The Apprentice 3, Episode 16: The Finish Line

It’s time to get ready for the final task, and Kendra is hard at work. Where we left off last week, Aimee from PlayStation was very unhappy with their space. Kendra directs Michael on how to set things up, imploring him to “make it look nice.” She says in an interview that she can understand why Aimee was upset. Among other things, “it smells like feet.” She gives Michael more directions and tells him, “Don’t be grumpy.” Michael assures her that everything is taken care of.

Meanwhile, Tana puts Kristen in charge of putting together programs for the guests. Kristen explains to Tana how she wants to lay it out, and Tana thinks it’s a great idea. Tana explains that the programs will go to everyone and will have the order of events – they’re very important.

Chris and Brian hang banners and do a pretty sloppy job. Brian declares one of them “close enough for government work.” Apparently, Brian is counting on the fact that no prospective employers of his own televisions. The two guys decide that if they hang the banners in a way that’s not too perfect, it won’t look like they screwed up. I’m not sure I follow their logic. Kristen arrives and sees their shoddy work. She tries to get them to fix it and they give her a hard time about it. Brian tells her to get lost and work on the program, since that’s her job. Tana arrives as Kristen is asking some of the workers where they usually hang banners. Chris tattles to her that Kristen is trying to do their job. Tana tries to handle the situation, but Kristen walks off without listening to her. Tana says in an interview that she’s worried and flustered and knows she can’t count on her team.

The next morning, Tana wakes everyone up bright and surly – oops, I mean early. Ew, shirtless Brian! Tana says she wants everyone to go to Chelsea Pier to prepare, but I’m distracted because Brian just stretched and there is a chance that he could be naked under that sheet. Ew! Tana summons her team as Kendra energetically applies eye cream. She says she’ll be pissed off if her team isn’t ready. Kristen whines that Tana needs to understand how other people work. Like if they don’t work well with no sleep, Tana? Tana complains that it’s very disrespectful for her team to keep her waiting. Chris, for once a model of patience, tells Tana that everyone is tired, so she should cut them some slack. Everyone’s finally ready, and she herds the team out the door.

Kendra’s team is at Webster Hall setting up. Because the video game for the tournament is Fight Night Round 2, they’re setting up a boxing ring. Kendra asks how the boxers will enter the ring and learns that they’ll duck under the ropes. She notes that there aren’t any PlayStation banners and directs someone to hang some. Next, she checks out the PlayStation area that Aimee was so unhappy about the night before. Wow, what a transformation! I don’t know if it smells like feet or not, but it sure looks good. Aimee declares, “We’re getting there!” She says that PlayStation will not pull their sponsorship and that she thinks Kendra will do well.

George has been in the background watching as all of this goes on. He says that he saw the faces of the executives and that they seemed pleased and relieved. He thinks Kendra handled the situation very well.

Meanwhile, Tana explains that she is in charge of Governor Pataki, Bruce Jenner, and all of the athletes. Her team will handle the rest. Um, given that you think your team is stupid, is that really the best plan? Kristen finds her and tells her that the water coolers are ready. Tana tells her not to bother her with such minutia. As Kristen leaves, Tana makes a face and mutters, “Leave me alone.” She says she hates depending on her lousy team.

Someone asks Chris who is in charge of the pool. Chris pauses, then says, “That’s interesting. No one.” He finds Tana and asks her who is in charge of the flow of events. He thinks she needs to delegate it to someone. Tana pretty much blows him off. In an interview, Chris says that Tana expects other people to take too much initiative. That said, he wants her to win and is working hard.

Vinnie from the governor’s office arrives and asks Tana for a program. She says that they aren’t printed yet, but will be ready at 10:15. The governor arrives at 10:30, so Vinnie thinks that’s cutting it pretty close. She says she’ll get one to him as soon as they’re ready. Couldn’t she find a proof to give him? Or call the printer and see if there are any ready?

Someone else finds Tana and complains that there is a box of banners still sitting out and that she doesn’t appreciate having to talk to Chris about it. We get a montage of people telling Tana about problems that are going on. She calls it “a catastrophe.” Tana feels like all she’s getting are problems. “I have an idea,” she says to herself, “Does anyone have a compliment?” At this point, I have to conclude that Tana is in way over her head. She’s been great in previous tasks, but here she is really falling apart. And it would be great if we got positive reinforcement all the time in the business world, but the fact of the matter is, if you’re doing your job, you won’t get praised.

Vinnie tells Tana that Governor Pataki has arrived and is just sitting around with nothing to do. Missing the point, Tana asks if he’d like a cup of coffee or a doughnut. That would be nice, but even more, I’m sure he’d like to not waste his time.

The next crisis arises, and it’s a big one. Tana explains that they’d received hints about the various VIPs – who would be difficult to work with and so forth – and Kristen printed them word for word in the programs. Wow, Kristen is a moron, but did Tana not even give them a glance? Tana scurries around hiding all of the programs so that no one will see them. Amy of the NYC2012 office is very unhappy and can’t believe no one proofread the programs. Meanwhile, Vinnie tells Tana that the governor is still waiting. “Okay,” Tana chirps, only to find out that it is most certainly not okay.

Trump arrives at Chelsea Piers and says hello to the governor and to Tana. Tana says that it’s exciting to see all of the athletes, then directs them to where they need to be. She then tells the governor where he needs to go to lead a procession. He’ll be with a group of kids holding flags of countries participating in the Olympics. Governor Pataki wants to carry the American flag, but Tana can’t find one. Someone points out one hanging from the rafters, but no one can find another. Tana says that the show must go on, then gives a chipper, “So if everyone wants to take their seats,” again failing to see the seriousness of the situation.

The procession begins, and indeed the governor has no flag to carry. To make matters worse for Tana, he tells Trump that there was no flag for him to carry. Trump says, “To me that was a big mistake.” We watch a bunch of athletic demonstrations, and Tana shows someone her goose bumps.

Chris coordinates the track events, allowing the athletes the amount of time they need to warm up. Someone tells Tana of this plan, and she immediately asks if it was Chris’s idea, and says, “that was not how it was supposed to be.” Carolyn sees the entire thing, then says in an interview that Tana is blaming her team for everything, which is unprofessional..