The Apprentice

[Marian]

I thought both teams did well last night, although it always seems that the team I think is going to win, doesn't! Claire was very toned down last night and seemed to get on well with most of her team and with the job. I didn't think they were going to win though.
Lucinda's team did well, and the profits for both were pretty close.
In the boardroom the cracks in the team became very evident, with all three girls attacking one another. I thought Jenny was the worst though and should have been fired, not Lindi.
Marian

[michduncg]

I'd agree Marian, I certainly wouldn't hire Jenny myself! But I think Lindi did go to pieces a little under pressure in the boardroom. And she did set up those duff leads to sell ice-cream to ice-cream makers! So as the team leader for sales she I suppose she had to carry the can! I hope Jenny gets her just desserts though

[jon]

Was that a deliberate pun, Mike - "just desserts"? Quite good really.

I agree Jenny should have gone - came across as a bit obnoxious, though she has seemed quiet in earlier editions. On the follow-up programme on BBC2, where they interviewed Lindi, one of the guest panellists described Jenny as looking like a Cluedo character, perhaps Miss Scarlett, with her pouting red lips, and equally as scheming. Apt description. Lucinda was surprisingly good (Margaret Mountford said so herself) but I was surprised when Lindi and Jenny related to camera at one point that they would have achieved the same results without her as team leader. Very ungenerous.

[michduncg]

they would have achieved the same results without her as team leader

Indeed Jon - but then as it says somewhere in the best selling 'One Minute Manager' series of books 'When a well managed team achieves there goals they sit back and say 'We did it ourselves!''

I realised my pun once I had typed it! I was chuckling about desserts cos it reminded me of 'Reggie Perin' at Sunshine Desserts - although the letters used to drop off each week....

[mariana44]

I thought Lucinda's team should have won-the other team just won by the skin of their teeth with their last order! I wonder if Sir Alan would ever have known about the "Exclusivity" deals, if Lucindas team had won.

I thought she was a good team leader--not rude or obnoxious like some--and nowhere near as big-headed!! Don't they realise if they keep saying how great they are and do not deliver the goods--then they just look like fools-I think Jenny should have gone.

I'm just glad Lucinda is still there--although much as I love ice-cream, I do not think I could eat Avacado and Chili ice-cream !!

[michduncg]

I was really cheering for Lucinda when her team got the cinema contract ahead of Claires team! They got everything right, not off galavanting around breweries, nor missing the time slot for their tasting.

The sppoky think is though that as Claires team were dreaming up Cider and Elderflower Ice-Cream, we were sipping Swedish Copperberg Cider with a dash of elderflower cordial!!! Marc had just dreamt up this concotion the night before!

[mariana44]

That definately is spooky that Marc dreamt up that same [weird] mixture-----now all you have to do is to get him to dream up 6 winning lottery numbers--then I will be SERIOUSLY impressed

[Marian]

I thought it was a difficult task for them tonight, although at first it seemed and easy one. There are so many cards available for practically every occasion now, it must have been a challenge to come up with some new ideas.
Anyway, they did quite well, although like everyone else it seemed, I considered the card for the environment had to be a non-starter.
Kevin had to go, and I think SrAlan made the correct choice.
He made a real hash of the presentation after insisting that he was the one to do it, and then trying to get out of it when he hadn't done the preparation.
Marian

[michduncg]

This was really similar to a task that we had to do in a team building day this week at work - design a new board game. Spookily we came up with 'Bin it to win it' - a version of snakes and ladders with the enviroment with its theme.

The card for the enviroment was a total non-starter really as Margaret pointed out pretty early on. But Kevin compounded the situation by being an idiot! He obviously thought as team leader he had to be involved in everything. I thought it was so unfair that he took Sara in the boardroom with him, when it really should have been Jenny. OK, Sara may not be the strongest of people and maybe she won't stay on much longer, but Sara was the only one who questioned the 'recycling day' idea and Jenny just rode rough-shod over her.

Its actually getting more difficult to identify people I like in this years show. At the moment I think Raef, Lucinda and Alex are all coming across well, and I am even starting to warm to Claire who has really calmed down and is listening to feedback from Sir Alan. But Jenny, Jennifer and Helen are all just real catty and the other guys (whoever it was that was having a go at Sara in the house when she returned from the boardroom was totally out of order) are just bullies. At the end of the day, as I was shouting at the TV and as Raef was saying 'whoever gets fired is Sir Alan's decision'

[mariana44]

I quite agree the "environmental" card just was not going to work---it just did not make sense. The "Singles Day" card, had a huge bigger potential market, although they day they chose would not work, I do not think.

But one of the "big 3" believed in it, which was enough to clinch it for Michael's team.

Looking difficult to spot a winner--the girls are always bickering at each other, so at the moment I am going for Rafe--he seems very sure of himself , without getting involved in being nasty to anyone.

[michduncg]

I'd agree with your there Mariana, Raef seems to get the balance right. I really hope one of the 3 Cats (Jenny, Jennifer and Helen) go next week, and Michael not too soon after that!

[mariana44]

Mike--that is a great description-the 3 Cats---that is just so what they are like--cannot wait to get their claws into anyone, to get on !

[Marian]

I just wonder of it should be up to Margaret and, I'm sorry I've forgotten the guy's name, as to who goes into the boardroom, and not the team leader. After all, they are present all through the tasks and can obviously see who most deserves to be fired. This would stop some of the obvious choice of less popular candidates like Sara being taken into the boardroom, when yesterday it definately should have been Jenny.
Marian

[michduncg]

Hi Marian

Ooh no - its part of the tactics to take in someone that can be blamed for the teams failure, and see if the team leader gets away with it! Sir Alan had already said that he had discounted 75% of the comments aimed at Sara anyway. Kevin made a huge mistake not taking Jenny in last night and he paid for it!

Incidentally, the the 'Outburst' back at the house has seemed to attracted a lot of comments. It certainly seems that the 'nice' people are the publics favourite to win. Given Sir Alans response to the behaviour of Michael in the boardroom when he let out a celebratory 'whoop' last night, I don't think he tolerates loutish behaviour and I am sure he will make his decisions to fire people with this in mind.

[Marian]

Well, what did you think of last night's show in Marrakesh? What a shambles!
I thought Sir Alan was going to fire the lot in Jennifer's team. I definately thought Mr Sophocles should have gone along with the two Jennys.
Marian