The Apprentice: Los Angeles, Episode 2 - Making a Splash

Before we dive in to the second episode of The Apprentice: Los Angeles, a little news. Last week’s episode had some of the lowest ratings of any season yet. Why? My bet would be that the novelty of the show has, after five seasons of Trump and one of Martha Stewart, has worn off. Last season was a bore, so no one is tuning in. Moving to Los Angeles wasn’t a big enough twist to pique people’s interest. That’s my guess, anyway. Next, you may have noticed that last week, there was no Trump Lesson of the Week, and consequently, no Betsy Lesson of the Week. I’ve had a few requests to include a Betsy Lesson regardless of whether or not Trump shares his wisdom with us. Flattery will get you people anywhere, so I will include a Betsy Lesson regardless of whether or not Trump has anything to teach us. Finally, Trump and Rosie O’Donnell continue their war of words, with Barbara Walters weighing in. Trump and Rosie, can we just agree that you’re both loudmouths who need to pipe down? Thanks.

Nicole thinks there’s more than a 50% chance that both Frank and Martin will be gone. Their fears are relieved when Frank returns. There are hugs all around and Carey hands him a cold beer. Franks says in an interview that he’s never experienced anything like this in his life. He says he proved to Trump that he wanted the job, that he showed Trump his inner fire. Frank vows to prove himself. On the other side of the fence, the others eavesdrop. Derek thinks they’ll be out for blood.

Morning dawns, and New Rhona (also known as Andi) tells the candidates where to meet Trump. Carey says that living in “Trump trailer park” is really rough. Just try sleeping on your lawn every night, and you’ll wish you had your bed. The candidates meet Trump and Ivana. Trump points out the lovely ocean view and tells them that the bathing suit business is a big one. The designers will make men and women’s swimwear for Trina Turk, and they’ll put on a fashion show for prospective buyers, mc’ed by Turk. The team that makes the most money selling their suits to buyers wins.

Trump then tells them that the winning team will be exempt from the next task – they cannot be fired. Kristine says that the stakes are huge. If they win, they will get to stay in the house and not lose a team member. Isn’t that going to make next week kind of boring?

Arrow, formerly known as Frank’s team, gets ready to go. Nicole gives a big speech to get everyone ready. Nicole says her leadership style is to motivate everyone. Carey says their line should be young, fun, and upscale. He’s always wanted to do something like this. Carey shows off an initial design. Aaron says that the print has to be masculine if the trunks are as small as Carey has sketched. “Not if your market’s gay,” Carey counters. Aaron grins – point taken. Aaron says that all of Carey’s styles are short tight trunks. He figures Carey’s style of swimwear is different from what most men wear. He says he wants to give his opinion as a “straight male.”

Kinetic is lead by Heidi, since she won last week. Jenn says their stuff is “beachwear, but kicked up a notch.” Jenn models the first suit, and Heidi doesn’t like it – she thinks it’s “too Ralph Lauren” when they’re not going for classic. My husband insists on seeing the bikini again to really make a judgment. I ignore him, and continue to ignore him when he says we should have gotten a bigger TV. Marisa says that Heidi is just basing this on her own opinion. Marisa says it’s the first time they’ve disagreed. Heidi says they should focus on one-piece suits. She’s going to let Marisa have this one, but if it’s considered too plain and mainstream, Marisa will be accountable. So much for the lovefest on team Kinetic.

Arrow starts cutting patterns. Carey is excited to see the first suit, which is a tiny pair of pink paisley trunks. Carey says that the trunks are designed for one consumer – the one who has a great body and wants everyone at the beach to see it. Apparently Carey has not seen most of the men in America, because there is no way in hell 98% of them could pull that look off. Carey, for those of you keeping score at home, looks totally hot in the trunks. Aaron politely calls it “different.” Tim says that at first he thought it was a female bikini bottom and that Carey was just being funny. Michelle doesn’t like them. Nicole thinks Michelle should learn to censor herself sometimes, to not tell everybody every single thing she doesn’t like. As a result, Nicole says, some of the guys are not connecting with Michelle.

Michelle thinks that Carey is pushing his own ideas too hard. She doesn’t think he even consulted with Nicole. The team works on pricing. Nicole says that it’s very important and wants her team behind her. She asks everyone’s opinion. Leading by consensus – never a good idea on this show. Michelle doesn’t feel comfortable offering her opinion. Carey pushes her to give an answer. He can’t believe she won’t take responsibility. He is sure she’s doing that to avoid culpability in the boardroom. Nicole says that’s fine, they’ll just go with what they have.

The models get dressed, and Arrow decides to have Carey and Nicole model in the show. Trump wears a suit and kicks off his shoes. He looks totally out of place and ridiculous. Trina Turk introduces the two collections. Kinetic is up first. Kristine models a one piece halter in brown and turquoise that’s totally cute. Next up is a guy in a pair of classic board shorts. They are pretty much the opposite of Carey’s trunks. Marisa’s coral bikini looks great, as does a pair of long shorts on Surya. That boy has some serious chest chair. The next is a turquoise bikini, also cute. We see a pair of yellow board shorts. Carey is unimpressed with the showings, saying, “Aw hell, no” to one of them. I think the collection is very safe and middle of the road. On Project Runway that would be serious trouble, but I don’t think it’s so bad here. They really don’t need to innovate; they need to see to a mass market. This collection will absolutely appeal to a broad audience. Frankly, that’s a strength to the coral bikini that Heidi so disliked.

Let’s see what Arrow’s got. Carey feels confident. They have an ivy print boardshort, then a tiny brown bikini, followed by a very tight brown pair of trunks. Carey struts onto the runway in his tiny shorts. Trump can do nothing more than blink in shock. Derek cracks up over it in an interview. He says that although he himself is gay, it seemed like too much, though that said, Carey looked good! “They needed to get a fire extinguisher on that runway, because he flamed it up,” says Derek, “I mean, on fire!” A buyer makes the note that the men’s suits are unwearable. Next up is a white bikini with turquoise accents. Trump says he likes it better, least any of the scary gayness be contagious. Nicole comes out in a bikini, saying she had a lot of guts to model swimwear. Muna says she would never buy one of the men’s suits for anyone she knows, then adds that she knows a lot more about Carey than she did before. I don’t think there’s much doubt that he’s getting fired. The women’s suits, for the record, were pretty standard. The bold moves were all in the menswear, which is especially risky as I suspect it’s a much more traditional market. Men tend to be a lot less daring in their fashion choices.