Episode Recap: Week Five (October 20)
What happens in the boardroom stays in the boardroom. That was Capital Edge's motto as they returned from their meeting with Trump to regroup and re-strategize after a shaky first few weeks. The teams met with Trump at 7:30 the next morning in Grand Army Plaza. Bill Rancic, the winner of the first Apprentice, joined Trump as George's replacement for the week. Trump gave Capital Edge one minute to decide if they wanted to choose a member of Excel to join their team. In seconds, they chose Randal, a Rhodes scholar. For their next task, the teams would be working with Sony Pictures to build a prototype parade float for the upcoming movie "Zathura." Each team would have a chance to meet with the movie's director, Jon Favreau, and Geoffrey Ammer, President of Worldwide Marketing for Sony Pictures, to get some guidance on the task. Those two would also be selecting the winner. Excel, led by Brian, headed to Sony's New York offices where they met with John Favreau and Geoffrey Ammer. One of the guys got a good taste of his foot when he mispronounced the movie's title, but this gave John a chance to impress how important communicating the title was to the film's overall marketing campaign. As project manager for Capital Edge, Jennifer M. was ready to "kick some butt" as she led her troops to their own meeting with John and Geoff. Like he did with Excel, John stressed the importance of incorporating the movie's name into the parade float. Excel went to work building their float, careful to make sure that the title was written in large letters across it. They also decided to repeat the title over and over in the float's audio track. Everyone was pitching in to build the float, but Markus looked a little lost as he stood off to the side. An exasperated Brian tried to get Markus to help paint but then settled on giving him a task that he felt was better suited to Markus's abilities: ordering Chinese food for lunch. Some members of Capital Edge felt that Kristi was being bossy and confrontational as they went to work on their float. Randal felt there was a lack of respect between certain members of the team, and that this was dragging them down week after week. Jennifer M. confronted Kristi about her abrasiveness, but Kristi didn't see her behavior in this light. Where others thought she was being bossy, Kristi thought she was being bold. Though Jennifer M. tried to give her some constructive criticism, Kristi refused to listen to anything that was being said to her. A similar confrontation was playing out between Markus and Brian. As the men cleaned up, Markus was wandering around aimlessly and not pitching in. Brian asked for a word and the two of them stepped aside to discuss the situation. Markus felt insulted about being told he was only good at ordering food, and felt that Brian was playing a game with him. Josh joined the argument, telling Markus that he was tired of carrying his weight and that his "time was up." In their van, Capital Edge went over the impending presentation of their float to John and Geoff. Randal, Rebecca, Jennifer M. and Marshawn split from the rest to pick up a number of items for the presentation, though Marshawn felt this was a waste of time. She was not alone in her sentiments. Kristi, Alla, and Felisha scrambled to put the finishing touches on their float, but 45 minutes before their presentation, they were far from ready. Felisha thought it was a fiasco in the making due to Jennifer M's "poor planning." Bill Rancic stopped by to check in on them and was surprised to learn that their team leader was out shopping just before the big presentation. Excel was admiring its handiwork as Carolyn, Bill, John, and Geoff arrived to see the final product. Brian snapped into action, explaining the float's many features: the house from the film slid on a track past various set pieces from the film and accompanied by a soundtrack that repeated the name, "Zathura." John was really pleased with the float, though he had to tell the talkative Brian to be quiet. Jennifer M. presented Capital Edge's float to John and company. She started off on the wrong foot when she mispronounced the name of the movie, and then continued to step on the wrong foot as she mispronounced the title again and again… and then again. While Jennifer M. thought she did a great presentation, her other teammates weren't quite so pleased. Trump arrived at Sony Pictures to hear what John and Geoff had to say about the floats. Geoff felt that both teams did an "incredible job." They had some concerns that Excel's float was a bit too small, but they had more concerns about Capital Edge's float – the name wasn't on it enough, the scale of different props was inconsistent, and Jennifer M. continually mispronounced the film's title. The winner was a clear choice. Once again, Excel won the task. Everyone voted for Brian to be exempt from the following week's boardroom. Trump told them they would be seeing their float in about six weeks at the Hollywood Holiday parade. For their reward, Excel got to collaborate with hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean on a new song in his recording studio. They called their new track "The Rubble Man" because of the nickname that Josh gave Brian: Barney Rubble. "What was the reason you lost?" Trump asked Kristi in the boardroom. She replied that the problem was branding, but Jennifer M. stepped in to tell Trump that Kristi was not the person to be asking because of her obnoxious behavior. Alla and the others were quick to support their project manager. However, Alla was very blunt when asked how she felt Jennifer M. did on the presentation. "Horrible," was her one-word reply. At the end of the meeting, Trump asked Jennifer M. to choose two people to bring back with her, but she decided to choose just one: Kristi. Jennifer and Kristi returned to the boardroom to face Trump, Bill, and Carolyn. There was no love lost between Jennifer and Kristi as they began attacking each other. Trump felt that it was a hard decision to make since Kristi and Jennifer M. were exact opposites: Kristi was commanding and disliked but got things done, while Jennifer M. was liked but couldn't seem to pull her team together. In the end, Trump was unsure whether Jennifer M. could lead under pressure, but he felt stronger about Kristi's negative affect on her team and her inability to work with others. "Kristi… you're fired!"Source: http://www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice_4/recaps/week5_p1.shtml
What happens in the boardroom stays in the boardroom. That was Capital Edge's motto as they returned from their meeting with Trump to regroup and re-strategize after a shaky first few weeks. The teams met with Trump at 7:30 the next morning in Grand Army Plaza. Bill Rancic, the winner of the first Apprentice, joined Trump as George's replacement for the week. Trump gave Capital Edge one minute to decide if they wanted to choose a member of Excel to join their team. In seconds, they chose Randal, a Rhodes scholar. For their next task, the teams would be working with Sony Pictures to build a prototype parade float for the upcoming movie "Zathura." Each team would have a chance to meet with the movie's director, Jon Favreau, and Geoffrey Ammer, President of Worldwide Marketing for Sony Pictures, to get some guidance on the task. Those two would also be selecting the winner. Excel, led by Brian, headed to Sony's New York offices where they met with John Favreau and Geoffrey Ammer. One of the guys got a good taste of his foot when he mispronounced the movie's title, but this gave John a chance to impress how important communicating the title was to the film's overall marketing campaign. As project manager for Capital Edge, Jennifer M. was ready to "kick some butt" as she led her troops to their own meeting with John and Geoff. Like he did with Excel, John stressed the importance of incorporating the movie's name into the parade float. Excel went to work building their float, careful to make sure that the title was written in large letters across it. They also decided to repeat the title over and over in the float's audio track. Everyone was pitching in to build the float, but Markus looked a little lost as he stood off to the side. An exasperated Brian tried to get Markus to help paint but then settled on giving him a task that he felt was better suited to Markus's abilities: ordering Chinese food for lunch. Some members of Capital Edge felt that Kristi was being bossy and confrontational as they went to work on their float. Randal felt there was a lack of respect between certain members of the team, and that this was dragging them down week after week. Jennifer M. confronted Kristi about her abrasiveness, but Kristi didn't see her behavior in this light. Where others thought she was being bossy, Kristi thought she was being bold. Though Jennifer M. tried to give her some constructive criticism, Kristi refused to listen to anything that was being said to her. A similar confrontation was playing out between Markus and Brian. As the men cleaned up, Markus was wandering around aimlessly and not pitching in. Brian asked for a word and the two of them stepped aside to discuss the situation. Markus felt insulted about being told he was only good at ordering food, and felt that Brian was playing a game with him. Josh joined the argument, telling Markus that he was tired of carrying his weight and that his "time was up." In their van, Capital Edge went over the impending presentation of their float to John and Geoff. Randal, Rebecca, Jennifer M. and Marshawn split from the rest to pick up a number of items for the presentation, though Marshawn felt this was a waste of time. She was not alone in her sentiments. Kristi, Alla, and Felisha scrambled to put the finishing touches on their float, but 45 minutes before their presentation, they were far from ready. Felisha thought it was a fiasco in the making due to Jennifer M's "poor planning." Bill Rancic stopped by to check in on them and was surprised to learn that their team leader was out shopping just before the big presentation. Excel was admiring its handiwork as Carolyn, Bill, John, and Geoff arrived to see the final product. Brian snapped into action, explaining the float's many features: the house from the film slid on a track past various set pieces from the film and accompanied by a soundtrack that repeated the name, "Zathura." John was really pleased with the float, though he had to tell the talkative Brian to be quiet. Jennifer M. presented Capital Edge's float to John and company. She started off on the wrong foot when she mispronounced the name of the movie, and then continued to step on the wrong foot as she mispronounced the title again and again… and then again. While Jennifer M. thought she did a great presentation, her other teammates weren't quite so pleased. Trump arrived at Sony Pictures to hear what John and Geoff had to say about the floats. Geoff felt that both teams did an "incredible job." They had some concerns that Excel's float was a bit too small, but they had more concerns about Capital Edge's float – the name wasn't on it enough, the scale of different props was inconsistent, and Jennifer M. continually mispronounced the film's title. The winner was a clear choice. Once again, Excel won the task. Everyone voted for Brian to be exempt from the following week's boardroom. Trump told them they would be seeing their float in about six weeks at the Hollywood Holiday parade. For their reward, Excel got to collaborate with hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean on a new song in his recording studio. They called their new track "The Rubble Man" because of the nickname that Josh gave Brian: Barney Rubble. "What was the reason you lost?" Trump asked Kristi in the boardroom. She replied that the problem was branding, but Jennifer M. stepped in to tell Trump that Kristi was not the person to be asking because of her obnoxious behavior. Alla and the others were quick to support their project manager. However, Alla was very blunt when asked how she felt Jennifer M. did on the presentation. "Horrible," was her one-word reply. At the end of the meeting, Trump asked Jennifer M. to choose two people to bring back with her, but she decided to choose just one: Kristi. Jennifer and Kristi returned to the boardroom to face Trump, Bill, and Carolyn. There was no love lost between Jennifer and Kristi as they began attacking each other. Trump felt that it was a hard decision to make since Kristi and Jennifer M. were exact opposites: Kristi was commanding and disliked but got things done, while Jennifer M. was liked but couldn't seem to pull her team together. In the end, Trump was unsure whether Jennifer M. could lead under pressure, but he felt stronger about Kristi's negative affect on her team and her inability to work with others. "Kristi… you're fired!"