Jan 25 2008
Fake Out!
Jennie returned and told the other celebrities that Trump ‘fired them both’ (Gene and Omarosa). The celebrities expressed shock, especially the men because they were allowed to watch some of the Boardroom, and it didn’t look like Omarosa was in danger. (The winning team gets to watch the initial Boardroom, but not the final Boardroom when Trump decides which of the 3 choices to fire.) Of course this was just a big fake-out by Jennie as Omarosa was safe.
Winning Theories
Once again, the women tried to rally themselves in order to get a win, while Piers Morgan (‘America’s Got Talent’ judge) noted that the men would continue to dominate because, ‘winning’s not everything, it’s the only thing. Otherwise, why be here?’
Stay of Execution
Nely Galan (Telemundo executive) was well aware that Trump had been itching to fire her, and she thought that Gene Simmons ‘took a bullet’ for her. She knew that she was still in danger, and vowed to ‘wow’ Trump on the next task.
Awwww Moment
Tito Ortiz (UFC Champion), the winning PM for the last task, received $20,000 to give to his charity which was St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. A representative as well as a child who benefited from St. Jude’s work, came to visit him and accept the check, with the child giving Tito a drawing expressing her gratitude. It was a sweet moment.
WWE Eyes and Ears
Don, Jr. continued to be MIA so Vince McMahon came in to play with Trump and Ivanka.
It’s Broadway!
This week’s task was simply to sell tickets to Broadway shows. Given the task, Hydra picked Vincent Pastore (actor from ‘The Sopranos’) to be their PM (he is set to appear in ‘Chicago’ sometime soon) and Empresario picked Broadway vet, Marilu Henner, to lead them.
Negotiate, or You Know, Just Grab it!
The two teams were given a total of 8 plays and each team must negotiate with the other for 4 plays in which they would sell tickets. Vincent and Lennox Lewis (former heavyweight champion) went up against Marilu and Omarosa. Omarosa was her typical aggressive self during the negotiations although in the end, it looked like the two teams just grabbed whichever play they could. In the end, Hydra got ‘Rent,’ ‘Spamalot,’ ‘Drowsy Chaperone,’ and ‘Chicago.’ Empresario walked away with ‘Avenue Q,’ ‘Hairspray,’ ‘Curtains’ and ‘Spring’s Awakening.’
I Know You Are, But What Am I?
Piers Morgan wanted to take the ‘Gene Simmons’ approach to the task and have everyone ‘work’ their black books to bring in the big money. Stephen Baldwin thought this was the wrong approach because the teams only had 2 hours in which to sell their tickets and it was best to just go out and start selling. The two of them got into an argument that descended into a lame version of a 5 year old’s fight, with Piers calling Stephen a ‘shallow little man’ and Stephen saying ‘Boomerang’ (meaning he was throwing it back at Piers) over and over again.
‘I’m a Fricking Star!’
Nely Galan took the task head-on, determined to prove her ‘star power’ to Trump (and everyone else apparently). She began calling her contacts to get the big money donations and noted that she would ‘play every trump card’ she had.
Random Celebrity Sightings
Several celebrities made cameos during this episode. Among them was Bob Saget (from ‘Full House’) and David Hyde Pierce (‘Frasier’ and currently appearing in ‘Curtains’ which was one of the plays up for sale). Richard Branson (billionaire owner of Virgin airlines) made a voice cameo when Piers Morgan called him and secured a $10,000 pledge for tickets.
Garbage Jobs
Model Carol Alt and Olympian Jennie Finch ended up doing the ‘grudge work’ of selling tickets on the streets and handling the small transactions. Carol noted that she and Jennie usually ended up doing the ‘garbage jobs’ that nobody else wanted to do.
Bloody Rude!
Hydra decided that simply setting up a booth in Times Square to sell tickets was not enough and had Piers Morgan dress up as a knight (in a promotional nod to ‘Spamalot’) to attract attention. To his credit, Piers tackled the assignment with gutso, although many people just walked right by him. Piers noted that this was ‘bloody rude.’ Guess he hasn’t been in NYC long enough to know that it would take more than a man in chain mail to phase most New Yorkers.
Rush, Rush!
One of Nely’s many contacts didn’t have the necessary money to make a purchase so she sent them to get a cashier’s check, just as the two hours were about to elapse. Meanwhile, Piers was facing a tight deadline himself as Richard Branson’s promised $10,000 was nowhere to be seen with approximately 2 minutes left. As it turned out, Piers’s contact made it just in time, while Nely’s did not.
Close but No Cigar
The final tally showed that Empresario sold $31, 760 worth of tickets, while Hydra sold $33, 300. Empresario came within $2,000 of Hydra but still sustained yet another loss, much to Trump’s dismay.
The Spoils
Vincent Pastore, as winning PM, would get $50, 000 for his favorite charity (a pancreatic cancer foundation established in a friend’s memory) and the remaining money would go to the Fund for Public Schools.
Lack of Lots of Things
In the Boardroom, Marilu expressed her belief that Empresario was lacking in their ability to work together in a way that would allow the group to shine. She thought that unlike Hydra, where all the men seemed to be dominant and somehow managed to work with that, on their team, there were women who were leaders, and others who seemed to fade into the background, which meant that they weren’t all going full throttle like the men. Vince McMahon pointed out that the men seemed to be willing to do ‘anything to win’ and cited Piers dressing up as a knight as an example. He noted that Empresario didn’t do anything to showcase their celebrities (like putting Carol Alt in their sales booth, hidden away from the public) and that when they had a star from one of their plays come out (David Hyde Pierce), he just stood around in a baseball cap like an ordinary guy on the street. Trump pointed out that Nely’s inability to get her contacts to make the big money donation come in on time was ‘poor planning.’
