The Apprentice 4, Episode 6 Extras: Trump's Grand Slam

For the record, James and I are still together (as are Brian and I). This is mostly because I don’t think he should have been fired. If he were a loser, I would’ve dumped him in a second. I’m not that loyal.

Felisha and Alla are in the suite, waiting for other Jen or Kristi to return from the Boardroom. Felisha says that Kristi was not the reason they lost the Zathura task; she wants Kristi to come back. Alla does, too. Unfortunately for them, Jen is the one who returns. At least the guys are happy. Jen interviews that, yes, she made mistakes, and she was concerned going into the Boardroom, but she was also confident because she knew she had more potential than Kristi. Jen tells the women that they need to start with a clean slate and come together. Didn’t they have this discussion last week? Alla says everything will be fine, since she’s going to be the project manager for the next task. She says that the team needs to function as a cohesive unit.

In the morning, after getting the call from Rona, Clay tells the women that they need to pick a project manager before they head to the Boardroom to meet with Trump (as they believe). Alla says they already did. She says that she told her team she was ready to be PM and she thinks they’re all behind her.

The men meet to pick a PM, but apparently six of them want the job. I’m guessing that four of them are Josh, Mark, Adam, and James, since none of them has done it yet. Markus apparently wanted to do it again, but I have no idea who the sixth person was. Anyway, Josh says that the obvious solution is to let him pick the PM. Hee. They decide to draw a name out of a hat instead. Josh interviews that he’s been the second banana in most of the previous tasks, so he’s ready to be in charge. Markus announces that drawing a name makes sense, since it will alleviate the problem of a possible tie if they vote. Markus winds up with three votes (really?), James with one, and Josh with four, so he’s the PM. Josh is ready to be in control and plans to give 110 percent. He’s concerned with having the right people around him.

In the Boardroom, Carolyn reshuffles the team. Nothing new here.

We see the Trump Lesson of the Week again. Why do they keep showing this in the extras? They never put anything new in.

Capital Edge sets up for the task. We see Felisha and Clay clash again. Randal says that Felisha and Alla are learning what the men already know - Clay can be difficult to work with. Clay confronts Alla about moving things around that he’s already set up. I hate the way he talks to her here, like she’s his gal pal and after this task, they’re going to go watch Sex and the City and talk about how cute Johnny Damon is. He just doesn’t strike me as professional here. Alla isn’t impressed either and has to play Mommy.

Fast-forward to the tasks. Over at Excel, Brian complains about the batting cage. Rebecca wonders if anyone knows how much money they’ve made. Lots of baseball playing. Mark admits to Bill that he doesn’t know what’s going on with the rest of the task. Jen isn’t selling anything. Bill doesn’t think the team gets the point of the task.

The teams get the results. Excel sucked. Trump calls them embarrassing.

Excel mopes back in the suite. Mark calls the loss “a kick in the gut with a golf shoe.” I would suggest a drinking game in which people drink whenever they hear a reference to games or a sports metaphor, but everyone would wind up too drunk to finish reading this paragraph. Jen says that there were too many people in line and too few people doing closings. She interviews that the task was supposed to be all about sales, but it turned into a clinic. She thinks that Josh missed the mark. Mark interviews that Trump might wind up firing them all. The Irony Fairy ignored Betsy this week, but the Foreshadowing Fairy is alive and kicking.

Capital Edge flies to Montauk for their reward. Felisha says that if she’d missed this reward, she would have been really upset. She’s a pilot, and she loved flying on the $35 million jet. The team heads out on a boat. As I suspected, Felisha and Alla are sitting because they’re not enjoying the rocking. Alla says that if she hadn’t taken Dramamine, she would be sick. Felisha, unfortunately, wanted to be tough and didn’t take anything, so now she’s not feeling very well. She gets sick over the side of the boat as the guys tease her a little. Clay tells her she shouldn’t eat any more crackers. Felisha laughs this off.

Clay thinks this is the best reward yet. Mostly, of course, this is because he wanted to show Josh that he was wrong about Clay being the weakest player on the team. Adam catches a fish and Markus encourages him to kiss it, saying that it’s tradition. Adam finally gives the kiss a little peck. Someone (one of the guys teaching them fishing, I think) says that no one ever actually does that. Hee!

Excel heads to the Boardroom. Trump reminds them (and us) that this was the worst defeat ever. He asks Josh for his opinion. Josh says that the problem was that they didn’t sell anything. James takes credit for the baseball idea. Rebecca says that the batting cage was a big draw, but it was also a hindrance. Trump agrees that there was no room to maneuver. He asks whose idea it was to put up the cage. James admits that it was his. Trump says that James was showing off by hitting balls.

Trump asks if anyone considered that having a batting cage in the store might be dangerous. Marshawn says that she thought that, too, especially since the cage was right at her back. Trump notes that Rebecca is already injured and asks if she was concerned about being injured again by a baseball. She replies that after breaking her ankle, she wasn’t as concerned about breaking another bone. Trump notes that she should have been more concerned. Rebecca says that she did have to pull a few kids aside to make sure they didn’t get hurt.

Mark speaks up that there were a lot of people in the store, but Trump thinks this makes things worse - they really didn’t have an excuse for not selling. Bill says that Mark didn’t step up. Mark says that he understood the ball machine and batting cage, which was why he was there. How hard is it to run the ball machine? Do you really have to have an understanding of it before you use it? I mean, as long as you don’t fire the balls at people, you’re pretty much golden.

Carolyn brings up the food-selling, which Jen doesn’t think was a big deal. Carolyn points out that the task was about sales, not some sort of promotion. She wonders if everyone gets that now, since they didn’t seem to get it during the task. Marshawn says that they did get it, but Carolyn isn’t so sure.

Marshawn says that Josh was a great project manager. “That’s not what I heard,” Trump replies. Carolyn agrees that Josh missed the mark. Marshawn says she still thought he was good. However, she did tell him that they weren’t selling. She thinks that the batting cage was a distraction, a hindrance, and dangerous. People came in for fun, not with the mentality of buying something. Trump asks what Mark thought of Josh as a PM. Mark think she was good. He notes that Josh was helpful in other wins. Trump asks Jen for her opinion. Jen says that some of their priorities went out the window. Bill reminds her that she didn’t sell. Jen says that the concept of the task changed. So? Bill says that people were there, they just didn’t buy anything.

Trump asks Marshawn again how Josh was as PM. She says that he was well-organized but one of her philosophies is that a plan is not as important as planning. They had a great plan, but the planning wasn’t that terrific. They also had no sales strategy and never even talking about selling. Trump tries to get Marshawn to say that, at crunch time, Josh wasn’t so great. I hate when he tries to get people to say what he wants them to. Marshawn only says that the loss wasn’t completely Josh’s fault, though the task was his responsibility.

Carolyn asks role it was to sell. Josh says that Jen was in charge, thought it was really everyone’s responsibility, since it was a sales task. Trump asks who assigned Jen to sales. Josh says that since Jen called herself the Sales Queen, she was the natural choice. Trump says that Jen is good at selling, but Josh replies that it’s not so apparent anymore. Jen says that she’s awesome if she’s in the right situation. You mean like… a sales task? Marshawn and Rebecca speak up that they sold more than Jen. Trump asks Rebecca if her broken ankle is affecting her work. Rebecca replies that she tries not to let it. Trump wonders if men feel sorry for Rebecca and bought from her, but Rebecca replies tactfully that she sold a lot to people who weren’t men. Jen and Marshawn say that Rebecca was great.

Bill notes that Jen is making a lot of excuses but barely made it out of the Boardroom last week. Jen blames Josh for the loss. Josh points out that she said she could sell. Jen says that she asked for what she needed but didn’t get it. Josh thinks she’s lying. Jen says that she wasn’t in charge of the event, she was in charge of sales. Of course, as Josh points out, she sold the least out of everyone else (except Mark, who sold nothing).

Trump asks Mark who he would fire. Mark names Jen. Jen would fire Josh (of course). Rebecca would fire Jen. Brian would fire Jen. James would fire Jen. Marshawn says that Mark didn’t sell anything, so she would fire either him or Jen. Bill points out again that Mark didn’t step up. Mark says that he told Josh he was concerned about the lack of selling, but he thought the clinic would be a good idea. Jen says that she was never told the situation would change from a sales task to an expo. Who cares? She still didn’t sell.

Brian is exempt, and Marshawn and Rebecca did well, so the three of them get to go back to the suite. Josh, Jen, James, and Mark will all come back to the Boardroom.

Bill says that as PM, the loss is Josh’s fault. Carolyn notes that only three people did any selling and she can’t pick a person to fire. Jen, James, Josh, and Mark return to the Boardroom. Josh says that Jen is weak, but Jen says that they lost because Josh didn’t follow through with the original concept. James agrees. He says the loss isn’t all Jen’s fault and Josh should be fired. Mark says that Jen is responsible for the lack of sales. Jen is mad now and is approaching Chris-like levels of aggravation. Josh asks if she worked on the people in line for the batting cage. Jen says that she did, but people weren’t ready to buy at that point. Josh notes that they had a 15 minute wait.

Bill asks what Josh did wrong. Josh was that as PM, he has to take responsibility, but he did help everyone. Bill thinks that Mark took the easy way out by staying behind the cage. He adds that Jen needs to stop blaming others. If things weren’t working, she should have changed things up. Josh was the quarterback for the team, but he couldn’t deliver.

Trump asks Jen why she was unable to sell. Jen argues that she did. Hey, Jen? YOU DIDN’T. SHUT UP. Jen says that Josh let things turn into something else. Carolyn asks if the team knows why Capital Edge won. It’s because they all sold. Trump adds that this means there were seven salespeople on one team. Josh says that they had six, but Trump notes that Mark didn’t sell anything. Jen still blames Josh. I want to pull her hair and make her cry. Bill says that there were a lot of people in the store, so they should have been able to sell. Carolyn says it was a circus.

Bill thinks that the team should have given the customers an incentive to buy - maybe let them use the batting cage if they purchased something. Josh agrees that, in hindsight, that would have been a good idea. Trump asks whose fault the cage was. Josh says it wasn’t his idea, but Trump reminds him that he was the project manager. Jen asks why they didn’t adapt. Josh says that Mark and James were responsible for the cage. James, who has been mostly quiet in the Boardroom, tells Josh that he said they needed to focus on sales.

Trump tells Jen that she’s bright, but she let him down. Jen argues that she wasn’t given the opportunity to do what she can do because the concept was changed. She couldn’t sell because there was a store full of customers who had nothing to do but stand in line for 15 minutes? Josh says that, from the game Jen talked, she should have sold ten times more than she did. Jen asks if the didn’t need to change. Trump reminds her that she didn’t sell. Jen is delusional and says that she did. Trump tells her that she failed and Jen begs not to be fired. Jen and Josh fight, and Carolyn points out that Josh failed, too.

Trump says that Josh was an ineffective leader and made bad decisions. James… came up with the cage. Seriously, that’s it. Mark didn’t sell anything. All four are fired. Okay, I’ll give him Jen, Josh, and even Mark. But James did not deserve to be fired. He may have come up with the batting cage, but Josh had veto power. They didn’t lose because the batting cage was there, they lost because no one sold. They could have sold plenty since everyone was coming in to use the cage. The best part of this scene, however, is that each fired candidate has a different look on his or her face. Josh’s says, “What?” Jen’s says, “Please don’t do this.” James’ says, “Oh, well.” And Mark’s says, “Yup, okay.” All four leave.

In the first of this week’s four exit interviews, Josh says that he thought he could be the apprentice because he’s smart and strategic. He’s always been an entrepreneur and run his own company. He was four and one going into the Boardroom and always the number two guy. He thinks that the problem was picking the wrong sport. Oh, please. Josh continues that James was a baseball expert, which was why they chose baseball. He thinks Jen should have been fired because she wasn’t good at selling. He was the PM, but everyone should take responsibility for their personal losses.

Josh says that he was in so much shock in the Boardroom, he couldn’t defend himself. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, since he’d already been fired. He says that the experience was the real deal. They experienced everything you deal with in business, just in a more intense time frame. He got a crash-course MBA. Josh talks about how great Trump is, then dons a Trump wig and does a great impression: “Well, Josh is a very bright boy, very intelligent. Yoooooge potential, yoooooge. I made a mistake firing him. I apologize, Josh. I would actually work for you. Carolyn?” There’s a shot of Carolyn. “George?” George staring off into space. “George!” George coming to attention. Josh cracks himself up.

In Mark’s exit interview, he says that he thought he could be the apprentice because he has a great education, lots of entrepreneurial successes, and a “common upbringing.” Apparently this means that he can relate to a lot of people. Mark said that he would go with baseball and work hard. He says the experience was great, they were just bad at selling. Josh asked him to run the cage, and with balls flying 30 to 50 miles per hour, a kid getting hit would ruin the experience. Yeah, and the kid wouldn’t be very happy, either. Mark says that Josh knew Mark could handle the cage.

Mark loved seeing all the kids, mostly because he was missing his own. He admits that he may have been too emotionally attached. Yeah, that was your problem. Mark says what Josh did about losing because they chose the wrong sport. He was stunned when all four of them were fired. If Mark had won, he would have had to make a tough decision - working for Trump or going home to his family. He has a great life back in Kentucky, a great business, and a great family. He’s anxious to go home.

In poor James’ exit interview, he says that he thought he could win because he has potential, experience, leadership skills, and… is athletic. Because Trump is looking for a marathon runner to run one of his businesses. James knew that they shouldn’t do an expo. He thinks they were too concerned with the cage and entertaining the customers. He doesn’t like that he was painted as a baseball expert. If everyone who came into the store had bought something, they would have won. James claims that Rebecca and Brian didn’t sell anything either, but he admits that he should have because he was familiar with the product.

James wasn’t worried in the Boardroom because no one was paying any attention to him. In fact, he doesn’t think they should have been paying attention to him. He calls the experience “empowering.” Before, he had a narrow focus, but now he’s seen all of the opportunities in front of him. He knows that he should capitalize on them, or he’ll regret it.

Jen says in her exit interview that she thought she would win because she has a proven track record, is successful at everything she does, and people love her. She doesn’t think she should have been fired. That makes one of us. Jen thinks that everyone did well on the task and they worked well as a team. She’s a great salesperson and proved that in other tasks. She says that most of the customers were kids, not middle-aged men who wanted to buy radar guns to find out how fast they could hit a ball. Yes, Jen, that’s exactly why you lost. She admits that she may have tied her own noose.

Jen was upset that she was fired, but she was more upset for the guys. She says that even though she went after Josh in the Boardroom, when they were in the elevator, she gave him a hug and told him he did a great job. She wants him to know that nothing was personal. Jen learned a lot and says the experience was incredible. It was a roller coaster, but she thinks the most exciting times in her life are still to come.

Next week: I wonder how long everyone will sit around in the suite before they realize that no one is coming back from the Boardroom.

Jenn Brasler is an Assistant Editor of RealityNewsOnline and an aspiring writer from Falls Church, VA. You can e-mail her at luckyjenn@hotmail.com. She hopes that someday a fired candidate will say, “Yeah, you’re right. I sucked, and I totally deserved to be fired.”

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find all of our recent articles on this show at our The Apprentice page and take a look at our sections on Survivor: Guatemala and Amazing Race 8. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about The Apprentice, be sure to check out SirLinksALot: The Apprentice Page!