Tag Archives: Children International

The Celebrity Apprentice: Week Five

18 Mar

March 18, 2012

Last week Trump fired both Adam Carolla and Michael Andretti. It was a mistake on Carolla’s part. As the project manager of a team that I believe did a much better job than the women but lost, he took the fall and brought no one into the boardroom so he had to go. However, it was clear that Team Trump was itching to fire Andretti, and had Carolla brought him into the boardroom Adam would still be here.

This week Lou Ferrigno steps up and leads the team, a team who, to a man, are against him.

THE TASK: Create a viral video for an O’Cedar mop
MEN’S PROJECT MANAGER: Lou Ferrigno
WOMEN’S PROJECT MANAGER: Tia Carrere

Audrey O’Day: “I am not stepping up to be project manager because this brand has been around a hundred years, just like Tia.”  She is really a shitty person, isn’t she? Presumably she went on this show for exposure but she is just being exposed as vapid self-absorbed. “I might be permanently deaf in this ear from Dayana’s bad ideas.” “Tia refuses to use me and I want to sock her in the face.” She needs to sock whoever advised her to go on this show because it has elevated her from barely known singer to widely known pain in the ass.

“If Lisa and Aubrey are not in that essential position up front they get grumpy.” – Tia.
“On every task I was the creator, director, the star, I did everything. And for Tia not to use me makes me angry.” – Aubrey. BTW- Aubrey usually wears more makeup than any three other members of her team.

Lou’s idea for the task is, as usual, he’ll star and flex his muscles. The team is skeptical, to say the least.

The women came up with a risqué theme, which not everyone liked, and Lisa Lampinelli, of all people, thought some of the women were going too far. They were going with women talking about their numbers (as in sexual partners) but revealing that they were actually talking about how many mops they owned. How this related to the virtues of the O’Cedar Promist mop I have no idea.

Lou took off on something the O’Cedar people said, “the mop is the hero,” and wanted to do a superhero thing, which Penn challenged him on and as I said before, I do not think there is anyone on that team more creative than Penn.

However…

“If it is not Penn’s idea all he wants to do is point out negatives.” – Clay. He got very frustrated and voiced his worry that some people in the room (meaning Penn) were trying to set Lou up to fail, and of course that would take the team with him. I have not always been very complimentary to Clay Aiken in the past but he has impressed me on this show so far with his professionalism and dedication. “You don’t have a way but you have a hundred this-is-not-the-ways.” Once Clay got the team back on track they took Lou’s idea and made something good out of it. (But we’ll see what happens in the execution later.) Penn took Clay’s challenge really badly and sulked. He even said that working with people he didn’t choose was a bad idea. Who would expect Clay Aiken to challenge Penn Jillette and win?

 “I don’t even know what viral means.” That’s your Paul Teutul Senior quote of the week.

The men’s video will be a showdown between Lou and Paul Senior and frankly a lot of people would like to see that fight in real life, but for me the highlight was seeing Lou dance around (and fall) with the mop. Could that go viral? Maybe.

In fact, here is what is claimed to be his audition video for Dancing With the Stars:

Lisa to Aubrey and Debbie: “Everyone does not have to be a star. I am sick of the egos. It is BS that every person has to be a star. It is sickening.” However, it was also directed at the other women who complained about not having face time, including Patricia, who was put in charge of getting flowers. Want to know what video will go viral? The clip of her trying to get “peonies” but asking for “penis.”

Clay tried to work things out with Penn, but Penn was still sulking and took it personally and believed that Clay didn’t like him. “I have never felt more set up.” I like the guy, have a ton of respect for h is intelligence, and love his stage act, but he is acting like a two-year old. Clay spoke, Penn sulked. “I don’t feel like there is any solution to this at all,” Clay said.

Lou’s video was pretty good. The theme was “I’m going to mop the floor with you.” It worked on both levels. BTW- Paul Senior came up with it.

Then the women’s presentation came and, well, it was there. But the O’Cedar people seemed to like it.  “They didn’t really use the project.”

10:07.  The Boardroom.

In the boardroom Paul, Dee, Arsenio, and Clay all praised Lou. If it was honest, they all loved him.

Tia praised Lisa for being a brilliant, fast writer. Lisa then criticized Tia, egged on by Trump. When asked by Trump, Dayana pointed out that Debbie was stressed. Debbie then blamed it on Tia.

Lisa: “I am consistently frustrated in this room” because the main creative part falls on her, Aubrey, and Debbie, and the others were less creative but somehow still valuable. Who would Lisa say is the least valuable? Dayana. “I never heard an idea out of her that was usable in the last five weeks.”

Tia was coming off as a week leader who deferred to her teammates, which Trump challenged her on. It was making her look weak, especially when she didn’t do much to argue against Lisa who claimed she was not creative. Patricia also argues that she didn’t like the theme and that yes, she is creative but not listened to.

Trump asked Penn to explain the concept, which he did, and then Penn said “he was way funnier than I expected him to be.” If the team loses, who gets fired? Dee said Paul Senior. “Oddly there was nothing for him to do.” Paul agreed, there was simply nothing for him to do. Bear in mind, he came up with the theme. Arsenio picked Paul “but without him we don’t have a concept.” As Trump Jr said, he might have only contributed for five seconds, but they were the most important five seconds.

If he loses, who does Lou bring back? Paul and Penn. “He is a bull in a china closet with a superior attitude.” I think of the three Paul will clearly survive. I think he picked Paul only because he realized that Paul was the only other one to be criticized. Penn he picked for not being a team player. Clay backed him up “Penn has admitted that he doesn’t like not being in charge. If it is not his decision he will disengage. He has a tendency to become condescending.” Dee said he was a “fact checker” and “there seemed to be an emotional disconnect.”

Penn: “I believe I did some writing and some typing.” Not a great defense.

Aresnio: “I was proud of the man [Clay]. He stepped to [Penn}.”

THE WINNER: The Men. And after weeks of taking crap from everyone Lou must have felt great.

Back in the boardroom. “Dayana, were you surprised?”
“No, not really.”

Lisa criticized the concept but she also did so back during the brainstorming session. Lisa is a fighter in the boardroom. She also said that Dayana was lying about not liking the concept since she went right along with it.

Did Dayana have another idea? “Every idea I give is not taken.”

Aubrey: “This was the least enjoyable time I’ve had here.” Why? Because she was not included in a major way. Even the men, watching on TV. laughed at her.

Who should be fired? Patricia: fire Tia. Lisa: fire Tia. Or Dayana for being “The most distracting.” Aubrey (to Trump): “I’d like to be part of your family.” UGH. But who should be fired? Tia. Who is a weaker player than Tia? Dayana.

Patricia, who is the weakest player? Teresa.

Teresa: “I finsihed my third book. I have a ghost writer. I can be a writer.” Correct me if I am wrong, but having a ghost writer means you cannot be a writer.

Tia: Aubrey “hates not being the center of attention.”
Arsenio: “She is so self-righteous no wonder Diddy fired her. If there is a god she is out of here.”
Tia: “She never stops talking.”

GOING TO THE BOARDROOM: Tia, and no one else, and what a dumb move that was. This is for charity! FIGHT! Now she has to go back to her charity and say “I gave up without a fight.”

NEXT WEEK: The celebrities have to throw a party.

The Celebrity Apprentice: Week Four

11 Mar

March 11, 2012

Last week, the men lost a decorating challenge, George Takei was beamed out of the boardroom and Dee Snyder returned after surgery to fix his finger. 

And now, week four. Dee said that Trump fired the wrong guy. For whatever reason, he and his team don’t see Lou Ferrigno as a strong teammate. However, in the boardroom, he is a very strong player. I do not yet know, but I’d guess that this is Lou’s week to step up and be project manager.

THE TASK: Design a ten minute presentation and a ten minute Q+A for the Buick Verano.
MEN’S PROJECT MANAGER: Adam Carolla (Ok, I guessed wrong).
WOMEN’S PROJECT MANAGER: Debbie Gibson

The stakes are high. Buick is tossing in another thirty thousand to the winning charity, meaning they are playing for $50,000.

“I don’t think  any of them wold have a creative bone in their body to continue on without me.” – Aubrey, once again thinking way too highly of herself. Once again, she thinks she is running the show.

The women were split into two teams. Here is how Aubrey described them: “I’ve always been in the cool group. This is the creative cool van. The other van is the leftovers.” Will anyone like her when this is over?

On the men’s side, Adam was reminded by Clay that they had Michael freakin’ Andretti on their team and if they were doing a car presentation, he’d better be on stage. Early on, Arsenio had doubts that Adam was right to be on center stage during the presentation. He’s a comedian working for a company whose representatives show zero sense of humor and even actively resist humor.

Michael, who has yet to show anything special in the tasks, said that Lou only worried about Lou. Dee told Lou point-blank that he had to step up. Ok, Lou’s idea to paint himself green and become the Hulk was goofy but what has Andretti done? Even Ivanka told him that the task seemed like a natural for him. Why didn’t he step up?

Adam, Paul Sr., and Michael went to test drive the Verano and those were clearly the right guys. Adam was the host of the USA version of Top Gear, Paul Sr. owns dozens of classic and current cars, and Michael Andretti? ‘Nuff said. The problem was, the rest of them back in the office had no clue what to do. Adam gave them the task of writing a presentation where the guys would be hecklers in the audience. No one liked it but they followed the leader. They tried to tell him it was a bad move to yell “you suck” and go for low-brow laughs but he was stubborn about it.

“Of the twenty-minute show, Adam was responsible for nineteen and a half.” – Penn, and read between the lines. If the men lose, Adam is gone.

On the women’s side, Tia pitched some ideas but felt marginalized and stepped back. Don Junior thought that Debbie needed to crack the whip and get the team moving. Dayan felt the same way. With 12 hours to go, no one really knew what was going to happen. Aubrey was angry/jealous that Debbie was going to sing. Why? Because Aubrey was not going to sing. She is so shallow and full of herself. But Debbie got the last laugh because during the presentation Aubrey got the name of the car wrong. Twice. (Trump later said that could be a fireable offense.)

The women went on, despite no one, not even the project manager, knowing exactly what they were going to do. The idea was that Tia was conducting a casting call for a Verano spokesperson and the other women would “audition.” Debbie and Lisa were pretty good, but Aubrey? Ugh. She told a story about her mother dying in a car accident. If her mother were driving a Verano she would have lived. SERIOUSLY?

“I totally lied. I thought I did amazing. I was like a pastor at church, feeding on my disciples.” Yeah, week in and week out Aubrey makes herself look worse and worse. And she does it all herself, no help from anyone.

The audience got to ask questions. The first was a technical question and Tia was totally unprepared to discuss safety ratings. At the end, the Buick reps said it was fun. We’ll see if fun=good.

And then the men came out and Adam for whatever reason was nervous.  He did know what he was talking about though, he knew all the car’s specs. Michael Andretti came out and endorsed the car. “His last name is Andretti and he likes the car. Good enough for me.” -Adam.

Then the heckling began and it actually seemed to work because the heckling was all car-related. Penn questioned if a guy his size would fit in the car and they even fit him in the trunk. However, they missed a big opportunity. He is a magician so he should have disappeared.

Best part of the heckling? Paul Sr. yelling to Adam “you suck!”  It didn’t seem to go over so well but for the first time we got a glimpse of the angry Paul we see on Monday nights.

The boardroom starts at 10:05 and my guess? The men won. Easily.

Team Trump got in Michael for not stepping up and taking control of the task. Clearly, his stock has gone down in their eyes. I think that while he is of course a car expert, this task need a presenter, which he clearly is not.

What did Lou do? Not much, he said, just whatever he was asked. “I think I should be utilized more.” I’ll say it again, he needs to be the next project manager. Then we will see how good he is.

Trump: “I think you should have used him.”

Penn, in a preemptive strike, told Trump that he thought there should have been less humor, and Dee backed him up.

Who will Adam bring back if they lose? No one. If they lose he deserves to get fired, he said. Good on him for character. And honestly, there could be no one else brought in. They all did what Adam asked as well as they could.  

On the women’s side, the team supported Debbie but the support was lukewarm. Tepid, if you will. Trump pointed out, correctly, that Tia has been going under the radar so far and that is usually a clue that it is time to step up. Will we see Tia as PM next week?

Who will Debbie bring back if they lose? Tia and Teresa. “They haven’t gotten to show all they can do.” Team Trump took that theme and rode with it, attacking Teresa for holding back. Trump compared Debbie Gibson to Derek Jeter, in that they both put the team first. I think that was a bit of a stretch. However, Trump’s tactic worked and Tia and Teresa started to attack Debbie, which is what he wanted in the first place.

THE WINNER: The women. Yes, you read that right, the women. HOW? They got the name wrong, the didn’ t know the technical aspects, HOW?

At the 10:33 commercial break, I am thinking that this will be the easiest boardroom ever. Bye bye Adam Carolla. Who else? Will he try to say it was Lou’s fault for not stepping up? This task was all him, 100%, and he already said everyone did what he asked them to, and more to the point, he said he should be fired if they lost!

And then I remembered that the commercial teased two firings this week.

In the boardroom, the men were in total shock. As was I.

Paul, who was the weakest player on your team? Lou.
Lou: “I agree but it was because I did what I was given.”
Lou, who was the weakest link? Michael, for all the reasons already given.

If Adam somehow skates, Micheal will be the one fired because the Trumps were adamant that he should have stepped up and been project manager. Adam, again to his credit, defended Michael.

Arsenio, who would you fire? Lou. “We are having a hard time placing Lou.” Is that Lou’s fault? Trump: “Maybe Lou should be the project manager next time if you make it.” 

At 10:43, I am leaning toward an Andretti firing, though the team wants Lou gone.

Dee, who is the weakest player? Lou. Who should be fired? “Adam, it was his show.” Dee hit it right on the head.

GOING TO THE BOARDROOM: Adam. No one else. Ten out of ten for character, but this is for charity and he should fight.

Trump then decided that he was firing two people and no, he gave no indication that Adam would be one of them. could it be both Lou and Michael going?

SAFE: Penn, Dee, Paul Sr., Clay, and Arsenio.
IN DANGER: Adam, Michael, and Lou. My guesses have been pretty evenly split right or wrong, but for what it is worth, I see Micheal Andretti being the easy fire. I also see Lou being given the shot to lead next week, and Adam taking the hit for the team loss. When the team loses and no one can be singled out who did a lousy job, the project manager always takes the hit.

And that is just how it played out. If Adam brought Micheal back with him, Adam would still be here.

This NEVER should have happened. The men did a FAR better job than the women.

NEXT WEEK: The teams do mop infomercials.