Episode Recap: Week Four (October 12)
With the sharp ringing of the golden phone, the candidates were summoned to join Martha, Alexis, and Charles in the conference room to receive their next task. The sleepy-eyed candidates had to hurry to get ready to meet with their prospective employer. Martha greeted the candidates via a TV monitor in the loft. Martha was at Turkey Hill Road, her renovated farmhouse, where she was working on a project. According to Martha, the Turkey Hill Road house was a wreck when she and her ex-husband bought it, but they had a vision to turn it into something remarkable. This week's task was also about having a vision. Each team was to be given an empty two-bedroom suite at the Westin Hotel in Times Square to renovate as part of Westin's "renewal" marketing campaign. The suites were to be made into "lifestyle" suites based on each team's unique vision with Westin executives judging the final outcome. Because Matchstick lost three tasks in a row, Martha thought they needed some extra help. Alexis asked Primarius who they thought was their strongest leader - all of them raised their hands. Charles then asked who they thought could lead Matchstick to victory on the next task - all their hands came down. Finally, Leslie stepped up to the plate and volunteered to help lead Matchstick to victory. A Leslie-less Primarius visited the Westin to scope out their empty suite. The huge size of the suite and its stark emptiness were quite shocking. Amanda volunteered to be project manager, and everyone quickly agreed. She began by leading a brainstorming session to come up with a vision for the suite. It didn't take long for them to settle on the idea of "Westin Entertains," a suite geared toward entertaining guests. Leslie took charge of Matchstick... or tried to. She went in with the idea of taking control and reining them in, but it didn't take long for Matchstick to begin bickering among themselves. Time passed... and passed... and passed... and they still had no vision for their suite, even as contractors were waiting around with nothing to do. At last, Jim hit upon something that they all could agree on. He called the concept "F.L.O.W." - For Leisure Or Work. The room was to be a Zen-like, Feng Shui-inspired space with everything at the guest's fingertips. A buoyant Amanda happily went through Primarius's suite giving orders to the contractors. However, other members of her team didn't share her mood. Howie, for one, felt that the grey colors she decided on were "God-awful." He was far from the only one to feel that way. Leslie dispatched Bethenny to a Crate & Barrel store to select all the furniture for Matchstick's suite. Bethenny was not happy about the limited time she had to accomplish this and felt that Leslie was doing a poor job of managing the team. Jim, David, Dawn, and Leslie went to the hardware store to buy needed items, but their trip was cut short when Leslie received a call telling her that the contractors were leaving at midnight and they would have to paint the suite themselves. Everyone but Dawn chipped in to help paint the suite. Leslie felt Dawn was "lazy" and "confrontational," and the only one who was acting that way. This trend continued into the morning. At 6:30am, everyone was ready to get going for the day, but Dawn was still sound asleep. Amanda gathered her troops to prepare for the day, and told them they were the sharpest people she knew. As a little gift, she handed each one a sharpened gold pencil with a motivational saying on it. Though a small gesture, Primarius really seemed energized by this token of appreciation. Charles and Alexis stopped by to see how Primarius was doing with their entertainment concept. Charles seemed impressed and thought it could be a great space to stay while visiting New York. Next, Charles and Alexis headed over to Matchstick's suite. Charles also seemed impressed with the work they were doing, but there was one glaring omission: the room was devoid of furniture. Bethenny admitted that she was having a difficult time getting the furniture delivered, but assured them that it would be there on time for the presentation to the Westin executives. Fifteen minutes before the Westin execs were scheduled to arrive, there was still not a single stick of furniture in Matchstick's suite! The delivery driver called to say he was only seven minutes away. Matchstick raced down to meet the driver at the loading dock, only to find no one there. Amanda welcomed the Westin executives to the Primarius suite and deftly explained the concept while giving them a tour. The suite was complete with a surround-sound movie theater system, a popcorn maker, poker chips, candy, and everything someone staying in Manhattan might need to entertain guests in style. One of the Westin executives paid them a great compliment by saying that it didn't look like a hotel room. The executives arrived at Matchstick's suite to find it devoid of a couch and other furniture. Leslie put on a brave face and tried to sell them on the concept of F.L.O.W. "We made everything simple and hidden 'cause we didn't want complexity. Instead, we're focusing on zero gravity." The response? One of the execs stated that "this reminds me of my first apartment after graduating college, and I couldn't afford furniture." Martha arrived at a Westin conference room where she was warmly greeted by the Westin executive team who showed her photos of both suites. Martha liked the entertainment concept and had some kind words to say about Matchstick's suite, but ultimately she felt that Matchstick's suite looked like an unfinished house. What did the Westin executives think? Once again, the winner was Primarius. Martha came up to the Primarius suite to visit with the winning team. She was very complimentary as she took a look around, ate an M&M, and reminisced about growing up in New Jersey. Martha left Primarius to enjoy their win as she headed back to the conference room to meet with Matchstick. Leslie pulled Bethenny aside to tell her that she was the strongest and hardest-working member of the team. Bethenny took this in, but was shocked and confused when Leslie told her that she planned on bringing her and Dawn back into the conference room with her. A displeased-looking Martha Stewart greeted Matchstick as they returned to the conference room for the fourth time in a row. She complimented Jim and the team on the F.L.O.W. idea, but then turned to Leslie to find out why the room was unfinished. Leslie honed in on Bethenny as being responsible for this failure. Bethenny tried to defend herself, but Charles reminded her that she told him explicitly that the furniture would be there. Dawn and Bethenny put the blame back on Leslie for bad time management. Leslie put the blame back on Dawn for not helping out with the painting and for oversleeping. At the end of the meeting, Leslie decided to bring Dawn and Bethenny back with her. Charles thought that Martha faced a tough choice when she sent word to bring Leslie, Dawn, and Bethenny back into the conference room. Leslie defended her time-management skills, but Martha quickly cut her off, turning to Bethenny instead. Bethenny expressed her wariness about Leslie and her confusion over the fact that Leslie told her that she was the strongest candidate on the team. The three women of Matchstick began arguing, and Martha had to cut them off. Even though Leslie had shown poor time-management skills, Martha decided to give Leslie another chance since she had volunteered to take over a losing team. This left Dawn and Bethenny. Martha saw past Bethenny's inability to get the furniture there on time since the concept and design were both solid. This left only one choice - in the end, Martha said goodbye to Dawn. Martha wrote a personal letter to Dawn wishing her luck in the future.Source: http://www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice:_Martha_Stewart/recaps/week4_p1.shtml
With the sharp ringing of the golden phone, the candidates were summoned to join Martha, Alexis, and Charles in the conference room to receive their next task. The sleepy-eyed candidates had to hurry to get ready to meet with their prospective employer. Martha greeted the candidates via a TV monitor in the loft. Martha was at Turkey Hill Road, her renovated farmhouse, where she was working on a project. According to Martha, the Turkey Hill Road house was a wreck when she and her ex-husband bought it, but they had a vision to turn it into something remarkable. This week's task was also about having a vision. Each team was to be given an empty two-bedroom suite at the Westin Hotel in Times Square to renovate as part of Westin's "renewal" marketing campaign. The suites were to be made into "lifestyle" suites based on each team's unique vision with Westin executives judging the final outcome. Because Matchstick lost three tasks in a row, Martha thought they needed some extra help. Alexis asked Primarius who they thought was their strongest leader - all of them raised their hands. Charles then asked who they thought could lead Matchstick to victory on the next task - all their hands came down. Finally, Leslie stepped up to the plate and volunteered to help lead Matchstick to victory. A Leslie-less Primarius visited the Westin to scope out their empty suite. The huge size of the suite and its stark emptiness were quite shocking. Amanda volunteered to be project manager, and everyone quickly agreed. She began by leading a brainstorming session to come up with a vision for the suite. It didn't take long for them to settle on the idea of "Westin Entertains," a suite geared toward entertaining guests. Leslie took charge of Matchstick... or tried to. She went in with the idea of taking control and reining them in, but it didn't take long for Matchstick to begin bickering among themselves. Time passed... and passed... and passed... and they still had no vision for their suite, even as contractors were waiting around with nothing to do. At last, Jim hit upon something that they all could agree on. He called the concept "F.L.O.W." - For Leisure Or Work. The room was to be a Zen-like, Feng Shui-inspired space with everything at the guest's fingertips. A buoyant Amanda happily went through Primarius's suite giving orders to the contractors. However, other members of her team didn't share her mood. Howie, for one, felt that the grey colors she decided on were "God-awful." He was far from the only one to feel that way. Leslie dispatched Bethenny to a Crate & Barrel store to select all the furniture for Matchstick's suite. Bethenny was not happy about the limited time she had to accomplish this and felt that Leslie was doing a poor job of managing the team. Jim, David, Dawn, and Leslie went to the hardware store to buy needed items, but their trip was cut short when Leslie received a call telling her that the contractors were leaving at midnight and they would have to paint the suite themselves. Everyone but Dawn chipped in to help paint the suite. Leslie felt Dawn was "lazy" and "confrontational," and the only one who was acting that way. This trend continued into the morning. At 6:30am, everyone was ready to get going for the day, but Dawn was still sound asleep. Amanda gathered her troops to prepare for the day, and told them they were the sharpest people she knew. As a little gift, she handed each one a sharpened gold pencil with a motivational saying on it. Though a small gesture, Primarius really seemed energized by this token of appreciation. Charles and Alexis stopped by to see how Primarius was doing with their entertainment concept. Charles seemed impressed and thought it could be a great space to stay while visiting New York. Next, Charles and Alexis headed over to Matchstick's suite. Charles also seemed impressed with the work they were doing, but there was one glaring omission: the room was devoid of furniture. Bethenny admitted that she was having a difficult time getting the furniture delivered, but assured them that it would be there on time for the presentation to the Westin executives. Fifteen minutes before the Westin execs were scheduled to arrive, there was still not a single stick of furniture in Matchstick's suite! The delivery driver called to say he was only seven minutes away. Matchstick raced down to meet the driver at the loading dock, only to find no one there. Amanda welcomed the Westin executives to the Primarius suite and deftly explained the concept while giving them a tour. The suite was complete with a surround-sound movie theater system, a popcorn maker, poker chips, candy, and everything someone staying in Manhattan might need to entertain guests in style. One of the Westin executives paid them a great compliment by saying that it didn't look like a hotel room. The executives arrived at Matchstick's suite to find it devoid of a couch and other furniture. Leslie put on a brave face and tried to sell them on the concept of F.L.O.W. "We made everything simple and hidden 'cause we didn't want complexity. Instead, we're focusing on zero gravity." The response? One of the execs stated that "this reminds me of my first apartment after graduating college, and I couldn't afford furniture." Martha arrived at a Westin conference room where she was warmly greeted by the Westin executive team who showed her photos of both suites. Martha liked the entertainment concept and had some kind words to say about Matchstick's suite, but ultimately she felt that Matchstick's suite looked like an unfinished house. What did the Westin executives think? Once again, the winner was Primarius. Martha came up to the Primarius suite to visit with the winning team. She was very complimentary as she took a look around, ate an M&M, and reminisced about growing up in New Jersey. Martha left Primarius to enjoy their win as she headed back to the conference room to meet with Matchstick. Leslie pulled Bethenny aside to tell her that she was the strongest and hardest-working member of the team. Bethenny took this in, but was shocked and confused when Leslie told her that she planned on bringing her and Dawn back into the conference room with her. A displeased-looking Martha Stewart greeted Matchstick as they returned to the conference room for the fourth time in a row. She complimented Jim and the team on the F.L.O.W. idea, but then turned to Leslie to find out why the room was unfinished. Leslie honed in on Bethenny as being responsible for this failure. Bethenny tried to defend herself, but Charles reminded her that she told him explicitly that the furniture would be there. Dawn and Bethenny put the blame back on Leslie for bad time management. Leslie put the blame back on Dawn for not helping out with the painting and for oversleeping. At the end of the meeting, Leslie decided to bring Dawn and Bethenny back with her. Charles thought that Martha faced a tough choice when she sent word to bring Leslie, Dawn, and Bethenny back into the conference room. Leslie defended her time-management skills, but Martha quickly cut her off, turning to Bethenny instead. Bethenny expressed her wariness about Leslie and her confusion over the fact that Leslie told her that she was the strongest candidate on the team. The three women of Matchstick began arguing, and Martha had to cut them off. Even though Leslie had shown poor time-management skills, Martha decided to give Leslie another chance since she had volunteered to take over a losing team. This left Dawn and Bethenny. Martha saw past Bethenny's inability to get the furniture there on time since the concept and design were both solid. This left only one choice - in the end, Martha said goodbye to Dawn. Martha wrote a personal letter to Dawn wishing her luck in the future.