Related Sites: · The Apprentice: The Official Site · Official Site on Yahoo! · Sirlinksalot: The Apprentice

Tweet

This week's task

The morning following an evening of heated discussion (well, except for the perpetually silence Stefani) about Tim and his loyalties finds both teams headed for the printing facilities of the Los Angeles Times. After the compulsory spiel about how influential the newspaper is, and how much money is spent on advertising, and so forth and so on, the grist of the next task is revealed. The teams will develop and produce an advertising supplement for the Sunday edition of the paper to promote a new mouthwash called SmartMouth. Two representatives of the company, including its CEO, will evaluate each team's presentation to determine a winner.

Arrow Corp.

A near-Brokeback moment occurs as Frank and Tim evaluate each other's breath before brainstorming ideas. Tim senses his nuts are in a vice and virtually takes over the session in a desperate and overbearing attempt to win over his teammates. His ideas are met with less-than-stellar enthusiasm, but the group ultimately settles on the concept of "everyone has morning breath" and seeks out regular folks to assemble for a photo shoot. Paying people to show up for your photo shoot... now that's the Trump way! There's the obligatory, well-edited shot of the two company representatives observing this with deadpan expressions. Frank is ostensibly assigned to direct the shoot, but the photographer ends up doing most of the instruction. They're up all night wrestling with complex graphic designs for an insert explaining the science behind the product's effectiveness. Frank and Stefani head back to the mansion to dress for the presentation, while the other two remain behind for final tweaking. This is fine for James, who apparently lives in his suit, but not a good idea for Tim, who's still in his jammies. Sure enough, they run out of time to go back to change clothes and Tim ponders the visual of making a serious presentation in his pajamas. They are unable to reach anyone by phone, but James assures Tim that they'll think to bring some clothes for him to wear. Despite a sheer lack of communication, this does indeed happen, and Tim spruces up, minus socks.

Kinetic Corp.

Why seek out models when you're collectively hot enough to pull it off yourself? That's the thought as Heidi, Nicole, and Kristine model themselves for the layout, which focuses on using the product around the clock. At the photo shoot, they take every picture they can think of while the photographer is still there. This bit of efficiency stood in stark contrast to Arrow Corp., who attempted to go back for additional pictures too late in the process. There are some reservations about their campaign appealing only to women, but they confidently go ahead with their plans. Trump's daughter Ivanka peers on with her pouty lips silent in determined observation (I will be just like my daddy... I will be just like my daddy...).

The Presentation and the Reward

Stefani finally steps up to the plate and spearheads the presentation with consummate professionalism. Unfortunately, it was obvious that Arrow Corp.'s supplement was way too wordy and nerdy and, besides, the people in the picture look like their yawning. That's what you get for working with amateurs. Kinetic's presentation wasn't quite as polished, but it didn't need to be, because their contoured insert was eye-catching and the layout was much less cluttered in comparison. This design was deemed superior, leaving Arrow with a date in the boardroom. Neither one of the concepts was particularly compelling, IMHO. How about some realistic advertising -- something useful to truly highlight the merits of the product? "After worshipping the porcelain god, the next thing you'll exalt will be SmartMouth!" Just imagine the visualization possibilities of that slogan!

Kinetic gets to move back in the mansion and Arrow is sent back out into the urban jungle as the tent beckons. Nicole is stoked, and displays her bartending skills as well as the impressive ability to slam a beer in celebration. The reward is a pampering at the mansion by some world-class chefs, a rather underwhelming prize on the face of it that prompts Stefani to comment that Arrow shouldn't be too bummed about losing since they didn't miss out on anything special. Ah, but guess who's coming to dinner? The ladies answer the door to discover that family members have come to pay a visit. There's Nicole's mom, and Heidi's mom, and Kristine's husband who -- you guessed it -- is a world-class chef.

Tim laments meeting Nicole's mom through the hole in the hedge -- not exactly the first impression with her he wanted to make. Nicole is eager to spill the story of her romantic entanglement to get her mom's opinion. Her advise is succinct, with refreshing big picture common-sense that seems to be in short supply: concentrate on your tasks and deal with Tim later. Heidi has lived in Southern California for seven years and this is the first time her mother has visited her out here. Their interactions were touching, even if it did threaten to wander off into Extreme Makeover: Home Edition sappy melodrama. Meanwhile, the members of Arrow stew as they feast on... an enormous bag of chips.

The Boardroom

There wasn't much detail into the logistics of formulating the presentations for this week's task, so we get an extended boardroom scene that's already low on drama. Absolutely everybody knows Tim's going to get ousted, but they drag the bloody process on forever. Of course, the other explanation could be that the Trump quotient is rather low for this episode. The Donald was probably off picking a fight with Rosie O'Donnell, or wheeling and dealing on WrestleMania's "Battle of the Billionaires" and felt that the audience was being deprived of his lovable mug.

James rehashes the big argument with Tim over his relationship with Nicole and loyalty to the team. He pauses long enough to single out Frank as a distraction to the team, with his eleventh-hour modification suggestions. He also paints him as just an errand boy, which lights a fire under Frankie. He doesn't defend himself entirely successfully, then Frank realizes that we're all here to pile on Tim, so he launches into a verbal whipping that caused me to rewind to his line, "you’re still wet behind the ears, young man," to make sure he didn't actually say whippersnapper.

I sensed that Trump already had his mind made up when he continually returned to query Tim on his commitment to the team. Ivanka interjected a few useless criticisms only elicited, I'm guessing, to make her look smart. Heidi also dropped in a few comments, but clammed up when they clashed with Trump's pompous exhortations. She looked a little scared at Trump's right, and I just wanted to comfort her... you know, just because. Things really got laughable when Trump interrupted Tim for interrupting Ivanka. "I feel like I can't complete a sentence here," Tim says in exasperation, as Trump breaks into an ongoing conversation... again. Oh, I just wanted to mention that Stefani was there, too, but she knew enough to shut up and let the sinking ship get sunk.

In the end, there was no convincing Trump that Nicole hadn't become a distraction, so Tim was fired. Trump added that his bad ideas -- ideas agreed upon and executed by the rest of his team -- contributed to the decision. As Tim takes his limo ride back to the real world, he bewailed the fact that, “I’m going to be grayed out on the NBC website now. I hate that. I hate being grayed out.” Without the saga of Tim and Nicole to entertain, The Apprentice: Los Angeles will actually have to come up with some interesting challenges to keep our attention. Will Trump be up to that task?

Tim Urban, "You're Fired!"

Past Recaps

Season 6: Episode 01: "It's about the haves and the have nots" | Episode 02: Sun, Sand, Surf and the Boardroom | Episode 03: A Lone Arrow | Episode 04: From Outhouse to Penthouse | Episode 05: You catch more flies with honey... | Episode 06: Come Sail Away | Episode 07: Down with The Donald | Episode 8: Daily Dose of Vitamin ZZZZ | Episode 9: Cheating Husbands, Marriage Proposals, and a Session with Ah-nold | Episode 10: Universal Pictures presents....

Season 5: Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 | Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 15: Season Finale | Interview: Lenny Veltman

Season 4: Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 | Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13

Martha Stewart: Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 | Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13: The Finale

Season 3: Preview | Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 | Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 | Episode 14 | Episode 15 | Episode 16: Finale

Season 2: Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 | Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 | Episode 14 | Episode 15: Finale

Season 1: Episode 01 | Episode 02 | Episode 03 | Episode 04 | Episode 05 | Episode 06 | Episode 07 | Episode 08 | Episode 09 | Episode 10 | Episode 12 | Episode 13 | Episode 14 | Episode 15: Finale | Aftermath