but he's someone who has incredible creativity and a genuine sensibility about him. Paired with someone to take care of the "details", Trace would be incredible. I think that things like dealing with the Backstreet Boys really takes the wind out of Trace's sails since he finds it boring and a waste of time.

This show was Assorama-free. That, I did not expect, but I am very happy she is not there to pollute the finale.

I don't know if it was editing or not, but when Carol got fired, Trump had a sleazy grin on his face, as he got a good view of Carol's ass walking out the door. At least that's how it looked to me.Oh, Trump could justify it anyway he wants. He has one unwritten rule in this game, and that there are no rules, so he can do what he wants. Besides, I think the profile of Piers' charity will give him much more of an advantage over Trace. Trace always sounds like he's just doing this for his daughter when he talks about his charity. Whereas Piers is doing this for American soldiers. Picking Piers will make Trump look that much more patriotic, too.

It wasn't just you.

Either they're doing a lot of misdirection with the editing of how things are going for Trace, or he's getting one heavy-handed loser edit, IMO. I hate to see that, because I do adore the guy.

I'll be surprised if Marilu doesn't manage to pull some of the bigger Broadway stars in for the auction. Picking her was smart, as a lot of the people she knows will truly be local.

Speaking of being local, hasn't Stephen gone on and on a few times about being from and knowing New York? Why can't he get one person (even one of his blasted brothers) to come to the event? Trace at least thought ahead and immediately chartered two jets to get the transportation excuse out of the picture.

ETA...I suspect the above may be because Stephen (whose braying...er praying was really irritating) doesn't want Piers to win.

My goodness! I hope the Backstreet Boys were being jerks on purpose. Did they really not have a clue that Trace Adkins is a fellow artist and how they were treating him? Do they really not have an ounce of humility? Did they really not have a clue that they were coming across like pretentious brats?

I'm not a fan of Trace or the 'Boys' music. But there is a big part of me that hopes next week we will see that they were being jerks in order to test Trace's ability to deal with demanding clients.

All I can say is this: GO TRACE!

I would have loved to see a Carol/Trace finale but alas, it was not to be.

Yep, I, too, would have liked to see a Carol vs. Trace finale and for a few minutes, I thought that we might see that, given how the interviews went.

I haven't watch the episode yet (my DVR didn't record it and I have to wait for the West Coast feed), but I will have to out myself as a BSB fan to say that they had posted on their website that they would be on. If they were planning to be complete tools during the auction, what reason would they have to post that info? My only reasoning is was to play it up and be demanding and next week it will turn out it was a stunt. (None of them are THAT health conscious to ask for wheatgrass.)

It's so irritating. Trump never liked Carol from the beginning. She has kicked butt at every turn, taking his challenges, winning, etc.-- and the interviewers liked her best. And then it comes down to Trump's whim, "mmmmmmmm.... nah. That's simply not what i had in mind." She was way too good-natured about her totally groundless firing.

I've always wanted to give Trump the benefit of the doubt re: being mysogynistic. I have no idea why. But it is so RIDICULOUSLY obvious that he is.

Interviewers: "We liked Carol."
Trump: "Because she's beautiful."
Interviewers: "Actually, because she's... competent?"

SERIOUSLY?

Well, this was a waste of a season. I love Trace to death, but he's 0-2 as a PM! Didn't Carol have a winning record as a PM? I knew Lennox couldn't possibly make it to the end, but CAROL was axed? And for what!? She did everything right!

Interesting episode but it looks like they're trying to screw Piers (who's the best player this show's ever seen) and put in the fix for the American cowboy to win. No way Trace deserved to be there ahead of Carol.

Trace's reserve was starting to slip a little bit this week (or at least the edit was) and we started to get some glimpses of the asshole within. He pulled out that stupid line about how he's "fighting for his kid" again, like nobody else there is plyaing for charities, or even charities involving family members. Piers is playing for wounded vets and his brother is an Iraq vet but you don't hear him constantly trying to exploit it the way Trace does. Not only that, but Trace isn't really "fightinmg for his daughter" in any literal sense. Her well-being does not depend on this show and it's dishonest for him to talk like it does. If Trace really cares so much about food allergies. he can donate some of his own millions. Plus I think I care more about woundedv veterans than I do about food allergies. Buy some fucking Benadryl, asshole.

I also didn't like the way that Trace kept carping about what a horrible person Piers is and making comments about "how he plays the game," when Piers has played the game nothing but fairly. he might not always be polite but he hasn't been unethical or deceitful and he hasn't stabbed anybody in the back or ever been dishonest in the boardroom. Where does Trace get this big moral high horse and what was that bullshit about calling Piers a "chihuahua" who's all bark "but isn't really dangerous." He's been kicking your ass the whole game dude.

I didn't even like it when Trace was being so sneering and superscillious with the Backstreet Boys. I know they're lame but it was unprofessional. He's working them, they're not working for him. Plus, is wearing a cowboy hat around inside a New York City office building any less retarded than wearing fingernail polish? No, it is not. A cowboy poseur is still a fucking poseur.

I don't hate Trace, I can appreciate his good qualities and quiet charm and I understand why people like him, but I don't like the heavy handed edit of the white hatted American Vs. the moustache twirling foreigner. I think Piers actually nailed it when he said 'I'm not really that bad and Trace isn't really that good." That's pretty much how I feel. Their "characters" are being tweaked and exaggerated in way that isn't really accurate for either of them.
Incidentally, in the teasers for next week, they showed Trace's wife and kids showing up to surprise him. Piers has a wife and kids too. I hope they show up as well. And as far as I know, Piers doesn't BEAT his wife.

I hated it that Carol Alt had no answer to Trump's "I wanna see a fight between the two boys." She just rolled over. Ugh.

How did Trace get "stuck" with the Backstreet Boys? I must have left the room or something when that came up.?????

Weren't there originally five backstreet boys? Where's the fifth one?

Trace agreed to be responsible for the concert while piers was responsible for the charity.

Is Cramer kidding me? Piers has no leadership or team abilities? Really? Piers was Hydra and he has won with everybody (except Marilu) who has teamed with him. Pity Cramer was too scared of going on the show cuz he didnt want to be fired.

He left in June 2006.

I thought Trump would choose Carol & Piers. And Piers chooses "Stevie B." to be on his team. Mistake, I think.

The phone call btw Trace and BSB manager is bad for Trace. Backstreet Boys are complete assholes. Piers meets with Sarah Ferguson. Preview shows Simon Cowell talking to Piers. I want the say "game over". But it's a bit too easy and obvious. Hmmmmm.

So Trump decided to choose between two losing PMs. That is kinda surprising.

Carol's firing was totally ridiculous; keeping Trace in the finals was pathetic.

It looks like Trace is being set up to get the win, but since Carol's out, I'm rooting for Piers.

I really enjoyed this episode. I'm puzzled why Trace didn't let Marilu deal with the Backstreet Boys rider demands. Marilu is such a detail oriented perfectionist. She could have easily handled any weird demands like black fingernail polish. Trace needs to delegate.

I didn't record this episode. But didn't Stephen pretty much admit he didn't try very hard to get celebrities? He said something about letting Piers sink. That's extremely disappointing. The game play is over for Stephen, Carol, Marilu and Lenox. At this point their only interest should be raising as much money for charity as possible. It's sad to think Stephen's grudge against Piers is more important than war veterans.

Up thread someone suggested the Backstreet Boys were told to test Trace. I can easily see that happening. It's odd that they would act like such self-absorbed jerks with the cameras rolling. Maybe Stephen was told to drag his feet too? Next week we may find out he comes through with some celebrities. I admit it doesn't seem very likely. Stephen and Piers really seem to hate each other.

I'm a little confused, and I apologize if I missed something or am being dense. But didn't Piers take responsibility for the auction? If so, then why were both teams choosing auction items?

Did you see the smile on the elevator guy's face when he realized that he would be alone in the elevator with Carol?

Carol managed to put on a shorter skirt, big boots, and change her hair style between the boardroom and the limo. She is totally awesome!!

The return of bad dubbing.

Lennox: "The best part of this competition was that I raised [40 grand] for my charity."

I wonder what he said in the original edit, and if there's a reason why they changed it?

Edit: For that matter, it was a voice over. Why not just re-state the entire line?

So Trump wanted to see Piers and Trace "duke it out" all along because "I think you two don't like each other."


Yeah, that's a great reason for picking finalists (and the point of having Cramer and the other "advisor" was.....? was....? Oh, right. Just for show).


Carol should have been in the final (her charity also is, imo, a more legitimate one than Trace's). Trump was so dismissive of her abilities in, according to the advisors, "presenting herself 100% as a businesswoman". He's always the same. Never changes.

The show didn't make it very clear. But this is how I understood it.

Trace is responsible for organizing and promoting the charity concert that features the Backstreet Boys. Piers is organizing the auction. Both teams are selling items at the auction and I "think" both teams are selling tickets to the concert.

I missed the last half hour due to a phone call, but I have to respond to Lisette: why is Carol's charity more 'legitimate' than Trace's. Do you actually know anything about food allergies, how they can kill a child in about five minutes and how charities like FAAN have saved lives with education programs, purchasing life-saving medical bracelets and epi-pens for needy kids and pushing for legislation like Sabrina's Law which helps protect vulnerable kids when they are in school? I am not denying that Carol's charity is a worthy cause too, but it is exactly this sort of attitude about food allergies (i.e. that they are not 'legitimate') that proves the need for Trace's charity to exist and proves the value of the work they do. Let's see you have a child who could DIE IN FIVE MINUTES from a condition that is perfectly manageable if proper steps are taken, and then tell me again how Trace's cause is not legitimate!

I agree with your entire post, cynicalbastard. Especially the part about the hat LOL. If I hadn't seen the Duchess of York in the preview, I would have been seriously worried about Piers tonight but it was obvious he would be in the final. I think Trump likes his style and he clearly recognizes his intelligence and ability.

Who is Cramer? He's almost as obnoxious as the Backstreet Boys.

I agree with some of the comments here about the BSB. It sounds like maybe they were probably told to be purposely obnoxious or something or maybe it was the editing. I just don't think any sane person would act like total prats on camera for a charity.

This episode was hilarious. The stuff coming out of Trace's mouth tonight cracked me up! I think a lot of what Piers says makes a lot of sense but he has such a harsh way of saying things. Still, like everyone else said, he can't be that bad of a person if so many celebrities are on friendly terms with him. Hell, he seemed like a really nice guy with the duchess! I'm totally rooting for Team Piers. The editing seems to hint that Trace might win the event, but I hope they're just misleading us with a little editing.

Am I the only one totally surprised that the awesome Carol Alt was picked last when Piers and Trace were chosing teams? Explain, please. The strategy eludes me.

Concerning the BS Boys. I assume they're there by an invitation from The Apprentice. So, surely the show wouldn't purposely edit them to come across as indulged jerks. If they were for real... ugh.

Too many good Trace lines tonight. Favorite one was how Piers isn't the type to stab you in the back, because he'll stab you in the forehead. You''ll see him coming. Piers' response was perfect, too. They're both spunky in their own way. I like spunky.

Welp, IE + Flash (I think) ate my previous post (probably a good thing), so...

Trace's crack about "green m&ms" made me laugh, I know I've seen that somewhere. Long ago, somebody (here, or elsewhere) linked to thesmokinggun's list of celebrity riders (which I checked again, they've got a nice collection now), and looking over the Backstreet Boys' old one, it's not *too* terrible (and what we saw on TV didn't look terrible, drinks mainly)... although it *does* have the two dressing room deal Trace mentioned they didn't have for this location.

With regard to charities/fundraising, yes all of these people (Assorama excepted) could probably just pull out their checkbooks and write a check to their personal charities for more money than they'll probably raise during CA. And they have rich friends, who have stepped up and donated during the challenges, and could theoretically donate anyway, and just skip CA. But I'm cynical - the people who donated? Got really good PR on national television - cheap at twice the price! Maybe they wouldn't have donated if it hadn't been on television. I mean, celebrities are all about their images, for the most part. Yeah, I know that sounds cynical.

Second, it's quite possible that Trace and the others are hoping that by publicizing their charities week after week on national television, those charities will get more donations from the general public.

FACT: these charities can't afford to BUY ads on primetime network TV, and they're getting them for free, via these celebrities.

Carol got ripped off. So, it doesn't matter how well you do, it just matters if Donald wants to see you fight it out at the end. And, while I might hate Piers, the whole "good vs. evil" thing was just plain stupid. Piers is obnoxious and pretentious and and weasely, but even I would stop short of "evil". I suspect he simply sees himself as very competitive.

I love Trace, and his horror and shock at the wheat grain request was the funniest part of the evening. Second funniest was the Backstreet Boys' horror at the thought of not getting two dressing rooms.

I really don't care who wins. Trump, by ignoring who did the best job in favor of who he thought would fight it out (i.e., bring better ratings), basically admitted the whole thing was meaningless. Aside from money earned for charity, this season was pointless.

Good point. That sort of task seems right up Marilu's alley.

I understand making demands when a concert promoter is making millions off of you, but is it standard operating procedure to have a rider like this for a CHARITY event? I understand they don't want to have to change in the bathroom and they don't want food served that they don't like (though PB&J sandwiches seems pretty low key to me), but it also seems obnoxious when you're talking about charity. Either you believe in a cause and want all the funds to go to the right place, or you are a diva/divos.

It makes me wonder what Trace's concert rider says.

Trace knew that a lot of Pier's success came from pimping Lennox Lewis. He wanted to remove that. He also worked with Marilu before so he chose her over Carol.

Piers probably knew if he didn't pick Baldwin it would be Trace, Baldwin Lennox combo vs. Carol, Marilu and Piers.

Am I the only one wondering if they were told ahead of time who would be fired and that's why Carol didn't say anything in her defebse?

And I would have snapped her up fast.

As for th green M&Ms story: Are you thinking of Van Halen and the brown M&Ms?

Everything seemed very edited and set up last night. Maybe the edit monkeys are trying to even out Piers' natural abrasiveness with a little created "drama" on Trace's part. I don't particularly care for this kind of story massaging, but hey, they're just trying to wrap up the season with a bang.

It seems to me that while Stephen does dislike Piers, Piers is perfectly willing to work with Stephen. I think that Piers can call you an unpleasant name without having to work up a head of anger to do it. In the end, it just doesn't matter to him what was said during the task (except in the case of Omarosa), it's that the task was done and done well.

I was surprised by how seriously I vowed to myself that I wouldn't watch if Piers didn't make the final two. That being said, as I read through the comments here I am seriously disappointed that Carol didn't make the final. But I love seeing her and Piers work together. They do make an excellent team.

Trace dealing with the band reminds me of a boss I had ... he used to be a contractor in the building industry, so when he became a builder he was always trying to lowball his contractors. That kind of chiseling (not the legit kind, as in we don't have the two dressing rooms you've requested) only leads to hard feelings on the band side, no matter how strongly Trace might feel that the band doesn't need all that 'weird' stuff. Will it come back to bite him on the ass? Only Trump will tell.

Absolutely true. I also think Piers chose Baldwin because they had worked well together in the past -- even if they didn't get along and really didn't like each other. (I think the whole Baldwin vs. Piers thing was blown out of proportion by Baldwin for dramatic effect.) Plus, Baldwin likes and respects Trace and would have knocked himself out to help Trace. I think Piers knew that and decided to remove Trace's main support -- just like Trace removed Piers' support by taking Lennox. He probably figured it was better to try to control Baldwin than to let him work for Trace.

Or maybe I'm just overthinking this.

Carol Alt is going to be on the Today Show this morning. I get the impression there was compensation to go quietly so that Trump could see the fight.

When it comes to Riders, no one topped Jennifer Lopez, I forget which charity event it was, but basically the charity lost money just by trying to meet her demands. So it comes as no surprise that the BSB would have some weird requests.

Nevertheless, let us remember this is the final event, and just as has been the case in all previous final events on the Apprentice, it seems like the writers deliberately add the "oh shoot" moment in order to build tension. How many times has so and so failed to show up for the event, forcing the PM to improvise.

I would not be surprise if the BSB were encouraged to be difficult, just as I would not be surprised if something happens in the next episode to Piers (unless Baldwin was that thing).

Further, I was disappointed to see Carol not get selected, but her total lack of defense when the decision was being made seemed coached, sort of like the way the last real Apprentice ended with Frank and Nicole being there, but not really being there, almost like they were told beforehand that they were not going to be in it. Carol seemed to know she was out without trying. At least she didn't print "Fire Me!" all over her forehead the way Lennox basically did.