Apprentice Recap

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Niki Tehranchi
by Niki Tehranchi
01-Oct-2010
 

Season 10, Episode 3 (Thursday, September 30, 2010)

Uh oh, I thought, as Trump announced that this week's challenge was to run a doggie day care center.  Dogs and Iranians stereotypically don't mix.  I was crossing my fingers that Mahsa would not be one of those Iranians who claim to be "terrified of dogs" which we all know is really CODE for "sag najess" complex.  And wouldn't you know it, of course, right on cue, Mahsa announced on camera that sure enough, she was "terrified" of dogs.

Tyana on the other hand was so giddy to meet her crush Cesar Millan that she eagerly stepped into the Project Manager role and set up her former BFF Mahsa for a big fall by refusing to put her in the reception area but instead leaving her in the back with the big dogs. Oh, how quickly they turn on each other! Remember only 2 episodes back the two ladies walked hand in hand after stomping on Nicole's dead carcass in the Donald's boardroom.  Mahsa was instrumental in defending Tyana and taking more heat on herself.  And now, the "jealous cow", in Mahsa's words, was sabotaging her chance to win. I really had red flags going up, wondering if this was going to be Mahsa's downfall.

That is, until I realized how the men's team, Octane, was faltering under the contested "leadership" of James, the elitist unemployed attorney that everyone dislikes, and his continuous headbutting with Crazy Dave, who thought he could make nails out of binder clips (LOLtastic!)

In the end, Mahsa came through with flying colors.  Whether she is genuinely scared or just repulsed by dogs, Mahsa overcame her feelings and stepped up to the plate in a big way, handling the dogs, cleaning up after their poop, feeding them, playing with them, everything.  Mad respect for Mahsa! I can only imagine if I was in the same situation but they asked me to handle pet tarantula spiders or snakes, there is no way in hell I could have succeeded in the way that she did.  And even though the women's team won, I am glad that this truly awful, backstabbing move by Tyana was highlighted for the Donald.  As they say, it's dog eat dog out there.

Back in the boardroom, James was rightfully terminated by the Donald.  Noone will miss him, certainly not me.  I am looking forward to more of Crazy Dave's McGuyver-like antics and hopefully, we will see Mahsa step up and become PM next week and blow her nemesis out of the water. 

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more from Niki Tehranchi
 
Niki Tehranchi

the tasks have been lame so far

by Niki Tehranchi on

if memory serves, they had better challenges in past seasons, like coming up with an ad campaign, putting on a charity event, filming a TV commercial, etc. But maybe it's just that the tasks get better as the season progresses cause they want to weed out some people?

I don't watch much TV anymore, and no TV courtroom shows.  My must see TV is Mad Men and that's it, right now. It's funny you ask though cause just the other day, for whatever reason, Paper Chase was on TV and it made me chuckle to relive what life as a law student was many many moons ago.  It got me to thinking what were the law-related movies that I have seen that were most realistic and I came up with: Twelve Angry Men, The Verdict, A Civil Action.  I am sure there are loads more of enjoyable law related films and TV series, but these 3 struck me as the most realistic. 


mash Ghanbar

Nikki

by mash Ghanbar on

Just outta curiosity. I take it that you have a career in Law, so i just wanted to know which one of these Drama, Lawyer-related TV series catches your eyes and deals with the reality of the field (as remotely as possible)? If any...

I kinda like watching them, I used to watch Practice and Boston legal (absolutely loved james spaders' character )and nowadays i see there is a new one with Jimmy smiths.


mash Ghanbar

upgrade the tasks

by mash Ghanbar on

You know . they need to give these guys more "manly" tasks, so to speak not the chicken shitty version pardon my German:0. Give them the real stuff that, real life projects and not so much made for tv projects and then they can show you what they are made of.


Niki Tehranchi

yes, it's contrived

by Niki Tehranchi on

Dear Mouse, Anahid, Mash and Gharib, you are all correct that these reality shows are more or less scripted. I have not read the fine print on the Apprentice but it would not surprise me if the Donald makes the final decision with the input of the producers, who are of course looking for the best ratings.

And yes, David is a tool!  I have said it again and again since the first recap.

But we'll agree to disagree on the last point of whether James was responsible for his team's loss.  James has an impressive educational background and I sincerely wish him the best in his career at the DA's office.  He is young and has everything ahead of him. 

But he needs some practical experience, self-confidence, and some public speaking skills otherwise he is going to have a hell of a time trying to convice a jury or a judge of his position.  I will never forget the best advice from my law school contracts professor, that being an effective attorney is not about reciting a long-winded and obscure list of cases or code sections, or being the first in your class, or getting As.  It boils down to the ability to weave a compelling story from the facts at hand so that you get the jury/judge on your side. 

James simply was not able to effectively communicate his vision, he let the others step in on his toes, and as Cesar said, there were too many male energies all trying to be alpha instead of one strong leader and that was James' downfall.

By the way, thank you all and welcome to the newcomer commentators to this Apprentice recap.  I hope I see you all back next week :-)


Gharib

What is the purpose......?

by Gharib on

I have to say that I do not agree with James having been the one to get fired..   Why?

1- He was considered" elitist and no one liked him:

Well so is Donald;  Or better yet listen to his kids.   But they are what they are because of their skills/talent, etc.  ( of course the kids are riding on their dad's coattails....).

2- He couldn't lead:

He did in fact lead the group.  One sign of a good leader is to admit when they make a mistake or mis judgment.  He did that in the beginning of the assignment.  He was a PM and had to take charge which he did.  But it is rare that a project is successful, in spite of lack of cooperation from the members.

I think Dave should have been fired.  Why?

1- From the beginning he was determined to take James to the board room which means he was going to do everything to make  James and the project fail.  He kept insulting and threatening the PM.  What would you do if you are faced with that?

2- He has demonstrated his lack of maturity in every project and 3 would be enough for any employer to see the trend.

But he didn't get fired. Why?

Ratings..... is it juicier to keep James or Dave?  Someone like Donald knows that Dave in no way is what he is looking for, but this mis behaving child is good for TV time for a while.

As we all know reality TV is really no reality?  Drama is a major part of these shows and people like Dave are chosen for the exact same purpose. 

 


mash Ghanbar

Dave The Little dave:))

by mash Ghanbar on

Dave single handedly trashed every principle that this team could have mustered in terms of standing behind one leader. What was the deal with profanities? Why would he get stuck up on one thing and not respect JAmes's position?  and then this same David guy turns and tells Donald, Oh i can not tolerate disrespect??? I mean come on. Neither one of the teams need a cocky member like dave. Practice what you preach you know? (to david i mean). Those words and the demeanor that Dave displayed was to me, a more important factor that set the downward move for this team which eventually lead to their demise. the "laat bazi" did not pay off:))

This issue of James ignoring owner's advice is so blown out of proportion and overshadows the REAL reason for their defeat. James made numerous attempts in talking things over with Lord dave, but no, he would not have it . It was his way or the other way. That is not cool. That does not work. I don't care how smart you think you are. When you have one radical element in your team that creates such chaos that you would have to spend all your time, right off the bat dealing with him, things will automatically go south as we saw in this case. and that is unfortunate.


Anahid Hojjati

Dear Niki, Finally I watched some of it

by Anahid Hojjati on

Dear Niki, last night for the first time, I watched part of this show. I saw the discussions and the firing. You are right. Dave's facial moves are weird. It was interesting to watch the discussions and thanks for your recap since I had not watched first part of the show. It was interesting how at the end of the show, James announced that now he works for attorney general in New York. After all the lack of confidence in him that men showed, you would not think that someone like that, would find a good job.  However, these situations that are created on this show are probably not good indicative of participants' skills.


Niki Tehranchi

Dave is a tool,

by Niki Tehranchi on

noone can argue with that. But it was not because of him that the team lost.  The team lost because James could not articulate his value added incentive and plan for Cesar and the two doggie day care bosses clearly. Even after Ivanka gave him a practice run and some constructive criticism that he was not being clear. And James also made the crucial mistake of shooing the doggie daycare boss away like he was a bothersome mosquito when the guy came to him to try to teach him about the business.  That was the guy who was going to judge him later, you would think James would welcome his input with open arms and try to learn about the business BEFORE holding the meeting with his team, not after, as Don Jr. pointed out.    The only good idea, and which impressed Millan and the two other judges, was the webcam, which was not James' idea but Wade's and James had the chutzpah to bring Wade to the boardroom!


mash Ghanbar

Unbelievable

by mash Ghanbar on

To think that James deserved to be terminated is a little bit over the top.:))

Face It, he was fired because he was hated and despised by everyone else, perhaps jealousy had a role in this, Not because of His skills. while everyone knew deep inside this IS the kinda of manager everyone would want to work for,. This is the IDeal Boss if you will. I don't see that anyone one of the memebers of this team can manage it the way he did, unlike what they might claim. he is managing things from within, Others just like to make noise and be rabble rousers of sorts!! he's got a game plan.

David 's just got a big mouth on him. that is all. I doubt he was a "successful" professional back then. yeah right. With this attitude? and how the hell did he lose all that wealth and success? One poof in the economy and boom. There goes all of it?? Where was the plan to avoid such a loss, if he is that smart and intelligent? He does not seem to have a long plan a vision, He lives for the moment and is a very impulsive kinda guy. Unlike James. James is a guy that can be really trusted,over a long haul with any task.  not like a fly-by, One-night-sensation of a guy that david is.

 This is just crazy. You would wanna see "aggressiveness" not downright vileness and Idiocy. He is sooo full of Himself. Oh my god and that is just so f... up. Same goes with Mahsa. I mean she seems to be following a pettern of repeating certain, self-gratifying, self - strenghtening, words and phrases. of her and makes sure she knows who the boss is around here. And she was making everyone nuseated with her 15 years of experience Crap. So what??? Okayy. Khafamoom kardi:))

David "the big baby"'s time to BS his way out of the room is up. He is bound to trip and fall and no amount of hauling around incompetent followers and lackies are gonna help him. :Like that guy who said he is gonna take the lead and manage a project the next time.


Anonymouse

Well they can fire some of the free loaders!

by Anonymouse on

If I were to compare Apprentice with Hell's Kitchen I'd say in Hell's Kitchen the boss (Project Manager) is around them all the time and usually fires the one who does a bad job.  He'll boss you around like crazy and treats you like dirt if you do a bad job!  If you have a bad attitude and yet do a good job, he'll keep you even if others gang up against you.

Here the boss (Project Manager) is a punching bag!

You can't have an Amorosa all the time.  She was the first and last.  Like that guy in Survivor who was first and last again.  Others will never be like them unless they do something else noteworthy.

Trump can start firing the bad ones and let the show be won between the nice people.  It can be fun.  Maybe he can let the Project Managers have more influence and reward when disciplining the unruly employees.

 You can still let the wild ones go looney and then fire their ass right when they're going on manbar and giving lectures!  I've had enough, you have an "abrasive" attitude and you're fired!  GTF out! LOL! 

Everything is sacred


Niki Tehranchi

Yes these characters are good for reality TV

by Niki Tehranchi on

and they know it, that's why they play it up for the camera.  After all, out of dozens and dozens of contestants, after 10 seasons, nobody remembers the winners, but everybody remembers Omarosa!


Anonymouse

I saw some of it.

by Anonymouse on

This particular one seem like many started off the wrong foot and perhaps they're thinking this is the right way to go about this show.

While I think James is not the best there is he was certainly better than Dave.  He spent half of his time fighting with Dave who wanted to be a distraction and a pain in the ass from the beginning.

Dave is like a temper tantrum spoiled kid who is crying and jumping up and down with no solution.  A lost cause!  Perhaps others wanted James to be able to better handle him and put Dave in his own place, which is easier said than done.

Part of my problem with the show is that they don't put much value in firing the individuals who are destructive.  Do any of them have an option of "firing" someone who is not doing his/her job?  In real world attitude is number one and you get fired with the wrong attitude.

So someone like Dave is rewarded for throwing tantrums every week and get away with it.  He even said himself that he'd "see" James in the Boardroom.  He was there last week and expects to go every week and come back safe and sound.  Why?  Because his behavior while rejected in the real world is celebrated here.

In the first episode I actually liked what Ivanka told Mahsa she is there because of her "abrasive" behavior.  This while Mahsa was jumping up and down like a litttle girl who thinks she is a ballerina!  Ivanka in essence told her to shut up!

We're dealing with bunch of lunatics in this season!  All hyper mad and tempermental.  Although they end up getting good jobs, James has gotten a job as a DA.

I continue to root for Mahsa to win but I wouldn't want her in my work place! 

Everything is sacred