"If you have been to a mall, or opened up a magazine, or seen a TV show... you know who I am. My name is Tommy Hilfiger. In 1969, when I was 18 years old I was selling jeans out of my basement. At 20, I was
opening boutiques all over New York State. I have turned that into a multi-billion dollar empire. Thousands of dreamers come to New York City and go home empty handed....until now. 16 men and women, some who are fashion designers in their own right some who are good shoppers will live my life...in fast forward. I am going to find one person who will design a collection under my label and win a salary of $250,000." (Apprentice Copy #1)

This is how Tommy introduces "The Cut". He opens the door to his New York flagship office and the 16 unknowns walk into his office--and they all look nervous. Tommy then enters and looks them over like a drill instructor over newly entered recruits in boot camp. After looking at one guy, the guy said, "I did this to impress you." Tommy told him to relax. He singles out a black man whose style he calls, "Brooklyn meets Picasso meets hip hop." This guy designed his own clothes, down to his underwear. One guy was wearing Tommy clothes all over. Tommy hopes that won't be a detriment to him. He says he is creative enough, he won't let it get to him. Hilfiger says it's smart, very smart. One girl he calls "Miss Park Avenue." He singles out one man who "doesn't care about style." He says he does. Tommy--"You could have fooled me. Ouch.

Tommy goes into his opening statement. "Some of you are dressed appropriately--some are not. I am here to look for that one person who is a creative genius. You are not designing clothes, you are designing a lifestyle. Whoever wins, will get to design under my label and win a salary of $250,000. He explains that first impressions are very important. So he singles out Miss Park Avenue a/k/a:

Julie O' Connor, a handbag designer from St. Louis, MO. She calls herself, a flamboyant fashionable mom. She is used to chaos and can handle anything.

Then Tommy singles out Rob Walker, Mr. Brooklyn meets Picasso. He is a clothing artist from Brooklyn, NY. He has 5 kids which are his inspiration and drive.

Tommy chose them on first impressions and that is what these two people are going to do. They are going to choose their teams based on 1st impressions. Each week, the teams will reshuffle. Julie started first and Rob went after...and for sake of ease of reading I am going to give you both teams this way:

JULIE'S TEAM.
1. Julie
2. Elizabeth, a magazine editor from Beverly Hills, CA
3. Princess, a freelance designer from Philadelphia, PA. She calls herself a "diva/sexy/bitch". She looks out of central casting for the black girl with attitude.
4. Jeff, a clothing sales rep from Chicago. He is bald, and says he can get a smile from anybody. He is going to blow people's minds, and "I am unbeatable."
5. Tommy, the non-ambigiously gay guy from Chicago. "Fashion is the language I speak." He is a woman's clothing designer and sold a skirt for $4800. He could be fun.
6. Chris S, a student/restaurant owner from Nashville, TN. He is the "super southern boy who loves country music and Alabama football."
7. Vlada from St. Louis, MO. She is a retail sales associate. She is always getting attention.
8. Felix from Los Angeles, CA. He is a pro skateboarder who designs all his clothes that he wears. He got there through hard work.

ROB'S TEAM.
1. Rob
2. Chris C. (the guy who wore all the Tommy Clothes) a graphic design student from Bridgeport, CT. He is a "ghetto guy" who didn't need to be an athlete or rap star to get out. All you need is a dream or goal.
3. Amy, a personal shopper/stylist from Chicago. She loves to shop and get paid for it.
4. James, an apparel manufacturer from San Diego, CA. He calls himself a straight up fun guy with a great personality.
5. Wes, a creative director of a clothing store in New Orleans, LA. He says he is "the All-American Boy with a twist." (I personally didn't like the "I had to get out of the "Bible Belt" comment.)
6. Jessica, a former Miss Minnesota and student. She is "just a normal girl".
7. Shauna, a self described "psychotic fashionista" who is a fashion designer from New Orleans, LA. She has been married 3 times.
8. (the last one picked) Deanna, from Los Angeles. She is a boutique store manager who claims she can win this whole thing and she is out for blood.

(Apprentice Copy #2--the graphics of the lettering describing each contestant is the exact font the Apprentice uses.)

Our teams are set. Tommy says that Rob and Julie are not the leaders of the team. Leaders will rise to the top. After each challenge, they will be taken to the Style Forum (Apprentice Copy #3) where they will discuss how each team worked together. And the losing team will lose one member.
They will meet Tommy in one house on 50th Street and Broadway.

(Apprentice Copy #4--cue the 60's theme music--"You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones)

The teams leave the world headquarters and head to 50th Street and Broadway. They introduce themselves to each other. They get to the location and Tommy leaves a limo. He explains that this is the "crossroads of the world--Times Square". (Not exactly, Tommy...but close.) In 1986, Tommy put his 1st Billboard up and compared himself to the great names of the business. He took a risk, and got his name known. He points upward to 2 blank billboards...the 50th Street side will be Julie's team. The Broadway side is Rob's team.

THIS WEEK CHALLENGE: Design a billboard that will impress Tommy
Hilfiger. The teams have until 10AM, 2 days from now. They have $3,000 and a cutting shop in Soho. It must have the "Made in NY" logo on it. They can either move into their Soho Loft, or get to the cutting room.

"My advice to you: Get moving."

43 Hours to go: Rob was blown away that he was going to have a billboard up in Times Square. The 50th Street team was seen discussing what to do. So was the Broadway team. Chris C. is seen taking leadership of the Broadway team. The 50th street goes back to the loft...and wow what a loft. (Apprentice Copy #5--a kick butt living quarters) Tommy--"What a dump." It's a 3 floor loft in Soho. There are separate bedrooms for the men and women...everyone loves the house. Rob sees the energy being high and everyone has a welcome toast. And we see everyone moving in. Amy complains there is very little closet space for 16 people. Felix steals
a hanging rack with hangers and some girls go nuts. He says he isn't here to make friends, he is here to get a job. Princess went crazy.

36 hours to go: Team Broadway went to the cutting room. Chris showed his portfolio to "show his vision". There were a lot of ideas going around
back and forth. Deanna said Amy yells stuff to yell stuff. James said they were going to take the idea of "Art and Fashion" from Rob's shirt and translate it to the billboard. Back at the loft, more ideas are discusses. Princess likes the NY skyline. Jeff tries "Wear Am I Going". You heard crickets. Then Felix comes up with TOMMYNY (To My NY) He took control and respect. Tommy didn't like the secondary colors of red white and blue, and liked the new colors Tommy H was using of Purple Orange and Green. Felix wasn't completely sold on it, but they went with it anyway. They also included the Statue of Liberty in the skyline.

Day 2, 10:00AM, 24 hours to go: The Broadway team split up into 2 teams to get what they needed in materials. 50th Street team are already at the sign starting to work. Princess--"I love my team". They are set up in safety glasses and Jeff never worked a jigsaw before. They were having trouble. Tommy wondered where the other team was.

The Broadway team went to Print International in Long Island, NY. They needed to get 3 decals, the Lion Crest, Made in New York Logo, and the signature. The company said it was $1000. The team was shocked. Jessica played "Let's Make A Deal" and got them down to $485 in exchange for the hanging of "Print International" signs at the site. The 50th Street team, specifically Tommy, said "Lady Liberty needs lipo."

15 hours to go: Tommy Hilfiger shows up unannounced and asked "Did you bury the other guys?" Felix said it inspiring to meet Tommy. The Tommy flag on their side is Purple, Orange and Green. Jeff was inspired as well. The Broadway team finally arrived and trash talked the billboard. Deanna said, "I did better things in HS with 1 dollar and some spray paint." ME-OUCH!

10:00PM--12 hours to go. Part of the Broadway team are at the cutting room painting the canvas to hang on the billboard. Chris C is talking to Amy. Amy explained they were starting the painting and he was worried about time. It's now 12:00AM and at the cutting room, everyone is ready to paint. The concept is an abstract painting with the Tommy lion crest in the center. One team member was complaining that Amy didn't have "any notable achievements". Amy laughed and said "Ah, my pants split!" Back to the 50th Street team, Tommy is nervous that they are not finished. Julie doesn't think so, and they should move to Plan B. Broadway's canvas is ready...."Let's roll."

2:00AM--8 Hours to go. The canvas is 14 feet by 28 feet. They don't know if it's going to be hung on time. Chris and James are getting cranky toward each other. But when the hanging starts to go well, and the Broadway team cheers. Chris calls it "a moment in history." However, the 50th street team is not impressed. Jeff calls it a "joke, simplistic, half-baked. We have won this assignment."

With 5 hours to go Elizabeth, Princess and Julie show me that they don't want to win this contest. They decide to tell Jeff and Felix to take down the Statue because they don't think there is enough time. Jeff and Felix yell at them that they can finish this and Princess, in the typical reality show "black girl with a ghetto attitude complete with hand gestures" casting move, she says, "Take the bass out of the voice." Jeff goes down to a whisper and still she says that. This made me angry and I know that Elizabeth, Princess and Julie have lost to me. And as it starts to rain and snow, Felix and Jeff finish the billboard. They called that argument a "wake-up call."

8:00AM--2 hours to go. The 50th Street sign is running due to the rain. Team Broadway loved the piece and enhanced every nationality. But Deanna pulls a psycho-bitch moment because she was upset her jacket was left out in the rain. And time is up...it's 10AM and Felix says, "when I set  a goal, I do it. My work speaks for itself...it's 50 hours of heart."

Both teams are standing on 50th and Broadway and Tommy walks through them. He brought George Lois, the man behind his 1st billboard and the "I want my MTV!" ad campaigns to judge the billboard. The Broadway one to George is a little weird, because no one knows the Lion Crest. Tommy interjects that the Lion Crest is being re-launched this year. Tommy likes the execution of it, which is better than the blue and purple skyline on the right side.

The right side, a/k/a 50th Street, is not that great according to George. But he loved the TOMMYNY idea. He is an idea guy. (Felix--"I am going to cry".) Tommy says he is torn. He will talk to the teams at the Style Forum. Back at the loft, both teams party and booze it up after the completion of the first assignment. Tommy sashays into the room in a Tommy sport jacket. Wes spots Vlada and Jeff partying in the hot tub. Jeff is married with 2 kids. Tommy--"This isn't Circus Seximus!" Wes says "The Girls hate Vlada, The guys hate Jeff--it's natural they would gravitate together." Felix was uneasy. He felt that men could endure of the manual labor. Chris C.--"This is just one step of my dreams" Wes..."We gave it 100%...I would be surprised if we lose."

The style forum is upon us. (Apprentice Copy #5) Everyone is nervous. The teams enter the forum. Tommy enters the forum and explains there will be debate discussion and judgment.

He asks Team Broadway what their concept was: Risk, the lioncrest and a celebration of artists. 50th Street: A celebration of the "H line" of Pinstripes.

Next question: Team Broadway: what did you not like about the other team's billboard? Deanna said: It's looked like a public education project. The skyline is lame. 50th Street: Tommy: I thought the signature was in Korean.

Tommy asked who did the graphics of the Broadway sign. Chris C said he did. Tommy explains you need to see the signature from blocks away. I couldn't read it. Hilfiger asked who changed the colors of the flag of the 50th Street sign. Tommy said that those were his favorite colors. Hilfiger said that you don't mess with brand images. Coca-Cola and others don't change it. "Don't mess with brands!"

Then Tommy asked who came up with the TOMMYNY idea. Liz and Felix both take claim to the idea. Felix was shocked (as was I). He said it was 100% his idea. Liz said that it was part her idea during discussions with the team. Felix, in a great move, says, "I'll show you my original sketch." Tommy looks at it, and asks again, "Whose idea was it?" She still was tap dancing and then, in another great move, Tommy asked to the team the same question. The entire team sells Liz out and Liz was shocked. I wasn't. Great job, Felix.

Ok, time for Tommy's judgment. He felt both billboards were underwhelming. Team Broadway's needed to have every inch covered. And his name was unreadable. 50th Street's sign was juvenile and not painted well. But the TOMMYNY idea was outstanding...50th Street team has won! They cheer...but it's over to Team Broadway.

Tommy explains to Team Broadway--you have failed me. Chris--the Lion Logo didn't work. He told him to step forward. He was asked to pick out two people who participated the least. He picks Jessica and Amy. Chris is told he is on thin ice.

Tommy asks what each person did for the team. Amy said she was the organization, time management and kept people fed and happy. Jessica said basically the same thing. Tommy asked if she did anything else. She explained about the Print International deal.

Tommy asked the other team members who did the least. Shauna, James, and Deanna said Jessica. Chris, Rob, and Wes said Amy.

Tommy says to Amy that he didn't see enough creativity out of her. Jessica saved money, which showed leadership. And in the worst copy of all, (Apprentice Copy #6) Tommy says to Amy, "You are out of style, please take the runway." (LAME CATCHPHRASE)

She was "ridiculously surprised. She calls it a loss for "both teams". Tommy ends with this. "I am prepared to put the global resources behind
one of you. At this point in time, I am petrified. We have a lot of work to do."

Next week: The teams customize Lincoln Navigators for a celebrity client.

My opinion. This is a bad Apprentice clone, down to the catchphrase and
everything else. Let's see if the show improves.