The Apprentice: Los Angeles, Episode 11 – Greyed Out

Previously on The Apprentice, James sent Nicole over to Kinetic. Nicole spent the rest of the episode sulking about it, while Tim chose to use that time mooning over her and showing questionable loyalty to his team. Nicole suggested that Trump ask Tim if he wanted to go to Kinetic, which was kind of dumb and a waste of everyone’s time. And ironically, Olympic medal winning goalie Angela could not defend herself, so Trump fired her. It was inevitable, considering that Trump’s admiration for Angela didn’t really seem to have anything to do with her performance in any of the tasks. It’s not like he’s hiring a hockey player.

And before the show starts, let me throw out a prediction: double firing tonight. Yes, we had one earlier this season, but it feels like this season is really dragging. It’s time to narrow down the field and get rid of some of these people already. There are far too many candidates left who I really don’t see winning. Let’s cut some fat!.

Kristine and Heidi play a little prank on Tim, making him think for a second that Nicole was fired. He’s happy to see his lady is still around. Heidi says the whole thing makes her feel like she’s in high school again. Nicole and the other Kinetic women tell Tim what Trump said about him, his loyalty, and how Nicole should dump him. James returns also and tells his team what’s going on. Tim wants to know everything. James fills them in, including the part about inviting Tim to join Kinetic. James asks Tim to be honest – is that something that he and Nicole talked about? Tim says that he’s torn. On one hand, he wants to be with Nicole, but on the other, he loves Arrow. Frank is incredulous about the whole thing, since Tim hasn’t even known Nicole for that long. Tim can’t imagine why anyone would think he’s being disloyal. He’s amazed that he was attacked in a Boardroom that he wasn’t even a part of. Tim insists to his team that in the task, he showed his loyalty. Stefani says that if he doesn’t give 110% in the next task, they’ll go after him.

The next morning, the candidates meet Trump at the print facility of the L.A. Times. Tim is apparently in business casual, the only guy not wearing a suit and tie. Way to phone it in, Tim. This week, the teams will develop an advertising supplement for the newspaper to promote Smart Mouth. Using a photographer, studio, and graphic designer, the teams will handle the design and photography for the supplement. The team with the best supplement wins.

Frank and Tim smell each other’s breath to see how well the stuff works. Stefani tries the mouthwash, which the guys say is not useful, since they didn’t check hers first. Tim starts brainstorming ideas, and in an interview, James says he’s trying a little too hard to prove himself. Tim says that he’s in a “do or die situation.” If they lose, they’ll say he was disloyal and that they lost trust in him. If they win, he feels like he’ll be redeemed and will be safe.

Kinetic photographs a gorgeous Heidi, who is the project manager again. That really speaks poorly for Nicole, considering that she’s the only member of the team who has not been PM yet. She should really have volunteered to lead, rather than have Heidi repeat. Kristine and Heidi also get their pictures taken, the idea being that the mouthwash is effective for every occasion throughout the day. Nicole says that by being the models, they’re showing Trump that they have the brains and are gorgeous. That didn’t work last time when she tried to have them been cute girls on roller skates, so I’m not sure why she loves it this time. Kristine jokes that they have narrowed down bad breath to “hot chicks.” Heidi wonders if they were a little too specific, making it look like a women’s product, but she thinks it was the right decision. The executives do not look impressed.

Meanwhile, Frank meets with a group of regular people. Stefani explains that they wanted people of every age, race, shape, and size, since the demographic “is everyone.” Could they not be more obviously about to win? Frank art directs the photo shoot, but Tim doesn’t think he’s doing very well. Tim says that Frank needed to give the models more specific instructions. After the photo shoot is done, Frank wonders if they should try something different. He thinks that the pictures isn’t bringing across the message. The rest of the team doesn’t really want to make a change so late in the day. James says it’s fine to question ideas, but not at the last minute. It throws the team off, he says. Stefani says she sees Frank’s point, but that it’s awfully late to set up another shot.

Kinetic then takes some beauty shots of the product. Heidi explains that she spent a lot of time with the photographer while the rest of the team met with the designer. Nicole has questions about overall look of the piece, but Heidi puts her off so she can work with the photographer. Kristine is not impressed. She says Heidi “knows exactly what she’s doing.” If they lose, she’s not accountable for the creative, but if she wins, she gets all of the credit.

The next morning, James reports that they’re all exhausted and got basically no sleep. Stefani says that since she’s giving the presentation, she needs to go home and shower. She and Frank take off, with James and Tim planning to meet them in a few minutes. But after they leave, James says maybe he and Tim should just work through. Tim is concerned because he doesn’t have a suit or shoes – he is in his jammies. James figures they’ll bring his clothes, but Frank doesn’t have his phone, so they can’t make sure. Later, at the mansion, Stefani is surprised that the others didn’t show up. She quickly calls the studio to check in, but before she can find out where Tim and James are, the cell phone battery dies. Uh-oh!

Tim shrugs that “PJ’s and all,” they just need to make the presentation. James still hopes Stefani will bring his clothes. Tim tries to figure out a way to cobble together a suit out of what James has and his t-shirt. James tells him that’s nuts, but no worries – Stefani and Frank have a suit for him. Stefani forgot socks, but other than that, Tim is ready to go.

Stefani gives the presentation, and as always, she’s totally smooth. She shows the image of a wide variety of people with bad breath, a beauty shot of the product, and then a page that graphically shows how the mouthwash works. She is an amazing presenter and Arrow is lucky to have her.

Kinetic is up next. Their supplement has a cool die-cut of the product, and lovely pictures of the women, but Heidi isn’t nearly as effective a presenter as Stefani.

The two executives talk briefly, then send in the teams and Trump for the results. Both teams, of course, are happy with how they did. Arrow had an interesting use of diversity, but that it was unclear that the people had bad breath. Trump thinks they look bored. They also don’t think the insert about the science flowed with the rest of it. They love Kinetic’s die cut and think it was a wow. Kinetic wins, and Smart Mouth intends to run the supplement. Trump congratulates Heidi on her win. They’ll have dinner at the mansion prepared by world-class chefs. Heidi says, “I’m back” as she walks out of the room.

Kinetic and Arrow swap locations. Nicole crows about the fact that she’s back in the mansion and quickly mixes drinks. She says the team is “about to see Nicole unleashed.” She is thrilled that they creamed Arrow. Arrow sits outside and listens to Frank noisily eat a bag of chips. Stefani sighs, “at least we’re not missing out of a really fantastic reward.”