James is Just as Confused as We Are

When I write recaps for reality shows, I often get e-mails from the contestants themselves. Sometimes they correct me, sometimes they’re downright angry (three of the Paradise Hotel girls were pretty nasty - try and guess which ones!), but most of the time they’re friendly and happy to talk about their time on the show.

Anyway, I don’t want to harp on this Apprentice thing too much, but I wanted to share this with you all.

After posting my recap of The Apprentice LA Finale, I got a short e-mail from James Sun. He complimented the recap (thanks James!) and sent me to his blog at his website, Zoodango.com, to get his take on what the mysterious “dialogue” might have been. Guess what? He doesn’t know for sure either.

If James is right and Trump got his knickers in a twist over the mention of Zoodango, then something screwy is going on. I can think of several former candidates who pimped their companies and websites, by name, on previous seasons of the show. So why would James be singled out for that? Maybe it’s a combination of all of the things he’s pointed out in his blog, or maybe Trump was referring to something completely different that we’ll never know about.

Even if you don’t care what the comments Trump was talking about are, check out Zoodango. It’s a great concept, and the site itself is a good browse.

For more Apprentice goodness, hit up SirLinksALot: The Apprentice. Photo courtesy of NBC.

Tags: the apprentice, james sun, donald trump

Why Did Trump Choose Stefani?

After an exhilaratingly short finale, Donald Trump decided to hire Stefani Schaeffer as his newest Apprentice last night, proving my prediction wrong once again. For the record, I’ve only been right twice - with Bill Rancic and Kendra Todd. Not a great track record for yours truly.

Now, in her personal and professional life, Stefani is obviously what Trump likes to call a “star.” But on the show? We didn’t even get to see her in action until halfway through the series. And even then she never stepped up and took charge of anything. We know she was never a winning project manager (or a losing one, for that matter), but one doesn’t have to be PM to shine on a task. She never took a single risk, playing it safe from week to week. That’s all well and good, and as a strategy it’s probably smarter than coming out of the gate with the energy of a toddler on Hershey bars.

But let’s look at this from Trump’s point of view. He’s said repeatedly, in several seasons of the show, that he hates people who play under the radar. Stefani is the epitome of under the radar. She banked on the fact that no one disliked her or kept her around in the boardroom to potentially be fired, but that’s only because she never took enough responsibility to shoulder blame for a loss. And the kicker is that Trump and his kids seemed to know this all along.

So why, then, did Stefani beat out James, and to a lesser extent, Frank and Nicole? Well, Nicole wasn’t seriously an option, so we won’t get into that. Frank would have made a great Apprentice, but apparently I’m one of the only ones who thinks so. Yeah, he’s a bit rough around the edges, but that’s what makes him different from all of the others. James has a proven track record as PM, which for some reason he chose not to play up during the finale. Did he not really want the job? Hard to say - it didn’t look to me though that he was fighting for his life up there.

Trump justified his choice by alluding to things James has said in the past that didn’t sit right with him. What were those things? I don’t have a clue, but I’m hoping that it will all come out sooner or later. Ultimately, perhaps Stefani was the “safe” choice. She’s not a loose cannon - on the contrary, she’s very reserved and professional. And she’s single, which means that she’ll be available not only for the actual work she’ll be paid to do, but also for publicity appearances to promote the show.

The Apprentice has been renewed on NBC, and will return this fall. Photo courtesy of NBC.

Don’t forget to check out my recaps of The Apprentice at Reality Shack, and stop by SirLinksALot: The Apprentice for even more.

Tags: the apprentice, donald trump, stefani schaeffer, reality tv

Is Frankie Suits the Next Apprentice?

This week’s episode of The Apprentice LA left us with a bit of a cliffhanger. Rather than narrow the field down to the final two, Donald Trump decided to wait until the live finale to announce who’s fired after the final task. The question now is, will Trump actually fire one of the teams and give us our final two, or is he now able to choose from a larger pool, making the last task rather pointless? Regardless, we’re left to ponder which one of the four remaining candidates will get the gig working for Trump.

Nicole seems least likely to be hired. She hasn’t proven that she can lead a team, although she does have a lot of energy and works well within one. The comments from the big-wigs at Renuzit seemed to support that, when they pointed out that Frank had clearly taken charge of the task.

Stefani has been, as Trump mentioned, a sleeper. She’s very skilled in making presentations, and she’s organized and thorough. While Stefani could absolutely be our winner, she doesn’t seem dynamic enough to have made a strong impression on Trump or his offspring. She also lacks creativity, which may or may not even be a factor.

James is dynamic, creative, and outspoken. He can be a loose cannon at times though, running at top speed without thought to things like deadlines, budgets, and restrictions. Combined with Stefani, James makes a formidable opponent. They were right that their skill sets and attitudes compliment each other, but Trump isn’t hiring a team here.

That leads us to Frank. From the beginning of the season, Frank was featured heavily in almost every episode. He’s been edited to grow on us as viewers, starting out as a bit of a big mouth and turning into a hero from Brooklyn who isn’t afraid of hard work and men with fancy titles and fancier suits. Suddenly The Donald can’t say enough good things about Frankie Suits, and even made a point to ask the Renuzit execs about his performance.

I’m not one to look for clues in the credits and closing sequences, but I did notice one thing as this past episode was winding down. The still clips of the four remaining candidates at the end weren’t all the same. James, Stefani, and Nicole were all shown smiling in front of a clear blue background. Frank was shown seemingly in motion, with a different background. Coincidence? Or is Frankie Suits our next Apprentice? My money is on him.

Want more Apprentice? Check out my weekly recaps at RealityShack, and head on over to SirLinksALot: The Apprentice.  Photo courtesy of NBC.