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Eighteen men and women have been chosen by the most powerful man in real estate for a 15-week job interview, in which only one can be named president of one of his companies.

Who will Donald Trump choose as his next Apprentice?

Who's fired this week? Check the Apprentice 2 Portfolio!

Recaps by Gordon Pepper, GSNN


FACT FILE:
Host:
Donald Trump
Assistants: George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher
Creator: Mark Burnett
EP: Mark Burnett, Donald Trump
Packager: Mark Burnett Productions, Trump Productions.
Airs: Thursdays at 9:00pm ET on NBC


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"Scoop Dreams" - September 16

After a slam-bang first episode, we are off to the second episode. We start it off in the Boardroom, where the guys predict that going home is.... Andy. Buzzzzzzzzzz. Rob is toast, and Andy coming up confirms it. Andy reiterates that since he is the youngest person there, he has to be 100 times tougher than everyone else. Kevin says that going sucks, but he is reminded by Chris that as long as they keep their eye on the big picture and win, then they won't have to go down to the Boardroom.

As everyone is toasting to the fact that they are still in the game, Bradford is happy that they know who is good at what for the next challenge. Maria, meanwhile wants to know what Bradford brings to the table, and is distressed that him, the 'Weakest Link', is exempt. She wants to know what's going to happen when he is put in a real pressure-filled position. We probably won't see that this week...

...but we do see Bradford picking up the phone the next morning and being told to meet in front of the Trump Tower at 8:00 am. While Maria is worrying about her black and pink shoes, Stacie is worried about the personality in the team, thinking that the relationships are phony and they are here to cut each other's throat. The women all want to cut Stacie's throat, with Maria adding that her behavior on yesterday's challenge is not something they will forget easily.

The Donald wants to start up his own ice cream business, and he wants to call it Donald's Ice Cream Parlor. The ice cream business is a 20 billion dollar industry - and Donald wants a piece of it. Everyone will be working with Ciao Bella Gelato Company. They have to create a flavor, and then sell it. Whoever makes the most amount of money wins, while losing sends them all back to the Board Room.

The guys have a random draw to determine who the Project Manager is - and it's Kelly, who, with his military experience, gets everyone discussing for ten minutes. That turns Pamela off, but John's suggestion to get distributors was a good idea. they all realize that the girls are sexier, so they had to get a plan going to counter it. Kelly splits up the group to a sales team with Wes leading, and a distribution team with him leading.

Apex, on the other hand, decides to brainstorm. Ivana, the Project Manager, decides to split everything to sales and distribution. Ivana adds that she would be more cooperative, which turns Bradford's head. Meow. They all pow-wow in terms of flavors, and Bradford is worried that it's too much velvet glove and not enough iron fist.

Mosaic meets the Ciao Bella, and Pamela is asking all sorts of questions about the ice cream - everything about how it's made, but nothing about how to sell it. Kelly and Andy are discussing on how Pamela's questions are leading them nowhere, and her questions about how many people are needed and how the production works are getting them absolutely nowhere.

Trump's lesson of the week - 'Get Organized'. You can't get focused with a lack of leadership. Thank you, Mr. Donald.

Wes calls up a few companies and says that he is an independent contractor for Ciao Bella ice cream. That is sort of true, but then he says that he is marketing a new kind of ice cream, which he can't say yet, but the focus groups love it. That is total hooey, and even though he thinks he is good at it, the companies aren't buying what he is selling. A frustrated Wes winds up hanging up on a company, Sure, that's a good way to deal with it.

The women go over to Ciao Bella's to brainstorm, and they come up with around 50 flavors, including Chinese Pineapple Cake, Margarita, Cocktails, and Lobster. Lobster? Stacie says that it was total chaos when Ivana comes up with Shortcake. People stare at her like she ate too much lobster ice cream.

The guys call up Ciao Bella and ask the important questions that somehow Pamela never asked. The most important one - how long will it take to get them the ice cream. Answer - 14.5 hours. Kevin flippantly says to drop a chocolate bar in the ice cream and call it a day, but then they get serious and think about vanilla, chocolate and donuts. Hmmm... the ice cream person tells them to go buy donuts, which would cost around $250. Chris calls up one store - and realizes quickly that one store will not have 250 donuts. Pamela finds out that they only have 25 minutes to get them, and they raid the Dunkin' Donuts, grabbing everything (and making little kids cry) in the process. It takes them 14 minutes to get 300 donuts as they clean out 2 stores. I hope they don't eat them all...

It's 3:45 and Apex still can't come up with a name. They decide on Red Velvet Cake - which is a smooth cake with cream cheese and pecans (C-Note: Pecans? What red velvet cake are YOU eating?). They suggest it to the main ice cream maker, who say that it's... interesting. They do have the ingredients, so they don't have to go get the ingredients. As they are done, Jennifer G. notices that the men are bringing in donuts for their idea. She realizes that their asses may be getting kicked on this challenge.

Also not helping? Stacie under a table hiring temps to distribute the product. Just what Apex needs - more chaos. All of the women stared at each other, as none of them told her to do it. "Stacie J. is a loose cannon." says Elizabeth, "She needs adult supervision."

The happy production team comes back, with Pamela stating that they can put dog feces in the ice cream and it tastes good - and they meet a very unhappy sales group, who didn't get much done. Wes doesn't know if it's worth doing and Raj thought that Wes was wasting his time. Andy comes up with a great idea - some of the proceeds will be donated to charity. Kevin, who's brother had leukemia, suggests that the money go to the Leukemia/Lymphoma Foundation. The guys think it's a great idea and the idea is to go to the park and hustle, hustle, hustle.

The ladies come out and say hi to the guys. They all notice that all of the guys plans are out in the open - and they decide to spy on it. They see that the guys are going to the park - and they, who originally wanted to hit 42nd street, think that the idea is good enough to steal. The women think that they have the advantage, when Bradford telling the guys that, "You need to grow a set of boobies to beat MY girls." BRADFORD's girls? They all turn around and you can tell that they are hoping that the exemption didn't exist.

Mosaic gets to Times Square at 7:15, with the hopes of selling the ice cream at 8am. The guys all decide that they should all dress in uniform, so they all wear a classic ice cream parlor look - with Raj's bow ties. The ice cream truck showed up at 7:45 and everyone got to sample the wares. John told everyone that they needed to save money - and hence to not eat. Raj says that he is hypoglycemic - and he needs to eat. John is convinced that no one should eat and winning the task is above food. Kelly pulls rank on him and says that he is taking out $5 per person so they can get food. John protests, but Kelly says so noted and doles out the money, saying that they can all make it back with an extra sale. "That was a crazy immature notion and not a winning strategy," notes Raj, who apparently will not be giving John any Christmas cards.

Bradford, meanwhile, goes over to the girls, and tells them to take out the weapons and wanted them to wear short skirts and halter tops. The women overturn him and don't want to play the sex card. They are there later than the guys, who get a jump. Raj insists that they have a breakfast spin on it with donuts - and it really helped. The benefits for the Leukemia Society also was a hit and the guys seem to be creating a huge lead.

Apex does decide to setup by the tickets booth, which worked - until some angry street peddlers wanted to see their permits. Oops. The women decided to move the carts - in opposite directions. Oops. Neither team realizes this until Bradford wonders where Ivana is - and they destroy their umbrella top. Ooops. Oh yeah, they pass by Mosaic, who realizes that the women are in trouble. Ooooops.

The women decided to set up like the guys did, but in order to do that, they need the second cart, which is on 42nd and 7th. Now Broadway runs concurrent to that, so they could have mistaken 7th for Broadway, which in this case, is exactly what Stacie did. Now Stacie comes from New York, so you would think that she would at least know where she was in her own city, right? Wrong. They finally find each other, but not before wasting even more time and I don't possibly see how Apex is going to win this - especially since the guys are making a mint. I mean the guys - not Pamela, who sounds as convincing as a brick. Raj notices this, and makes a note to not make her a salesperson as she screamed that someone screamed at her.

They realize that women sell, so the guys recruit sexy women to scoop out the ice cream for them. Now THIS is what the guys should have done in the first season, but Pamela is aghast - and aghast when Raj says, "Any man who purchases (ice cream) gets a kiss from the beautiful Anna." Andy, just to complete the moment asks - and gets - Anna's number when they are done.

After a very slow start, Apex finally gets the ball rolling, Bradford is doing a very good job getting people to get ice cream, adding that Bradford is a hustler. Jennifer G. also does a very smart move, as she invites restaurateurs to look - and possibly buy - the ice cream. A bulk purchase order could be more than enough to make up the gap and get them the win.

Is it enough? The guys have a decision to make, as they need to determine how much to give to charity. Too much money given to charity could cause them to lose the competition. They decide to give around $150 and change to charity.

They all move into the Board Room to find out. Apex made $2,472. Mosaic made... $2,707.85. Mosaic wins, and Kelly is exempt. Donald is told that Ivana was the Project Manager, and was told "Ay-yi-yi. I shudder when I hear that name." Heh. Mosaic told Donald that it was a combination of a better product and better sales strategy. Their reward? A trip to Petrosian, where the finest caviar in the world is. Apex will go to the Boardroom, where someone - who isn't Bradford, will get canned. Kelly asks if the whole amount that they made can be donated to Kevin's charity - and Donald says yes. HUGE brownie points for Kelly.

Bradford says that the loss sucks - like kryptonite to Superman. He is pissed that they lost by $250 to a completely organized Mosaic, adding that if they were more organized, they would have crushed Apex. It is Apex that is doing the crushing - as they are crushing the caviar, which Pamela loves. She is enjoying life while the guys looked like they were completely out of their element. Kelly tells the guys how great they did, while Andy wants them all to stay friends (which causes Pamela to blanche, because she knows what's coming). All of the guys then hug each other - which really makes Pamela look ill.

Ivana looks ill - but she realizes that they need to trim the fat. Jennifer and Maria discuss strategy, and Elizabeth suggests to get rid of Ivana, who calls in Marie to see what is going on. Marie tells her that seeds of discontent (which she is planting, but she doesn't tell Ivana this) are being planted. They all decide that they want to get rid of Stacie - and after that discussion, she walks into the room. The girls then all walk out of the room, and she realizes what's going on.

Stacie confronts Jennifer, who tells her that for someone who knows NYC, she didn't know where she was. Bradford tells the women to step up to the plate. The women, who really don't want to hear any of it, tell him to go away as they pack up their bags. Bradford, who repeats that he doesn't have to pack up his, says that he plans on participating and giving his 2 cents worth as well. We'll see...

The Donald was amazed that the women lost by a large margin - especially since the guys had to buy supplies and donated $150 to charity. Carolyn thought that it should have been simple, while Bradford, who butchers Carolyn's name (calling her Caroline), says that they were unorganized. Donald says that there is a difference between selling sex and selling SEX. Carolyn said that they could have dressed in uniforms or have gotten clowns or anything - but they did nothing.

Donald asks Bradford how Ivana did, and he said average. Donald reminds everyone that Bradford can't be fired, and that he could say some tough things. Bradford then says that he thought he did well, and because of that, he is going to waive his exemption. Carolyn stares at him. Ivana stares at him. Everyone stares at him. Donald says that he will do it - if that's what Bradford wants. Bradford said yes, and Donald does just that, telling him that was stupid, as he can now be fired and that everyone is in the hunt. WHA???? You are told that you have an exemption, and now you're going to be put back into the line of fire? Bradford deserves to get fired, just for doing something like that.

Jennifer M. says that Ivana could be more decisive, while Sandi says that the cart wasn't in communication for 3 hours. Ivana says that Stacie gave them the wrong location, which is why they were lost. Donald was wondering why they couldn't see them if they are half a block apart. Well, you can't really see it from that aspect, so I don't blame them. Stacie says that Ivana did a horrible job. Ivana says that Stacie needed supervision, citing her going under the tables and getting temps. Stacie says that she was a worse liability, while Jennifer says that Stacie should be fired. Sandi says that she would fire Stacie - and so does everyone else. Things are not looking good for her.

Ivana now has the choice - and she decides that she will bring in 3 people. She will bring in Stacie, Jennifer G... and Bradford, as she is sensing that Bradford may have done something very stupid that he could get called on. Ivana tries to explain to Bradford - but he understands, and says that it was dumb. Ivana calls Jennifer in to say that they all need to be in agreement, and Jennifer responds by saying that the page is still the same. Carolyn would get rid of Ivana, while George wants to get rid of Stacie.

Back they go into the board room, and everyone pounces on Stacie. The problem is that it's to no avail, as the Donald has made up his mind. Yes, Stacie was a distraction. Yes, Ivana was a horrible leader, but according to Donald, "Bradford made a stupid, impulsive, life-threatening decision, that frankly, if you were running a company, and make that kind of decision, you destroy that company." Adding that he doesn't want that sort of person running his company, he tells Bradford that he's fired.

Stacie is speechless. Ivana buried her head in her hand. I agree with Mr. Trump, but for a different reason - you can't put yourself ahead of the game, and Bradford's ego was clearly to big for the game - or for Mr. Trump. Even though he realized his mistake, he realized it a little too late, and hence, he's gone.

Afterwards, he admitted that it wasn't a smart move, but that he did it for the sake of the team. That still makes no sense, because you are not playing for the team - you are playing for you. I think that was a thinly veiled excuse for the fact that Bradford was trying to use the move to make him look great - a move that royally backfired.

With that, let's turn to the scoreboard and see who else's plans royally backfired this week.

So Far, So Good - Jennifer M., Stacy, Kelly, Sandi, Elizabeth, Kevin, Andy, Raj, Chris
So Far, Not So Good - John, Wes, Jennifer G.
In Trouble - Stacie, Maria, Ivana, Pamela
You're Fired - Bradford

Will Stacie be gone? Or is Pamela digging her own grave? We'll get the scoop next week.

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