1292 replies to this topic

[Miss Alli]

She totally gets her own thread.

[matchboxlover]

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.

[tjames]

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'.

[Kazoo Zak]

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.

[Hawkwild]

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.

Edited by Hawkwild, Mar 12, 2004 @ 12:43 AM.

[LegallyBlonde]

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

[MaryWebGirl]

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?

[Rabrab]

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.

[Rinaldo]

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.

[Nutjob]

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.

[leuvenator]

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.

[tiva]

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.

[Kazoo Zak]

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!

[HeavenLy]

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.

Edited by HeavenLy, Mar 12, 2004 @ 5:14 PM.

[Rinaldo]

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.

[Ludwik Flek]

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.

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).

[SerendipityCA]

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.

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!

[VinnyQ]

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.

[mbridgii]

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.

[mannie]

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?

[Wrigley]

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.

[djmama]

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.

[neesie]

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.

[maggy]

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.

[mannie]

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.

[Rinaldo]

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.

[Wrigley]

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).

[Rabrab]

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.

Edited by Rabrab, Mar 15, 2004 @ 5:42 PM.