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Archive through April 17, 2004

The TVClubHouse: Other Reality Shows: Archives for 2004-1: The Apprentice (NBC) (ARCHIVES): General Discussions: Miscellaneous (ARCHIVES): Archive through April 17, 2004 users admin

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Demeter
Member

08-05-2001

Wednesday, April 14, 2004 - 6:32 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Don't forget...Apprentice behind the scenes on Dateline tonight.

Karuuna
Member

08-31-2000

Wednesday, April 14, 2004 - 8:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
It's on right now in the Mountain Time Zone, for anyone interested!

Zules
Member

08-21-2000

Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 8:48 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Didn't catch Dateline. Anyone have a synopsis?

Essence
Member

01-12-2002

Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 9:17 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Predictions for 'The Apprentice'
Panel of top entrepreneurs discuss pick for winner
By Ron Insana
Dateline NBC
Updated: 11:39 p.m. ET April 14, 2004

It's down to the wire for Bill Rancic and Kwame Jackson. Think you know who will win, who should win? What, in the end, makes a good business person? Dateline gathered a panel of highly-successful entrepreneurs who know what it takes, along with someone who covers the ups and downs of the business world every day, CNBC's Ron Insana. Whom would they choose as their Apprentice?

After 13 weeks of selling, sparring, and schmoozing, it all comes down to two: Kwame versus Bill. Thursday night, we'll all learn the answer to the question Donald Trump has been tantalizing us with since January. As a business news anchor on CNBC, it's my job to stay ahead of the pack on who's coming up and who's going down. And you might think I’d have some inside information on this one, but it's not quite that simple. Even though we're both on the same television network, I'm no Donald Trump.

So to help me figure out who's got the edge, I assembled a group who've done some hiring and firing themselves in a boardroom of our own. Advertising executive Donny Deutsch, restaurateur B. Smith, fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, dotcom billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, and TV host and executive producer Carson Daly.

We asked our experts to take a tough look at the candidates strengths and weaknesses, starting with Kwame.

Ron Insana: “He's got the resume got the job experience, worked on Wall Street, Harvard MBA.”

B. Smith: “But you know what the problem is, Kwame is not an entrepreneur. And as an entrepreneur there are certain traits that you have to have, you can't be nice.”

Donny Deutsch: “He doesn't have the fire in the eyes.”

Isaac Mizrahi: “But he's cute, okay.”

Smith: “Kwame is very good looking.”

Mizrahi: “Kwame is the cute one.”

Isaac was Kwame's biggest defender on our panel. Like Carson and Donny, he met some of the Apprentice contestants when he made a guest appearance on the show. And he says when the cameras weren't rolling, Kwame impressed him.

Mizrahi: “He was on the sidelines but that was fine because he didn't make a fool of himself like the rest of the clowns on that show, right?”

Isaac says when the taping was over, it was Kwame who approached the designer's staff to tie up loose ends left after the on-camera negotiating. But what about Kwame's tactics in the boardroom?

Insana: “He's not the guy who's scheming in the boardroom, who's setting up his political ducks getting them in a row and doing business behind the scenes.”

Carson Daly: “Kwame has been maybe smart enough to know that the other people around him don't possess the proper characteristics to work in the Trump organization. He might have spotted that and said you know what, I don't have to do too much I’m going to let these people eliminate themselves.”

Our experts gave Kwame a pass on his plan in episode one to sell lemonade near a smelly fish market.

Mark Cuban: “Make your mistakes early. If you're going to fall behind in an NBA game, fall behind in the first quarter, not the fourth quarter.”

But with the clock running down, Kwame seems on the brink of yet another disaster. Our experts were troubled by his laid back leadership as he and his team struggle to produce a Jessica Simpson concert.

Smith: “We're dealing with a diva in Omarosa and the first thing he should have thought is, this is the person I should identify as the problem in my team.”

But as some of the team played host to Jessica's father, things only got worse.

Deutsch: “Why didn’t they just turn to the father, where's Jessica?”

Daly: “Because it's just a test. There's no way Jessica Simpson is lost, by the way. It's not possible, she's on the cover of every magazine.”

In our boardroom, most of the panelists were impressed by Bill. They liked his no nonsense approach to clients, even his tendency to steamroll over colleagues.

Insana: “Alright, [is he] too harsh, chastising someone for a five minute break?”

Group: “No, not at all, perfect, perfect.”

Cuban: “You're in a nonstop battle. You know, business is war at times and if you let up at all that's an opportunity for the competition and right there he shows he recognizes that.”

But as much as they praised him, our experts said they'd be wary of hiring a maverick like Bill.

Insana: “Do you want to hire an entrepreneur to fit into a corporate job? Would you have hired yourself 20 years ago in a corporate job?”

Deutsch: “Hell no, not to work at a corporation, I'd fail terribly at it.”

Smith: “If I'm hiring somebody I can be the wildcard and let a Kwame be the straight man.”

Deutsch: “Is Trump looking to hire the best person to fit intoTrump or is this a contest of who is the best businessperson?””

Mizrahi: “Isn't it a ratings thing for god's sakes?” [Laughter]

And speaking of ratings, our panelists thought some of the women went a little too far with their sexy sales techniques.

Deutsch: “The women were so over the top.”

Still, it was a female contestant who got their vote as the game's MVP.

Insana: “Of all the contestants, who would be your top hire?”

Deutsch: “Amy.”

Cuban: “Yeah, probably Amy. She had all the qualities you look for.”

But on the final choice between Bill and Kwame, our experts couldn't quite reach a consensus.

Insana: “Best resume”

Group: “Kwame.”

Deutsch: “No Bill. The resume is not a piece of paper.”

Insana: “Best with clients?”

Daly: “I'm going to say Bill.”

Mizrahi: “I don't think any of them are good with people, frankly.”

Cuban: “I would pick Kwame.”

Insana: “Best at getting along with colleagues?”

Group: “Kwame.”

Daly: “To a fault.”

Smith: “Right.”

Insana: “Best at making a tough decision?”

Group: “Bill.”

Mizrahi: “Kwame.”

Carson: “Why is Jessica Simpson missing then?” [Laughter]

Overall, two of our panelists expect Kwame to win. Three predict victory for Bill. As for me, this is one boardroom showdown I won't be calling ahead of the pack. I'll be watching in real time, just like everyone else.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4740217/


Peepinagain
Member

07-18-2002

Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 10:27 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Did anyone see on the news last night that while Omarosa had a great resume saying she spent 2 years working with the Clinton adminstration. Well she neglected to say that she was fired from 4 different jobs!!!! So in those 2 yrs she was fired 4 times!!! I guess after that no one could find her another job in the administration, thus the reason she only worked 2 yrs with Clinton! HA HA HA HA!



Ketchuplover
Member

08-30-2000

Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 2:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Have you ever been on tv? :-)

Luvmykitties
Member

01-02-2004

Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 4:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
did anyone catch the Howard Stern show where Ereka took a lie detector test?

I just saw on EXTRA! that Ereka was on Howard Stern and passed a lie detector test (about the "n" word).
Apparently, while Omarosa was taping an interview with EXTRA!, she walked out. (I think she was asked about the lie detector test that Ereka took)


Peepinagain
Member

07-18-2002

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 7:31 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Was that question for me Ketchuplover? And if it was, yes I have but it was mostly in the mid-west, west and south west that I have appeared. Only a bit in the eastern markets. Its also been awhile.

Ladybug007
Member

08-13-2000

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 12:55 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
foxnews.com

'Apprentice' Party

'Apprentice' Stars Party After Show

Maybe you watched the big two-hour finale of "The Apprentice" last night.

The people in the audience at NBC sure did, but for about a minute the audio feed in the theater was a sound they didn't expect to hear — Deborah Norville, broadcasting her own live show on MSNBC. Someone in operations undoubtedly heard the expression "You're fired!" before the night was out.

After the show ended, the real fun began as the contestants, plus the ubiquitous Donald Trump, his girlfriend Melania Knauss, Trump's kids Donald Jr. and Ivanka and, oddly enough, Billy Joel and fiancée Kate Lee, all piled into a big party NBC threw on the ground floor of Trump Tower. The catering was from the Trump International Hotel over on Columbus Circle. That's four mentions of the word "Trump" in one paragraph, which I think is the whole idea.

The real star of the night wasn't Bill or Kwame, but Trump's longtime and long-suffering personal assistant Norma Foederer.

Back the days of the Ivana divorce, Marla affair, Marla wedding, Chuck Jones shoe fetish, and Trump's financial collapse, it was Norma who we in the press all had to call to get quotes from The Donald. "The Apprentice" has been a big payoff for Norma. Now she's a star thanks to her appearances on the show.

"People have been stopping me on the street!" she said last night. Norma looked quite glamorous, with her hair tied in an Asian bun and those big Chanel-type glasses. "But don't you think Donald's going to be overexposed? I'm worried that he's overexposed."

Norma, I do think the overexposed thing happened a long time ago. It doesn't seem to matter. Trump, it turns out, is contracted for and will do two more seasons of "The Apprentice."

And then there were the contestants. How about Nick Warnock? Isn't it true, I asked him, that he'd been on another reality show, NBC's failed "Dog Eat Dog"?

"I can't remember," he said. What did he do on it, exactly? "I can't remember that either," he said.

By the way, Nick's kind-of ex-girlfriend, Amy, drew hisses from some of the females in the party crowd — some of whom worked on the hit show "Sex and the City" — as she descended the escalator.

"What is she wearing?" snapped one. "This isn't a prom! She's wearing a gown!"

Of course, there was Omarosa, splendidly turned out in a super-fine gown of her own, made of white leather and trimmed with fake white fur. What's she up to?

"I'm cutting a book deal and a deal for a talk show," she said. "I'm presenting this weekend at 'VH1 Divas.'"

My personal choice for winner, Kwame, lost, but don't think of him as a loser. One of the top guys at his old shop, Goldman Sachs, personally e-mailed him an invitation to return to the firm at a substantial salary.

Kwame declined the offer, he said, and will instead branch out on his own with some college buddies from North Carolina. They're going into the business of raising financing for upscale black films, which is a great idea.

"The Apprentice" will return in the fall, and creator Mark Burnett — who looked like he was wearing a Paul Smith striped suit — said there will be no changes from this season's format. Why fix what isn't broken, right?

Finally, I come to news of the rest of the extended Trump family, namely Ivana.

If this were "Dallas," Ivana would be Sue Ellen, you know. Sue Ellen was always looking to one-up J.R. after they divorced. Remember her line of sexy lingerie?

Well, Ivana — I can confirm this — has sold some sort of reality show to a TV network. The Gersh Agency did the deal. I asked Ivanka about it last night, but all she could say was, "I've heard something about that. But you know I'm at school."

Ivanka, who's finishing up at the prestigious Wharton Business School (she's no Paris Hilton, folks) confirmed for me that she will be going into — surprise! — real estate. She will join her father and her brother in the family business where, though she is smart as a whip anyway, she will never hear the words "You're fired!"

P.S. What was Billy Joel doing there? Well, I never figured that out, but he looked great and so did his charming fiancée. He showed off the finger he cut using a can opener a couple of weeks ago, but rolled his eyes when I mentioned his emergency-room experience on Long Island.

"He was signing autographs with one hand, and bleeding from the other," quipped Kate.


Rslover
Member

11-19-2002

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 6:46 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Here is the article that was mentioned on Dateline.
Where's the Reality
In Trump's TV Show?
By JEFFREY SONNENFELD

From The Wall Street Journal Online

Given all the media hoopla you'd think that NBC's hit "reality" show featuring Donald Trump was the answer to the nation's urgent search for credible leadership models in politics and business. Yet despite Mr. Trump's claims that "The Apprentice" should be required viewing at the nation's top business schools, I don't see how weekly viewings of a billionaire shouting "You're fired!" will benefit tomorrow's leaders.

So why are 18 million Americans glued to the puffery, pushiness and deception of "The Apprentice"? In part it's because we are fascinated with train wrecks -- witness the public's seemingly endless interest in the Martha Stewart saga, the ruinous spending of rogue CEOs like Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski, and the abuses of Adelphia's Rigas family.

But such rapt attention should hardly be confused with admiration. Many CEOs I talk with shudder at this ill-timed portrait of corporate leadership just when we need to restore trust in corporate values. Recent Gallup surveys indicate 75% of the general public believes that corruption is widespread in business. With its "real business" setting, Mr. Trump's show taps into the cynical view that business is all about chest-pounding and winning at all costs.

Rather than show inspirational team leadership and the building of coherent cultures, "The Apprentice" teams are designed as circular firing squads -- hardly the staffing pattern of an enduring enterprise. The selection process resembles a game of musical chairs at a Hooters restaurant where sexual baiting and pleading is confused with effective salesmanship. The assigned team-projects neglect the core functions of leadership, such as integrity, invention and inspiration. No new goods or services are created, no business innovations surface, and no societal problems are solved.

Instead, we see people hawking sex, clothes, booze, water, bags of dirt, more sex, and celebrity access. Mr. Trump's original design when first pitching the show in 2001 was to call it "The Billionaire" and to give four contestants 30 minutes to try to spend a million dollars -- again not skilled leadership in action.

Adding to the dysfunctional design is the strange ratings-inspired selection criteria itself. The most odious contestants are retained long after general condemnation by team members, the general public and even Mr. Trump's own on-air lieutenants. Contestants are fired by The Donald for failing to be sufficiently confrontational or for favoring candor over loyalty in the boardroom. Deceptive presentations of product value and misleading negotiating tactics are encouraged. These are not qualities for long-term commercial relationships. No wise party, in reality, would be a business partner of Trump's TV winners for a second or third transaction.

Yet Mr. Trump's gleeful push of another crew member off the gangplank at the close of each show keeps us coming back for more. Our curiosity over the tortured logic behind his mysterious choices has a magnetic draw as does the raw power to change the fate of someone else's life at your pleasure. Roman crowd's packed the Colosseum to watch the gladiator's battle each other and loved the Emperor's glance to the onlookers before condemning the loser to death.

A quarter-century ago, NBC discovered this same formula in its mindlessly cruel but spellbindingly popular "The Gong Show," where contestants in a talent show were ejected from the program by egomaniacal host/producer Chuck Barris pounding a gong. Mr. Trump's pursed lips are the equivalent of Barris's gong. Indeed, "The Apprentice" is not a corporate reality show, it's a business gong-show.

Clearly, Mr. Trump's adventurous career offers some valuable leadership lessons. Students could no doubt learn a thing or two from his rapid ascent in the real-estate industry beyond his father's empire, his short-lived foray into presidential politics in 1999, the demise of Trump Airlines, the near-collapse of his own mighty real-estate empire in 1990, and his triumphant comeback. Like the powerful real-estate titans of the past -- the Reichmann brothers, Robert Campeau, and A. Alfred Taubman -- Mr. Trump could have stumbled badly. But he didn't. Indeed, he has not just recovered from his missteps, he has thrived.

Unfortunately, the "The Apprentice" won't tell you how Mr. Trump's done it -- or how long it will last. Has The Donald built a Trump Organization that will survive him the way his sponsors' founders -- GE's Thomas Edison and NBC's Robert Sarnoff -- built enduring enterprises larger than their own considerable egos? With such personalized promotion, will the Trump Empire survive the antics of Emperor Trump? Stay tuned.



Rslover
Member

11-19-2002

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 6:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Donald Trump Responds in the March 10, 2004, edition of The Wall Street Journal.

In answer to Jeffrey Sonnenfeld's question as to why more than 18 million Americans are glued to "The Apprentice," it is because they can recognize a reality show that is realistic. While I greatly appreciate what he said about me and my business on a personal basis, Mr. Sonnenfeld's lament about this show not brimming over with inspirational team leadership and "the building of coherent cultures" seems naive -- America is a capitalistic country, not a socialist state. I think intelligent viewers recognize this, and they appreciate seeing the reality of fact vs. a sitcom that is so far removed from reality that it requires a laugh track.

Further, Mr. Sonnenfeld's statement that "The Apprentice" is not a corporate reality show but a business "gong" show makes it clear to me that he is not an expert on the practicalities of running a corporation. Were he the chairman and CEO of one of the largest privately held companies in New York, I might be more inclined to listen to his critiques. Until then, I would have to say that he lacks the insight required to understand the architecture of a corporation, and his review reflects that lack of knowledge. Perhaps that is why he is a professor at Yale instead of the Wharton School of Finance (my alma mater).

In addition, many business schools have made "The Apprentice" mandatory viewing for all students, and I've received many letters asking the episodes be packaged for the educational arena. The validity of the show, as attested to by its tremendous ratings, has obviously hit home with informed viewers.

Donald J. Trump
New York


Hamsterlady
Member

07-03-2003

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 7:43 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Here are some pics from the Dateline special tonight:

Dateline 1

Dateline 2

Dateline 3

Dateline 5

Dateline 4

Dateline 6

Dateline 7

Hamsterlady
Member

07-03-2003

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 7:45 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Dateline 8

Dateline 9

Dateline 10

Dateline 11

Dateline 12

Dateline 13

Datelinebill 1

Datelinebill 2

Datelinebill 3

Datelinebill 4

Hamsterlady
Member

07-03-2003

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 10:03 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I promise...these are the last pictures of Bill

These are a couple from Jay Leno tonight.

Bill on Leno 1

Bill on Leno 2

Luvmykitties
Member

01-02-2004

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 10:23 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
hamsterlady - how do you get the screen shots?

Pamy
Member

01-02-2002

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 10:32 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thx HL..your shots are always so clear!!! Perfect!

Mizinvanccouver
Member

02-22-2003

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 10:51 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Bill sure is looking hot!! I didn't think he was that attractive before but those pics with Leno he looks HOT HOT HOT!! Did he get a hair cut?? Are his teeth whiter?? Does he have a 1/4 million dollar glow?? LOL

Thanks Hamsterlady for the pics!!

Hamsterlady
Member

07-03-2003

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 11:19 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Thanks guys! And Luv, I have a TV capture card in my computer that lets me watch and record TV programs on my computer.

From Conan tonight, Trump's new book:

Trump's New Book

Luvmykitties
Member

01-02-2004

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 11:32 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
thank you HL. That is so cool! Great shots.

Funny - I was thinking Bill was looking good last night! (as well as tonight) I love his smile

Funny - he wouldn't admit to dating the chick from The Bachelor.

Mizinvanccouver
Member

02-22-2003

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 11:37 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
That is hilarious!!! Thanks for sharing HL!!

Hmmmm I didn't know that he wouldn't admit to dating the chick from The Bachelor Luvmykitties.

Was that on Leno tonight?

Hamsterlady
Member

07-03-2003

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 11:40 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Yes Miz....(it was on Leno and I hope I'm not interrupting, I already feel bad for posting so many pics tonight....sorry 56K users!)

Kwame's coming up on Conan. I might be able to snag a pic.... :-)

Hamsterlady
Member

07-03-2003

Friday, April 16, 2004 - 11:56 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
A couple of pics from Kwame on Conan

Kwame 1

Kwame 2

Spear
Member

08-06-2001

Saturday, April 17, 2004 - 1:47 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Looks like Kwame is going to be just fine:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=797&ncid=762&e=8&u=/eo/20040417/en_tv_eo/13918

Excerpts:

At The Apprentice afterparty, Kwame was reportedly offered a cushy position managing one of the portfolios of Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, according to Extra and starmagazine.com.

The Internet mogul reportedly waited for hours to gain the runner-up's ear and spring the job offer on him.

"I'm deciding and we're going to be talking," Kwame told Extra. "I mean, I'm just flattered that he waited around for me." (Star's Website reports that Kwame accepted the position.)

[...]

As if any more proof were needed that Kwame is this year's answer to Clay Aiken, Star reports that he's been personally invited to accompany Greta Van Susteren to the White House correspondents dinner on May 1.



Babyjaxmom
Member

10-20-2002

Saturday, April 17, 2004 - 10:05 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I knew Kwame would be just fine. He seems like such a nice guy! He was such a gracious "loser"--but then to have some in second out of 215,000 applicants certainly doesn't make him a loser!

Did anybody else (besides Hamsterlady--thanks for the outstanding pics!) watch Dateline last night? They did a whole hour on the Apprentice. Funniest part was when they showed the apprentices arriving at Trump Tower for the after party--Omarosa was the only one who got booed by the crowd! And when everybody else was inside partying, she was still outside talking to the "press." Girl just can't seem to get enough attention! I hope she goes away soon. Her personality just irritates the heck out of me! Can't believe a word that comes out of her mouth.

Babyjaxmom
Member

10-20-2002

Saturday, April 17, 2004 - 10:16 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Just checked the Yahoo listings and the Dateline show will be repeated at 8:00 tonight. Don't miss it if you're a fan!