The Apprentice: Week 7 analysis

Stacy FINALLY got fired this week on the Apprentice. And we've finally got a hot streak going where the firings are at least partially related to how well the candidate performed during the task. Maybe Trump realized that while firing people randomly on a whim might be great for his ego, it doesn't do anything to help ratings. Trump and Burnett like to brag about how their show has one of the richest and most educated demographics in prime time, but if they want to keep that demo, they need to stick more to merit-based firings rather than transforming into the Jerry Springer show.

Big twist this week was the recall of everyone to the boardroom, where the freshly chosen PMs were asked to shuffle the teams. This time by picking the players they did NOT want. Oooh. The effect is the same as if you were picking the ones you wanted, but it feels so much more harsh to the individuals being selected. More importantly, it gives Trump MUCH-NEEDED information on who the "strong" and "weak" candidates are, since he's shown himself to be pretty clueless so far this season. And it plays out in that the first person chosen by Jenn M. as a "weak" candidate ended up getting fired.

Based on our rankings so far, Jenn M. got by far the better team out of this shuffling. Wes is a poor judge of talent. He kept Andy or both Kevin and Raj. He was right to keep Kelly, but he should have sent Andy packing, particularly since he said (later in the boardroom) that Andy had always required lots of management. The REAL mistake this episode was in choosing Wes as the leader. The men are being very egalitatarian about this, but in a suprise twist situation, they should have gone with one of the stronger guns, even one who has already led, rather than just going down the list random list. Imagine if Kelly has been chosen. He could have picked both Kevin and Raj and they would have dominated.

So, 3 of our 4 positives (Jenn M., Raj, Kevin) are on one team, while only one (Kelly) is on the other team.

Another interesting dynamic is that everyone on the new Apex has led a task, but there are two candidates on Mosaic who have not: Sandy and Andy. (Hey that rhymes!) Previews suggest that Andy and Elizabeth lead this week. My ungrounded prediction is that Apex loses and Elizabeth gets fired.

So here's my updated rankings of the Apprentice players:

Positive - these are the candidates who have stepped up (so far) and look to be strong contenders for the top prize. In descending order...

• Kelly - He continues to be a strong leader for the team even when not chosen. Both Carolyn and George have said very positive things about him. He'll be around for awhile.
• Jenn M - Finally getting her shot to lead, she shows that she has good leadership talent, and is not afraid to lead by example. Ivana's comments saying that Jenn doesn't know the difference between leading the team and being a team member say more about Ivana's lack of leadership than it does about Jenn.
• Kevin - He finally got some decent airtime this week. My bet is on Kevin to be #3 at the end.
• Raj - His star is definitely waning. His eccentricities have been wearing thin, but he did contribute this week by getting Jenn M. to diversify to a new location.

Neutral - these are candidates who either have not stood out yet, or have had both positive and negative exposures. In descending order...

• Maria - She's probably the #2 remaining woman since she has a victory under her belt, but I sense she could be a scapegoat if Mosaic loses soon.
• Andy - Andy's make or break moment appears to be coming up next episode.
• Chris - Chris keeps digging himself deeper into the hole of obnoxious New Yorker. Would anyone hire this guy to run a business. Being able to hustle stocks is one thing, but showing overt disrespect for customers and their needs is toxic. Brings to mind the "Boiler Room."

Negative - these are candidates about whom I would be shocked if they made it to the final four. In descending order...

• Sandy - She contributed pretty heartily to the team effort this week. Much more so than...
• Wes - He got lucky by having the Most Annoying Candidate Ever on his team to fire as a scapegoat, because his leadership was extremely poor. He made bad chocies at nearly every turn. Didn't start washing dogs until 12:30?!
• Ivana - She and Liz swap places since she at least is stable and doesn't break out crying. In a pinch she can do Excel, so she's not completely worthless.
• Liz - No change from last week. Even Pamela does not have a favorable impression of her.
• Stacy got the boot. Never was a firing more deserved. I'm inclined to hire her for a speaking engagement if only to hear about "Dating Lessons Learned from the Apprentice."

Speaking of websites, here are the current web addresses of your all the candidates.

Stacy - http://stacyrotner.com/
Kelly - http://kellypredew.com/
Pam - http://pamday.com/
Andy - http://www.andylitinsky.com/
Chris - http://216.134.223.200/crusso/
Jenn M. - http://www.jennifermassey.com/. Although it doesn't appear to be working.
Ivana - http://www.ivanama.com/
Liz - http://www.elizabethjarosz.com/
Maria - http://www.mariaboren.com/
Wes - http://www.wesmoss.com/
Raj - http://www.rajbhakta.com/
Sandy - http://www.sandyferreira.com/
John - http://www.johnwillenborg.com/. By the way, he has a picture which shows John, Stacy, and Elizabeth together with Heidi. The thing these people might have in common is that they were fired in that order. Hmmm. Another spoiler?
Bradford - http://www.crimdefend.com/
Jenn C. - http://www.jennifercrisafulli.com/
StacieJ - http://www.staciej.com/
Heck, even Rob has a website - http://www.robflanagan.com/. And he was on the show, what?, 15 minutes?

Only Kevin does not yet appear to have milked his fleeting fame. What would be Kevin's address: kevinallen.com redirects to Warner Bros.

My personal favorite of all these is definitely Raj's site. It is clearly ALL RAJ!

posted by Tim at 8:48 AM

The picture on Jenn C.'s website has been removed, which means it was probably a real mistake and a real spoiler, as well. Hehe. I'll lay money that the "little munchkin" is the next to go.
posted by Tim at 4:09 PM

Jenn C's website has some party photos. One includes all the current firees with the exception of two additional people: John and little Stacy. Maybe they are the next to go?


posted by Tim at 2:26 PM

Pamela got the axe this week on the Apprentice. I think it was a terrible decision by Trump, but I was not all that surprised. First, he hasn't impressed us very much by his decision-making thus far; second, Pamela had had numerous negative impressions to indicate she was not staying long; and third, she had previously declined real-life party invitations (from colleagues of mine) for this weekend, an indication she'd be appearing in New York for the obligatory post-firing appearances. In any event, Pamela did not make enough of an effort to describe why she should not be fired for the team's failure and Trump let her have it.

The women's team is a complete mess, with no ability to work together outside the boardroom. However, in the boardroom they all seem to work in concert to eliminate their rivals in quick succession.

One interesting tidbit that was not shown on TV, but is shown on the web videos, is that the men all encouraged the women to get Pamela fired. Raj was very emphatic about it. And the women complied.

Now, was this extremely subtle strategy on the part of the guys, or payback for having to endure Pamela's lackluster performance on the men's team? Pamela is far superior to any of the women, except perhaps for Jenn M, and she could have helped turn the women's team into a potential threat to the men's. Maybe she just didn't have enough time to get to know them well enough to make it work. But with Pamela gone, the women will likely flounder even more next week, and the guys will escape the boardroom yet again.

So here's my updated rankings of the Apprentice players:

Positive - these are the candidates who have stepped up (so far) and look to be strong contenders for the top prize. In descending order...

• Kelly - No change from last week. Raj calling him the "de facto" leader of the men's team, coupled with his minor airtime, only solidifies his position as the #1 contender.
• Raj - Raj earns geek points for asking out Anna Kournikova. He gains even more geek points for losing the dare and having to run in his boxers around Arthur Ashe stadium. He's sticking around for awhile.
• Jenn M - She's head and sholders above the rest of the women, and she got promoted past Maria as the spokesmodel for the team. Only woman that hasn't been "brought in" to boardroom. Given the cattiness on the team, that's important.
• Kevin - No change from last week; I think he was out sick this episode.

Neutral - these are candidates who either have not stood out yet, or have had both positive and negative exposures. In descending order...

• Andy - Moving Andy down to neutral; he's starting to show negative signs as he keeps bringing up how much he doesn't know about the weekly topic. Yea, we know already: you're young and inexperienced. Task leadership will make or break him.
• John - John moves up merely because the others in the neutral category have moved down. However, being labeled a "pretty boy" doesn't make it look good. Hopefully, he'll get a leadership role soon so we can see him in action.
• Chris - Nipple rings?! He drops a notch in the neutral category. Also he appeared as a non-factor in watching Kelly lead Mosaic to victory.
• Maria - The boardroom queen evades yet another firing opportunity.

Negative - these are candidates about whom I would be shocked if they made it to the final four. In descending order...

• Wes - No change from last week. he moves up by virtue of the women all moving down. We'll see when/if he gets to lead the team...
• Sandy - Sandy hardly shows up in this episode. And other than being the virtual goat of Episode 4, we have not seen much of her. Bodes well if you ask me.
• Stacy - Stacy shows more negative signs. She's gotten a lot of negative airtime, partly because she's bumped up against almost every PM. She's certainly someone I would not want working for me. However, all of those PMs have gotten fired, which means she's done some great boardroom maneuvering. However, it looks like someone like Sandy will outlast her, if only to even out the exposure.
• Liz - No change from last week. Even Pamela does not have a favorable impression of her.
• Ivana - No change form last week. She still sucks, but at least Trump is not calling for her head anymore.
• Pamela go the boot, albeit unfairly. Given the exposure she's had, though, is it any surprise?

posted by Tim at 7:37 AM

Gamespy actually has a pretty good Strategy guide for Rome: Total War.

Let me set the scene: You're in your most comfortable chair, sitting in front of your PC, with the lights low, the significant other out of town, and the phone off the hook. You're about to conquer Rome. The sun has just gone down, and you're not planning on stopping until long after the sun has come back up.

I wrote up this strategy guide because there was a definite lack of basic Rome: Total War strategies anywhere else. Even the 'official' strategy guide is just page after page of pictures of the units. Great -- that's what they look like -- but how do you use them? We want some vici, not just the vidi!

It's a whopping 33 pages, but it's a good read for those who need some help with basics of strategy, and a great overview of what the game is all about for those who still have not bought it yet.

UPDATE: There is a demo you can download at IGN.com

posted by Tim at 2:10 PM

I'm playing ROME: TOTAL WAR right now. It's a compelling game, even just in single-player mode. It's very close to the original Civilization, but the real-time tactical battles and the faction politics make it much more engrossing. From the homepage

Rome: Total War is the next generation in epic strategy gaming from the critically acclaimed and award winning Total War brand. The aim of the game is to conquer, rule and manipulate the Roman Empire with the ultimate goal of being declared as the 'Imperator' of Rome.

On top of that, there is the role-playing aspect of it where you try to advance the careers of your family members. It's a very well-done game and has a lot of innovative game features. Without giving a detailed review, let me just say I highly recommend it.

Also, the graphics are so detailed epic in scale that the History Channel is using the engine to recreate "Decisive Battles" for its upcoming show.
posted by Tim at 8:28 AM

MSNBC carried a story about how Jenn C lost her real job over comments she made on The Aprentice

Apprentice' contestant Jennifer Crisafulli was told 'you're fired' by Donald Trump this week. Now the Slingerlands native reportedly has lost her real job as well.

An official with the Manhattan firm where Crisafulli was a real estate agent told the Times Union that she would not be welcomed back because of comments she made on Wednesday night's episode of 'The Apprentice.'

Crisafulli made remarks that were perceived by some as anti-Semitic. She has said she did not mean to offend.

Crime never pays. Neither does rascism.
posted by Tim at 6:50 AM