April 16, 2004
Bill Is Hired! The Apprentice Finale
After fourteen weeks, America can now rest assured in knowing that Bill Rancic is The Apprentice. Even though he'll have a salary of $250,000 running the construction of the Trump International Hotel & Tower, Gothamist was hoping that The Apprentice would be a lot like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, mopping the marble floors of Trump Tower.
Did "The Donald" make the right choice? His advisors, George and Carolyn disagreed on who to pick. George, who seemed senile in the final boardroom, thought Kwame Jackson was best. Carolyn, who Donald calls "Lady Di", thought that Bill was the most qualified. Throughout the last two episodes, it was clear that Kwame and Bill were completely different. Kwame was laid back and readily delegated responsibility, Bill was frenetic and micro-managed. To us, it was clear where Kwame went wrong - when he selected Omarosa for his team. Gothamist wonders what the hell he was thinking? Granted, he probably would have been stuck with her anyway because he had last pick, but still, why pick her third?!? It seems like Kwame also had the harder task, dealing with the "biggest rock star in the world", Jessica Simpson. All Bill had to worry about was the frozen grass and the tee time.
After Bill was hired, Donald caught up with the fired candidates. Tammy is pregnant, Omarosa still doesn't get along with Heidi or Ereka, and Jason is still in real estate. Sam tried to cut another deal when he said he would pay Donald $250,000 to work for him. Donald said he would consider it. Nick and Amy are no longer dating, but they remain "close friends". There was no mentioning of FHM modeling though.
So, did Donald make the right choice? Did Bill make the right choice by choosing the Chicago project over managing Trump National Golf Club, LA?
|
I was definitely in the Kwame Jackson camp, though I knew Bill was going to win as soon as Kwame's team lost Jessica The Simp in front of The Trump. That was baaad. My only consolation is in knowing that no one in North America will ever employ Omarosa.
The prize seemed pretty good though. And I'm assuming that Kwame will take up KFC on their offer?
Omarosa's husband looks exactly like Elvis Mitchell!
i'm excited that bill won, maybe on his $250k salary he can afford a new haircut. also was glad he picked the chicago project since i walk past it every day... i'll be watching for the guy running around in 100 different directions like a chicken with his head cut off but still somehow getting shit done.
if i was bill, i would have turned down both projects and told donald that before he starts building any new billion dollar projects that he should get his finances in order. but that's just me.
This show was lame, can we not watch it next season?
Bill chose right. It will probably be a hard task (whatever actual portion the give him) but if that building is a success then he will probably be able to do whatever he wants in the future.
Here's my burning question (and I realize I'm being a teensy bit obsessive here)--Why did the "live" shot of Bill checking out his new car show rainy streets? It clearly was not raining last night--there was not a cloud in the sky yesterday....
i wonder if bill would have chosen chicago if he wasn't from there. i can see lots of injuries with the construction of that building. look out for falling debris!
Last night, as I watched Kwame getting pressured by Trump et al for having chosen Omarosa, I couldn't help feeling an undercurrent of unspoken racial accusations. It hadn't occured to me when he chose her that there may have been a sense of ethnic solidarity in the picking, but it did occur to me once Trump and his advisors started "confronting" him in his choice. It felt to me as if they were accusing him of not having being impartial, or having being self-destructive by letting race be a factor... I don't know, maybe I'm reading too much into it but I did feel race was an unspoken but major element in this finale.
film crews often wash down the streets to give it a wet look, they think it looks better during filming.
I had guessed, and Kwame confirmed on the Today show this morning, that he picked Omarosa before Heidi on purpose because he knew he was stuck with her (he had last pick, which is unfair to begin with, they should have assigned the teams) and he though she would perform for him/the team better if he gave her the ego boost/face-saving of not being picked completely last. He compared it to being the last kid picked on the playground. Made sense to me.
How did Bill have the easier task? All Kwame had to do was get Simpson from the airport to the hotel, arrange a breakfast the next morning, schedule and oversee a meet and greet that afternoon and then get Simspon to the gig that night. None of those things take more than 3 phone calls. Childs play.
The whole damn show was rigged anyway.
I really enjoyed Keith Hollihan's piece in the Morning News.
They need to rethink how the final teams are chosen..Kwame did get stuck with Miss Missy! Nevertheless, I think he made another mistake in picking Heidi - she was a complainer. Next time, let the final two draw numbers or names out of a hat (or maybe one of those lottery type machines).
As for Omarosa..she is a loose cannon..a screwball.. a wacko. She told a bold lie on National TV..and I'm not surprised her past firings are coming to light. Kwame was doomed when he got her - but I agree with The Donald. Kwame, despite being eventually stuck with her, would have been better off to let her be the last kid (she was a trouble maker and trouble makers deserve to be last) thereby showing everyone, "I don't really want her, but ok, I accept my fate that I got her". Then, he made another mistake by not micro managing her - fully controlling his wild card wacko. And goodness knows he should have fired her - he should have KNOWN that he was going to have to carry a large portion of her weight.. just to make sure things got done. Lady "Di" was right, Kwame was too text book and not flexible enough to realize he had been dealt a bad hand and as a result needed to probably operate out the the box to get things done.
As far as the events being difficult to plan - hey you all try to step into an event and plan it in the last 3 days.. both are hard to do - I know, I'm a professional event planner. Kwame had a harder time because he was down 1 and 1/2 people (Omarosa and Heidi).
Folks the lesson here is this.. you can carry yourself a long way but you need great people around you to make it happen. I operate a catering business after spending 15 years planning events. I can give you horror stories of spending weeks planning a great event only to have things ruined by a hired person who does something stupid - and I'm the one who looks bad... Sometimes you can't help having idiots around.. but the key is to recognize them if you can.. and handle your business (control them or get rid of them ... FAST)!
Oh and by the way, I'm an african american female (45 years old) and there was NOTHING racial about what Kwame did..or what anybody else did..
I was totally expecting Omarosa to be revealed as an actor, a spoil planted to make trouble. It's really hard to imagine her having the gall and impudence she displayed. If you were her - what's next? Celebrity boxing?
Wasn't the golf course Trump offered as a prize facing all sorts of opposition from local CA resident's and activist groups fairly recently (can't remember the exact circumstances)? Couple that with scientists tentatively predicting a massive earthquake in CA w/in the next '5' months (that golf course would be the first piece of land to fall into the ocean) and Trump may as well have given Bill control of the flailing casinos.
Avis, I think your analysis is right on. But please, let's stay clear of statements like "I'm an african american female (45 years old) and there was NOTHING racial about what Kwame did..or what anybody else did.." Are you willingly embracing the blurring of individuality to become a representative of a group? Race might not have been a major factor but that doesn't mean you can say there was NOTHING racial in a show that clearly relied on archetypes and good ol' fashioned American Dream "enactments". Race is present in everything, whether implicitly or explicitly. It doesn't have to determine developments or outcomes to be a pervasive element.
Whoa! Too deep for me Pato! I was simply stating my opinion about the "show" - not making an overall statement about race in America! :-)
Look, bottom line is this, Kwame didn't pick Omarosa because he felt some "racial connection." I stated my ethnic background because the internet does not allow people to see exactly who is making comments and yes, sometimes it does matter exactly who is making or voicing comments.
I also wrote I was a professional planner and a business owner - thereby qualifying my comments noting my background and experience.
Hey, its all about who I am..I was just trying to clarify.. who I was.. but you know, its all good! :-)
I'm incapable of weighing in on racial matters. Kwame and Omarosa seemed like corporate wonks first and foremost with completely opposite views on personal ethics and responsibility.
But I have to agree with Alison on one very important point. It was clearly spritzing in the shot of Bill when he ran down to start up his new plastic car.
I remember seeing the misty rain come down on his forehead and the windshield. Sure the pavement may have been wet down for that glossy car commercial look, but the rain was falling from the sky in that shot.
And why did the golf course have autumnal changing leaves in March/April? (I think it was Amy who commented on their beauty specifically.)
You've got a spelling mistake. "FHM Modling". Should be "modelling".
ah this is what I was wondering too. where was the Trump board room/Studio 8H boardroom switchover? I couldn't tell last time. but anyway, you could totally tell most of the show was filmed last year -- look no rurther than the Morning News piece.
Benji, re the leaves, at the very beginning of the show, in small print at the bottom of the screen, it read, "Portions pre-recorded." So that portion must have been shot earlier.
hey phillip, thanks for the correction. i was helping jen out on this post at 1:30 this morning. went to a concert, taped the show, and was almost into the subway before a damn tourist who was talking on her cellphone relayed "bill won" to her friend. fucking tourists.
nice one tien! funny I'm a tourist and I'm sure you had friends who are tourists as well :) Have you been a tourist also? Fuck them too?
What Tien said was not touristist.
I didn't really care who won. I was just thrilled the show was finally over so I could stop watching it. I started watching a few weeks into the excitement, but only because someone told me Heidi, whom I actually know in real life (don't hold it against me) was one of the candidates. By the time she was fired, though, I was "hooked".
All I can say about Bill is that his teeth frighten me.
It was rather rude for Trump to deign to address several of the losers (and yes, did lose, so I don't want to hear any "There are no losers, everyone's a winner!" consolation from anyone who insists we're all *special snowflakes*!) but not all of them. And even though I couldn't give a flying *anything* about Tammy or her pregnancy or her husband, it will still rude of Trump to cut her off mid-sentence.
I'm still having a problem with why Omarosa would spoil this whole opportunity for Kwame. I came in on the last 2 shows, so I have no clue what she did. However, from what I saw in the last two episodes, she is completely a loose cannon who needed consistent micro management. Why didn't someone advise her that this was not about "her" and that she needed to get over whatever it was that plagued her, and she needed to be a teamplayer for her "boss." To me, I felt she played a major role in Kwame's fate. Kwame should have fired her or confronted her. I was shocked by her inappropriate behavior and her insubordination. I'm appalled by her behavior and would not even consider her for hire. It is evident she was the most controversial player; thereby, receiving the most attention. This could have been intentional on her part. Maybe she's smarter than we think...