The Apprentice – Martha Stewart Version

Dawn was only a half hour late because the rest of her team dragged her out of bed. She was refusing to get up. If they let her have her way, who knows when she would have showed up.

Nothing could be Dawn's fault because she didn't do anything. You can't blame some one for screwing up something because they did not do anything. Unfortunately if you do nothing, how could you be responsible for the loss, directly. I am guessing that Martha feels that Dawn is responsible for the team losing so much as she never contributed.

Martha has set up her own rules throughout this apprentice. Last one, she pulled the whole team in because the two people the project manager selected should not have been there. I guess if you are the one doing the hiring you can change the rules as you like.

In my opinion, I didn't much like the way Leslie did as project manager, but at least she gave a good effort. Dawn has been basically useless. Imagine working on a team and one member refuses to do the work. That is what Dawn did. Imagine working on a team and everyone being tired, but you all pull your butts out of bed to get an early start so you can complete your task and one member is refusing to get up. That is what Dawn did. Who would you rather have on your team? Some one with lack of time management skills or someone who refuses to work with the team?

Okay, so Dawn really was that bad.

Which brings up the question of why, with a few hours to go and no couch present, the team didn't just send someone out to rent a UHaul and send one person each to the two nearest furniture stores to select a couch. Within 15 or 20 minutes you are certain to find something that even vaguely fits in. Then the project manager selects the one which sounds the best over the phone, (five minute phone call), and the guy with the UHaul goes over with a couple of other members and picks up the couch. Many hands make light work, and very shortly the couch is in.

You can probably pull that off in a couple of hours. At least, it was worth a shot.

I'm assuming this is being taped in NYC. There is no such thing as instant furniture in Manhattan that looks decent ( i'm not including curb side or thift shop). You order, you wait, sometimes you wait a long time. Also you would have to go out to a place like Staten Island or the Bronx for an immediate truck rental.

I primarily blame Leslie for Matchstick's loss. A six hour brainstorming session? When you only have two days to completely redecorate an executive hotel suite?

I thought Bethany actually did a good job of picking out furniture -- considering the little time she had to it.

In fact, I actually liked Matchstick's suite better than Primarius'. I thought the Primarius suite looked cold and sterile. And the whole "games" theme got a little stupid.

Matchstick's suite had a warm and comforting look to it. They used better colors and lighting, for one thing. The pieces that Bethany picked out looked nice. If the sofas had arrived on time, I'll bet they would have won.

I am loving Martha and her ice-queen looks in the conference room.

Martha: How do you think should go?

Jim: Anyone but me.

Shut. Up. Jim. We're taking you out of the oven now. You're done.

Oh, and here's a post-it note. Write your own damn goodbye letter.

I was still content to see Dawn go though. At last, I can understand why the Matchstick team hated her. Totally argumentative and uncooperative -- and then they have to drag her out of bed in the morning. Bye Dawn!

I was thinking a similar thing keltic. But I was wondering why under the circumstances of the time constraint, instead of having a moving company pick up your stuff, you didn't rent a uhaul and go get it yourself in the first place.

A lot of it has to do with timing. When I came in on the show, various members of Matchstick were individually moaning that if the couch does not get there, their goose is cooked.

Now, if it comes down to where the meeting is at 4 PM and you've hit 1 PM, then Green Witch's observations might well be decisive-perhaps you can't do it in a couple of hours. Not in Manhattan. Most anywhere else, yes. Not Manhattan.

But I think this show runs on the same schedule as Trump's Apprentice. The teams get two full days and two full nights. Everytime I see the judging, if there is a window in the room it is daylight. As there was daylight this time during the judging. So the guess is, the judging happens the morning of the third day.

That means each side gets two full days and nights. As a matter of fact, last year's Trump Apprentice winner, Kendra, stayed up all night to make the car brochure, and won. Trump ended up making a speech about how you have to do whatever it takes to get the job down-even pullling an all-nighter.

If that is the case, then if the couch did not arrive by the middle of the afternoon of the second day, then getting a replacement couch would be easy. Just rent the UHaul, even if means taking the subway to Queens, which is not far, and the team would have until the suburban stores close to shop. That would be at least 8:30 or 9:00. A little advance phoning can take care of the arrangements to see which stores will let you carry the piece out right away, and they can shop at only those stores which agreed.

So that would be a case where Leslie fell down. Of course, the other people on the team could have helped her out by suggesting it too, specifically the guys, who are more likely to think of getting a few people together and just moving it, instead of waiting for delivery.

One thought. Who made the arrangements with the moving company? If the contestants only have two days and nights, and the show knew that furniture would have to be delivered, then it is possible that the moving company was hired by the show in advance to move that furniture during those two days.

If that is the case, no wonder Martha didn't fire anyone because the couch did not come on time. It was the show who chose the moving company which didn't deliver.

No wonder she decided instead to just find the weakest member and fire her, lol.

It can be hard to tell sometimes. It appears that the woman responsible for ordering the furniture was also responsible for the delivery as she was the one on the phone yelling to the delivery guys that they need the furniture now! Where are you?

But we really never saw when it was arranged and any of the details. Perhaps she had it planned well enough in advance to be delivered on time, but the delivery guys messed up - seemed they couldn't find the store. Sometimes you really don't have enough details to really make a good decision.

That's true. I just think it's possible that the moving company might have been prearranged by the show. I don't know that, but I would think it would be extremely difficult to make arrangements with a moving company on one day's notice, and both teams obviously would be needing a means to bring the furniture to the suite within two days. I believe the point of the episode, from a TV perspective, was to see how these people make the decisions to decorate a high class hotel suite, not the race to find a moving company which can deliver on one day's notice.

The fact that Bethany knew the number of the moving company does not necessarily mean that she selected it. the show might have given it to her.

Incidentally, I have to reconsider my statement about the teams getting two days and two nights automatically. One one show last year on Trump's Apprentice, the one where a clothing line suitable to carry today's array of electronic gadgets was to be designed, the meeting with the client was at 4 or 5 PM. One team got bogged down in midtown traffic and missed the deadline, but were allowed not only to go ahead when they arrived, but were given extra time to compose themselves before giving the presentation. So Matchstick might not have had that extra night, in which case the objections Green Witch brought up probably would take precedence-Matchstick wouldn't have had enough time.

Well, in the latest episode, the utterly manic Jim who acted so badly that he almost got the group thrown out of the contest gets spared and the project manager gets fired because she didn't prevent him from going nuts.

I suppose she should have taken charge of him better, but doesn't the responsibility lie with the player himself?

In this case, I think Jim's nuttiness (my own made up word) outweighs the project manager's ineffectiveness. Perhaps it was suggested to Martha to keep Jim on for ratings? At least he makes the show a little more interesting.

Jim is totally inappropriate. He suffers from verbal diarrhea. He makes people cringe every time he opens his mouth. He can't rely on his ability to save him, so he threatens the other contestants that they will pay if they go against him in the conference room. We can pity Jim, his wife, and his brand new baby, but he's not someone that any reputable company would want to have as a public representative. He has no chance of becoming Martha's apprentice.

Debra, Link, I agree. This guy was just too over the top. That part where Jim told the other guy that if tries to get him thrown out he will pay should have doomed Jim right there.

What Jennifer, the project manager should have done is, after the store manager warned them that one more outburst will get the team thrown out of the supermarket, is to take Jim outside and tell him to sit in the car. Then, if the team loses because they are shorthanded one salesperson, or Jim comes back into the store and makes a scene, she could have correctly blamed it on Jim. Then Jim was sure to get sent home.

I disagree with Martha when she said the project manager could not control Jim either in the store or in the boardroom. As was shown when Jim threatened the other guy, about the only way to control Jim in a face-to-face confrontation is to be about six inches taller, 70 poounds heavier and give indications that if Jim doesn't shut up, you're going to go over and slap him upside the head.

Unfortunately, the diminuative Jennifer did not have that option.

I think that once Martha had made clear that she blamed Jennifer for not attempting to control Jim more than she blamed Jim, Jennifer might have tried a different line of argument.

Jennifer should have asked Martha: Who's better for the team? If you were project manager, would you rather have a Jim on your side create constant turmoil, or someone like me you can count on to do her best and not go manic?

What with Jim almost getting the team thrown out of the supermarket and his threateneing other members, you don't think that from henceforth every Primarius project manager knows they have to divert time and effort to try to do things in a way that won't set Jim off?

I mishandled Jim, I admit. I'm used to working with professionals, and where I work, anyone who acted the way Jim did wouldn't be argued with, they would have security called on them. I learned something from this. But I've been involved in four winning efforts out of five, and Jim's had zero wins, five losses. After what you saw of him on this task, do you really think that is just coincidence?

I am sure the Jim is putting on his best reality TV act here. And the producers are equally as happy to eat it up.

The only thing worse than Jim, is the thought of how bad the show will be without Jim.

I thought it was a pretty good show although I have stopped watching it..probably not a good thing for a show

Haven't read all the posts here, so apologies if I'm reiterating points already made. It's an interesting contrast between the Trump and Stewart "Apprentice" shows. Martha seems to be almost painfully trying to be nice and diplomatic (down to the cheesy "thank you" notes), while "the Donald" continues to revel even more in his glorious self-promoting and conspicuous consumption. On balance, I think Martha has made better choices in her "you just don't fit/I'll have to say goodbye" eliminations (with the notable exception of keeping Jim last week). As a dog lover, I'm interested to watch the competition tonight. All in all, not a bad "Apprentice" spin-off.

I think her diplomatic way is just a reflection of her and her company. She does everything the proper way. If you read her magazine or watch her show (not the apprentice show) everything she prepares and decorates to the way she sets a table is done properly. I think this is reflected all the way down to the "thank you note". "It is proper to write such a note to say thank you. And it must be handwritten." I can just hear this on her morning show.

I thought last night's espisode was painfully bad. Jim is almost a cliche of himself he's so awful!

I also think it's a very interesting commentary on Trump v Martha with the way their "right hand men/women" interact with them. It's clear to me that Carolyn and George put Trump in his place, you can tell by the way they interact with each other. He seems to really respect their opinions - and they are tough ones! Martha's sidekicks (her daughter and cigar man) seem almost afraid of her. LIke last night when he was like, "That's my opinion...if you want it" or somethign like that... I think it's fun to watch.

KetchupLady:

Interesting observations. Martha and Trump do have different styles, and Trump, for his part, does seem to rely a little bit more on George and Carolyn. Of course, George and Carolyn have been on the show for years now, the viewers have gotten to know them-that might have something to do with it.

From the viewer's perspective, I would say that Martha seems to be a better, more flexible manager than Trump. Trump, until this week, was locked injto the three person final scene, and that format is open to manipulation. The losing project manager can just select the player he wants to get rid of, then select the player who most dislikes that person. Trump also elevates people in the boardroom to some special status. For instance, last year Alex had one good project as project manager, got on Trump's good side, then laid back for several weeks doing little but finding fault in everyone else so he can make a case against them in the boardroom. He wasn't that interested in winning-just to make sure he didn't get sent home.

Martha, on the other hand, does not blindly stick to the three person final scene. She soon abandoned it, and now just listens to the losing team to get a feel for what happened, then calls in however many people she thinks can conceivably be to blame.

It's harder to manipulate Martha-she's not so much interested in sticking to a predictable process as she is getting to the point of who most deserves to be sent home.