Episode Recap: Week 12
Things were somber in the suite when Lee and Sean returned, though Tammy gave Sean a big hug when he walked through the door. Over dinner, the final five shared a toast, but the mood was far from celebratory. The teams met with Trump, Bill, and Ivanka at the Donald J. Trump watch showroom to receive their next task. Each team was to create an interactive "display environment" for Microsoft's X-Box 360 to be located in Wal-Mart stores. Jay, a Microsoft executive, and Stephen, a Wal-Mart executive, would decide the winners. Sean, project manager for Gold Rush, felt that he and Lee had a "genius" idea for their display and decided to outsource its components to printing professionals rather than doing it themselves. Ivanka stopped by to see what the team was cooking up and seemed enthusiastic about what was going on. Project manager Tammy decided that Synergy would create a "red carpet awards show" event to give the display an "entertainment" feel; Roxanne didn't like the idea but was willing to go along. Bill was all smiles when he approached the women to find out what they were up to, but his smile vanished when Allie kept rolling her eyes at him about Tammy's idea. While Lee and Sean were bonding over snacks, the members of Synergy were sniping at each other as they assembled their display. Later on, Tammy expressed frustration with Allie and Roxanne; she didn’t feel they respected her or were working as a team. Gold Rush's idyllic world came crashing down when Sean received a call from one of their printers informing him that their order wouldn’t be ready until seven the next morning and not at midnight as previously promised. Two-and-a-half hours before they were supposed to present, Sean and Lee were still waiting for their printed flooring. When it arrived, they worked feverishly to get everything set up in time. Just as things started looking in their favor, another bomb was dropped: Their display roof wouldn't be ready for two more hours. Though there were some issues around Roxanne's sign for their display, Synergy was up and running when the execs came in to check out their work. Without a roof, Sean admitted that Gold Rush's display looked like "crap." The circular wrap sagged and buckled, making an unattractive environment for the arriving execs. Jay and Stephen looked stone-faced as Lee and Sean went over the display with them. When the roof finally showed up, the execs were already gone. The execs felt that Synergy's environment was warm and inviting but that it didn't "grab you" and make you want to make a high-end purchase. The executives understood that Gold Rush's environment was unfinished, but felt that they had a better concept and understanding of the retail environment, making them the winners of the day. For their reward, Sean and Michael flew on a private plane to California to visit DreamWorks Animation Studios where they auditioned their voices for a new animated film in front of studio mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg. There wasn't much fun being had back in New York as the ladies of Synergy prepared for their boardroom battle. Allie felt that Tammy was a good operational project manager but was bad at seeing the big picture. Roxanne felt that Tammy wouldn't listen to criticism. Tammy made an impassioned case that she was left hung out to dry by uncooperative team members. Ivanka then pointed out that Allie rolled her eyes a lot and Bill jumped in that he saw the same thing when he visited their store on the first day. Tammy told Trump that Roxanne was the worst member of their team and was difficult to deal with. Roxanne went back on the attack and Allie jumped on that bandwagon after being prodded by Bill. Trump admitted that Allie and Roxanne were ganging up on Tammy, but chastised her for having no control over her teammates. "Tammy," Trump said, "your leadership wasn't good and I thought your design stunk. I thought it was terrible. Tammy, you're fired!"Source: http://www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice_5/recap/week12_p1.shtml#main
Things were somber in the suite when Lee and Sean returned, though Tammy gave Sean a big hug when he walked through the door. Over dinner, the final five shared a toast, but the mood was far from celebratory. The teams met with Trump, Bill, and Ivanka at the Donald J. Trump watch showroom to receive their next task. Each team was to create an interactive "display environment" for Microsoft's X-Box 360 to be located in Wal-Mart stores. Jay, a Microsoft executive, and Stephen, a Wal-Mart executive, would decide the winners. Sean, project manager for Gold Rush, felt that he and Lee had a "genius" idea for their display and decided to outsource its components to printing professionals rather than doing it themselves. Ivanka stopped by to see what the team was cooking up and seemed enthusiastic about what was going on. Project manager Tammy decided that Synergy would create a "red carpet awards show" event to give the display an "entertainment" feel; Roxanne didn't like the idea but was willing to go along. Bill was all smiles when he approached the women to find out what they were up to, but his smile vanished when Allie kept rolling her eyes at him about Tammy's idea. While Lee and Sean were bonding over snacks, the members of Synergy were sniping at each other as they assembled their display. Later on, Tammy expressed frustration with Allie and Roxanne; she didn’t feel they respected her or were working as a team. Gold Rush's idyllic world came crashing down when Sean received a call from one of their printers informing him that their order wouldn’t be ready until seven the next morning and not at midnight as previously promised. Two-and-a-half hours before they were supposed to present, Sean and Lee were still waiting for their printed flooring. When it arrived, they worked feverishly to get everything set up in time. Just as things started looking in their favor, another bomb was dropped: Their display roof wouldn't be ready for two more hours. Though there were some issues around Roxanne's sign for their display, Synergy was up and running when the execs came in to check out their work. Without a roof, Sean admitted that Gold Rush's display looked like "crap." The circular wrap sagged and buckled, making an unattractive environment for the arriving execs. Jay and Stephen looked stone-faced as Lee and Sean went over the display with them. When the roof finally showed up, the execs were already gone. The execs felt that Synergy's environment was warm and inviting but that it didn't "grab you" and make you want to make a high-end purchase. The executives understood that Gold Rush's environment was unfinished, but felt that they had a better concept and understanding of the retail environment, making them the winners of the day. For their reward, Sean and Michael flew on a private plane to California to visit DreamWorks Animation Studios where they auditioned their voices for a new animated film in front of studio mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg. There wasn't much fun being had back in New York as the ladies of Synergy prepared for their boardroom battle. Allie felt that Tammy was a good operational project manager but was bad at seeing the big picture. Roxanne felt that Tammy wouldn't listen to criticism. Tammy made an impassioned case that she was left hung out to dry by uncooperative team members. Ivanka then pointed out that Allie rolled her eyes a lot and Bill jumped in that he saw the same thing when he visited their store on the first day. Tammy told Trump that Roxanne was the worst member of their team and was difficult to deal with. Roxanne went back on the attack and Allie jumped on that bandwagon after being prodded by Bill. Trump admitted that Allie and Roxanne were ganging up on Tammy, but chastised her for having no control over her teammates. "Tammy," Trump said, "your leadership wasn't good and I thought your design stunk. I thought it was terrible. Tammy, you're fired!"