The Apprentice 5, Episode 6: Feels Like an Arby’s Night

Darn you, NBC, for your Deal or No Deal marathon! It’s late!

We pick up in last week’s Boardroom. Trump says that Tarek is “exceptionally poor.” Dan should have brought Lenny into the Boardroom instead of Lee, so Dan is fired. As the two men return to the suite, inside, Charmaine says that it would be strange to see Tarek again. Well, get ready, baby, because there he is. Lee and Lenny exchange hugs. Charmaine says in an interview that she’s disappointed that Tarek keeps coming back. “He doesn’t play well with others,” she explains. The team would be stronger without him. Meanwhile, Bryce tells Tarek that the team needs to regroup, and that Tarek needs to make sure he doesn’t “piss off the women.”

Bryce calls the team together for an impromptu meeting, his first action as “self-elected Project Manager.” He wants to get all of the issues out in the open and take care of it all in 15 minutes. I don’t think it’ll be so simple. Tarek says that he is frustrated because no matter what, he gets called out in the Boardroom. He thinks that’s because he’s strong and they all want to get rid of him. Yes, and the other kids are mean to you because they’re jealous. Leslie responds with a heaping dose of sarcasm. In an interview, Tarek says that he is “a little bit honored” that they so obviously want him gone. Leslie tells him that it is “highly insulting” for him to say that’s why they’re going after him. None of this sinks in, and in an interview, he says that they are like “crazed coyotes” going after a buffalo. Charmaine tells him that he tends to roll his eyes and sigh at other peoples’ ideas. Tarek pulls out more sarcasm and says insincerely that he will change his ways. So, yeah. I don’t think that meeting went as Bryce intended.

The next morning, Lee explains that he won’t be participating in the task because it is Yom Kippur, a Jewish high holy day. He say that for him, it’s a day to step away from work and reflect on his life. He’s not sure how much his team understands, but it’s a big part of his life. He wishes them the best.

It’s time for the task. Many of the Synergy team member are wearing matching blue scarves. Interesting. Trump says that they are going to focus this week on Arby’s, a fast food place that he claims to love. I have a beautiful mental picture now of Trump greeting Melania in their shiny apartment with a bag full of four for five dollars roast beef sandwiches and a couple orders of curly fries. Arby’s has a new line of all-natural chicken , and the teams will have to write a jingle to promote them. They’ll have access to a recording studio and musicians. The two executives from Arby’s, Debbie and Doug, will chose the winner.

Charmaine schedules a meeting with Debbie and Doug for 10:15, then tells the rest of Gold Rush that they need to leave as soon as possible. Bryce says in an interview that his meeting of the night before didn’t work out (understatement), but he is trying to fix it. They need to work together as a team. He tells Tarek that if they lose, he could be going home, so Tarek should do this for him. Um, okay. Hey, speaking of working as a team, they better work as a team to get out the door, because it’s 10:05.

Synergy is excited about the task, and Sean, their Project Manager, is especially exited. He says in an interview that he knows his team well and can adapt his management style to suit them and get the best from everyone. He has the entire team meet with Doug and Debbie because he wants everyone to hear first hand what their client is looking for. Tammy learns that there are no competitors who offer a line of natural chicken products. In an interview, Allie, wearing a strange sequined blue shrug that seems out of place, says that they wanted to learn all of the demographic information about the customers.

After the meeting with Synergy, Debbie and Doug find themselves sitting around waiting for Gold Rush. It’s 10:39, and in the car on the way there, Leslie explains to Lenny what a jingle is. He doesn’t seem to get it. This could be a problem. The team finally rolls in to Arby’s headquarters and offer no apology or explanation for being late. Wow, that’s rude! Debbie says that she was wondering what happened to them, and Bryce ignores her question and wants to start the meeting. Doug tells him that ordinarily, he and Debbie would not have waited 25 minutes for them to show up. Only then does Bryce try to come up with a reason they were late- they don’t know the city well, and he had no idea when they were supposed to be there. Well, I heard Charmaine tell everybody, so I’m not buying that one. He should have paid attention. In an interview, Tarek says that they have started off by pissing off the executives and that the role of the Project Manager should be to make sure they’re on time. I agree with him. I mean, everyone else should have been mindful of the time too, but the ultimate responsibility for making the appointment falls on Bryce, who claims to not even know when they were supposed to show up. Not good.

Now it’s time for the Trump Lesson of the Week: “Command Respect.” Trump talks about how as a leader, you need the respect of your team, and if you don’t have it, you might as well quit. Far more interesting than what he’s saying is the fact that he is talking to the elevator repair guys in one of his buildings and is giving him crap about the fact that it needs to be fixed. That is a truly heroic level of micromanagement. Thus, the Betsy Lesson of the Week is: Don’t apply to be on The Apprentice. If you win, you’d have to work for this maniac.

Synergy heads to the recording studio, and Roxanne has a line for the jingle, “When I’m thinking natural, I’m thinking Arby’s.” Everybody likes it, and before you know it, they’re all working together tossing out lines and coming up with a melody. Allie says in an interview that it was a real group effort. They all look like they’re having a good time with it. Sean says that it was a lot of fun working with the musicians to come up with the right sound. Carolyn watches, and I can’t read her expression. Michael will be the one to throw a wet blanket on things. He says that Sean is doing well, but he wishes he’d shared some more responsibilities. He’s worried that Sean has taken on too much and might forget something.

”This is hard,” Lenny says, summing up pretty neatly what the experience has been like for Gold Rush. He still doesn’t quite understand what a jingle is, and thinks maybe it has something to do with bells, like “Jingle Bells.” Or maybe it should. Charmaine gently shoots that idea down. Tarek tosses out an idea, but Lenny is still stuck on ringing bells. Bill Rancic is watching and looks a little baffled by the whole thing. In an interview, Lenny admits that he doesn’t know what he’s doing, and this is really hard for him. Leslie and Charmaine are increasingly annoyed with him. He tries to sing along with them, and somewhere, the word “ghastly” pops out of Simon Cowell’s mouth. His one suggestion is that they incorporate the sound of a chicken into it, an idea Charmaine isn’t ready to sign off on.