The Apprentice 3, MVPs and LVPs: Episodes 4-8 Corner Office & Mailroom Assignments

Smarts: The team met with the Sony people to get an idea of their vision. They also seemed to have played the game, so they knew it wasn't just an urban-area driving game. Again, I have no idea why graffiti artists were employed if Erin, Stephanie, et al were going to paint the wall themselves, but that's just me. And why not cover the wall? The ad seemed kinda small to me. Alex was a great team leader, realizing that consulting the neighborhood Playstation aficionados was key to the success of their design. His ability to manage everyone and to bring in the community like that earns him the corner office this week. Well done.

Who gets mailroom duty? Hard to say, since Kendra is still virtually non-existent, Erin's only effort seemed to be to spray on the "urban jungle" vines (can it get any more cliche?), and Stephanie was just as negative as ever. There just wasn't enough of any of that to warrant a severe demotion like mailroom. If I was forced to choose, I'd give it to Stephanie, if only so she could work on her bad attitude.

How did the teams stack up this week?

Streets:
Corner Office: John (3), Angie (1), Tana (1), Craig (1)
Mailroom: Kristen (3), Chris (1), Audrey (1), John (1), Tara (1)

Schools:
Corner Office: Kendra (2), Darren (event planner, Week 3) (1), Erin (1), Alex (1)
Mailroom: Bren (1), Danny (2), Michael (4), "the Actress" (1), Stephanie (1)

Week 7: Send in the Clowns

Right off the bat, let me just say, I HATE CLOWNS. Hate 'em. Sad ones, happy ones, silly ones, I hate them all. And I am not overstating things. When I was three, my parents spent all the money they had (which was not much) on a clown for my birthday, and I wouldn't come out of my room until they had paid him and sent him away. Hate 'em.

Glad I got that off my chest. This week's task was to create a miniature golf course. What was weird about it was that it was so obviously a hastily-thrown together project that I was amazed that anyone went to either team's course. Who wants to play miniature golf on concrete under a tent? Nevertheless, the teams did their best to be consistent in theme and presentation, although there were some problems.

Streets: Audrey is quickly coming unglued. She screams about being pretty, and shrieks about how awful it was being beautiful in high school. Cry me a river. The rest of us who were not similarly "stricken" have little or no sympathy with that argument. I agree with John that she is beautiful and I have yet to hear any teenage girl get upset about being complimented on their looks. John was riding her hard about her behavior, but he was goading her a bit. Still, Audrey always seems to come off as screechy and whiny and just a little dumb. Maybe she was just flustered, but I can't believe she can see her performance on the show and be proud. At least, I hope not.

As for John, his bad attitude and his quickly ballooning ego have made him quite unattractive to me recently (sorry, Betsy). He was my pick to win it all at the beginning, but he's kind of nasty. And condescending. And negative. I mean, I understand why he didn't want Audrey to lead the team, but he didn't need to get personal in front of Carolyn.

Maybe we should start with corner office assignment for Streets, as I am having too much trouble deciding who gets mailroom duty right now. Tana, Craig, and Chris are up for the corner office. However, the Tobaccogate seems to have been a problem for Chris, and Craig didn't do a stellar job of marketing and was part of the revolt against the clown costumes. Tana? Well, Tana... Tana... Tana was neither good nor bad. She just was. That's not enough to warrant a corner office, though. I guess no one gets it this week.

Back to the mailroom. This is difficult. I want to give it to Audrey for being whiny and snivelly and unable to make a decision. I want to give it to John for making it personal and baiting Audrey and refusing to put on the clown costume. What happened to his team spirit? I'd put them both in the mailroom, but Audrey might end up stabbing John with a letter opener. I guess, if we keep all sharp objects out of there, we can send them both to the mailroom. They both need a "time out."

Smarts: Kendra! You have arrived! You finally showed why you were picked for the show. You were organized, decisive, and strategic, locking up the whole complex for your team. Well done. Props to Stephanie for the safari/zoo theme, which the kids seemed to love, and for managing her team well. Still, the corner office goes to Kendra. Without the exclusivity agreements, the competition would have been much hard to call. Enjoy the view.

What about mailroom duty? I know that we have two people from Streets manning the mailroom this week, but is anyone from Smarts awful enough to warrant demotion? I think the women are safe and Bren seemed to have a rapport with both parents and children. Alex wasn't helpful, but I didn't see him as a negative as much as a non-entity. I can't demote someone for that. It goes against the grain. No mailroom duty for Smarts this week.

Here's how everyone is faring after Week 7:

Streets:
Corner Office: John (3), Angie (1), Tana (1), Craig (1)
Mailroom: Kristen (3), Chris (1), Audrey (2), John (2), Tara (1)

Schools:
Corner Office: Kendra (3), Darren (event planner, Week 3) (1), Erin (1), Alex (1)
Mailroom: Bren (1), Danny (2), Michael (4), "the Actress" (1), Stephanie (1)