The Apprentice 2, Episode 4 Extended Footage: Keep It Simple, Stupid

Let me tell you, the extended and added scenes from last week’s episode of The Apprentice were definitely worth watching. They revealed even more about how the task went down, why Apex lost, why Mosaic won, and why Jennifer C. got fired. I’ve got all of the highlights for you, so let’s get to it.

At the beginning of the task, Apex project manager Jennifer C. says that one of her main strategies is to keep the task simple and to keep brainstorming under control. All in all, it’s not a bad plan. After all, the usual Apex brainstorm is more like a monsoon. Jennifer makes her executive decision that the food will be Asian fusion, but Lil Stacy still wants to talk about it. She thinks it would be a good idea to meet with Zagat’s beforehand, since they may have some inside information. Jennifer agrees and sends Lil Stacy and Jennifer M. to meet with the bigwigs at Zagat’s.

There, Jennifer M. tells the Zagat’s people about their plan to serve Asian fusion food. The Zagat’s guy says it’s not a good idea. “Simple things are easier to executive, and Asian fusion is not at all that easy to do.” He adds that if they really wanted to serve that cuisine, they should have started marinating things a few days ago.

Lil Stacy immediately gets on the phone and relays that information to Jennifer C. Jennifer C., however, doesn’t want to hear it. She reminds them that they only have 36 hours to complete the task, so the decision must stand. After all, why let perfectly good advice from someone who knows what they’re talking about influence your decisions? In an interview, she says that as project manager, she doesn’t want to be indecisive, because that leads to chaos. Chaos leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. And hate leads to the dark side. Okay, she didn’t say that last part, but I’m still a little excited about my Star Wars DVDs.

Our next scene takes us to the Mosaic team. Over pizza, the team plans its marketing strategy. Wes says that they’ll hand out flyers, targeting women in particular. Raj sends his team out, impressing upon Andy the importance of being suave. Andy promises not to let him down. The guys head to the meatpacking district, since there are a lot of clubs there. Andy spends some time flirting with a few women, trying to convince them to come. They all seem to be having a good time on this part of the task.

The next day, Apex gets up bright and early to get ready for opening night. Jennifer C. says that there’s a lot to do – they need to decorate, buy food, and pull everything together. Sandy is worn out from the cleaning session of the night before. Ivana says in an interview that they’ve already missed a lot of deadlines, and she doesn’t think their chances of winning look very good. As the rest of the team feverishly sets up, Jennifer C. and Sandy are off running errands. Jennifer takes the time to pet a cat, then she and Sandy appear to spend some time just puttering around before returning to the restaurant. In an interview, Elizabeth says that she can’t believe Jennifer C. and Sandy are shopping for flowers while the rest of them work their tails off. Imagine what she’d think if she knew they made time to see kitties. It really looks like Jennifer just wanted to hang out with Sandy and do something fun, since I seriously doubt it would take two people to buy flowers. It’s the sort of “I’ll make place cards while you scrub the toilets” approach to delegating. Not good.

Mosaic is also getting ready for opening night, and Raj is pretty calm. Pamela is less so. She says in an interview that a lot was left to the last minute, so she’s worried. They have trouble setting up the tables and Pamela ends up rearranging things. John says that they didn’t know very much about the food on the menu, and Wes says it was hard to remember all of the details of each dish. And remember the itchy fur seats that were mentioned in the boardroom? Pamela bought them and thought they looked great, even though the guys disagreed. As they get ready to get started, Raj shows up in his white linen suit, and Pamela says he looks like Mr. Rourke from Fantasy Island. Hee! Chris says Raj is like a general, leading them all into battle. In an interview, Raj says he wanted to project confidence. Looks like he pulled it off… well, a confident Mr. Rourke from Fantasy Island, anyway.

None of the members of the Mosaic team are professional waiters, and from the looks of things, they should keep it that way. The table of gay men we saw in the episode shows Pamela that the wine glasses still have price tags on them. She’s mortified. Andy says that he’s a lousy waiter, but he tries to stay positive and have fun, which he thinks makes a difference. John says that friendliness makes up for a lot of problems… as we see someone accidentally set fire to a menu! Andy says they were constantly apologizing for their mistakes, but that the customers seemed to have fun.

We see extended footage of Mosaic’s reward, but we don’t learn too much from it. Mayor Guliani says that he admires Winston Churchill as a leader because of his optimism. A great leader, he says, looks for solutions rather than getting bogged down in problems. He adds that it’s important to believe in what you’re doing.

Meanwhile, the women are getting ready for their trip to the boardroom, and it is not a pretty scene. Jennifer C. still can’t believe they lost, and says that the whole thing was subjective anyway. Elizabeth says that is the nature of the task – their customers were the judges, and that’s the way it is. Jennifer M. thinks that their mistake was aiming for a more sophisticated market, and reminds everyone that Zagat’s recommended a simpler approach. Ivana thinks that Jennifer C. didn’t put forth enough effort, and that the concept for the restaurant was all wrong.

A worried Elizabeth notices that Jennifer C. and Sandy have been conspiring together all day. And indeed they are. Jennifer broaches the subject of bringing Sandy with her to the boardroom “for support.” No fool she, Sandy thinks that’s a bad idea and tells Jennifer that if she puts her in the line of firing (sorry for the pun), Jennifer shouldn’t expect her to help. Sandy adds that she doesn’t think it was her fault at all that they lost. Right, except that it kind of was, since they had their lowest score in décor, and she was in charge of it, but who’s counting?

In the boardroom, Jennifer goes on her “who needs sleep tirade.” Trump says that by doing the cleaning themselves, they saved money, which is good, but that it might not have been worth it since they needed to be fresh and friendly the next day. Jennifer M. says that they lost because they had a limited amount of time and chose a complicated concept that was tough to execute. They got a recommendation from Zagat’s to do a different kind of cuisine, but Jennifer C. ignored it. Jennifer C. denies that Lil Stacy and Jennifer M. gave her that recommendation, which is just not true. We saw it! Exasperated, Jennifer C. says that after six hours of deliberation, the only other suggestion Jennifer M. and Lil Stacy came up with was pizza. Elizabeth backs up Jennifer M. and Stacy, saying that they did indeed give the Zagat’s recommendation to Jennifer.

Bill says that the men and women had comparable locations, but that while the women provided “tense, hovering service,” the men were relaxed and friendly. Jennifer C. still can’t believe they lost, since the men set fire to menus and had such a hard time serving. The difference, Bill says, is that the men have a camaraderie that the women’s team lacks.

Ivana says that Jennifer C. didn’t work nearly as hard as the rest of the team and took constant smoke breaks. Ivana says she did more to lead the team than Jennifer C. ever did, and the two women argue loudly. Trump wonders why Jennifer C. couldn’t lead her team more effectively and adds, “The men are just better than you right now.” He asks Jennifer C. to choose those going with her to the boardroom, and as we know, she picks Stacy and Elizabeth. Bill questions her decision, reminding her that this isn’t about friendship, and Trump offers to let her choose a third person, but she doesn’t waver, sticking with Stacy and Elizabeth.

When the three return to the boardroom, most of the footage we already saw in the episode. Bill asks Jennifer about her decision to ignore the Zagat’s recommendation. Jennifer says that Asian fusion can be complicated, but it could be as simple as chicken sate. Then she says that Ivana and Maria insisted on serving more sophisticated food. Bill jumps right on that, saying that if that’s the case, she should have taken Ivana and Maria to the boardroom with her. Jennifer talks about her strong track record in the previous challenges, but Carolyn’s not interested, saying that they need to focus on this week’s task.

Jennifer insists that the only thing that went wrong was that they lost, and that this task went more smoothly than any before it. She should really know better than to downplay losing in front of Donald Trump. Bill says that members of the team should take responsibility for their mistakes, like Sandy with the décor. Jennifer insists that the décor was beautiful. Trump dismisses that, saying, “Let’s forget it. You lost.” Jennifer is fired, and after the candidates leave the room, Carolyn says that taking Stacy and Elizabeth to the boardroom was a really dumb move.

In her cab ride home, Jennifer C. says that being fired by none other than Donald Trump was “crazy.” She says it was a great experience, and she has no regrets. Maybe she shouldn’t have led with an iron fist. She did? Huh? She also adds that she should have taken Ivana with her to the boardroom, which makes no sense at all. Then she says how incredible it was to have dinner at Donald Trump’s home and to sit next to him, an experience that few people get. She says she’ll miss the men, but not the women. The women, she says, are “lying, dramatic, backstabbing” people. She concludes by saying that she’s proud of her experience, and that she was “fired by the best.”

And that’s it for another episode of The Apprentice. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for the next episode. How will poor Pamela handle joining Apex? And what does Anna Kournikova have to do with QVC? We’ll find out soon!

Betsy is the Associate Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached with any comments at betsyw42@hotmail.com.

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