Episode Recap: Week Eight (11/9)
Jim filled everyone in on what took place in the conference room. When asked how he escaped firing, he explained that Sarah chose him as the strongest team member on the Tide task. Leslie looked appalled by this revelation… “And you walk out?!” she exclaimed. The tension was broken when Howie and Bethenny returned from the conference room. After Bethenny dished the dirt, she, Jim, and Howie got down to business: cracking jokes, having fun, and talking about New York bagels and pizza. While the three of them yucked it up, the members of Mathstick looked on doubtfully. In the morning, the teams met with Martha, Charles, and Alexis. The first order of business was to even up the teams. Martha asked Primarius which of their project managers had the strongest track record. Dawna raised her hand and was moved over to Primarius. And since Bethenny was the last candidate to not be a project manager, Martha asked her to lead the team. For the next task, each team was to sell an outdoor product of their choice, live on the QVC network. They would have 10 minutes of airtime to sell their product, and the team earning the most revenue would win. After giving them some pointers, Martha sent them on their way. On their bus heading up to QVC headquarters, Primarius decided that Dawna and Howie would be their on-air talent. Dawna looked on as Jim and Howie goofed off, remarking to the cameras that she felt they were “unprofessional.” Jim knew that she was “not amused” by his antics. Ryan stepped up to be project manager for Matchstick. On their bus, they developed their strategy, though Leslie and Marcela were frustrated that Amanda was making it impossible for them to get a “word in edgewise.” Matchstick arrived at QVC and explored the warehouse to find just the right product at just the right price. They settled on an automatic hose rewinder for $99.97. Primarius took their own spin around the warehouse. Jim became enamored of a portable hammock that was billed as being “easy to set up.” Jim and Howie decided to test it out, but struggled with the contraption. Instead of the hammock, they chose an air inflator at $44.78 that was used to inflate balls, tires, mattresses, and the like. Bethenny was concerned that Dawna wouldn’t do a good job of filling ten minutes of TV airtime. “She’s a bore,” Bethenny said. Dawna admitted that she felt uncomfortable since she had never done something like that before. Matchstick checked out their set location, and Ryan assigned Marcela to dress the set. He assigned Leslie to become the lead host and Amanda to be the demonstrator. This did not sit well with Amanda; she felt she was the strongest person to host their ten-minute slot. Charles and Alexis looked on as Amanda argued with Ryan and Leslie. Dawna surprised Bethenny by giving a strong presentation during their rehearsal, but Howie was another story. He kept stumbling over his words and mispronouncing the name of their product. Later that night, they did an on-set run through and Howie wasn’t any better. Dawna made a last-minute decision to replace Howie with Jim, though she was afraid that Jim would be a loose cannon on the air. For that matter, Jim was also afraid that he would “go off like a nut.” Once again, Amanda got under everyone’s skin as she tried to take charge of Matchstick’s rehearsal. The camera crew was also annoyed as she kept telling them what to do. Ryan tried to take some control over Amanda, but it was futile. Ryan pulled Leslie aside and told her that he would do his best as producer to keep the camera on her and off Amanda. Show time! Though he had no experience as a TV producer, Ryan took charge like a pro behind the control booth as Leslie began their segment. Leslie was smooth and polished as she talked about the product. Ryan switched over to a shot of Amanda only during her demonstration. It was almost show time for Primarius, and Jim wasn’t “nervous a lick,” though he did admit he was “bugged” by not having any rehearsal time. Howie took his place behind the control console. As Charles looked on, Howie kept making technical mistakes; he just couldn’t seem to get it right even as they were moments from going out live on the air. Seconds before airtime, Jim made Amanda extremely nervous by goofing off and spanking himself, but when the cameras were turned on, Jim pulled it all together. Sales remained flat during Amanda’s pitch, but when Jim started playing the role of a “goofy, midwestern dad,” sales started rising. Though Jim walked out of the shot once, making for an awkward moment, the team was pretty happy with how they did, and Dawna was impressed by Jim’s performance. Back in the conference room, the teams assembled to get the final results. Primarius sold 266 units for a total of $11,911.48. Matchstick sold 143 units for a total of $14,295.71, making them the winner. For their reward, Matchstick was whisked away on a helicopter ride over Manhattan and up to Martha’s house in East Hampton. A limo took them the rest of the way to Martha’s house where they were met by Kevin Sharkey, decorating editor for Martha Stewart Living. Kevin, who helped Martha decorate the house, gave them an exclusive tour of this amazing home. In the conference room, Martha asked Bethenny what went wrong, but Bethenny was unable to give a concrete answer since she thought the task went well. Charles asked Dawna what she thought of Bethenny as a project manager. Dawna said that she was “not a good project manager. I look at a leader to motivate their team… I thought Bethenny actually did the opposite.” Howie felt they lost because they picked the wrong product, though Martha disagreed. She felt it was because of their sales pitch: Jim talked over Dawna and didn’t look at the camera and wasn’t rehearsed enough. Jim reminded Martha that he had to replace Howie at the last minute and didn’t have any time to rehearse. At the end of the session, Bethenny chose Dawna to go back to the loft and Howie and Jim to return to the conference room. Back in the conference room, it didn’t take long for Bethenny and Howie to go at it over his poor rehearsal. Howie and Bethenny argued in circles until Martha cut them off. Martha told Howie that he had the chance to step up to the plate, and he didn’t do it. For Martha, Howie just wasn’t passionate enough and she said “goodbye”. Outside the conference room, Bethenny felt terrible about what happened. She kept asking Jim if she should say something to Howie; Jim told her to let him go. When Howie came out of the conference room, Bethenny apologized profusely and gave him a hug. Howie didn’t look all that receptive. Martha wrote a personal letter to Howie giving him some advice on how to grow his home business.Source: http://www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice:_Martha_Stewart/recaps/week8_p1.shtml
Jim filled everyone in on what took place in the conference room. When asked how he escaped firing, he explained that Sarah chose him as the strongest team member on the Tide task. Leslie looked appalled by this revelation… “And you walk out?!” she exclaimed. The tension was broken when Howie and Bethenny returned from the conference room. After Bethenny dished the dirt, she, Jim, and Howie got down to business: cracking jokes, having fun, and talking about New York bagels and pizza. While the three of them yucked it up, the members of Mathstick looked on doubtfully. In the morning, the teams met with Martha, Charles, and Alexis. The first order of business was to even up the teams. Martha asked Primarius which of their project managers had the strongest track record. Dawna raised her hand and was moved over to Primarius. And since Bethenny was the last candidate to not be a project manager, Martha asked her to lead the team. For the next task, each team was to sell an outdoor product of their choice, live on the QVC network. They would have 10 minutes of airtime to sell their product, and the team earning the most revenue would win. After giving them some pointers, Martha sent them on their way. On their bus heading up to QVC headquarters, Primarius decided that Dawna and Howie would be their on-air talent. Dawna looked on as Jim and Howie goofed off, remarking to the cameras that she felt they were “unprofessional.” Jim knew that she was “not amused” by his antics. Ryan stepped up to be project manager for Matchstick. On their bus, they developed their strategy, though Leslie and Marcela were frustrated that Amanda was making it impossible for them to get a “word in edgewise.” Matchstick arrived at QVC and explored the warehouse to find just the right product at just the right price. They settled on an automatic hose rewinder for $99.97. Primarius took their own spin around the warehouse. Jim became enamored of a portable hammock that was billed as being “easy to set up.” Jim and Howie decided to test it out, but struggled with the contraption. Instead of the hammock, they chose an air inflator at $44.78 that was used to inflate balls, tires, mattresses, and the like. Bethenny was concerned that Dawna wouldn’t do a good job of filling ten minutes of TV airtime. “She’s a bore,” Bethenny said. Dawna admitted that she felt uncomfortable since she had never done something like that before. Matchstick checked out their set location, and Ryan assigned Marcela to dress the set. He assigned Leslie to become the lead host and Amanda to be the demonstrator. This did not sit well with Amanda; she felt she was the strongest person to host their ten-minute slot. Charles and Alexis looked on as Amanda argued with Ryan and Leslie. Dawna surprised Bethenny by giving a strong presentation during their rehearsal, but Howie was another story. He kept stumbling over his words and mispronouncing the name of their product. Later that night, they did an on-set run through and Howie wasn’t any better. Dawna made a last-minute decision to replace Howie with Jim, though she was afraid that Jim would be a loose cannon on the air. For that matter, Jim was also afraid that he would “go off like a nut.” Once again, Amanda got under everyone’s skin as she tried to take charge of Matchstick’s rehearsal. The camera crew was also annoyed as she kept telling them what to do. Ryan tried to take some control over Amanda, but it was futile. Ryan pulled Leslie aside and told her that he would do his best as producer to keep the camera on her and off Amanda. Show time! Though he had no experience as a TV producer, Ryan took charge like a pro behind the control booth as Leslie began their segment. Leslie was smooth and polished as she talked about the product. Ryan switched over to a shot of Amanda only during her demonstration. It was almost show time for Primarius, and Jim wasn’t “nervous a lick,” though he did admit he was “bugged” by not having any rehearsal time. Howie took his place behind the control console. As Charles looked on, Howie kept making technical mistakes; he just couldn’t seem to get it right even as they were moments from going out live on the air. Seconds before airtime, Jim made Amanda extremely nervous by goofing off and spanking himself, but when the cameras were turned on, Jim pulled it all together. Sales remained flat during Amanda’s pitch, but when Jim started playing the role of a “goofy, midwestern dad,” sales started rising. Though Jim walked out of the shot once, making for an awkward moment, the team was pretty happy with how they did, and Dawna was impressed by Jim’s performance. Back in the conference room, the teams assembled to get the final results. Primarius sold 266 units for a total of $11,911.48. Matchstick sold 143 units for a total of $14,295.71, making them the winner. For their reward, Matchstick was whisked away on a helicopter ride over Manhattan and up to Martha’s house in East Hampton. A limo took them the rest of the way to Martha’s house where they were met by Kevin Sharkey, decorating editor for Martha Stewart Living. Kevin, who helped Martha decorate the house, gave them an exclusive tour of this amazing home. In the conference room, Martha asked Bethenny what went wrong, but Bethenny was unable to give a concrete answer since she thought the task went well. Charles asked Dawna what she thought of Bethenny as a project manager. Dawna said that she was “not a good project manager. I look at a leader to motivate their team… I thought Bethenny actually did the opposite.” Howie felt they lost because they picked the wrong product, though Martha disagreed. She felt it was because of their sales pitch: Jim talked over Dawna and didn’t look at the camera and wasn’t rehearsed enough. Jim reminded Martha that he had to replace Howie at the last minute and didn’t have any time to rehearse. At the end of the session, Bethenny chose Dawna to go back to the loft and Howie and Jim to return to the conference room. Back in the conference room, it didn’t take long for Bethenny and Howie to go at it over his poor rehearsal. Howie and Bethenny argued in circles until Martha cut them off. Martha told Howie that he had the chance to step up to the plate, and he didn’t do it. For Martha, Howie just wasn’t passionate enough and she said “goodbye”. Outside the conference room, Bethenny felt terrible about what happened. She kept asking Jim if she should say something to Howie; Jim told her to let him go. When Howie came out of the conference room, Bethenny apologized profusely and gave him a hug. Howie didn’t look all that receptive. Martha wrote a personal letter to Howie giving him some advice on how to grow his home business.