The Apprentice 4, Episode 10: Operation Sabotage

Felisha, Alla, and Adam are hanging out in the suite, and Felisha is singing and chair dancing to their song from the last task. It’s adorably dorky. She admits that she was really into that last task. Alla wonders who will be fired, adding that if it’s Clay, she’ll be a little sad because he makes her breakfast every day. Alla should probably be careful eating anything Clay prepares for her, given how much he seems to hate her. She adds that if Clay is fired, Rebecca and Randal are in trouble since they have no creativity whatsoever. As those two return to the suite, Felisha hums the Apprentice theme song. Again, adorable.

Rebecca and Randal immediately go to have a talk alone. Rebecca thinks Randal might have been a bit taken aback by what she said in the boardroom, and she’s right. Randal did not at all appreciate that she said he didn’t step up in the last task. If she thinks his judgment was bad, that’s one thing, but to say he didn’t work hard is another altogether. In an interview, Randal says that perception is very important, and he does not want Trump to have the perception that he’s not working hard. Rebecca apologizes, saying in an interview that it’s crucial that they get along. They agree to push each other in the next task. Randal will be project manager, saying that he wants the opportunity to redeem himself to Trump.

Trump meets the candidates for the next task, accompanied by Carolyn and special guest star Bill. Hi, Bill! Trump tells Randal that his stock went down a bit after that last boardroom, and Randal looks unhappy. Trump gives a long, roundabout connection to his yuge new Trump Bar and Shania Twain that makes so little sense I won’t bother to try to explain it. The candidates will be given 1,000 square feet of flexible vinyl wrap which they’ll use to promote the new fragrance Shania by Stetson. Trump adds that wrapping is the latest thing, and that you can wrap anything from a car to a house. The candidates will also be given a wrapped van to help promote the fragrance. Each team will have an 800 number that people can call to request free samples of the perfume. Whichever team gets the most calls wins.

Randal says that he and Rebecca will need to work smart since they are outnumbered. He immediately seizes upon the idea of hiring a bunch of people to wear a sandwich board with the ad on it. It’s an immediate, in your face tactic, and Rebecca likes it. He quickly gets on the phone, hires 60 temps, and plans with Rebecca to have their “temp army” blanket the city. Randal is enthusiastic and says, “That was big.” To Rebecca, he adds that it is “the illest,” which sounds very funny coming out of the ordinarily serious Randal. I think it’s pretty boring. They’re supposed to be using this cool new wrapping, and they wind up with one of the most traditional ideas ever.

Let’s see what the supposedly more creative people can come up with. Alla is the project manager, saying that she is the team leader and can take charge in any task. It’s arrogant, but it’s also totally true. The team quickly decides to focus their efforts on Union Square. Adam wants to wrap a horse and carriage, saying it will create “a real spectacle.” He wonders if they can wrap the horses themselves. Felisha thinks that’s crazy talk, and Adam admits that it probably is, but that it would be cool. Alla tells Adam, “You feel it, I’m going with you.” Felisha, however, does not feel it. She thinks they need people to create a real call to action. Felisha says, “People sell.” She calls some temp agencies and looks for “clean cut people” to help sell the fragrance.

Alla reviews the budget and finds that they’re over. She has Felisha order 20 temps, figuring they’ll get 15 they can use. Felisha doesn’t like that one bit, especially because her workforce is limited by the fact that Adam’s horse and carriage idea costs 60% of their budget. She tells Alla and Adam that she doesn’t want to be blamed if they lose, saying that her limited budget is making thigns very difficult for her. I think Alla is handling this task very well. She likes Adam’s big, creative idea, but she also has Felisha’s idea (just like Randal’s) as a fall-back. Both members of her team are happy, and she’s got her bases covered.

This week’s Trump Lesson of the Week is “Be a Gladiator.” Trump says that sometimes, confrontation is your only choice in business. You have to fight sometimes, and when you do, Trump advises, “Do it, and do it with gusto.” This week’s Betsy Lesson of the Week is a special holiday travel edition. If you’re flying with a baby (like I was last weekend), give him or her a pacifier or bottle during takeoff and landing. That will keep the pressure from building in their ears.

Randal and Rebecca have their sandwich boards ready and decide to get some bullhorns to make their temp army even more powerful. The problem is, it’s hard to find bullhorns, especially in large quantities. They call Radio Shack, and it turns out that someone else just reserved a whole bunch of bullhorns- none other than Capital Edge. Rebecca says in an interview that they didn’t go looking for this information, but they did happen to find it. Rebecca asks Randal if they should buy the bullhorns before the other team can pick them up, and he quickly agrees.

The two race to Radio Shack as Capital Edge heads there as well. Rebecca and Randal get there first. She goes in the store to get the bullhorns while Randal waits outside as a decoy for “operation sabotage.” The two of them buy nine out of the ten bullhorns they have in the store.

Moments later, Alla calls Radio Shack and is surprised to hear that someone already picked up the bullhorns. She asks what the people looked like, and when she hears that one of them was on crutches, there’s little doubt that Rebecca and Randal took them. Adam shrugs and says you can’t blame them. Alla says that yes you can. She’s good and mad, but then says that it doesn’t matter- when they win, it will be just that much sweeter since they didn’t play dirty. “Karma gets people,” she adds. Speaking of karma, if you aren’t watching My Name Is Earl, you should check it out. Funny stuff.

Rebecca and Randal were definitely on the unethical side for taking the bullhorns. They lied to the people at Radio Shack, saying they were coworkers of the people who ordered them. But I can’t get all that fired up about what they did. I think that if, say, K-Mart found out when Wal-Mart was breaking their price on a hot item, for example, that they’d use that information to their advantage. That’s what Randal and Rebecca did, and Capital Edge found themselves on the wrong side of luck. Maybe it should bother me more, but it just doesn’t.

The next morning finds Capital Edge getting their temps ready. They quickly discover that most of the temps don’t know who Shania Twain is. Felisha and Alla agree that they should get rid of anyone who doesn’t speak English – it’s important for this task that they can communicate with people on the street. Adam is not impressed with the people Felisha got, saying they’re little more than warm bodies. The team then puts the temps to work helping Adam cover their 10 carriages, coaches, and wagons. Adam says that the wrap works best of flat surfaces, which the carriages are not, but he’s happy with how they turn out. He probably shouldn’t be, as the camera shows us one carriage with a big hole where Shania’s face should be.

Meanwhile, Randal gives his temps a pep talk. Rebecca is happy with their group- they are “real New Yorkers” who people on the street will be able to relate to. She and Randal have a chart indicating where they’ll be sending all of the workers. They agree to send more people to Spanish Harlem. They have a lot of people who speak Spanish, so they figure that’s a natural fit. Good thinking – after all, it is New York City, where not everyone speaks English. In a stroke of good luck, one of the temps is a funny guy who is a natural with the bullhorn. Randal puts him in the wrapped van and the guy goes to town shouting down people on the street. Rebecca thinks the bullhorns were a great addition to their plan. Bill comes by and says he’s happy to see that Randal has the hunger back and the fire in his belly once more.