The Apprentice: Los Angeles, Episode 7 Extras – Putting the Go-Cart Before the Horse

Welcome back, gentle readers! I hope you enjoyed The Apprentice’s brief hiatus. Get used to it, because if things don’t shape up in Trumpland, I fear the next one may be permanent. This week’s episode is covered in detail in Betsy’s recap, but for those who need a Cliff’s Notes-style refresher, I will be glad to oblige.

Basically, the teams were asked to put on an “event” (read: sales pitch) for Lexus “guests” (read: customers) in which the latest Lexus automobile, the LX 460, (read: overpriced car) is hyped up to the point that everyone involved feels compelled to buy one, just to keep up with the proverbial Joneses. Guests at each event were to rate their experiences and the team with the highest approval rating would be declared the winner. With that, let’s move on to this week’s web extras.

As always, we begin with the webisode. This week, we see the lovely Stefani making phone calls to confirm that all the food and décor are ready to go. She and Frank discuss what they have planned, and Stefani reiterates that it’s all about luxury. She wants elegance, and says if anything doesn’t come off right, it’s on them.

We next see the showroom, where Tim and Nicole are giving separate informational presentations. In an interview, Tim says people are asking a lot of questions, so he’s damn happy he learned so much about the car!

Our last glimpse of Arrow’s event takes us outside, where James is setting up the road test course. In an interview, he explains that there are three stations for drivers to experience, and as he is explaining, we see footage of these activities. The first, on a stretch of road riddled with potholes, will accentuate the excellent stability control of the Lexus. The second station will demonstrate the car’s amazing ability to parallel park automatically. The final station will require the drivers to make a U-turn, which allows them to see first hand how well and how easily the car accelerates. This montage concludes with very excited and satisfied-looking customers who thank James profusely for his assistance. It is no surprise when later in the Boardroom, we learn that Arrow’s approval rating was a 94.

Since Arrow scored so well and did in fact win the task, they are treated to their reward: an evening in the recording studio with “The King of Izzle,” Snoop Doggy Dogg. (Sadly, I was again forced to watch James and Frank try to rap just so I could bring this recap to you. I think it’s safe to say my place in the afterlife has been made clear.) Not much new to report here; they’re still ridiculous, and Surya is still pouting in the corner, but this time around, we do hear the ladies adding a little something to the mix, per Snoop’s request. What a guy, fo’shizzle.

And so ends the webisode, with not much we haven’t seen already. The next few scenes are replayed scenes, such as Derek coming up with the infamous go-cart idea, and Angela and Derek meeting with the graphic designer. I’m not sure why the editors of the website felt compelled to show these scenes again, especially since the site offers the full episode. Go figure.

There is one deleted scene this week; it’s a montage of Kinetic getting ready for their event. We see the tent being erected and Angela driving one of the cars, which she quips is the most expensive car she’s ever driven. In an interview, Jenn explains the division of labor for the task. She says Kristine is in charge of the logistics and budget, while Heidi and Muna are to learn everything there is to know about the car. Of course, as we know all too well, Derek and Angela are the creative team. Jenn says they’re all scrambling to pull it off, but everybody’s working hard and she thinks they can win. I’m wondering if perhaps Jenn was a cheerleader at some point in her life.

The clip continues with the arrival of the go-carts. Derek is visibly excited, and probably wondering how to fit his considerable frame into such a vehicle. Hey – if the Shriners can get onto those tiny flying carpets, anything is possible, Derek – keep the faith.

Speaking of go-carts, though, while Derek sees them and declares them “bad ass,” Angela seems skeptical. She tells him, “we’ll see, we’ll see,” and says they could be hit or miss. In an interview, Angela feels it’s a risky strategy. She doesn’t think go-carts speak to the Lexus clientele because they’re not upscale. Speaking of things that don’t speak to the Lexus clientele, we see the Spartan tent that is Kinetic’s event. There’s much wringing of hands over the lack of signage.

Meanwhile, over at Arrow, there’s a replayed scene of the dead battery debacle. That had to stink. As Surya said, it was most unfortunate. Tim interviews how frustrating it was that they couldn’t show off any of the features!

The next clip is an uncut version of the Boardroom. We begin with Trump meeting with the Lexus execs before bringing in Kinetic. Both execs feel the go-carts were not a good idea and both praise Heidi and Muna for their tremendous effort.

With that information under his belt, Trump brings in the members of Team Kinetic. He asks them if they are surprised to have lost. Jenn says she is proud of her team because they worked hard. Randal, who is serving as the viceroy du jour, interjects by praising the job the members of Arrow did on their task and claiming there is “no comparison” between their performance and that of Kinetic. Jenn defends her team, saying no one was a “colossal screwup.”

Kinetic’s lack of signage is brought up for the first of many times. When asked for his opinion, Surya offers that the key to Arrow’s success was their realization that every touchpoint had to be “premiere” and all their signage had to echo the luxury theme, which directly appealed to their demographic. When asked which members of the team were assigned to that task, Surya says that he, Frank, and Tim worked that aspect of the event.

In further clips, we are treated to more uncut scenes from the Boardroom. We see Randal asking Jenn about Angela and Derek’s creative output. Angela is grilled about the go-cart issue, and when she says she did not want the go-carts as part of the event, blame is placed back on Jenn’s shoulders. A quick poll of the team members indicates that no one wanted the carts except for Jenn! Furthermore, both Muna and Heidi blame Jennifer for their loss, citing her poor presentation skills as a reason for their decreased scores.

Trump asks Jenn why she presented and goes on to imply that she isn’t a very good presenter. He suggests Muna should have been the one to give the presentation, but Jenn insists she was the right person for the role because she does it all the time within her job capacity. Trump criticizes her for her lack of poise and attempts to goad her by asking if she looked like a “stumbling idiot.” To her credit, Jenn deflects this childish behavior and sticks to the facts. I must give Jenn a lot of credit. If it were me, I would have stood up, pointed at Trump and yelled, “YOU”RE the stumbling idiot!!”