The Apprentice 4, Episode 1: We Can Work it Out

Back at the suite, Randal is on the phone. When he hangs up, we learn that his grandmother just passed away. He says he has mixed emotions – he wants to be with his family, but he doesn’t want to pass up this opportunity. The men offer their sympathies.

The next day, the women hit the streets to pass out flyers. It blows my mind that the candidates on this show, supposedly the smartest and most creative people in business, can’t seem to think of any way to market themselves other than to pass out badly Xeroxed flyers. Kristi explains that they are trying to get people who aren’t already members to come to the classes. Alla feels good and thinks that their enthusiasm will draw people in.

The name of their class is Triple Threat, and the headline on the flyers is Triple XXX Threat. Since we know that Alla used to be a stripper, insert joke here. Marshawn hates the flyers and says it looks like a strip club. Again, there’s an Alla joke there. Kristi says she is happy with the flyers. Melissa thinks the whole idea is a bad one and that they should have focused on the people inside the club. “But that,” she snipes, “would have required planning.” Um, would it? More planning than heading to Kinko’s to get flyers printed? And if it’s such a good idea, why haven’t you suggested it to the team? Melissa is not impressing me.

The men call their class Rush Half Hour and have crammed into that time kickboxing, ab work, and yoga. They decided to focus their efforts on members, figuring that they were already used to working out there and that it would be easy to get them to come to the class. That makes sense.

Markus gets a call on his cell from Donald Trump. He stammers to Trump that the men are “beyond impressive.” Trump asks what their team name is. Markus tells him that they are Excel, then trips all over himself trying to explain why. It’s really not that complicated, Markus. You all want to excel. We get it. Trump asks who the project manager is, and Markus can barely get out the words that it’s him. Trump and George make faces at Markus’s awkwardness, which is pretty funny. Trump tells him, “You don’t have to talk anymore,” and hangs up. As Trump points at the phone and smirks, a deluded Markus says, “Feel good about that!”

Over in Spanish Harlem, Trump calls Kristi. She tells him that her team is named Capital Edge and succinctly tells him why. Then she says that she is the project manager. It’s a much more direct, much less awkward conversation. Meanwhile, Carolyn asks some of the women how they feel about their project manager. Melissa smirks and says that she’s terrible – she has no organization and people aren’t being used properly. Alla says in an interview that Carolyn is someone they all admire and want to impress, so she thinks it’s a real mistake to put down the team and their effort in front of her. She is so right. Melissa goes on to tell Carolyn that she’s doing everything, but when Carolyn asks if that’s true, she admits that it’s not, not exactly. Carolyn does not look impressed by this conversation at all. Kristi sees what’s going on and pulls Melissa aside. She tells her that she needs to be more positive. In an interview, Melissa says that women always hate her because she is threatening. If by threatening, she means “threatening to get on my last nerve,” then she’s right.

At Excel, Randal admits that he’s having trouble focusing because he’s thinking about his grandmother. He hopes he’ll be able to attend her funeral. On a less serious note, Markus admits that he is nervous “about everything.” He hopes they’ll do well, but thinks it will be close.

Meanwhile, Kristi says that she choreographed their class, so she knows it’s tough, but will be $20 well spent. Marshawn is confident that they’ll win.

Is she right? We’ll soon find out, as the candidates file into the boardroom. George reports that Capital Edge focused on street marketing and brought in $516. Carolyn tells Trump that Excel targeted Bally customers and made $527. The men win the first challenge. Trump congratulates them, and says that for their reward, they’ll join him for lunch at the Friar’s Club.

On to the next order of business – should Markus be exempt next week? Chris says no – no member of the team should be above the others. Adam disagrees, saying Markus did well. They put it to a vote, and only Randal and Adam think Markus should get an exemption. If the men lose next week, Markus could be fired.

Trump asks Randal to stay behind. He tells him that if he wants to leave, everyone would understand. Randal says that he spoke to his grandfather, and he encouraged him to stay. Randal intends to do just that and to honor his grandmother’s memory. Trump gives him a helicopter to take to the services in Philadelphia, a very kind gesture.

Remember Elizabeth, who cried in Season 2? She’s in a Bally’s commercial. That’s all I have to say about that.

Excel goes on their reward, and as usual, it’s the most boring part of the episode. Markus hopes to use this as an opportunity to build a rapport with Trump. As Markus stammers at him, Trump turns to Josh and notes that Markus talks a lot. Josh offers him the Cliffs Notes, and I start to love him a little more. Here’s hoping Josh won’t let me down the way my boyfriend in Apprentice 3, John, did. Josh says the he doesn’t think they should ever give any project manager the exemption, unless perhaps he was a huge part of why they won. Trump again says that Markus talks too much, and he doesn’t think it’ll change. Can anyone predict why Markus will eventually be fired?

In the loft, Melissa rants and raves to one of the other girls (Rebecca, I think) about how she does not respect Kristi. Rebecca (or is it a Jennifer? They should really label them at this stage) says she finds Melissa negative. In big dramatic gestures, Melissa emphasizes that she does not respect Kristi. We get it, Melissa.