You’re fried
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 by Graham Kibble-White
The most extraordinary Apprentice USA boardroom ever…
…and I’m saying that bearing in mind the episode when Donald Trump fired four people in one sitting, or the time he entered into an indepth discussion about homosexuality.
But here I’m referring to last Sunday’s feature-length episode on NBC, which saw The Celebrity Apprentice teams running rival mini-hotels. Over the last few weeks, NBA star Dennis Rodman has been portrayed as chaotic and bad-tempered, walking out of tasks and feuding with country singer Clint Black. And throughout has been his continual penchant for vodka and cranberry juice.
However, the most recent task saw a fatal three-way collision between Rodman, leadership responsibilities and the hospitality industry, where booze flows freely. Frequently seen demanding his favourite tipple from the kitchen, Rodman eventually ended up disappearing into town with two guests for dinner, leaving the rest of the team very much high and – in comparison – dry.
Even The Donald’s aide, his daughter Ivanka, realised something was amiss: “I think Dennis was inebriated”. Although, as Anna Pickard points out on her Guardian blog (and, er thanks for doing this every week, Anna, but why?) Ms Trump then continued: “So I just hope it’s a consistent effort to bring forth with victory”. Erm…
The final boardroom, was bizarre. Strangely touching, in a way, as “entrepreneur and TV star” Jesse James spoke out: He thought Dennis had a drinking problem. A former alcoholic himself, you sensed James had no small insight into the condition. While the women’s team looked on with pained expressions, the men gently, but forcefully hammered the message home: Dennis was fun, but only up to a point.
Even Donald Trump showed some candour – Dennis was a fallen hero. A sorry state. This was, as Joan Rivers said afterwards, basically a televised intervention and an extraordinary moment for any show, let alone one prefaced with the word Celebrity.
“It’s all love!” shouted Black repeatedly as Rodman exited in the lift. It kind of was.
Here’s how it went down…
Loved your review. I watched the show too, and I think it would have been more accurate for Clint to shout “It’s all ratings!” If there was genuine concern from Trump Towers then the previous two episodes wouldn’t have seen Donald perform weird verbal gymnastics in order to justify firing anyone but Dennis Rodman. To watch Dennis try to get his mangled and mollycoddled brain into gear in the boardroom, was real “watch from behind the sofa” sorta tv.
But I loved that Joan, while getting the hotel guests what they wanted, neglected to ask the price of any of it! Spoke volumes.
And I shall be tuning in/turning my PC on next week.